How to Recover

Trigger warning: child sexual abuse, alcohol abuse, drug misuse are discussed

Zoe Clews and Hattie Moll interview Lauren McQuistin — writer, voice coach, trained opera singer, and the voice behind one of the most honest and hilarious corners of the recovery community online. Lauren is the creator of Instagram account @brutalrecovery, where for years she’s been sharing the most shareable memes on sobriety and rebuilding a life most people never talk about. Her unique and hilarious takes have inspired a million copycats.

Lauren’s story is anything but conventional. Originally from the west coast of Scotland, she trained as an opera singer — winning awards and performing across Europe and North America — before her personal battle with alcohol and mental health forced a reckoning that changed her life. 

Now she’s published a memoir No Lost Causes Club: An Honest Guide to Recovery, and How to Find Your Way Through It, it’s a personal and practical guide to get you through and we devoured it.

This episode is with guest Caroline Balazs, founder of Skinny Jab and the original GLP-1 pioneer in the UK.

Unless you have been living under a rock you will know that GLP-1s are revolutionising the weightloss industry and turning the tide on obesity in the USA - something that seemed impossible just a few years ago.

Caroline is a nurse who experimented with GLP-1s before anyone else back in 2016 and went on to create a thriving business until she was undercut by an unscrupulous marketplace that has little regard for the safety of people using these potentially harmful drugs.

As the founder and CEO of one of the UK’s most talked-about—and fastest growing—private medical brands, Skinny Jab. she has overseen a company that has completely shaken up the weight-loss space, while also weathering intense public scrutiny, media heat, and some serious business curveballs.

She’s joining us to share openly about what it really takes to keep going when things get tough, how she found her feet again in the middle of chaos, and what recovery looks like when the whole world seems to have an opinion.

Today's guest is Caroline Balazs.

TikTok

@theskinnyjabofficial

@skinnyjab

@carolinebalazsclinic

Instagram

@skinnyjab

@carolinebalazsclinic

The content of this podcast is for informational and conversational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Although we speak with experts and explore personal experiences of recovery, nothing shared should be considered personal or professional advice.

If you’re struggling with your mental health or experiencing distress, we strongly encourage you to seek support from a qualified healthcare professional or licensed therapist.

Any views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or the podcast team.

In this episode, Shaun Greenaway shares his journey through male infertility, discussing the emotional, physical, and relational impacts it had on his life. He highlights the isolation many men feel during this experience, the societal pressures surrounding masculinity, and the importance of support systems. The conversation delves into coping mechanisms, the role of vulnerability in friendships, and the journey of acceptance and love, especially in the context of parenting and relationships. Shaun also reflects on the unexpected consequences of mumps and how it shaped his fertility journey. In this conversation, Shaun Greenaway shares his deeply personal journey through male infertility, discussing the emotional and clinical challenges he faced. He emphasizes the importance of acceptance, community support, and finding purpose in pain. Shaun reflects on the societal pressures surrounding masculinity and parenthood, and how his experiences have shaped his understanding of what it means to be a father. The discussion highlights the need for open conversations among men about fertility struggles and the transformative power of vulnerability.

Find Shaun on Instagram @knackeredknackers and on his website https://www.themalefertilitycoach.com/

Find Zoe and her team of incredible hypnotherapists https://zoeclews-hypnotherapy.co.uk/

This podcast is produced and edited by Hattie Moll and hosted by Zoe Clews and Hattie Moll. The music is by Julia Jacklin and the track is called Pressure to Party.

Nothing whips the world into more of a frenzy than women unashamedly owning their stories and telling them without fear. Lily Allen's album West End Girl, Virginia Giuffre's memoir Nobody's Girl tell very different stories of victimhood but both offer expressions of the dark feminine - unapologetic female perspectives on suffering and integration. In this episode Zoe and Hattie unpack why the dark feminine - a woman expressing her full experience without erasing her shadow side to make herself palatable for others - is important to embrace for us to grow as people and transform as women.

We talk about the different dark feminine archetypes and the oppression female victims of abuse have historically undergone. The silence that often surrounds female stories of abuse in adulthood despite our insistence as a society that we want to believe women and protect children. What about the adults? Zoe asks.

In this episode of 'How to Recover', Hattie Moll speaks with psychologist Barlas Gunay about the impact of psychologically immature parents and the lasting effects of childhood trauma. They discuss the importance of understanding trauma, the role of trauma-informed therapy, and the practice of reparenting oneself. Barlas emphasizes the need for accountability in family dynamics and the significance of expressing anger in a healthy way. The conversation also touches on estrangement from family members and the complexities of navigating these relationships.

Find Barlas at @acceptandact on Instagram and join his community via Patreon or work with him directly through the link on his bio on Instagram.

The content of this podcast is for informational and conversational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Although we speak with experts and explore personal experiences of recovery, nothing shared should be considered personal or professional advice.

If you’re struggling with your mental health or experiencing distress, we strongly encourage you to seek support from a qualified healthcare professional or licensed therapist.

Any views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or the podcast team.”

In this episode of 'How to Recover', Hattie Moll speaks with psychologist Barlas Gunay about the impact of psychologically immature parents and the lasting effects of childhood trauma. They discuss the importance of understanding trauma, the role of trauma-informed therapy, and the practice of reparenting oneself. Barlas emphasizes the need for accountability in family dynamics and the significance of expressing anger in a healthy way. The conversation also touches on estrangement from family members and the complexities of navigating these relationships.

Find Barlas at @acceptandact on Instagram and join his community via Patreon or work with him directly through the link on his bio on Instagram.

