Today's guest is my friend Paul. He has been clean and sober for many years, and he tells us how he did it. A lot of Paul's story is about overcoming shame and judgment. He is an inspiration for anyone who has been spiritually abused or bullied. Somehow, he makes it all work and gives us some good tips for early recovery, particularly in the LGBTQ community. Click the links below for further reading. Feel free to email me with any questions: iammaxariel@gmail.com

Shame:

https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-shame-and-accountability/

Full list of various other 12-step programs:

https://d.12step.org/directory-directory/categories/12-step-fellowship/?_page=1&num=20&sort=post_published

Mindfulness in recovery:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460312001335

God stats:

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/05/06/god-spirits-and-the-natural-world/

The Book of Joy:

https://www.amazon.com/Book-Joy-Lasting-Happiness-Changing/dp/0670070165

Vulnerability:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

Spiritual Abuse/Hell:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9729974/

12 traditions:

https://www.aa.org/the-twelve-traditions

Trauma from spiritual abuse:

https://therapist.com/trauma/religious-trauma/

Therapy and AA:

https://www.cornerstonehealingcenter.com/resource/the-importance-of-combining-the-12-steps-and-therapy/

Codependency:

https://mhanational.org/resources/co-dependency/

Child adversity:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9058108/

LGBTQ outcomes in 12-step programs:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11583376/

Buddhism in recovery:

https://www.jsatjournal.com/article/S2949-8759(22)00010-8/fulltext