‘Cardigans are optional’: Taylor Swift-themed community uses lyrics to talk addiction, recovery

One  woman knows about substance use disorder all too well.

Julianne Griffin shares her fearless story of addiction and how she’s helping others through a virtual Taylor Swift-themed recovery group.

At first glance, a Swift Steps meeting may just look like a bunch of gals having a listening party and jamming out to Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

But, when you listen closer the members of the group are relating lyrics of songs to their own struggles with addiction.

A new song off of the album is called, “Down Bad” and Griffin told the group, “This entire song, I could see myself back in the struggle.”

“Yeah, like everything was fine before it all came crashing down,” Griffin’s friend Emily Bee said as she shared how she lost her sister to an overdose.

During any given meeting hundreds of fellow Swifties are connected virtually and are all at different stages of recovery.