The AfterMeth: Gay Men Recovering from Crystal Methamphetamine Addiction

• Encore Episode: Practicing Lonliness with Dan

  Send us a textIn this powerful episode of the Aftermeth Podcast, host Dr. Dallas Bragg interviews Dan, a 54-year-old man from New York City who has been sober from crystal meth for over five years. Dan shares his journey from being a high-functioning VP who maintained his career while secretly using meth in workplace bathroom stalls to eventually seeking help through an outpatient program at NYC's LGBT center. Despite appearing successful on paper, Dan describes feeling trapped in a "dark labyrinth," wandering through life while battling internal emptiness and using substances to numb overwhelming emotions he couldn't understand or articulate.The conversation delves deep into Dan's discovery of why he used drugs—primarily his inability to process emotions and cope with feelings, particularly loneliness. Growing up in rural Ohio in an evangelical Christian household that discouraged emotional expression, Dan never learned healthy coping mechanisms. His addiction served as a way to avoid the terrifying experience of feeling vulnerable emotions. Through therapy and his recovery program, Dan developed emotional vocabulary and learned to observe his thoughts rather than being consumed by them, transforming his relationship with difficult feelings like loneliness from something to escape into something he could sit with and move through.Dan's story offers hope for others struggling with similar challenges, particularly around rebuilding intimate relationships and sexual experiences in sobriety. After initially fearing he had "broken" himself, Dan successfully navigated sober sex and relationships through open communication and vulnerability with partners. He emphasizes the importance of building sober friendships through programs like Crystal Meth Anonymous, developing spiritual practices focused on present-moment awareness, and reading transformative books like "Man's Search for Meaning" and "The Power of Now." His journey illustrates that recovery is possible even for high-functioning addicts who maintain external success while battling internal darkness.The AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dr. Dallas Bragg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout

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• EP 2:21 Multiple Minority Stress with Gustavo

  Send us a textSupplemental Study Guide: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/newsletters/blog/posts/minoritystressDr. Dallas Bragg explores how intersecting marginalized identities affect addiction and recovery with Gustavo, a Venezuelan-American who shares his crystal meth journey. The conversation examines "multiple minority stress" - how being brown, undocumented, neurodivergent, and gay creates compounding psychological pressures.Guest & Key ConceptsGustavo immigrated to the US at age three, documenting his recovery story on YouTube with humor and authenticity. Multiple minority stress differs from general stress by originating in prejudice rather than universal challenges. Gustavo's identities don't simply add stress - they interlock, creating unique pressures from childhood bullying to undocumented status blocking normal milestones like driver's licenses and college.Addiction Path & TraumaAt 22, Gustavo was introduced to meth through a predatory relationship with a 38-year-old man who exploited his isolation and need for connection. Earlier sexual trauma from ages 15-16, when an older boyfriend introduced him to sex work, created lasting associations between intimacy and danger. Crystal meth temporarily numbed these trauma responses, allowing sexual engagement without confronting underlying pain.Resilience & RecoveryParadoxically, minority stress experiences equipped Gustavo with survival skills - hypervigilance, emotional intelligence, and self-assessment abilities - that prevented complete addiction devastation. His role as middle child with younger siblings provided additional anchoring. Recovery emphasized feeling the full emotional spectrum rather than numbing difficult experiences, supported by therapy that provided the first safe space to articulate experiences and receive validation.Community VisionFrustrated by existing support structures lacking cultural competency, Gustavo envisions harm reduction groups for men in party-and-play culture. His experience with traditional men's groups highlighted their inability to address racial trauma effectively. He successfully hosted a meeting providing authentic emotional intimacy and peer support.Key PhilosophyGustavo embraces Dr. Bragg's concept of addiction as potentially transformative, viewing his meth experience as developing skills many never cultivate. This transforms victimhood into empowerment while acknowledging genuine suffering. His YouTube content challenges misconceptions about who uses crystal meth and what recovery looks like across different communities.Find Gustavo: IG: @ilovegusti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuUOIVafwThe AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dr. Dallas Bragg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout

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• EP 2:20 Mild to Wild with Jordan and Andrew

  Send us a textSupplemental Study Guide: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/newsletters/blog/posts/mildtowildIn this provocative and educational episode, Dr. Dallas Bragg explores harm reduction approaches to chemsex and party-and-play (PNP) culture with two Canadian harm reduction specialists. The conversation challenges traditional abstinence-only models and showcases innovative programs supporting men who have sex with men (MSM) in their substance use journeys.Jordan Bond-Gar - Coordinator of PNP and Chemsex Initiatives at Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance of Ontario - brings six years of experience developing community-driven harm reduction programs. E-Mail: mailto:[email protected] www.partyandplay.infoAndrew Thomas - Harm Reduction Program Specialist for Nova Scotia Health's Eastern Zone - leads research initiatives and co-founded several innovative harm reduction projects with extensive experience in sexual health and chemsex harm reduction. (The views expressed are not of Nova Scotia Health but Andrews's own as an independent contractor for Community-Based Research Centre as part of PnP Project)Major Programs DiscussedMild to Wild Drop-In Sessions represent a groundbreaking peer-led support model - bi-weekly Zoom meetings where men actively engaged in PNP can discuss real-life challenges without judgment. These sessions cover everything from safer slamming techniques and drug interactions to grief processing and police encounters, averaging 10-12 regular participants with specialized workshops drawing larger crowds. The program fills a crucial gap by providing community connection outside party contexts while allowing open discussion of both substance use and sexual practices - something traditional recovery groups often prohibit.The G-Emergency Response Project addresses the life-threatening risks of GHB use through comprehensive safety education, emphasizing accurate dosing with medical syringes rather than unreliable bottle caps and responding to dangerous market changes where substances like BDO and GBL are being substituted for traditional GHB. Meanwhile, The PNP Field Guide serves as an evidence-based "Bible" for newcomers, written by community members with lived experience in a warm, non-judgmental tone that emphasizes personal agency and self-monitoring. Together, these resources respond to a crisis that has claimed at least seven lives in Toronto alone, providing practical tools for a community often excluded from traditional harm reduction services.Key InsightThe AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dr. Dallas Bragg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout

