by Paul Churchill | Nov 19, 2018 | Podcast
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Dan, who doesn’t practice abstinence based recovery, shares his story…
Link to the Fox News article mentioned in the episode
“To be human is also to suffer from addiction. The particular vices vary as do our degree of addiction to them, but it takes precious little searching to know we’ve all got something unhealthy that pulls at us.” – Mike Kerrigan, Fox News
SHOW NOTES
[11:08] Paul Introduces Dan.
Paul doesn’t practice abstinence based recovery, and had a drink a few weeks ago. He’s 28 years old and lives in New York City. He runs a channel called Recovery X and Spooky Digital. He does MMA. He has a family. He practices mindfulness.
[12:48] Give us a little background about your drinking.
He started drinking when he was 10. His brother was getting married, and his parents allowed him to have a couple drinks. He got really drunk. He got a lot of attention and had a lot of fun. His family started to warn him about alcoholism but he didn’t yet understand. He would occasionally steal his father’s prescription medicine. He had behavioral problems at a young age.. he would get in fights. He started a school riot between different grades. He always looked up to the trouble makers. They got attention. He has a big family, and he felt like he always had to fight to be noticed. He was kicked out of 8th grade for stealing money from another kid. He was sent to a private boarding school. He was kicked out for fighting. He went through all kinds of behavioral modification programs. He felt abandoned by his family. He noticed that his brother had a different strategy than him.
[18:33] At what point did you realize that you were using alcohol to self-soothe?
He wanted to keep getting kicked out of private schools until his parents would run out of options and send him to public school. He began to drink more once he got to high school. It helped him reduce his anxiety. He ended up getting arrested after a fight, and was sent to rehab in Los Angeles. It was his first experience with a sober lifestyle. He was 16. He saw young people in recovery. He stayed out there for a while and would go on and off about wanting to be clean. He was arrested after a drinking related incident that turned violent. Alcohol always lead to destruction in his life. He had a problem with his thoughts and feelings and emotions. He also had an inability to deal with stress and relationships.
[23:53] Tell us more about the thinking problem.
His experience has been that the drugs and alcohol have been the solution to the problem, which was thinking or avoiding his internal dialogue. He experienced a lot of internal conflict, different conflicting voices. Now he has to be really strict about what he thinks, and what he allows to come into his mind. He had to learn how to challenge and to reframe every negative thought and to turn it into something positive.
[26:17] At what point were you able to detach from the negative thoughts?
He doesn’t differentiate the thoughts from himself, he thinks it’s all him. He thinks the mind is only about 10% of the entire brain, but it thinks that it’s all of it. “It’s like a stowaway on a ship saying it’s the captain”. He had to make friends to his subconscious mind and tell it that he’s listening. He started meditating regularly. It helps him get better at reframing thoughts.
[30:17] Did you experience a rock bottom moment to push into sobriety?
Many. So many times in so many different ways. If he had to pick one it would when he was getting violent in a relationship with a woman. He realized he wasn’t raised that way and that he violated some sort of a core value about respecting women. It made a tear in his psyche and he felt something growing through the cracks.
[32:32] Tell us about the lack of abstinence in your practice. How does one successfully embrace the grey area?
He finds binary thinking in the recovery community. The more we can be inclusive and the more we can embrace the idea the abstinence based recovery isn’t the only way the more people we can reach and the more people we can help. A big misconception about harm reduction is that one needs to be completely sober. Abstinence is a goal, but we’re really looking to improve our health and our lives on a daily basis. The goal has been to monitor his mental health on a daily basis. He started doing DBT (see links below). Part of that is keeping a record of your emotions and thoughts throughout the day. He takes notes about what happens in the day. Our memories are often distorted and the diary helps eliminate that and keep everything straight. He can see the patterns that lead to substance abuse.
[36:41] When you drank recently, how did you feel when you woke up the next day?
Alcohol can beat you up, but you don’t have to do it yourself. Have compassion and keep it moving. Don’t get stuck in the self loathing. Tell yourself positive things.
[38:47] Tell us more about DBT.
DBT stands for Dialectical behavior therapy. It’s a therapy with mindfulness at its core. If one is more mindful of one’s thoughts, one can see the patterns and opportunities for reframing. If someone ahead of you shuts a door in your face, the first reaction might be anger, but if we can see that we are assuming the intent, we can reframe it as a more innocent situation.