The content of this podcast is for informational and conversational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Although we speak with experts and explore personal experiences of recovery, nothing shared should be considered personal or professional advice.

If you’re struggling with your mental health or experiencing distress, we strongly encourage you to seek support from a qualified healthcare professional or licensed therapist.

Any views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the hosts or the podcast team.”

Come backstage on the How to Recover podcast with Zoe and Hattie for the real talk behind the recovery world. Deep dive into the messy world of their own imperfect recovery. Enjoy their great escape from narcs, sex, drink, debt, drama and trauma. They’ve done it all, to death.

In this conversation, Hattie and Zoe delve into the complexities of recovery from childhood trauma and addiction. They discuss the slow nature of healing, the impact of dysfunctional family dynamics, and the importance of understanding one's own emotional needs. The conversation emphasizes the necessity of feeling emotions to heal, the role of information in recovery, and the journey towards becoming one's own loving parent. They also touch on the significance of somatic healing and the grieving process for what was not received in childhood.

You can find out more about ACA here ⁠https://www.adultchildrenofalcoholics.co.uk/⁠

And here's a link to the blog Hattie mentions

⁠https://acoarecovery.blog/⁠

Keywords: recovery, addiction, childhood trauma, emotional neglect, healing, adult children of alcoholics, mental health, therapy, self-help, personal growth

Come backstage on the How to Recover podcast with Zoe and Hattie for the real talk behind the recovery world. Deep dive into the messy world of their own imperfect recovery. Enjoy their great escape from narcs, sex, drink, debt, drama and trauma. They’ve done it all, to death.

In this conversation, Hattie and Zoe delve into the complexities of recovery from childhood trauma and addiction. They discuss the slow nature of healing, the impact of dysfunctional family dynamics, and the importance of understanding one's own emotional needs. The conversation emphasizes the necessity of feeling emotions to heal, the role of information in recovery, and the journey towards becoming one's own loving parent. They also touch on the significance of somatic healing and the grieving process for what was not received in childhood.

You can find out more about ACA here https://www.adultchildrenofalcoholics.co.uk/

And here's a link to the blog Hattie mentions

https://acoarecovery.blog/

Keywords: recovery, addiction, childhood trauma, emotional neglect, healing, adult children of alcoholics, mental health, therapy, self-help, personal growth

Warning: this episode contains adult content including detailed descriptions of domestic violence and murder.

In this conversation, Sangeeta Pillai shares her remarkable journey from the slums of Mumbai to becoming an award-winning podcast creator and author. She discusses the impact of her traumatic childhood, the role of literature in her healing process, and the complexities of family dynamics. Sangeeta's story highlights the struggles faced by South Asian women and the importance of finding one's voice amidst cultural expectations. Through her experiences, she emphasises the painful yet transformative nature of healing and the power of storytelling. In this conversation, Sangeeta shares her journey from breaking into the competitive advertising industry to navigating the challenges of mental health and trauma. She discusses the importance of finding the right therapist, exploring alternative healing modalities, and connecting with her ancestral roots. Sangeeta also reveals her plans to create a retreat in Kerala, focusing on real spirituality and giving back to the community. The discussion emphasizes resilience, empowerment, and the transformative power of healing.

baddaughter.co.uk

The energetic healer Hattie mentions can be found here https://lifeforcenergy.com/therapies/

Book an appointment with Zoe Clews or one of her associates at https://zoeclews-hypnotherapy.co.uk/

Email the podcast at [email protected]

keywords: Sangeeta Pillai, Bad Daughter, trauma, healing, South Asian women, identity, literature, family dynamics, violence, grief, advertising, mental health, trauma, healing, therapy, ancestral roots, retreat, creativity, resilience, empowerment

Ruwan Meepagala joins Zoe and Hattie to discuss his experiences of entering and exiting Nicole Daedone's wellness organisation turned high control sex cult, One Taste. The podcast is released on the eve of her sentencing for being found guilty of using abuse and deception to obtain labour and services from her victims.

We pull apart the customs and behaviours of One Taste including some rather explicit and funny chat about what the men got out of all that clitoral stimulation. And we discuss how cults entice and hold members until they inevitably fall apart.

In the case of One Taste, the huge rise and dramatic fall of the cult that put feminine pleasure at the heart of its belief system, has been well documented with a special you can watch on Netflix. Ruwan gives us the guy's perspective and explains the childhood and adolescence that set him up to find an alternative way to live.

We also discuss the ways One Taste gave Ruwan a chance to heal old wounds and the very obvious fact that cults offer benefits as well as trauma otherwise they wouldn't be so damn persistent.

Ruwan is an established men's coach and therapist and we talk about the new(ish) cults spearheaded by Andrew Tate and the red pill, black pill worlds of online masculine.

Hattie talks about her experience of the influence of it all on her two teenage sons and the fact it is all just another way for people to make a quick buck off our kids.

Zoe brings her decades of experience as a hypnotherapist to explain how the techniques of NLP and hypnotism are used by cults to inculcate their members and Ruwan describes his personal experiences of this.

To buy Ruwan's book Orgsm and learn more about his coaching visit his website https://ruwando.com/

To contact the podcast, email or send a voice note to: [email protected]

To book an appointment with Zoe Clews or any of her team email: [email protected]

To complain about the dodgy editing of the podcast, do not message Hattie at: [email protected]

The podcast is produced and directed by Zoe and Hattie with no adult supervision.

We make reference to NXIVM another cult with a great documentary series called The Vow should you wish to go further down the cult rabbit hole.