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• EP 2:19 Breaking the Silence of Chemsex with Alexander Cheves

  Send us a textSupplemental Study Guide: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/newsletters/blog/posts/silenceDr. Dallas Bragg interviews Alexander Cheves about his personal experience with chemsex and the crisis of silence surrounding substance use in the men who have sex with men (MSM) community. Alexander explains that U.S. LGBTQ+ media often avoids covering chemsex due to fears of pathologizing the community, even though gay male communities have documented higher rates of substance abuse. Both compare this silence to the early AIDS crisis, where deaths were kept quiet due to stigma. Alexander shares how he was introduced to chemsex through parties and hookups but managed to maintain boundaries and walk away when needed, attributing this ability simply to "luck" rather than any special quality.The discussion explores Alexander's background trauma and its connection to substance use. Raised by evangelical Southern Baptist parents who adopted him, he faced significant challenges around his gay identity and lived with anxiety, OCD, and highly structured routines. He found that drugs provided permission to escape rigid self-regulation. Both men share transformative experiences with psychedelics, particularly psilocybin, which helped Alexander develop crucial self-acceptance. He now follows a harm reduction approach, avoiding meth while occasionally using substances he feels help rather than harm him. He emphasizes that learning to appreciate sex without chemical enhancement requires patience and acceptance that some experiences may be disappointing.Alexander notes significant cultural differences between U.S. and European approaches to substance use, explaining that Berlin's less stigmatized drug culture allows for more practical harm reduction strategies without rigid 12-step programs. Both men emphasize the urgent need for influential community members to break the silence around chemsex, noting that shame-based recovery approaches often drive people away from help. The episode advocates for individualized recovery approaches, harm reduction as a valid alternative to complete sobriety, and creating judgment-free spaces where people can discuss substance use honestly while receiving appropriate support.Alexander Cheves is an accomplished writer with a decade of experience covering sexuality, masculinity, HIV, and queer identity. His work has appeared in Out Magazine, The Advocate, Vice, and other major publications. He writes the "Last Call" column for Out Magazine and an advice column called "Go Ask Alex." His memoir "My Love is a Beast" won the 2022 Geoff Mains Nonfictino Prize. Originally from the American South, he now lives and works in Berlin.The AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dr. Dallas Bragg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout

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• EP 2:18 Turning Pain Into Purpose with Ben Kaye

  Send us a textSupplemental Study Guide: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/newsletters/blog/posts/purposeIn this powerful episode, host Dr. Dallas Bragg sits down with Ben Kaye, a UK-based advocate who's making waves in the fight against chem sex addiction within the men who have sex with men (MSM) community.Ben's story is one of transformation—from experiencing the isolation and misunderstanding that many face in traditional treatment systems to becoming a passionate voice for change. Having navigated his own recovery journey, Ben recognized critical gaps in knowledge and support around chem sex addiction in the UK healthcare and treatment systems.Rather than accepting the status quo, Ben channeled his experience into meaningful action, working tirelessly to create awareness and understanding around this often-overlooked epidemic. His work demonstrates how personal recovery can evolve into powerful advocacy that helps entire communities.Dr. Bragg and Ben explore the unique challenges of chem sex addiction, the lack of specialized understanding in traditional treatment approaches, and how survivors can transform their pain into purpose. This conversation offers hope and inspiration for anyone who has felt misunderstood in their recovery journey and shows how individual action can create ripple effects of positive change.This episode is essential listening for anyone affected by substance use in the LGBTQ+ community, healthcare providers seeking to better understand chem sex addiction, and anyone looking for inspiration on how to turn their recovery into meaningful advocacy work.By listening and sharing this episode, you're helping raise awareness about a critical public health issue that affects communities worldwide.Contact Ben Here:@[email protected] and https://www.benkayetherapy.comThe AfterMeth: Join our Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaftermeth/ Dr. Dallas Bragg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drdallasbragg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdallasbragg/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drdallasbragg YouTube: The Aftermeth Podcast X: https://twitter.com/Drdallasbragg Free online course to End the Relapse Cycle: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/e7c2Eo22/checkout Meth-Free Blueprint EBOOK: https://www.drdallasbragg.com/offers/o8qFhK5i/checkout

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