Grieving Your Addiction with Coach, Speaker and Podcaster David Wilson
Coach, public speaker and fellow podcaster (One for the Road) David Wilson joins Dan on this episode of the podcast to talk all things sobriety and how after transforming his own life after four decades of drinking, he now uses his experiences and knowledge to help others do the same. Dan becomes quite emotional in this episode that touches parts of both his addiction and sobriety journey, showing that recovery and growth aren’t linear.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
David transformed his life in 2019 after 4 decades of drinking, which almost killed him. Feeling rejected at home, David sought belonging in a gang of boys and this is when his drinking started, at just the age 14. People pleasing has followed David throughout his life, when he was the person people wanted to see in him, he felt accepted, he felt loved. At the time, David didn’t see anything problematic with his drinking but now looking back he feels the same as Dan, embarrassed and --- about how he spent so many days, weeks and years of his life. Don’t use the weekends to escape your life through alcohol and drugs, use them to build the life you want. David’s drinking developed over time from social drinking to spending entire weekends in solitude drinking as much as possible. He hated whom he had become and after a health scare and his mother’s death he knew he needed to change. As a functioning alcoholic, your life feels normal. You often forget what it’s like to feel sober and lead a normal life and it impacts every decision you make. There are stages to becoming sober, it generally starts with the physical side. You then have to tackle the emotions attached to your addiction. David compares becoming sober to being released from prison. He felt institutionalised from drinking for 30+ years. Your addicted self is still you and has been part of your life. To recover and grow you have to accept the positives and negatives of the past phases of your life.
BEST MOMENTS
“If you have those abandonment issues as a young lad and you found solace in drink and drugs, that becomes your soothing”
“Booze turned you into the person you wanted to be”
“I was massively people pleasing to be accepted”
“Everything was about drink”
“Although my drinking was different, my sobriety is the same”
“It’s about embracing the old you as part of your life”
"Sometimes you'll pick the destruction over the fu*king hard work"
VALUABLE RESOURCES
David's Podcast: One for the Road
CONTACT METHOD
ABOUT THE GUEST
David Wilson
https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/
https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/one-for-the-road/id1565341712
Transforming his life in January 2019 after 4 decades of drinking which nearly ended up killing him in April 2018, David Wilson, Accredited Grey Area Drinking Coach and Public Speaker, is dedicated to motivating others to transform their lives, overcome personal challenges and embrace life with a renewed mindset. Using his unique delivery and no-nonsense approach, Dave is both personable and relatable.
Connecting with a diverse audience, Dave (NACOA trained) has spoken at schools and colleges raising awareness of the impact and harm of the excessive use of alcohol for both individuals and family members.
A Training Associate and Ambassador for Alcohol Change UK, a leading UK alcohol charity, Dave is able to deliver his learned experience and knowledge to the workplace. With wellbeing at the top of the Health & Safety agenda, Dave is able to speak with authority about a subject which is for many, still very stigmatised.
ABOUT THE HOST
Daniel O’Reilly
Daniel O’Reilly is one of the UK’s Largest Influencers, a comedian, actor, musician, viral video star and social influencer. With a portfolio of businesses Daniel enjoys a busy lifestyle mixed with business and pleasure. Daniel is a father to two beautiful girls and enjoys spending quality time with them and his wife Shelley. With 2022 being a busy year, Daniel sold out his O2 stand-up show, released his British movie 'The Last Heist' and is currently preparing for the upcoming release of his other film 'Miss The Kiss'. Daniel is a creative through and through, with a passion to strive in everything he does. Daniel is looking forward to the release of his podcast 'Menace 2 Sobriety' in 2023, his long-term position on GB News, Headliners, and the growing slate of films in the works with his production company, HYPRR.
PODCAST DESCRIPTION
Daniel O'Reilly's newest venture sees the creation of his Menace 2 Sobriety podcast, a series of relaxed and open conversations with different guests and varied experiences.
After recently being diagnosed with severe ADHD and beginning his sobriety again, Daniel also set up a page on Facebook and Instagram called 'Men And Their Emotions' (M.A.T.E) an accessible, open and supportive group for MEN to post their feelings, thoughts and current life issues. Upon seeing the responses from men around the world to some of the posts on the group he was blown away and continues to be touched by the kindness and support offered by strangers. This all led to Daniel wanting to start up his own podcast and invite guests to join him in opening up about past experiences and talk about all things mental health, family & sobriety.
The podcast will see Daniel and his interesting guests' sharing their personal stories and learning experiences that they hope will help other people; whether it encourages one person to ask for help, talk to family about their struggles with getting sober/clean, or realise that they aren't alone. The Menace 2 Sobriety podcast has been created by Daniel to help people fight their own gremlins.
