Stuart Stokes, CPRC

03/23/2026

Today in a group session with men we began the work of this week on self esteem and self worth.
Conversations about upbringing, social scripts and negative self talk were touched on.
Toward the end of group I decided to play something that often runs in my mind when I’m tempting the notion of “not enough or invalid.”
I pulled up “self respect” by Utkarsh Ambudkar and watched as this group of men sat and listened to their words sung by another man.
It is in moments like this I feel an overwhelming sense of being right where I need to be.

01/15/2026

Sometimes the hardest part of recovery isn’t the pain, the cravings, or the fear—it’s our stubbornness.

We cling to old patterns because they’re familiar. We insist we can do it our way, on our timeline, with no help. We mistake stubbornness for strength, when really it’s just fear dressed up as control.

Recovery asks us to soften. To listen. To admit that what we were doing wasn’t working—even if we fought like hell to make it work. It asks us to let go of being “right” and choose being well instead.

Stubbornness kept us sick. Humility keeps us growing.

Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. It means finally giving ourselves a chance.

01/10/2026

When we fight, is it against something or for something?
This is the question I have to ask myself on a daily basis.
In recovery, I do not try to figure who or what the villain of the story is. I try to see what it is to strive for and how a person can go from coping to thriving in a new sense of purpose and life.

01/04/2026

People can bring up anxiety in me. Especially crowds of people I am not convinced operate under the same code of conduct I’m expecting.
For a lot of the time I’ve been in this adult life the solution to this was to drink. It gave me a sense of normalcy where I felt comfortable enough to be out in the wild amongst all the others.
I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. A couple of weeks ago I picked up my eleven year chip on this merry go round of sobriety and through a program of recovery, some stellar therapy and doing the work of coaching others in recovery I am now much more at ease out in the wild.
People still irritate me but not to the point of needing to cope like I used to.
It is possible.
We can recover.

12/30/2025

The goal MIGHT be to summit the mountain.
I applaud this and will help in any way I can.
May I suggest that as you journey toward it you don’t miss the opportunity to see all the beauty and miraculous occurrences, the power gained in the struggles and the obstacles faced, conquered or worked around while getting there?
May I also suggest you not do it alone?
Could you do it with someone who will support you without shame?
With someone who has done it successfully?
In communion with a trusted guide?

12/29/2025

The Woman Who Calls Me Husband checked in on me to make sure I was okay.
Honestly, I was great. I was practicing my breath work.
That practice, like many things I talk about with clients and refer to practitioners on meditation, breath work, therapy, yoga and rock climbing, are just that.

Practice.

I do not teach any of these things. I do however live some of these things.

If I ask a client, “When is a good time to practice a coping skill,” for example it doesn’t take them long to reply, “When I don’t need it.”

These are not “coping hacks.” Skills take practice, repetition and a pursuit of mastery that will never come.

The difference between my system today and a year ago is vastly improved, in part, due to a continued practice of breathing for more than just oxygenating my cells. Breathing to center self, complete a stress response cycle or even to relax into tranquility.

12/27/2025

Gratification. The instant sort often leads me to disappointment. It’s really the work put into a thing where I truly feel satisfaction, pleasure and gratitude. As I sit here listening to many bellow with frustration at a delay on flights I am reminded that for the last week I have been without cell service, tucked away in the Canadian Rockies with more snow than I ever thought I would see.
This year, with many successes and as many relapses has been trying in the work of recovery coaching but with a true disconnect like this one I feel ready and equipped to meet folks anew in the coming days.

10/30/2025

The best news I can give anyone seeking help in recovery is this:
You don’t that to do it alone.
If you’re struggling with addiction reach out.

04/07/2025

You can’t see it in the first pick but the little specks of darker colors on that little squiggly white line in the first photo are people.
The uneven rock steps were many (over 120) and they were accompanied by a hand rail whose best days of function are in the past.
The first step was an easy commitment toward what would be a majestic view worth the journey.
As I hiked this trail I couldn’t help but think of early recovery for folks.
Things like “30 days and 1,000 nights” came to mind.
Some days putting one foot in front of the other is all that can be done but movement is happening. Even if a person chooses to stop, turn around and not continue, the trail remains for another attempt at a later date.
I know some of you are struggling to take that first step. It’s a tough one. Just know, as someone who has been there before, the view on the other side is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

04/06/2025

Isolation is a big part of what can work against recovery. Isolation can be like a warm blanket with thumbtacks in it. It can keep us warm and feeling safe but also will prick us and make the experience uncomfortable.
I have found that when the desire to isolate hits, I begin with simply looking out a window.
During the spring and summer months I have bird feeders in place just to see life flitting and flying around.
From there I may be able to phone a friend or shoot a text.
That can be the gateway to spending a little time with another person.
The best news I can give you about recovery is simply, “we don’t have to do this alone.”
#ʀᴇᴄᴏᴠᴇʀʏᴊᴏᴜʀɴᴇʏ

03/27/2025

I tell everyone I work with in coaching that this emoji is one to treat with great respect.
This is the emoji to send me if you find yourself up the proverbial tree not knowing how to get down.
There are a number of ways to get out of the situation and I trust the person enough to know they can do it. However, as I also say to everyone I work with, “We don’t have to do this s**t alone.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction or struggling with a family member in the throes of addiction, reach out. I’m here to walk with you and take the sometimes terrifying journey alongside.

03/05/2025

I had to let this page run dormant for a bit sorting things out. With the documentary about the stigma of addiction crashing into every hurdle possible I’ve taken to the work of coaching people on an individual and group basis in their recovery.
The doc WILL be finished.
If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, please reach out.
The best news I can provide anyone dealing with addiction is, “we don’t have to do this alone.”

The stigma of addiction and Substance Use continues persists in our culture today. This documentary delves into the the lives touched by the devastation of shame, mental illness, trauma and isolation which too often leads to a deadly overdose.