Russell Brand Pays A Visit To Ibiza Calm

English comedian, actor, radio/podcast host, author, activist and fourteen year recovering addict, Russell Brand recently paid a visit to Ibiza Calm. Whist on vacation, the long-time friend of the centre attended a meeting and delivered an inspirational talk to clients, sharing his unique blend of honesty, humour, wisdom and advice.

Drawing from his bestselling book, Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions, Brand outlined his twelve step insights into any number of addictions ranging from drugs and alcohol, to sex and fame, to an over reliance on social media. All astutely observed in the context of an ever complex and ailing world.

Brand has mined his own vivid experience with multiple addictions to heroin, alcohol, sex, fame, bulimia (amongst others) and demystified the numerous step help fellowships that have helped him on his own continuing road to recovery with the following directly, albeit colourfully worded twelve steps:

• Are you a bit f**ked?

• Could you not be f**ked?

• Are you, on your own, going to ‘unf**k’ yourself?

• Write down all the things that are f**king you up or have ever f**ked you up and don’t lie, or leave anything out.

• Honestly tell someone trustworthy about how f**ked you are.

• Well that’s revealed a lot of f**ked up patterns. Do you want to stop it? Seriously?

• Are you willing to live in a new way that’s not all about you and your previous, f**ked up stuff? You have to.

• Prepare to apologize to everyone for everything affected by your being so f**ked up.

• Now apologize. Unless that would make things worse.

• Watch out for f**ked up thinking and behaviour and be honest when it happens.

• Stay connected to your new perspective.

• Look at life less selfishly, be nice to everyone, help people if you can.

He teaches that in embracing these steps and following the path set out in his (and many other) step help book(s) and program(s), as a daily practice, requires desire and dedication. Primarily they will help to overcome a wide variety of addiction from the most severe like drugs and alcohol to more unheralded contemporary conditions such as malaise or despondency. In doing so one’s perceptions will change and the steps may then be applied to help negotiate a wider spectrum of our lives, be it professional, domestic, spiritual etc. No two people have the same afflictions, but this detailed road map, with many clauses written into them, allow for limitless diversity of human experience.

Russell Brand is a man who shows rare compassion for a self-admitted narcissist. Much of this is born out of his evolving self-realisation. In his own case he has used therapy, spirituality and most importantly these twelve steps to understand that the root problem was that his addictions were born out of his self-centeredness. It is a common impulse today to only serve oneself, usurping the human necessity to be kind to others. He’s learned that the urge will always be there, but that it is a pattern of self-destructive behaviour that can be overcome.

He poses a rhetorical question, “Have you done anything for anyone other than yourself today?”  It would seem he had. Thanks to Russell for coming to speak at Ibiza Calm!

Click here to visit Russell’s facebook page where he has a lot of videos and podcasts related to addiction and recovery you might find useful.