Paul Churchill: Recovery Elevator

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At some point in our lives, nearly all of us have experienced the tragic effects of alcohol addiction. If not us personally, then someone close to us–a friend, a family member, a significant other.

Today on the podcast, Paul Churchill talks about his own battles with alcohol addiction and his road to recovery.

Paul Churchill

After struggling with drinking off and on in his teens and 20’s, in 2006 Paul moved to Spain and bought a bar. Within 3 years, he was completely dependent on alcohol, blacking out close to 7 nights a week, and he ended up walking away from the bar. Despite that potential wakeup call, he continued to drink for another 5 years, watching and feeling his life slowly unravel.

But then in February 2015, Paul launched the Recovery Elevator Podcast as an accountability tool to stay sober. Today, it’s been over 3 years since Paul had his last drink of alcohol and the podcast has surpassed 2 million downloads. The Recovery Elevator Podcast is in the 97th percentile of all podcasts on iTunes, has been downloaded in all 50 states and over 145 countries.

The Recovery Elevator podcast has now evolved into a private membership community with hundreds of members from all over the world. Over the past few years, Paul has spoken to thousands of students about alcohol awareness across the country and delivered two TEDx talks in 2017.

In this episode, Paul and I talk about why the stigma around alcohol addiction can make it harder to recognize and to quit, the signs to watch for when alcohol begins impacting you physically, mentally and spiritually, why accountability and support are critical for staying clean, and much more.

The thing more dangerous than the drugs or the alcohol is the stigma—it forces us to reach our most acute moment of pain before reaching out.”

Episode Highlights

Only 5% of alcoholics fit the typical stereotype
How your addiction lies to you in your own voice
Why “alcoholic” isn’t a fair term
The best way to come out when you have an addiction
How to handle temptation once you’ve quit
Even though you expect to be judged when you reveal your addiction, the opposite happens
How Paul’s sobriety was propelled forward when he started having conversations with people he couldn’t retract