[41:05] Talk to us about abstinence being the goal.
Abstinence is one of the goals. The real measure of success is in your life. How are you treating other people? Are you being kind and helpful? How are you feeling?
[43:03] Tell us more about Recovery X.
They are offering free recovery resources to people in need. They offer as many voices involved as possible. They help people find recovery resources in their area. Initially his passion in life was communication. When he was a child he was bad at it. He always wanted to understand communication. After being in recovery, he realized that he could combine communication and recovery to be the most use to people in the world. They want to provide trusted sources and resources that are are not scams. Real authentic honest trustworthy programs.
[48:55] Rapid Fire Round
- What was your worst memory from drinking?
- Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?
- What’s your plan moving forward?Focus on mastery, and continue to stay out of the results and just hone the skills.
- What’s your favorite resource in recovery?Recovery Elevator, and RecoveryX.org
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)?Have compassion for yourself and just keep showing up and doing the work and you’ll get there.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?Love yourself like you would love somebody else and reach out to people when you need help. If you’re on Day 1 today, I would say have compassion for yourself.. you are fighting something that isn’t easy (it isn’t supposed to be) and I encourage you to keep at it. Don’t give up. It gets better, it’s a skill.
- You might be an alcoholic if…“…you go somewhere on vacation and end up on probation.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Recovery X:
Website
Video
Facebook (where we shoot live)
Youtube
Audio
Spotify
iTunes
Additional links mentioned from Dan
Recovery X Facebook Group where they post behind the scenes footage and people interested in recovery can connect with others.
Learn DBT Group on Facebook is a free community Dan runs, where people in recovery from a variety of mental health disorders can come to learn about DBT, get support and find free resources.
Personal Social Media for interviewee Dan
website, Instagram, or Facebook.
This episode is brought to you in support by Robinhood. Right now, Robinhood is giving my listeners free stock such as Apple, Ford or Sprint to help build your portfolio. Signup at elevator.robinhood.com
Connect with Cafe RE– Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
Sobriety Tracker iTunes
Sobriety Tracker Android
Sober Selfies! – Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”
by Paul Churchill | Nov 12, 2018 | Podcast
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Corey, with 5 days since his last drink, shares his story…
The mentioned article from the Irish Times
SHOW NOTES
[8:48] Paul Introduces Corey.
Corey has been sober for 5 days. He’s from Minnesota, now lives in Boston. He’s 25 years old and is working full time. He likes to exercise. He loves music, plays guitar and piano. He has an upcoming trip to Columbia, is learning Spanish. He feels confused with life now that he has left the structure of school.
[13:31] Give us a little background about your drinking.
He started to drink a lot more during years in college. He started to experiment with weed in high school. He began to drink or party when he should have been studying. He didn’t realize there was something wrong at the time. He used his computer to avoid academic responsibilities. He was okay with it as long as he continued to deliver on his academic duties. He felt like he coasted through college and also began to coast through his first jobs. He found himself in the same behavioral patterns. He didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. He lost a romantic partner because of his partying. He drowned his feelings with drinking. The feelings came back up after a few months. He was caught in a weekly cycle of drinking and depression. He used a notebook to think out loud and he wrote down that he wanted to quit drinking and smoking to be comfortable with who he was. He devised a plan. Last year he tried to knock out one of the three (weed, tobacco and alcohol). He was so focused on change that he was able to quit tobacco. Before a family trip he felt suddenly depressed. He began to drink alcohol to try and cope with his feelings.
[22:10] How were you able to quit all 3?
He set a new year’s resolution to quit alcohol. He ended up getting a therapist and it has helped a lot. He went down to New Orleans and it broke his sobriety streak. He felt guilty. He let himself down. He is now searching for a way to enjoy friendships without booze being involved. Over the summer, he loosened his grip on quitting a little bit he hasn’t been able to shake it. He went to a Halloween party and was drinking, and didn’t feel good. He just decided to leave. At home he was depressed and began googling ways to end his life. He feels that is his rock bottom.
[29:51] How will you manage your drinking on your upcoming trip to Maine?
He doesn’t have a real concrete plan. He knows there will be temptation. He’s not sure what to do about it. He will try to text them and tell them that he won’t be drinking.
