In Listen UP Episode 20, bestselling author of Euphoric Recall, The Scheme charity co-founder, and 8.5-year recovery advocate Aidan Martin shares how he rebuilt his life from one of Scotland's most deprived communities — left school with nothing, nearly lost his life, and still found his way out — highlighting the hidden mental warning signs of relapse most people miss, and the five specific pillars that finally made sobriety stick.

Aidan Martin exposes how a volunteer counsellor's single question — asked without pressure — did what years of crisis couldn't, unlocking the moment of self-recognition that started everything:

--Hear the one word Aidan says transformed his first terrifying recovery meeting into his greatest support

--The two conditions that must both be true before recovery actually works (and why one alone isn't enough)

--Why being in a group not built around substances quietly rewires your sense of what normal feels like

--One warning sign that appears in the mind six months before a relapse — and how to catch it early...

...and shares five counterintuitive recovery insights throughout.

Why Listen UP matters:

- Discover how others found strength when they thought they had none
- Learn personal insights and approaches to breaking free from addiction's grip
- Understand the comprehensive support system that makes lasting recovery possible
- Hear from experts who've helped thousands rebuild their lives after addiction

Abbeycare provides comprehensive 28-day residential rehabilitation programmes at our facilities in Scotland and Gloucester. Our holistic approach combines medically-supervised detoxification, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling, and aftercare planning to address the physical, psychological, and emotional aspects of addiction.

Our programmes are personalised to meet individual needs, with comfortable en-suite accommodation, nutritious meals, and a supportive community environment.

Beyond your stay, our dedicated aftercare team remains connected, ensuring you're supported at every step of your recovery journey.

Whether you're considering taking the first step toward recovery or supporting someone who is, Listen UP provides the insight, inspiration, and information you need to move forward.

Connect with Abbeycare:
Website: ...

In Listen UP Episode 19, Harley Street therapist, traumatologist, author, and 30-year recovery veteran Mark Dempster shares how childhood attachment patterns hijack the brain's reward system years before first use, and why toxic shame is the one thing standing between suffering and getting help.

Mark Dempster unveils the single dopamine deficit that turns choice into compulsion — transforming the belief that you're too broken to be helped into the clearest reason why recovery is possible for anyone:

- The specific pattern in early recovery that causes more relapses than any substance (confirmed across 30 years of clinical work)

- The easy way to turn your inner critic into your most powerful asset

- How to redirect the obsessive drive that fuelled addiction, into the thing that rebuilds everything

- One hard truth about the addicted mind that clinical practice confirms — and few people hear until it's almost too late

...and uncovers the specific patterns behind sustainable, long-term recovery throughout.

Why Listen UP matters:

- Discover how others found strength when they thought they had none
- Learn personal insights and approaches to breaking free from addiction's grip
- Understand the comprehensive support system that makes lasting recovery possible
- Hear from experts who've helped thousands rebuild their lives after addiction

Abbeycare provides comprehensive 28-day residential rehabilitation programmes at our facilities in Scotland and Gloucester. Our holistic approach combines medically-supervised detoxification, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling, and aftercare planning to address the physical, psychological, and emotional aspects of addiction.

Our programmes are personalised to meet individual needs, with comfortable en-suite accommodation, nutritious meals, and a supportive community environment.

Beyond your stay, our dedicated aftercare team remains connected, ensuring you're supported at every step of your recovery journey.

Whether you're considering taking the first step toward recovery or supporting someone who is, Listen UP provides the insight, inspiration, and information you need to move forward.

Connect with Abbeycare:
Website: ...

In Listen UP Episode 18, 20-year recovery advocate and prevention worker James Docherty shares the biological reality behind every failed attempt to cut down or stop, highlighting why detox must come before any psychological work can land, and how the 12-step programme removes the obsession — so you stop thinking about drinking, not just resist it.

James Docherty reveals the single biological fact that explains every failed attempt at control, transforming the shame of "why can't I just stop?" into a clear, actionable picture of what recovery actually requires:

- Why switching from spirits to beer, quitting briefly, or white-knuckling it is wired to fail — and it has nothing to do with willpower

- The petrol tank explanation that made 20 years of confusion click in one sentence

- Feel the difference between being stopped and being free, and why only one of them keeps you safe long-term

- The real reason most relapses happen (and what ACTUALLY helps to prevent relapse...)

...and reveals what a man who went through every system imaginable discovered that no professional had ever put into words for him.

- This Episode - https://www.abbeycarefoundation.com/listenup/episodes/episode-18-james-docherty/
- All Listen UP Episodes - https://www.abbeycarefoundation.com/listenup/episodes/
- Listen UP Podcast - https://www.abbeycarefoundation.com/listenup/

Why Listen UP matters:

- Discover how others found strength when they thought they had none
- Learn personal insights and approaches to breaking free from addiction's grip
- Understand the comprehensive support system that makes lasting recovery possible
- Hear from experts who've helped thousands rebuild their lives after addiction

Abbeycare provides comprehensive 28-day residential rehabilitation programmes at our facilities in Scotland and Gloucester. Our holistic approach combines medically-supervised detoxification, cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling, and aftercare planning to address the physical, psychological, and emotional aspects of addiction.

Our programmes are personalised to meet individual needs, with comfortable en-suite accommodation, nutritious meals, and a supportive community environment.

Beyond your stay, our dedicated aftercare team remains connected, ensuring you're supported at every step of your recovery journey.

Whether you're considering taking the first step toward recovery or supporting someone who is, Listen UP provides the insight, inspiration, and information you need to move forward.

Connect with Abbeycare:
Website: ...