Workshop: Emotional Sobriety - The Next Step (Part 3 of 11)

Workshop: Emotional Sobriety - The Next Step (Part 3 of 11)

What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This workshop-style episode of Sober Cast drops you right into an AA retreat at Wilson House in 2002, where Mark H and Dave F unpack "emotional sobriety" through Step Two: coming to believe in a power greater than ourselves. Rather than polished theory, you get raw experience.

Mark jokes about Alcoholics being asked to talk about God after "going through life thinking we're God", then shares how he realised he’d made his own mind into a higher power: "The organ that brought you to AA, your mind, is not the organ you go into for a solution." He talks about years of misery, even sober, until he "drew a line in the sand" and decided to put God first through the actions of Steps Four to Nine.

Dave picks up the thread with practical tools. He explains the "second step proposition" exercise: looking honestly at the areas of life not yet given to a higher power – career, money, relationships, health – and asking why fear is still running the show. From there, he shows how to use a simple card and the Big Book’s fear instructions to pause in the middle of a bad day, ask for fear to be removed, and act differently within minutes.

You’ll hear about spiritual thirst, agnosticism, and the uncomfortable idea that God has to be "everything or nothing" – shared with humour, stories, and a lot of honesty about ego, resistance, and control. This episode suits anyone with some sobriety who feels stuck, restless, or still scared despite not drinking, and who’s willing to question whether they’ve really given "everything" over yet. It might just nudge you to ask: how much of God do you actually want?