Comfort Becomes A Cage —Episode 6 – Spoken sticky notes on anxiety and alcoholism. Short, real stories from my life. No filler, just the moments that matter. 2–4 minutes. New episode every Wednesday.

What starts as relief can quietly turn into routine. In this episode, I share how alcohol stopped being something I used and became something I lived inside—and how avoidance slowly replaced direction.

In this episode, I continue Chapter One of The Trails and Trials of Addiction and Anxiety and talk about how my first drink felt like relief — and how that relief slowly became a way of avoiding life.

I reflect on how anxiety, loss, and the need to fit in shaped my relationship with alcohol, and how uneventful days quietly turned into years I didn’t know I was losing.

This is a story about trading one set of chains for another — and what it takes to find courage again.

"I used to think that the first drink I ever took was a mistake. But looking back, it didn't feel like a mistake at all. It felt like relief."

"When you’ve lived your whole life with constant noise in your head, silence feels like safety. But for me, that silence was a trap. I thought I was learning how to survive, but really, I was just learning how to disappear."

"In Episode 5 of Tripping Over Myself, we’re going back to the beginning—to the moments where relief turned into reliance. If you’ve ever used a 'safety zone' to hide from the world, this episode is for you. Join me as we untangle the knots."

"Click the follow button on Spotify to catch the full episode. I’m Gerard Bradbury, and I’ll talk to you soon."

In Episode 4, I share a lighter story from my past—when I thought I was headed to Nashville with a hit song and a $49 money order. It’s about hope, naivety, and the part of us that still wants more, even in the middle of addiction and anxiety.

In Episode 3, I reflect on how anxiety shaped my identity long before alcohol entered the picture. I talk about silence, avoidance, and the inner world I built to feel safe—and how that world slowly became isolating.

Episode 2

Before alcohol ever entered my life, my mind was already loud.

In this episode, I continue Chapter One of The Trails and Trials of Addiction and Anxiety and talk about the inner world anxiety built long before drinking became part of my story.

I reflect on growing up inside a constant loop of fear, imagined judgment, and self-doubt—and how silence, not intoxication, was what I was really searching for.

This episode explores how anxiety can quietly become an identity, how isolation can feel like safety, and how the search for relief can lead us down paths we don’t yet understand.

In this first episode, I read from Chapter One of my book The Trials and Trails of Addiction and Anxiety and reflect on the moment I first learned how to quiet the noise in my mind.

At thirteen years old, I didn’t understand anxiety, self-doubt, or why my thoughts never seemed to stop. I only knew that alcohol brought silence — and I mistook that silence for peace.

This episode explores the early link between anxiety and alcoholism, the stories we tell ourselves as children, and how a search for relief can quietly turn into a long detour from ourselves.

This podcast is about clarity — looking back with honesty, compassion, and understanding.

Take care of yourself. We’ll talk soon.