Title: Substance Use Nostalgia – When “Good Memories” Become Risky Triggers

Podcast: The Support and Kindness Podcast
Episode: 12 – Substance Use Nostalgia
Release Date: Saturday, November 22, 2025

Hosts: Greg (host), with co-hosts Derek, Rich, Liam, and Jay

Episode Summary

In this powerful and honest episode, the team explores “substance use nostalgia” – that pull to look back on past drinking or drug use as if it were all fun, freedom, and connection, while conveniently forgetting the harm and consequences.

Greg and his co-hosts talk about how this kind of nostalgia can quietly become a major relapse trigger, especially when it shows up as:

• A favorite song from your using days
• Old hangouts or people you used to party with
• Photos, objects, or even “art” related to substances
• Emotional upheaval, loneliness, or stress

Each person shares personal examples of nostalgia, cravings, and triggers, along with the tools they use to stay grounded in recovery. The group emphasizes that having memories of using doesn’t mean you’re failing. Cravings and nostalgic thoughts are normal – what matters is how you respond to them.

By the end, listeners walk away with practical strategies (like the “3 R’s” and HALT), reassurance that they’re not alone, and reminders that there is also such a thing as positive nostalgia in recovery.

Key Concepts From Greg

• Substance use nostalgia defined:
  • “Substance use nostalgia… is a dangerous distortion of that feeling. It's a longing for the feelings and the experiences associated with drugs, substances, or alcohol, and it's a significant trigger for relapse.”
  • It romanticizes the past by:
    • Highlighting the highs: euphoria, social connection, escape
    • Filtering out the lows: hangovers, withdrawal, embarrassment, consequences
  • “It's a mental trap… creating internal conflict between the desire for recovery and the idealized memory of using.”

• Triggers and cravings:
  • Triggers are cues that remind the brain of past substance use:
    • Internal: thoughts, feelings, body states (HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired), sadness, anxiety
    • External: people, places, paraphernalia, celebrations, and even overconfidence
  • “A craving is a temporary wave that fades if you don't give in.”

• The 3 R’s – Immediate internal coping protocol:
  • Recognize: “Recognize the feeling for what it is – it's a craving.”
  • Remind: “Remind yourself that you don't have to act on it.”
  • Remove: “If possible, remove yourself from that situation.”

• On his own triggers (inhalants):
  • “Just seeing that canister… I could taste it. I could taste the sensation, I could taste the fluttering in my chest as my heart was speeding up… I could feel that euphoric wave rising up from within me.”
  • Greg avoids keeping inhalant products at home and uses a battery-powered blower instead of canned air: “I can't tempt fate.”

• Closing reassurance:
  • “If you feel that pull back to the old using days, you're not broken and you're not alone.”
  • “A craving is like a wave – it rises and it falls and you don't have to ride it all the way to relapse.”

Key Insights From Rich

• On romanticizing the past:
  • “It romanticizes the past… and it can be really dangerous to romanticize former drug use. You're putting yourself back in that position, putting yourself back in that place.”
  • He notes how quickly a song, a social memory, or a visual reminder can transport you back to those moments.

• Long-term abstinence and changing relationship to cravings:
  • “Having a very, very long time abstinent… 27 years… my cravings are not… I don't view them as threatening, I don't view them as craving. I view them purely as memory, purely as memory of youth and nothing more.”
  • Contrast with early recovery:
    • “When they were fresh, when I was newly sober, they were aggressive cravings. They were things that I fought against. And that's the path of recovery.”

• Blotter paper and subtle triggers:
  • Rich shares a unique example: looking at “blotter paper” art (LSD on paper with designs):
    • “I came here to look at artwork… but it very quickly devolved into people discussing strength of dosages and all sorts of… facts about drug on paper, not art on paper, and I had to excuse myself.”

• Interesting observation:
  • Even something that seems harmless or “artistic” can shift into a drug-glorifying conversation.
  • He acknowledges he was “probably walking a line in the first place” just by engaging with that content.

• Noteworthy point:
  • Rich emphasizes the importance of “focusing on the whole picture” of substance use, not just the highlights:
    • “Not just remembering the feeling of the high, but… the ways that it affected you and your life, all aspects of your life.”

Key Insights From Liam

On mixed memories – joy and pain:

• “I have so many memories that revolve around substance use… The problem… there's a lot of good in those memories because it also revolved around music.”
• He played many gigs, met “really nice, interesting people,” and had “a lot of great times.”