[32:48] What’s your plan in sobriety moving forward?
He bought some books. He wants to read those. He’s listening to podcasts. He wants to continue to learn and journal and continue to move forward. He’s concerned about his upcoming trips, but he’ll do his best and try not to judge himself.
[37:46] How have you been getting past cravings?
Having some sort of healthy beverage on hand. He drinks tons of water.
[39:03] What is on your bucket list in sobriety?
He wants to record a full album and get better at guitar. He wants to make the most out of his international trips coming up. He wants to quit also because he wants a family.
[40:34] Rapid Fire Round
- What was your worst memory from drinking?
The incident where he drank and almost indulged in suicide.
- Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?
When the denial ended and he got depressed. He drank to go to sleep. He realized he was damaging his health.
- What’s your plan moving forward?
- What’s your favorite resource in recovery?Recovery Elevator podcast. He loves the format. He likes to hear about other people’s stories.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)?
To take it one day at a time. If he does today and then he does tomorrow, he doesn’t have to worry about the future.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?
Just to get out of the trap of associating college with partying. It’s going to catch up to you.
- You might be an alcoholic if…
“…you always pick up a 30 rack of beer multiple times in a week when you go grocery shopping.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Support for this episode is brought to you by RiaHealth.com. Visit Riahealth.com/elevator and enter the coupon ELEVATOR for $25 off your first month.
- Ria is growing to cover all 50 states. Currently we are able to treat people in the following states: California, Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
- Ria’s program is month to month, so there’s no commitment. Most Ria Members stay with the program for about one year once they achieve their goals.
Connect with Cafe RE– Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
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Sober Selfies! – Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”
by Paul Churchill | Nov 5, 2018 | Podcast
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Kellie, with 2 months year since her last drink, shares her story…
SHOW NOTES
[11:00] Paul Introduces Kellie.
Kellie has been sober for 28 days. She’s 43 years old, married with two children. She’s a real estate broker that enjoys puzzles, reading, cooking, running and hiking, and her animals. She tried alcohol for the first time around 10 years old. She dabbled in different drugs in her teens. She drank through her 20’s. She had her son at 26. She cleaned up her act and became a stay at home mother. In her late 30’s she had weight loss surgery. She was in the hospital and something happened to her brother. She bought a bottle of wine. Her drinking gradually escalated after that.
[16:48] Would you say you had an issue with food prior to the surgery?
Absolutely. She ate mostly healthy food but she would eat large quantities. Her drinking began to affect her son. She tried to moderate her drinking but it didn’t last very long. She finally went to an outpatient treatment for 3 and a half weeks. She was one of the only people there voluntarily and she didn’t like most of the people there. She was focusing on the negative. They would focus on the alcoholism in her family.
[22:30] Tell us about the transfer addiction.
They are checking to see if you will switch to a different addiction rather than food. She feels that she has an addictive personality. She would run even if she was experiencing pain or other issues.
[28:00] Tell us more about the outpatient program.
Her drinking got progressively worse. She realized that she had to get it under control for her son and family. She was afraid of what her alcoholism would be like once she had an empty home. She experienced aversion therapy. She was slightly sedated, and they interview you. Because of the drugs she had to answer honestly. She did the electro shock therapy as well. They condition you to experience negative feelings from interacting with alcohol. It successfully eliminated the cravings. She was skeptical but now she thinks about it as a miracle.
[33:22] It sounds like they are trying to punish or shame the alcohol out of people. Is that right?
Even though the treatments were extreme, it was a positive environment over all. People were there because they wanted to be. The nurses and doctors were there to help you get and stay sober. They don’t focus on you being an alcoholic. They focus on you being sober.
[35:08] What’s the “why” behind your addictive behavior?
She knew why she was drinking. Substance abuse runs in her family. She and her siblings were abused mentally and verbally. The food became a coping mechanism. When it stopped working, the booze became a problem. She always knew why she drank. She attends meetings to take care of herself. The depression and anxiety is her why. Now she’s focusing on the why. The aversion therapy makes you not want to drink, but it’s still the same in that it only takes 1 drink to get back to where she was.
[40:09] What is your plan in sobriety moving forward?
