In January 2025 I started an Instagram account called Sober Compass which is where I share the day to day experiences of living in recovery from alcoholism, the healing journey (which never ends) and battling addiction in general – something I still do in varying degrees, though not with anything as destructive as alcohol.

Logo looks familiar, right?…

Anyway, there’s a couple of elements to the name and logo….

The word “Compass”…

I’ve been around recovery from addiction and healing long enough to know that everyone’s journey is unique.

I wanted something which emphasised that I don’t have all the answers, and all the things that work for me may not work for you – but some of them might.

So through using the page to share an honest portrayal of the ups and downs of recovery, I hoped I could at least point people in the right general direction.

Like a Compass, rather than a GPS.

The mountain in the logo…

This is a nod to the excellent book by Brianna West, “The Mountain is You – Transforming Self-sabotage into Self mastery”.

Along with various forms of therapy and working the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, this book was pivotal in helping me see that while outside circumstances can absolutely have a bearing on us, often the only person standing in our way to a better life, is ourselves.

So, “Intra Compass”…

As we say in AA, “it’s an inside job”, and while we need the help of others along the way, true healing, and improved mental, physical, emotional and spiritual wellness comes from exploring and excavating our inner worlds.

An often excrutiatingly painful but ultimately rewarding journey, when I realised that my life’s purpose was to help others, I needed a word which captured the essence of “inside”, so settled on “Intra”.

There were others I preferred, particularly “inside compass”, but they were all taken, so here we are with “Intra Compass”.

And as is so often the way, over time I’ve come to prefer it 😊

So, there you have it.