• But:
  • “There was a young man there, naming me, that was in a lot of trouble mentally because I was trying to treat so many things with substances.”
  • “I really didn't get to enjoy totally all the great experiences I was having because I was masking so much underlying pain.”

• Powerful reflection:
  • “Yeah, I did have great experiences, but how much better could they have been if I was sober and had so much more clarity?”

• The balancing act:
  • “I don't want to be ashamed of the things I did. I want to remember those with great fondness, but also learn from the past.”
  • He highlights that romanticizing those times can still be “really big triggers,” so they must be handled carefully.

• Current challenge – music and sobriety:
  • Liam is in a “conundrum”:
    • His condition had stopped him from playing music for a while.
    • Now he’s physically able again, but returning to the music scene could mean returning to environments and people tied to his substance use.
  • “I love music, but I don't want to sacrifice my sobriety for that… I've got to make it work somehow.”
  • Forward-looking hope:
    • “I want to look forward to that challenge… create new [memories] with a new clarity to them.”

Key Insights From Jay

• On not letting triggers erase your progress:
  • “Try not to let these triggers take away the progress that you've made if you're in recovery. You are worth more than that.”
  • He shares something he recently said to a friend:
    • “Don't let a woman derail the progress you've made. You're worth more than that. You're loved. People love you.”

• Nostalgia for “good times” and when it turned:
  • “I’ve actually had some great times with substances… my senior year, it felt like we were kings… cruising around, just all my buddies listening to good music.”
  • Turning point:
    • It got unhealthy around 21, leading to a drunk driving accident:
      • “Thank God I didn't hurt anybody else.”
    • “That's when it starts to become a problem… when you're not just drinking at a bar with your buddies, you're going and buying a bottle of liquor to take home with you… that's where it starts to get uncontrollable.”

• Common triggers he identifies:
  • Music and locations:
    • “You can actually almost feel like you're transported there and you're living it again.”
  • He suggests early recovery boundaries:
    • Avoid restaurants that double as bars.
    • Avoid places where bottles and alcohol are visible.

• Time and distance from substances:
  • “I've been sober almost 11 years and I still get triggers today.”
  • But:
    • “The longer that you're away from your substance, the less it becomes part of your routine.”
    • “These triggers and cravings reduce with time. So just keep in mind it does get easier, I promise you.”

• Positive nostalgia – the 10-year coin:
  • Jay highlights that nostalgia isn’t always dangerous:
    • “I have this 10-year coin that is very, very valuable to me… When I look at this, it takes me back to my early sobriety where I met a lot of people that cared about me.”
  • “There is positive nostalgia out there as well.”

Key Insights From Derek

• TBI and substance history:
  • Derek introduces himself:
    • “My TBI happened well over… 12 years ago.”
    • “My morbid mnemonic device is the night that we fell backward – I fell backwards down a flight of stairs… I was also drunk. So two birds, one stone.”
  • After plenty of obstacles, he’s “found a good way to groove” in life and recovery.

• On triggers:
  • For Derek, triggers are more emotional than visual or auditory:
    • “For myself, it's not necessarily visual or audio… it's emotional upheaval where I just get this flare.”
  • He describes moments of intense frustration or emotional spikes:
    • He might want to “scream into a pillow,” but he’s built coping strategies.

• His method:
  • “I'll just endure, and then it'll pass. And then I just move on to the next thing.”
  • He focuses on something “productive and practical,” even if it’s mundane.
  • He’s internalized a strong anti-relapse stance:
    • “I'm not going to relapse. I choose to not let it get the best of me because I've come too far to muck it up over one stupid little fleeting moment of grief.”
  • He actively challenges his own rationalizations:
    • “Oh, but oh, it's just one little swig. No, no, no, no… You have done that plenty of times, Derek. Do not do that again.”
    • “How many plans have you canceled because of that? We're not doing that again. Don't backslide.”

• Interesting observation:
  • Derek shows how self-talk, humor, and honest memory of past consequences can be used as a self-protective tool, especially during emotional spikes.

Main Takeaways and Key Points

1. What Is Substance Use Nostalgia?

• It’s a specific kind of nostalgia that:
  • Longs for the feelings associated with using (euphoria, escape, belonging).
  • Filters out negative parts (withdrawal, shame, accidents, health problems, legal issues).

• It can:
  • Create ambivalence about staying sober.
  • Lead to internal conflict: “Recovery is hard; those days seem easier.”
  • Encourage the false belief: “Maybe I can use again without consequences.”

2. Triggers: Internal and External

• Internal triggers:
  
  • Thoughts, emotions, and body states:
    • HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired.
    • Sadness, anxiety, emotional upheaval.

