In this heartfelt episode, we respond to a listener, Scott, who bravely shares about the crushing shame, low self-worth, depression, and anxiety that often follow acting out. Even while working a solid program and taking responsibility, he finds himself stuck in emotional fallout that feels harder to escape than the behavior itself. How do we tell the difference between healthy accountability and toxic shame? When does remorse help us grow and when does it quietly fuel the next relapse? What happens in the nervous system after acting out, and why can it feel so overwhelming? Most importantly, how do we rebuild self-worth when our actions don’t align with our values? We explore practical tools for interrupting the shame spiral, grounding anxiety, and responding to relapse with rigor and compassion. This conversation dives into the spiritual and psychological dimensions of recovery and reminds us that shame thrives in isolation, but healing happens in connection. If you’ve ever felt like the aftermath of acting out was more painful than the behavior itself, this episode is for you. There is a way forward and it doesn’t require hating yourself to get there.

In this episode, we respond to a courageous letter from Keith, a listener with several years of clean time who has recently found himself caught in a new and unexpected relapse pattern, using AI tools to create pornographic content. As technology evolves, so do the ways addiction can manifest, and many recovery resources haven’t yet caught up. What happens when the very tools you need for your career become triggers? How do you set boundaries around something you can’t fully eliminate? And how do you stay honest, accountable, and spiritually grounded when the lines between work and acting out start to blur? We explore recovery in the digital age, the responsibility we carry for our choices, practical guardrails for navigating unavoidable triggers, and how to build sustainable sobriety in a world where access is constant. If you’ve struggled with relapse connected to technology, or feel like your specific challenge isn’t addressed in traditional recovery spaces, this conversation is for you. There is hope. Even here.

What happens when your "inside" doesn’t match your "outside"? This week on the 12th Step Podcast, we’re exploring congruency, the essential practice of aligning your daily actions with your recovery values. Living out of sync with yourself creates the secret stress and shame that often fuel addiction, damaging your relationships and making sobriety feel like a heavy mask. Join us as we discuss how to close the gap between who you are and what you do, proving that true integrity is your strongest defense against relapse.

The gym is packed, the "dry January" posts are peaking, and the pressure to reinvent your entire life by February 1st is at an all-time high. But for those in the rooms, we know a secret: willpower is a finite resource, and resolutions are often just premeditated resentments.

In this episode, we pull the curtain back on the "New Year, New Me" industrial complex. We discuss why traditional resolutions usually crash and burn for those struggling with addiction, and how the 12-Step philosophy replaces that annual cycle of shame with a blueprint for permanent, manageable change. Instead of waiting for a calendar flip to get our lives in order, we explore the freedom found in daily surrender and the radical idea that we don’t need a "new" version of ourselves, we just need a sober one.

In Part Two, we dig beneath the anger and reactivity that so many addicts identify as their “core issue” and uncover the deeper truth: anger is often the smoke, not the fire. We explore how rage, irritation, and a short fuse act as emotional armor, protecting us from the feelings we’re terrified to experience.

This episode looks at why so many people in recovery can understand their healing intellectually but stay emotionally numb, and how this disconnect keeps their partners from feeling safe or connected. We talk about what it means to actually feel again, the discomfort of letting go of emotional avoidance, and the work required to rebuild emotional presence in relationships.

If you’ve felt stuck at the intellectual level of recovery, or if you’re trying to understand the real role of anger, numbness, and emotional avoidance in addiction, this episode will help you finally see what’s underneath the rage, and what healing looks like when it reaches the heart, not just the mind.

In this first part of our two-episode series, we take on a topic many in recovery quietly fear: the overlap between addiction and narcissistic traits. Are they connected? Do early patterns of emotional detachment, superiority, and rule-bending feed an addiction, or does addiction reinforce those traits? And what does it really mean when a therapist says you’re showing “narcissistic qualities”?

We explore how control becomes a coping strategy, how addicts often use others for emotional regulation without realizing it, and why these patterns are so common in people who learned early on to hide or ignore their feelings. We also break down the dynamics that show up with spouses and even toddlers, why chaos can feel strangely “calming,” and how external regulation becomes a lifelong pattern.

If you’ve ever feared the narcissistic label or wondered whether these traits tie into your addiction and emotional disconnection, this episode offers clarity, grounding, and hope.

In this week’s episode of The 12th Step Podcast, the hosts read a heartfelt letter from Aaron, a listener who’s been in recovery for four years and recently faced an emotional challenge, his sponsee decided to move on to another sponsor. Though Aaron knows it’s “not personal,” he admits to feeling hurt and a little betrayed after investing so much time and heart into helping someone else.

The hosts unpack this all-too-common experience in recovery circles, exploring what it means to give freely without expectation, the emotional bonds that form in sponsorship, and how to navigate feelings of rejection when someone’s journey takes a new direction. Through honest discussion and personal experience, they reflect on the balance between service and self-care, the humility in letting go, and the quiet beauty in knowing that sometimes growth means releasing others with love.

In this heartfelt episode of The 12th Step Podcast, the hosts read a letter from a listener who’s grappling with confusion and fear about a possible sex addiction. Together, they dive deep into the difficult questions: How do you know when sexual behavior crosses the line into addiction? Why aren’t medications alone the solution? And what does “sobriety” really mean for someone in recovery from sex addiction, especially when total abstinence isn’t realistic?

With honesty, empathy, and lived experience, the team explores how addiction isn’t just about the behavior, it’s about the pain beneath it. They discuss how recovery is about connection, healing, and redefining intimacy in a healthy way. Whether you’re personally struggling or just curious about the topic, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and hope for anyone trying to understand what true recovery looks like beyond shame and silence.

Author and listener Tera Lynch makes a powerful return to the podcast to tackle two incredibly difficult topics she submitted herself. This week, we dive into the profound shame betrayed partners experience when they keep the secret, the painful isolation that comes from keeping quiet. We'll also examine the pervasive sexualization of everything in society and its devastating impact on a partner's sense of self and relationship. Join us for this candid, crucial conversation that brings the unsung struggles of the betrayed partner into the light.

This week, a familiar name joins us as a guest! We're honored to welcome Tera Lynch, an author, listener of the show, and Betrayed Partner who found her voice through recovery. Tera shares the incredible and difficult journey that led her to write her book, exploring the raw shame and pain she experienced, and how she moved past the victim role. She’s turned the tough questions she sent to the show into a powerful message of healing. Don't miss this deeply personal and transformative conversation.