76: Finding Yourself at Rock Bottom with Gregg Champion

Today's guest is Gregg Champion and he will be talking about hitting rock bottom, what that means, and the significance of finding ourselves sitting at the crossroads of wanting to change from a life of addiction to one of recovery. Gregg also discusses his rock bottom, and he tells us his recovery story.

Episode Link: www.theaddictedmind.com/76

Gregg is the co-founder of START UP RECOVERY, located in the Pacific Palisades. START UP RECOVERY is a transformational residence that supports people through career, passion, and what Gregg refers to as a recovery play-book. Their four cornerstones are a community, accountability, education, and love. They also provide for their residents the unique service of mentorship for long-term sobriety and long-term success.

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Gregg got sober 25-years ago when he was in his mid-twenties. He has managed to retain his sobriety by remaining willing to be willing. He maintains a mindset of life as a continuous journey going forward. In his first year of recovery, he did everything the old-school AA way, and over time, he began adding breath work, sound bath, and then Al-Anon to his play-book. He found that every time he became distressed in his disease, someone would show up with a new tool for him to try. He gets through all of life's painful problems with sobriety and with the support of the whole recovery network. He is always looking for ways to continue healing and growing.

Living a counseled and supported life during the years of recovery is essential because, when left to our own devices, our ego will show up. And with pride and ego involved, we tend to make bad decisions, even when we're sober. One addict helping another really works! 

Rock bottom is choosing to do the same thing over again, knowing that the result is going to be bad. It can happen as a result of many different things, like childhood trauma, divorce, or addiction. At rock bottom, people often find themselves doing things that they said they would never do. It's the point when people begin to realize that they are powerless and their lives have become unmanageable. Having the compassionate support of others at this time is crucial.

Developing joy in life, and shifting from addiction to passion are parts of the process of recovering from rock bottom. This does not happen overnight. It happens one day at a time and it can result in people becoming addicted to a life of recovery.

For Gregg, it is important to help people to reach their rock bottom by showing them, rather than telling them, what he has done in his life to maintain his sobriety. He refers to this as co-piloting people through their recovery process. 

Life is difficult. So Gregg believes that the Twelve-Steps would be a very helpful tool to incorporate into the school system. He suggests introducing it to children in the fourth grade, before they have reached puberty, and before they have discovered drugs and alcohol. With this process, they could develop the essential skills necessary for living joyful and passionate lives.

Recovery is a life-time process. Gregg encourages everyone to unpack their backpack of shame sooner rather than later because the longer it is carried, the heavier it gets, and the more it will weigh you down. To be tuned-in to recovery, he recommends being spiritually sound, sober, hard-working, diligent, and seriously honest.

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