The ARC (Addiction Recovery Cast) team have decided to drop a short daily podcast regarding getting through recovery during lockdown. The state of Victoria has just entered its fifth lockdown, with around 11 million people across Australia also in lockdown. Paul was talking to friends and loved ones within the first 24 hours of lockdown 5.0 down here in Melbourne. Pretty much every person Paul spoke to told him about how stressed they were feeling, telling of their mood lowering, going under and just basically being over it. Given this common experience, the team had a discussion and have decided to do a 10- to 20-minute daily podcast focussing on a tip a day regarding maintaining Recovery, and looking after your mental health during lockdown.

Paul discusses links to 12 Step Meetings in this podcast, the links are provided below:

https://virtual-na.org   - Virtual NA Meetings Online & by Phone "Bringing Narcotics Anonymous Meetings to Remote or Isolated Addicts from around the world who may, for whatever reason, be unable to attend local face to face meetings."

https://www.navic.net.au/meetings - Virtual NA meetings in Melbourne Australia

If you have any tips to share in regards to Recovery and lockdown, or just generally regarding making lockdown easier, please get on The ARC - Addiction Recovery Cast Facebook page and send us a message. 

And as usual listeners, please like, share, subscribe, review and give us feedback. 

Thursday Recovery check-in, July 15, 2021. This check-in was going to be about something totally different, but a few minutes before recording, Steph reminded Paul that he had 18 months up.

This week Anthony joins Paul and Steph on The ARC. Steph describes Anthony as having had “one of the most transformative recoveries” she has seen. Anthony discusses his mental health and addiction issues, how he made an identity of these and, as has he put it, played the victim. Anthony tells us about his Egyptian family, his parents being in the medical profession and the academic pressure he felt as a child. Like many of our other guests, he tells of feeling like an outsider amongst his school friends and how drinking alcohol for the first time at the age of 12 brought him a feeling of peace. He discusses his university studies, being asked to leave the family home, lying about being clean, the impact his drug use had on his relationships, his suicidal ideation, and attempts. Anthony tells us how he got clean and into Recovery, being able to care for his ill father,  all while studying his Psychology Honours, with the goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. 

(As always, thanks to Whitt for our intro and outro music 'Breathin' Moonshine'.)

Thursday Recovery check-in, July 8, 2021. Recorded in front of a warm crackling fire on a chilly Melbourne winter afternoon, Paul and Steph bring you the first of your weekly Recovery check-ins.

Steph and Paul interview their first international guest. From the land of maple syrup, Maya tells us her story. From living in a commune on a Canadian prairie, her low mood as a child, an incident when she was three perpetrated by a six-year-old boy that is as heartbreaking as it is chilling. Being addicted to methamphetamine at 16, being kicked out of various schools, then out of the education system in its entirety. Detoxing in a juvenile correctional facility, fights, overdosing, being a mother and her dealings with Canadian Family Services, grief in recovery, eating disorders. Despite all this, and the challenges she has faced since getting sober, Maya continues to grow and leaves us with a beautiful message of Recovery for all of those who are still seeking it. 
(As always, thanks to Whitt for our intro and outro music 'Breathin' Moonshine'.)

A very special episode of The ARC this week. Steph is back, not as a guest, but as the newest member of The ARC team, co-hosting the show with Paul. 

Steph and Paul talk to Simon. Simon’s in early Recovery, being a couple of weeks off six months clean. Paul and Simon discuss how they met, their friendship forming around the fact that the number combination 11 11 (eleven eleven) holds important symbolism for them both. 

Simon discusses his ink, the suffering it caused him in deceiving others regarding his using, his anger, how he manages this, childhood ADHD, his Italian family, his love of Italian cuisine, and the importance of his Recovery routine.

Simon speaks frankly and openly about where he has been and what he has to do. This resulting in him being what Steph describes as the “gentle and calm” man he is today with the rewards of Recovery already coming. 

This week Paul speaks to Tiesha, she discusses her reading which comes from the Andre Aciman book, now film, Call Me by Your Name. A range of issues are discussed and how Recovery has impacted upon them. Tiesha, living clean in mind, body and spirit, honouring her body, being mindful of what she consumes, exercise, and her impact upon the world. Tiesha also discusses love, her family, school, hospital admission for mental health (Paul reminisces upon his Psych Ward romance), travel and her first 12 months of Recovery…

In this episode of The ARC Paul interviews Dan. Paul's first impression of Dan many years ago was "here is one serious motherfucker." They have subsequently become good friends, Paul considering Dan part of his inner circle. They discuss love, family, relationships, distance, nature, crime, sport, literature, art and music. Dan blindsides Paul with the revelation he played for Victoria in a team sport at one stage. They discuss the calm pursued by monks and junkies, the time when Dan broke his jaw, the importance of honesty and of starting and maintaining effort. Dan also talks to Paul about meditation and Buddhist Recovery.
Dan has an exhibition of his paintings at Red Gallery, 157 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North, Victoria, Australia in July 2021.  See Dan's work on Insta: https://instagram.com/dan_g_newton
BTW that cat you hear meowing at about the 55-minute mark is not your cat, but Paul's cat Kitty (yes, that is her name) meowing to get Paul's attention. 

In this episode the tables are turned and Paul is interviewed by a previous guest, Steph. Paul starts off describing his years of amphetamine and heroin addiction, criminal activity, subsequent homelessness and his slow path to recovery. Steph then takes Paul back through his childhood and adolescence, exploring the beginnings of his attraction toward drugs.

Paul approached Steph to be a guest on The ARC as he found her enthusiastic commitment and application of her recovery inspiring. Apart from addiction recovery, Steph discusses a multitude of issues. Sexual trauma, mental health, eating disorders, therapies she partakes in for the treatment of these issues, and how the Narcotics Anonymous program underpins these treatments. Steph also discusses family, being a mother, relationships, photography, life on life's terms, the lengths she is prepared to go to achieve and maintain her recovery, and the results of her work leading to a life of joy and connection.