I'm starting a new weekly live show on YouTube and wanted to share the first one here with you (from yesterday).

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.Ep 125

Sam ("Ebby Thatcher" on Instagram) opens up about what it was actually like to leave AA after years of fear-based messaging, confusion, and being told that walking away was dangerous.

The story dives into the shock of realizing that the “only way” wasn’t helping, the exhaustion of searching for real mental-health support, and the moment everything clicked: the problem wasn’t a lack of willingness — the problem was the system itself.

What created real change was stepping outside AA ideology, learning the science, exploring harm reduction, and finally trusting personal experience over dogma. Sam’s story is honest, raw, and deeply validating for anyone who’s questioning AA.

The takeaway is clear: choosing a different path is not only safe — it can be the beginning of actual healing and freedom.

Timestamps

00:00 Intro Leaving AA Saves Lives

02:00 Leaving AA

03:16 Phases of Leaving AA

10:45 Therapy, IOP + Pushed to AA

21:03 AA is a Cult + Rehab a Scam??

36:53 First Time at AA

39:18 The Allergy Mythology

42:19 What Helped Sam Get Sober

44:52 Cannabis Saved Sam's Life

54:37 Still "In Recovery" ?

1:00:42 Guilt Over Sponsoring + Self Gaslighting

1:08:07 Inner Child, Healing + Internal Family Systems

1:23:54 Speaking Out About Leaving AA

1:28:17 Ebby Thatcher

1:31:40 Hope For The Recovery Narrative

1:36:20 You're Not Going To Die If You Leave AA

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

Burnie + Bestie are back for our second Burnie + Bestie LIVE stream episode featuring Tara Grace from Burn The Stigma and Kirsten (me, Sobriety Bestie) discussing all the addiction and recovery things.

We went live on Sunday November 16th and are thinking about making this an ongoing thing LIVE on Sobriety Bestie YouTube on Sundays at 9 am pacific.

Burn The Stigma channel: ‪@Burnthestigma420‬

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club. + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

Most addicts and alcoholics do recover — and up to three quarters recover without any treatment.

Today we’re breaking down the author of Biology of Desire, Mark Lewis’s TED Talk to explore how he got sober and what neuroscience reveals about self-trust, belief, and recovery.

Mark Lewis, PhD, is a neuroscientist and former addict whose research challenges the disease model of addiction. His story offers a science-backed, empowering perspective — one rooted in self-trust, personal agency, and belief in our ability to change.

Timestamps:

00:00 Marc Lewis Intro

0:39 Marc Lewis TED Talk

01:39 Self Trust

04:14 Powerful or Powerless?

05:52 Delay Discounting

09:05 How Marc Lewis Got Sober

10:13 Addiction Recovery is Backwards

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club. + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

Ever wonder why people in AA get defensive — even when you’re calm and factual? 🤔

Turns out, there’s a neurological reason behind it.

In this clip from a LIVE Deprogram Q+A inside the Deprogram Lounge, we dive into the science of amygdala hijack, nervous system activation, and why cultic ideologies trigger emotional, not rational, responses.

If you’ve experienced backlash for speaking your truth about AA, this one’s for you.

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, Book Club + Escape Kit)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

Leaving AA can feel impossible — not because it’s physically hard to walk away, but because of phobia indoctrination and the total lack of outside validation.

When the whole world believes AA is the only way, it can feel like you’re crazy for questioning it. In this episode, I break down why that fear is programmed, how experts still miss it, and what it really means to reclaim your freedom.

📚 Reading from “Cults in Our Midst” by Margaret Singer

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Intro – Hard to Leave AA

01:44 The #1 Reason It’s Hard to Leave AA

03:33 AA Mention in Cults in Our Midst

06:15 “AA does not recruit deceptively”

08:48 Informed Consent & Deceptive Recruitment

09:53 “AA does not hide what membership entails”

13:40 “Members can leave at any time”

18:27 “Cults use members to grow the cult”

24:46 Indoctrinating Others + Self-Forgiveness

27:54 Warning Label on AA

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club. + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

After years in Alcoholics Anonymous — and a lifetime of seeking belonging in controlling systems — Teri realized she didn’t need to dim her light or outsource her thinking anymore.

This raw and powerful conversation explores what it’s really like to leave AA, find your voice again, and build a new life rooted in freedom, truth, genuine connection and self-trust.

Timestamps:

00:00 Best Thinking Got Her Out Of AA Intro

01:08 Leaving AA

05:33 Staying Silent, Guilt + Mormon Roots

08:24 AA Was Helpful + Also Emotionally Damaging

10:35 Deprogram Lounge

13:10 AA Cult Within A Cult

17:04 Teri's Evolution After AA

26:02 Healing Trust Issues + Group Trauma

36:21 Hardest Part of Leaving AA

39:48 Making Friends After AA

49:09 Scared to Join a Deprogramming Group

58:32 Speaking About Leaving AA

1:14:17 Drinking Around Social Issues

1:17:04 Leaving AA Was Harder Than Getting Sober

1:30:04 Deprogramming Course + Group

1:46:54 Is Deprogramming a "Cult" or Forever?

1:55:46 Freedom From Group Think

2:02:45 Still in Recovery?

2:13:14 Best Part of Leaving AA

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

You’re Angry. You’re Resentful. You’re a Dry Drunk. You’ll Be Drunk in Five Years.

Have you ever heard things like this? 👀

Today’s episode dives into the #1 way AA defenders come for you (and why it’s actually a logical fallacy).

This one’s a total game-changer in our Critical Thinking Series, because once you see this pattern — you can’t unsee it. We’re breaking down how ad hominem (Latin for “to the person”) and appeal to authority show up in arguments, manipulation, and cult-like thinking — not just in AA, but everywhere.

00:00 Way Angry AA's Come For You Intro

01:28 Ad Hominem

04:35 Appeal to Authority

07:24 Staying Safe From Manipulation

14:18 Dry Drunk Mythology

18:06 Ad Hominem Deeper Dive

Whether you’re deprogramming from a high-control group, rethinking recovery, or just learning to trust your own brain again — this one’s for you.

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.