You Can’t Be an Addict in Moderation with William Armstrong
William Armstrong is a sober coach and also someone that Dan first started following and taking inspiration from early on in his journey to sobriety. He joins the podcast to talk through his own journey to sobriety and reveals why being an addict is so dangerous but not for the reasons you might think, why the sobriety community is so important and why it took going sober for him to really start living his life.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Becoming sober opens up a new world, you begin to relate to completely different people and often it’s people who have faced similar difficulties as yourself. As a teen William suffered from social anxiety, binge drinking offered a solution to this and this is when his problem with addiction began. William tried cocaine with friends and discovered that the high it gave was even better than drinking and masked his anxiety even more, he saw it as a positive, it made his life better. The difficulty with trying to limit your consumption as an addict is that you have to make that decision after already consuming some alcohol or drugs which essentially makes it impossible. You can’t be an addict in moderation. As an addict you put yourself in dangerous situations again and again, becoming sober makes you realise how risky your past behaviour has been. William was living in a world of indulgence, where excess was normalised, which meant he didn’t realise how bad his addiction had got. The difficulty for William wasn’t not drinking or doing drugs anymore but what to replace them with. When you hide your struggles it can then be difficult to open up about them to people as they don’t always believe you, they have only seen the face you have been putting on. If you have become sober and want to help others, you can’t tell them what to do, you can only guide them.
BEST MOMENTS
“ When you go on a journey you get drawn to people that are on a similar journey, it helps you”
“I can see that you’ve been through something and you’re on the other side”
“I was drinking, high or hungover, that’s it”
“There’s such a disregard for your own safety”
“I know I’m never going to drink again because it’s not an option”
“When you hide it, when it becomes too much no one believes you”
VALUABLE RESOURCES
https://www.instagram.com/teetotaltrainer/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-teetotal-trail-how-to-break-free-from-alcohol/id1652272264
CONTACT METHOD
ABOUT THE GUEST
William Armstrong
“I stopped drinking back in May of 2018 so coming up to 5 years now.
I was working in restaurants, bars and hotels in London through my 20’s and for the final year was working in a private members' bar where I would party every night with the rich and famous.
One day after an all night binge on cocaine and tequila I was on my way to spend a relaxing weekend in the countryside with some friends who turned up fresh and I was still high.
That weekend opened my eyes to a different way of life and I decided to take a week off. It wasn’t easy but I did it and felt so good I decided to do 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I had a date where I decided to go back to it. The next morning I finally snapped and made the decision that I was done. Since that date I have dedicated my time to understanding and analysing my own behaviour with these substances and also how we use them as a society. I am now a sobriety coach and help others break free like I have in a positive, practical and logical way.”
https://www.instagram.com/teetotaltrainer/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-teetotal-trail-how-to-break-free-from-alcohol/id1652272264
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.
