Sober Friends

Matt J
  • 4.3 (718)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

Ever feel like you’re the only one who thinks this way? The Sober Friends Podcast is for people who are learning that recovery is about more than quitting drinking—it’s about learning how to live. Every week, Matt and Steve have honest conversations about the challenges that don’t disappear when alcohol does: anxiety, control, relationships, fear, loneliness, resentment, people-pleasing, and the ongoing work of emotional sobriety. Because getting sober doesn’t automatically make life easier. It just gives you the opportunity to face life differently. No gurus. No perfection. No pretending to have it all figured out. Just two friends with long-term sobriety sharing what they’ve learned, what they’re still learning, and how recovery continues to shape their lives years after their last drink. Whether you’re questioning your drinking, newly sober, or years into recovery, you’ll find practical insights, honest conversations, and reminders that growth doesn’t end when the alcohol is gone. New episodes every week. Matt and Steve are members of Alcoholics Anonymous but speak only from their own experience. This podcast is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous.

  1. I Was So Tired of Looking Okay — with Brooke Taylor

    3d ago

    I Was So Tired of Looking Okay — with Brooke Taylor

    Send us Fan Mail Brooke Taylor looked successful from the outside. But behind the polished image was alcohol, pressure, and the exhausting feeling that nothing ever felt like enough. In this conversation, she shares what it was like to get sober before she felt ready — and why early sobriety felt more like punishment than freedom. They also talk about the exhausting work of keeping up appearances, what it took to finally stop, and why getting sober doesn’t always end the search for relief, approval, or feeling like enough. Brooke is the author of Healing the Success Wound (Hachette, May 2026), which explores what happens when we tie our worth to what we accomplish instead of who we are. Connect with Brooke: Website: Brooke Taylor Coaching Instagram: @brookevtaylor TikTok: @brooketaylorcareercoach LinkedIn: Brooke Taylor Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    47 min

  2. Jun 9

    Most of My Anxiety Lived in the Future

    Send us Fan Mail Most of us spend a lot of time worrying about things that haven't happened yet. We replay conversations, predict outcomes, and try to solve problems that may never arrive. In recovery, that kind of future-tripping can feel overwhelming because alcohol is no longer there to quiet the noise. In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about the connection between anxiety and control. They explore why the need to know how everything will turn out often creates more stress, not less, and how focusing on what's directly in front of us can bring some relief. Whether you're newly sober or have years of recovery behind you, this conversation is a reminder that most of life's problems can only be handled one step at a time. Topics include: • Future-tripping and anxiety • The illusion of control • Why uncertainty feels so uncomfortable • Recovery beyond alcohol • Staying present when your mind wants to race ahead Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    31 min

  3. Jun 2

    The Disease Model Doesn’t Let Me Off the Hook

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about the disease model of alcoholism—not as an excuse, but as a way to understand why alcohol affected them differently than it does other people. The conversation starts with the idea of “getting better and leaving,” and turns into a deeper look at why staying connected still matters, even after years of sobriety. They discuss personal responsibility, AA, the “built-in forgetter,” and the strange reality of still noticing alcohol in ways other people do not. The disease model may explain the problem, but it does not remove the responsibility to stay honest, stay connected, and keep helping the next person who walks in. Click here to watch the full video referenced with Charlie Sheen.  I don't have the link to the original podcast. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    36 min

  4. May 26

    The Voice Didn’t Go Away When I Got Sober

    Send us Fan Mail Getting sober does not automatically make the voice in your head disappear. In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about the part of the mind that used to minimize drinking — you’re not that bad, other people drink more, you’re overreacting — and how that same voice can show up later in sobriety as doubt, fear, or the feeling that you don’t deserve what you have. Matt shares how anxiety led his brain to start filling in the blanks with stories: that his work did not matter, that the podcast was vanity, that he was somehow a fraud. The conversation gets into why those thoughts can feel so convincing, why we are often poor judges of ourselves in isolation, and why recovery requires learning how to question the voice instead of automatically believing it. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    31 min

  5. May 19

    Learn to Sit With Yourself

    Send us Fan Mail There’s a weird part of sobriety where nothing is technically wrong, but you still feel uncomfortable in your own skin. In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about what happens when alcohol is gone, but the restlessness, anxiety, expectations, and urge to escape are still there. They get into why discomfort does not always mean something is wrong, how ordinary life can still feel hard sober, and why learning to sit with yourself is not the same as isolating or forcing yourself to tough it out. Sometimes the work is naming the feeling, asking what you are trying to escape, and doing the next small right thing instead of running. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    34 min

  6. May 10

    Stop Arguing With Reality for One Day

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Matt and Steve talk about acceptance in sobriety — not as approval, not as giving up, and not as pretending everything is fine. It is about getting honest with reality instead of wasting energy trying to control people, outcomes, feelings, or the past. They dig into why acceptance can feel so uncomfortable for newcomers, especially when it sounds passive or weak. The conversation gets into control, resentment, asking for help, and the simple but difficult practice of seeing what is actually in front of you before deciding what to do next. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    31 min

  7. May 5

    Sober Twelve Years. Still Avoiding the Phone

    Send us Fan Mail Matt and Steve talk about what happens when old alcoholic thinking shows up without the alcohol. Matt shares what it has been like tapering off medication, including the dark, isolating feeling that reaching out would not help — even when he knows connection usually does. They also get into emotional overreactions, escape fantasies, family stress, broken phones, sponsor avoidance, and the uncomfortable truth that recovery still asks for action long after the drinking stops. This episode is about those moments when you know what the program suggests, but doing it feels like the hardest possible thing. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    33 min

  8. Apr 28

    A 13-Year-Old Knew He’d Been Drinking

    Send us Fan Mail A 13-year-old goes to Six Flags and comes back with a story—she could tell right away that another parent had been drinking. No one told her. She just knew. That moment turns into a bigger conversation about what kids actually pick up on, how early they figure things out, and what it means when you think you’re hiding your drinking—but you’re not. Matt and Steve talk about being that parent, how relationships with kids quietly slip over time, and what changes when you’re finally present and sober. What kids notice (even when you think they don’t)Drinking to “feel normal” in everyday situationsHow connection with your kids slowly erodesWhy sobriety changes more than just your drinkingSupport the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

    33 min
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Trailer

4.3
out of 5
718 Ratings

About

Ever feel like you’re the only one who thinks this way? The Sober Friends Podcast is for people who are learning that recovery is about more than quitting drinking—it’s about learning how to live. Every week, Matt and Steve have honest conversations about the challenges that don’t disappear when alcohol does: anxiety, control, relationships, fear, loneliness, resentment, people-pleasing, and the ongoing work of emotional sobriety. Because getting sober doesn’t automatically make life easier. It just gives you the opportunity to face life differently. No gurus. No perfection. No pretending to have it all figured out. Just two friends with long-term sobriety sharing what they’ve learned, what they’re still learning, and how recovery continues to shape their lives years after their last drink. Whether you’re questioning your drinking, newly sober, or years into recovery, you’ll find practical insights, honest conversations, and reminders that growth doesn’t end when the alcohol is gone. New episodes every week. Matt and Steve are members of Alcoholics Anonymous but speak only from their own experience. This podcast is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt J
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    467
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sober Friends
  • Show Website
    Sober Friends

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