How I Survived Cocaine & Alcohol From Age 15. School of Rock Bottom 68: Tihane

Do you really need to hit rock bottom to get clean and sober, or is that just a myth? Today’s guest is living proof that the story isn’t so simple. At 15 years old, Tihani was already using cocaine, experimenting with ADHD meds from the street, blacking out and carving tattoos into her own skin in drug-fuelled hazes. By her twenties she was on benders, remembering the days of the week by counting how many pills she'd taken since the weekend. Yet despite the chaos, she built a successful creative career, performing on global stages and working with brands like Vogue and Red Bull. But behind the glossy exterior was a dangerous secret: addiction was eating her alive. Eight years cocaine free & no hard alcohol or pills and 2 years completely sober, Tihani reveals the truth about addiction most people never hear. We talk about the illusion of control, the rituals of cocaine use, and why “dry sniffing” was just as destructive as the binges mixed with whiskey. She explains what it felt like to shift that obsessive intensity into wellness, how self-help and trauma therapy saved her, and whether addicts are actually the lucky ones for being forced to confront life’s hardest questions around why we are here and if life has any meaning. This conversation will challenge everything you thought you knew about recovery. Do you really have to give up everything at once? What about nicotine? What is the actual root cause of addiction? And when the highs fade away, does life without drugs have any real meaning? For anyone who has ever questioned their relationship with substances, this episode is more than a story — it’s a wake-up call and one of my favourite conversations ever. If conversation can be 'art' then this is it. More on Tihane - She a genre-blending artist, creative director, and storyteller who’s spent her life chasing truth across continents and soundscapes. Her debut album The War on Love blends vintage R&B, tribal rhythms, and cinematic textures into healing anthems that hit deep. She’s performed on global stages from TEDx to SXSW, and led creative work for Vogue Italia, RedBull, and NY Fashion Week and beneath the success is an honest story about pain, shame, healing — and learning to create from who you really are. Huge thanks! Oliver is an ambassador for Alcohol Change UK and you can access support here - https://tinyurl.com/5dt5773e Tihane recommends this book - https://tinyurl.com/5wn4s8e6 Oliver mentions Sober Dave - https://www.soberdave.co.uk Thank you to Gavin Sisters for sponsoring this episode! Visit - www.gavinsisters.co.uk and use promo code SCHOOLOFROCKBOTTOM for 10% off! Podcasting is an expensive passion. To help me keep going, I'd really appreciate it if you could buy me a coffee, thank you! https://buymeacoffee.com/olivermason1 Or via PayPal - https://www.paypal.me/olivermason1paypal Topics - 0:00 Trailer & Intro 4:00 A rock bottom moment 7:30 Is a rock bottom required to get into recovery? 10:00 Addiction is on a spectrum! 12:15 Using coke at 15 16:00 Street ADHD meds 17:35 Dry sniffing? 21:10 "Downers weren't for me!" 24:15 Shifting intensity into wellness 26:45 Giving up drugs and alcohol one at a time 30:00 Self help and trauma therapy 34:15 Are addicts lucky? 36:30 Does life have purpose and meaning? 43:20 Cocaine was the ultimate permission slip 45:15 Does Tihane miss cocaine? 47:30 Do you have to give up EVERYTHING at once? 50:15 Sponsor 51:15 What about nicotine? 53:00 What is the root cause of addiction? 55:45 First steps to recovery Follow Tihane   / tihane___   Follow Oliver Instagram - https://tinyurl.com/2vt29sjv Facebook - https://tinyurl.com/34cwz59r TikTok - https://tinyurl.com/ujw4vxn9 LinkedIn - https://tinyurl.com/yuemhnd7 Threads - https://tinyurl.com/yk7vdeah X - https://tinyurl.com/3u5mnpds Please subscribe, follow, like, leave a review and comment! YouTube - TBC Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3Z0Pr1r Apple - https://tinyurl.com/y3n2chk3 #AddictionRecovery #SobrietyJourney #SchoolOfRockBottom