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EP: 79: Neurodivergent in Recovery: Autism, GLP-1s, and Being Misunderstood in 12-Step Rooms with Rebecca Rush
Description
What do autism, Ozempic, alcohol cravings, recovery culture, and a Substack called The Loudest Girl in the Corner have in common?
More than you might think.
In this episode of Rewired Sober, I sit down with Rebecca Rush—sober autistic peer support coach, poet, essayist, and creator of The Loudest Girl in the Corner—for one of the most honest, hilarious, and thought-provoking conversations I've had on the podcast.
We explore the intersection of neurodiversity, addiction, and recovery culture, including why many people spend years being labeled as "alcoholics" while undiagnosed autism, ADHD, sensory overwhelm, masking, and social exhaustion remain hidden beneath the surface.
Rebecca shares her experience navigating recovery as an autistic woman and why some traditional recovery spaces can feel confusing, invalidating, or impossible to navigate for neurodivergent people.
We also discuss the growing conversation around GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy and how they are helping some people dramatically reduce alcohol cravings—raising fascinating questions about addiction, biology, craving, and recovery.
And because neither of us is particularly interested in pretending certain topics don't exist, we also dive into some of the more controversial corners of recovery culture.
In This Episode We Discuss:
- Autism and alcohol use
- Why autism is frequently missed or misdiagnosed in women
- Masking, people-pleasing, and belonging
- Why some neurodivergent people struggle in traditional 12-step programs
- The tendency to pathologize every struggle as alcoholism
- Group dynamics, sponsorship, and social expectations
- How autistic traits can clash with recovery culture
- The vulnerability of newcomers and the reality of the "13th Step"
- Predatory behavior in recovery spaces
- Sex inventories, shame, and self-blame
- The difference between accountability and humiliation
- When recovery becomes self-flagellation instead of healing
- Building a recovery that actually fits your brain
- GLP-1 medications and alcohol cravings
- Recovery beyond one-size-fits-all thinking
We also discuss Rebecca's essay A Few Things I Won't Be Writing About, a sharp, funny, and unapologetic critique of the things recovery culture often struggles to talk about openly. In true Rebecca fashion, she somehow manages to write about all of them while claiming she won't.
This episode isn't about telling anyone how to recover.
It's about making room for more curiosity, more nuance, and more honest conversations.
Whether you're neurodivergent, questioning your relationship with alcohol, frustrated with recovery dogma, curious about GLP-1 medications, or simply interested in the evolving conversation around addiction and healing, this episode will give you plenty to think about—and probably a few things to laugh about too.
About Rebecca Rush
Rebecca Rush is a sober autistic peer support coach, poet, essayist, and writer of The Loudest Girl in the Corner. Her work explores autism, recovery, masking, identity, belonging, and what happens when people stop shrinking themselves to fit into systems that were never built for them.
Resources Mentioned
Rebecca Rush's Substack: The Loudest Girl in the Corner
TheLoudestGirlintheCorner.substack.com
Failbettercoaching.com
Instagram.com/failbettercoach
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