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Sober Friends

E240: Alcohol Wasn’t My Problem — This Was

Sober Friends

Matt J

Alcohol Free, Alcoholics Anonymous, Recovery, Dry January, Spirituality, Sober, Mental Health, Health & Fitness, Sobriety, Sober Curious, Addiction, Religion & Spirituality, 12 Steps

4.2718 Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Send us a text We say alcohol is the problem — but for me, alcohol was the solution to something deeper. In this episode, I share my story of living with ADHD and a new diagnosis of Level 1 autism, and how both shaped my drinking and recovery. From masking in social situations to battling boredom, anxiety, and racing thoughts, I talk about why alcohol became my coping tool and what I’ve learned in sobriety about finding healthier solutions. Love the show? Stay connected between episodes wit...

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey, before we jump in, if you like what you hear on the podcast, check out our free

0:05.2

Substack newsletter, the Sober Friends Dispatch.

0:08.8

It's a weekly dose of real talk, stories from the sober life, and a little extra support

0:15.0

between episodes.

0:16.3

Go to Soberfriendspod.substack.com and subscribe. That's sober friendspod.com. All right,

0:25.7

let's get into the show. Substances can become tools to cope with that sensory overload,

0:34.0

the anxiety with exhaustion. I'm asking it so hard. This is why I'm tired at the end of the day.

0:39.3

My tagline here is that alcohol is not the problem. Alcohol is the solution to the problem.

0:47.3

And the problem is the masking, impulsivity, the boredom, the anxiety, the depression, the racing, thinking back to the past, the pain,

0:57.7

having trouble in a social situation, not knowing how do we even talk, I'm in a social

1:02.4

situation, and it's noisy, and I can't understand everybody because I hear everybody's voice

1:07.7

all at once. Where do I start? Are they going to reject me? Do they look at me funny?

1:12.8

All these things are going through my mind.

1:19.5

Welcome to the sober friends podcast. My name is Matt Jay. And if you're sober curious, if you have

1:27.2

a little bit of sobriety or a lot of

1:29.6

sobriety, or you just need a bigger deep dive when it comes into recovery and sobriety, well,

1:37.0

this is the podcast for you. Thanks for choosing this podcast. And I want to tell a little bit of story about something that

1:46.6

recently happened to me, a diagnosis that I've had that I've been really hesitant to share

1:52.9

for quite a while. I was recently diagnosed with level one autism. I already had an ADHD diagnosis,

2:03.6

and I wanted to talk to you about how it shaped my recovery

2:07.7

and how it illuminates some things that I've realized about myself

2:13.2

since I've started this recovery,

...

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