After Hours with Jimmy Thistle

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Cameron Kidd. 34 years young and grew up pretty normal, loving parents, big family, good mates. Nothing dramatic.  A few run ins at school, few family arguments, a tiny bit of abuse. But nothing that screamed, “this lad’s gonna go completely off the rails.” At one point the biggest thing in my world was playing football with my mates. Then suddenly all I cared about was getting fucked up...drugs, booze, chaos, repeat.

My weekends were basically measured in how smashed I could get, how much shit I could shovel into my body, how many girls I could pull, and how little reality I had to feel. If I didn’t have a pocket full of gear, I felt like the whole weekend was a write off. There were nights I’d pumped so much shit into myself I genuinely left it up to the big man upstairs to decide whether I’d see another sunrise. And half the time the sun was already up and I was still out of my fucking mind.

After about 15 years of battering myself, I finally realised this was going to end one of two ways: I’d die physically, or I’d die spirituality/mentally. Did I really want to choose the bottom of a pint over love, connection, meaning, a life I actually gave a shit about? I didn’t think I had purpose. I didn’t think I was worth anything. So self-destruction felt easier.

Traveling Southeast Asia and meeting my girlfriend slowed things down, but I still had relapses. Still had those moments where I’d fall back into old habits. Eventually she gave me an ultimatum, and honestly, thank fuck she did. I got help. I started a program. I faced myself properly for the first time in my life.

During that time I was diagnosed with ADHD and suddenly a lot of my chaos made sense. The medication didn’t “fix” me, but it helped me grab hold of the ledge while I was falling into this black hole I’d been in for years. It gave me enough stability to start climbing back.

Now I’m over a year sober. I’ve started my podcast. I’ve got goals again, ambition again, a fucking pulse again. Sobriety gave me a chance. The diagnosis helped me understand myself enough to use it. I’m insanely grateful to the people who stood by me when they had absolutely no reason to. They’re the real heroes in this story.

I’m finally doing what I should’ve done a long time ago. Because nothing changes if you don’t change a fucking thing—and I desperately needed change.

Sobriety is hard. At the start it’s brutal. It feels like shit. It hurts. But there’s pain either way. There’s the pain of destruction that lasts forever, or the pain of growth that eventually passes. I’ve already paid in pain. Now I’m making sure it counts.

Follow Cameron on Insta:
https://www.instagram.com/tomupodcast?

And all of Cameron's other links here:
https://linktr.ee/tomupodcast

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My Instagram is:
https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy

And you can find all my other links at:
https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle

Buy me a coffee…
https://buymeacoffee.com/afterhourswithjimmyt

Donate:
https://motiv8.im/donate/
https://nacoa.org.uk/get-involved/donating/donate/

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Anna Donaghey is a writer, coach, and host of the acclaimed podcast The Big Drink Rethink. A former advertising strategist, she brings insight, empathy, and humour to conversations about alcohol, identity, and intentional living. After quitting drinking after years of addiction, Anna set out to explore why so many capable, successful lives feel oddly undernourished, and how we reach for substitutes like alcohol when something deeper is missing.
 
In her debut book, ‘What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want’, Anna invites readers to get curious, explore their relationship with alcohol, reconnect with themselves, and create a life that nourishes them in genuine ways. 
 
Buy Anna’s book - ‘What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want’
Amazon: https://amzn.to/47agUn2
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/what-are-you-thirsty-for/anna-donaghey/9781915780607
 
Connect with Anna:
Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com 
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey
Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink
Support the show
My Instagram is:
https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy

And you can find all my other links at:
https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle

Buy me a coffee…
https://buymeacoffee.com/afterhourswithjimmyt

Donate:
https://motiv8.im/donate/
https://nacoa.org.uk/get-involved/donating/donate/

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Emily is a creative, a dreamer, a dog lover and very grateful to be sober from alcohol. From the UK originally she now lives and works by the beach in Melbourne Australia.
You can find Emily on Instagram at:
https://www.instagram.com/emchadbourne
Russel Brand - Freedom from our Addictions:
https://amzn.eu/d/7ZN5WVG
Support the show
My Instagram is:
https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy

And you can find all my other links at:
https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle

Buy me a coffee…
https://buymeacoffee.com/afterhourswithjimmyt

Donate:
https://motiv8.im/donate/
https://nacoa.org.uk/get-involved/donating/donate/

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Musician Adrian Cox left home at the age of 15 to pursue a life of touring and making music as a profession. Not an easy task for anyone but as a 15 year old boy, Adrian easily fell into the trap of a life of drinking and drugs. 

Still living the dream at aged 42, things are very different now. Although still travelling the world, having carved out a career as one of the most respected jazz clarinetists Internationally, he is 2 months off of 12 years without a drink and nearly 10 years with no cocaine. It’s been a hell of a journey including a hip replacement at aged 30 due to AVN caused by alcohol and few other tales (as you can imagine) to go with that! 

Adrian now lives in Sweden and has found balance in touring, home life and the joys of the AA program, something he came to after 11 years.

You can find Adrian on Instagram at:
https://www.instagram.com/ontheroadinrecovery

Drop the Rock, Steps 6&7 - Bill P Todd W and Sara S
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We Did OK, Kid - Anthony Hopkins 
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Support the show
My Instagram is:
https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy

And you can find all my other links at:
https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle

Buy me a coffee…
https://buymeacoffee.com/afterhourswithjimmyt

Donate:
https://motiv8.im/donate/
https://nacoa.org.uk/get-involved/donating/donate/

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Amy is a sobriety mentor, breathwork specialist and founder of Devine Breath. A former drinker herself, she now holds the Sober Sisterhood Breathwork Community, supporting women to release alcohol and reconnect to themselves and each other through the breath.

You can find Amy on Insta at:
https://www.instagram.com/devine.breath

Check out Any’s Website here:
https://devinebreath.com

Or you can find everything else on her LinkTree:
https://linktr.ee/amydevine

Caroline Knapp - Drinking a Love Story
https://amzn.eu/d/8hLYqjM

Annie Grace - This Naked Mind
https://amzn.eu/d/79SNLpx

Gabor Matte -  The Wisdom of Trauma
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13863968/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Peter Levine - Waking the T iger
https://amzn.eu/d/3Qdd8bn

Support the show
My Instagram is:
https://www.instagram.com/recovery_jimmy

And you can find all my other links at:
https://linktr.ee/jimmythistle

Buy me a coffee…
https://buymeacoffee.com/afterhourswithjimmyt

Donate:
https://motiv8.im/donate/
https://nacoa.org.uk/get-involved/donating/donate/