MYTH: You need to hit 'rock bottom' to recover from addiction. But here's what addiction specialist Dr. Ferghal Armstrong's guest Tom reveals: his worst moment wasn't losing everything – it was waking up in a Brazilian favela after cocaine and alcohol, having stolen from his hostel.

But here's the brain recovery insight that changes everything: Tom describes addiction as 'a connection to your past that doesn't serve you, instead of connection to your future.' Your brain's neuroplasticity means you can literally rewire those connections.

Tom's recovery started when his future self began speaking to his past self – that's your prefrontal cortex overriding your limbic reward system. Recovery isn't about hitting bottom – it's about choosing your future over your past.