Just to do the next right thing. Take care of herself. She’s focusing on what she needs in the moment. Getting up in the morning and doing the things that she knows will keep her sober. She is trying to be more aware. She sees her self-talk and is trying to keep it in check. She combats the negative thoughts with positive affirmations.
[42:38] What’s on your bucket list in sobriety?
She wants to run another marathon. She wants to be sober for her son. She is trying not to think too far ahead.
[43:16] What have you learned about yourself in sobriety?
It is possible for her to be sober. She was always worried that she would be an addict for life because she had seen it manifest in different family members. She now focuses on the important things in her life. She realizes that alcohol isn’t the most important thing in her life.
[44:04] Rapid Fire Round
- What was your worst memory from drinking?
Blacking out. Her husband left to go get take-out. While he was out she passed out and her son found her on the floor.
- Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?
Making her a co-conspirator in her drinking. The two of them had to work together to hide her drinking from her son.
- What’s your plan moving forward?
- What’s your favorite resource in recovery?The people in the recovery community. She met many kinds of addicts in recovery and she relies on them to help her stay sober.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)?
Tell other people about recovery. You have to do it in your way and do what works for you. AA wasn’t for her and she’s glad she tried Shick Shadel.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?
Do the next right thing. Just think about right now.
- You might be an alcoholic if…
“… if you go on vacation with your kid and you spend the entire time drinking instead of spending time with your child.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Robinhood is giving my listeners free stock such as Apple, Ford or Sprint to help build your portfolio. Signup at elevator.robinhood.com
Right now, my listeners can try ZipRecruiter for free. Visit Ziprecruiter.com/elevator
Shick Shadel Hospital
Connect with Cafe RE– Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
Sobriety Tracker iTunes
Sobriety Tracker Android
Sober Selfies! – Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”
by Paul Churchill | Oct 29, 2018 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Nel, with over 1 year since her last drink, shares her story…
Drinking is more than the average habit. To reduce our problems with alcohol to a “bad habit” is missing the bigger picture. We drink for a variety of reasons.. for example: to cope, to ignore, to numb, to hide, How to Give Up Drinking?
Digging ourselves out of alcohol dependency actually requires the changing or removal of several habits. We need to change the way we relax. We need to change the way we deal with difficult emotions. We need to become more conscious, aware, and in the moment. We have to slowly remember the version of us that didn’t need anything to be okay. We have to change everything.
When one finds themselves in the grips of alcohol, it probably takes more time, effort, and patience to return to our emotional center than it did to lose it. It doesn’t happen overnight, and there are many lessons to be learned along the way, but with patience, persistence, self-love and an open mind, we can find ourselves looking back on our time with alcohol as a distant and remote dream.
SHOW NOTES
[11:40] Paul Introduces Nel.
Nel is 52 years old, from Shannon, Mississippi. She now lives in New York. She’s married. She’s a personal trainer that loves sports, particularly fantasy football. Dolphins are her favorite sea animal.
[15:05] Give us a little background about your drinking.
She started around 16. Her parents died when she was young. She had a chaotic upbringing. She could never relax. She started drinking after her parents died. It helped her relax and she loved it. She drank mostly on the weekends with the intention to get drunk. She went on to college and started drinking a lot more. She met her first husband her senior year of college. He helped her finish school. She was already beginning to drink a lot. She always knew that she drank more than other people. All of her friends drank. She has alcoholism in her family. She partied a lot in her 20s. She worked and took care of herself. Drinking remained a lower priority. She divorced her first husband in her early 30s. She moved back to Mississippi to be with her sister and help with her family. She felt happier generally, but was always managing her alcohol. She met her second husband at 35. She moved to New York. Her new husband was a normal drinker, and it made her realize how much she drank. It caught up to her, and began to experience physical symptoms and tried to switch to marijuana. She smoked pot “like she always wanted to drink”. She knew in her heart that she was making bad choices. She continued to function despite how she felt. She would blackout multiple times. She would experience “brownouts” after a few drinks.
[22:47] Did you experience a rock bottom moment?
She realized that she couldn’t trust herself anymore. She would get stoned and pick up her nephew from school and she realized she was going down the wrong path.
[25:28] Talk more about what it meant to lose trust in yourself.
She was frightened. Her biggest pillar of safety in life was her ability to self-regulate, and once she began to lose that she became extremely worried. She was negotiating with herself, and never winning. After the first line was crossed, the progression sped up because the anxiety kicked into overdrive.