• Nostalgic thoughts about:
  • “The good old days”
  • Times when you felt powerful, popular, free, or creative while using.

• External triggers:
  • People:
    • Old using friends, party crowd, familiar faces from “those days.”

• Places:
  • Bars, clubs, venues, houses, or neighborhoods where you used.

• Things:
  • Paraphernalia, bottles, cans, blotter paper, songs, photos.

• ituational:
  • Celebrations, holidays, anniversaries.
  • Overconfidence (“I’ve got this now, I can be around it”).

3. How Triggers Show Up (Real-Life Examples From the Episode)

• Greg:
  • Seeing a can of duster could make him literally “taste” the high.

• Rich:
  • An art group about blotter paper quickly shifted into drug talk.

• Liam:
  • Thinking about going back to playing music brings up memories from his using days, which could be both beautiful and risky.

• Jay:
  • A song playing from a passing car instantly transported him back to high school using days.

• Derek:
  • Emotional spikes and frustration are his main triggers; not so much sights or sounds.

4. Simple Coping Frameworks Mentioned

• The Three R’s (for immediate cravings):
  • Recognize:
    • Name it: “This is a craving. This is nostalgia talking.”
  • Remind:
    • “I don’t have to act on this. Thoughts and urges are not commands.”
  • Remove:
    • Change location, close the app, leave the room, step away from the trigger when you can.

• HALT Check-in:
  • Ask: Am I:
    • Hungry?
    • Angry?
    • Lonely?
    • Tired?
  • Addressing these basic needs can significantly reduce the intensity of cravings.

5. Strategies for Substance Use Nostalgia Specifically

• Call out selective memory:
  • Notice when you’re only remembering:
    • The fun, the laughter, the “king of the world” feelings.
  • Intentionally recall:
    • The hangovers, missed plans, shame, injuries, hospital visits, legal trouble, broken trust, health scares.

• Shift focus to the present:
  • Do activities that bring joy and meaning in your sober life (music, art, friendships, recovery communities).
  • Build new memories that can later become positive, recovery-based nostalgia.

6. Positive Nostalgia in Recovery

The episode doesn’t just warn about nostalgia – it highlights how it can also be a source of strength:

• Jay’s 10-year coin is a symbol of:
  • A decade of sobriety.
  • Community support in AA and NA.
  • Hope and connection instead of destruction.

• Positive nostalgia can include:
  • Remembering your first sober holiday.
  • Your first chip or coin.
  • Moments when you chose not to use.
  • People in recovery who showed up for you when you needed it most.

7. Long-Term Perspective: It Gets Easier

• Rich (27 years) and Jay (almost 11 years) provide a long-view reminder:
  • Triggers and cravings don’t vanish, but:
    • They tend to show up less frequently.
    • They feel less overpowering.
    • They can start to feel more like memories than threats.

• Early recovery:
  • “In the first 90 days, it's still a part of you. You still fantasize about it.”

• Later on:
  • “The longer that you're away from your substance, the less it becomes part of your routine.”

Notable Quotes

• Greg:
  • “Substance use nostalgia is not a healthy memory. It's a mental trap.”
  • “A craving is like a wave – it rises and it falls and you don't have to ride it all the way to relapse.”

• Rich:
  • “When they were fresh, when I was newly sober, they were aggressive cravings… And that's the path of recovery.”

• Liam:
  • “Yeah, I did have great experiences, but how much better could they have been if I was sober and had so much more clarity?”

• Jay:
  • “Try not to let these triggers take away the progress that you've made… You are worth more than that.”
  • “There is positive nostalgia out there as well.”

• Derek:
  • “I choose to not let it get the best of me because I've come too far to muck it up over one stupid little fleeting moment of grief.”

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

• Crisis support (U.S.):
  • 988 – Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text if you’re in crisis or thinking of harming yourself).

• Treatment and recovery resources:
  • findtreatment.gov – To search for treatment options near you in the United States.
  • SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) – Recovery resources.

• Mutual aid and tools:
  • SMART Recovery – Tools and worksheets for coping with urges and triggers (including urge logs).

• Research:
  • A PubMed research article on addiction-related nostalgia (linked in the show notes for those who want the science perspective).

Important Disclaimer (From Greg)

• The Support and Kindness Podcast is:
  • “Not therapy or medical care, it's a companion and a conversation.”

• If this episode stirred up strong feelings:
  • Consider talking to a doctor, therapist, counselor, or someone who knows your story and can support you directly.