[27:35] Did the drinking help you with the fact that you were flying solo in life?
She was trying to quiet the voices in her head and the anxiety and fear. She used it as a coping mechanism, as medicine.
[29:10] How did you end up making the change and finding your way out?
She wants to live a life that her family members can look up to, as an example. She realized she was off course. She didn’t want to go out like her parents. The next step was to put smoking and drinking down. Ever since then, she believes that God has been helping her. She began to do research about alcoholism and realized she had a problem, and that she wasn’t alone.
She is on the podcast because she wants to shed the shame. She didn’t know many in recovery before. She wants to reach out and let people know that there is a way out, and that they can do it.
[34:08] How did you keep the change going?
She knew one other person in recovery. Within 48 hours of her thinking about reaching out to her, she was out of her house and she coincidentally ran into her on the boardwalk. She told her everything and she stayed with her for the next few weeks. She went to an AA meeting and it was the best decision she ever made. It gave her instructions, guidance.
[37:27] Can you think of a time when self-negotiating didn’t work out?
She would go to a wedding, and tell herself she would only have two drinks. By the end of the night she lost her shoes and couldn’t remember anything. Towards the last few years she began to consistently lose the negotiations.
[38:53] What’s your plan moving forward in sobriety?
Keep it simple, do what’s working. She goes to meetings every day. She knows the rest of her life depends on whether or not she goes to those meetings. She feels more freedom now than ever before. She’s accepted that she can’t think her way out of everything. She meditates daily now, and she can easily meditate now for 15-20 minutes. She’s off her medication, her health has improved. She’s realizing that everything revolves around your thoughts. You have to practice and put in the work, but the benefits spill over into everything else in your life. She also focuses on exercise. Staying physically active and trying to take care of herself.
[42:44] Talk to us about the “why” in your drinking.
A genetic component, but also her environment. She was raised in an abusive household and was always anxious. She had low self esteem. She had voices in her head constantly criticise her. She didn’t know how to handle life without an escape plan, and she felt like alcohol was something she needed. She didn’t always have to have it, but she had to have access to it. She didn’t realize that she wasn’t her thoughts. She read “The Untethered Soul” and that plus her meditation practice has changed her relationship to her inner thoughts. She’s excited to see her new potential. When someone recommends a resource, give it a go!
[47:45 ] Rapid Fire Round
- What was your worst memory from drinking?
She went to a party and proceeded to get smashed at a party. She argued with her husband she isn’t aware about how she got back to her home. The next day her sister just left back to Mississippi.
- Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?When she picked up her nephew at school totally stoned.
- What’s your plan moving forward?
- What’s your favorite resource in recovery?Her AA group. The support and the knowledge that she gets from them. She also loves Recovery Elevator.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)?Keep it simple. Just one day at a time, don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t try to think your way out.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?What do you have to lose? If you feel bad at yourself, what do you have to lose by trying to get sober? You can always go back to your old way of life. You have to be all in if you give it a try.
- You might be an alcoholic if…“…you’re at a baseball game, and you are more worried about the 7th inning when they’ll cut off the beer sales off.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Untethered Soul – A book by Michael Singer
Connect with Cafe RE– Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
Sobriety Tracker iTunes
Sobriety Tracker Android
Sober Selfies! – Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”
by Paul Churchill | Oct 22, 2018 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Stephan, with 10 months since his last drink, shares his story…
Harm Reduction – The feeling of constantly downgrading addictions. Most of us address one addiction at a time, and usually tackle what we perceive to be the most harmful addiction first. Things improve with each hurdle. The lessons we learn from each stage strengthen our ability to move on to the next stage.
Often at the root of many of our addictive behaviors is essentially an addiction to thinking. The majority of our thinking is unnecessary and just causes mental noise. The thinking brain can take us to the worst case scenario in a matter of moments which can cause the body to respond with fight or flight. If adrenaline becomes the main fuel that we use to get through our days, over time we will find ourselves with sickness and disease.
The key is to find a way to shut off the monkey mind without resorting to extreme activities like skydiving, etc. Practices that cultivate inner harmony like meditation, yoga, playing a musical instrument and a myriad of other endeavors that cultivate mindfulness can slowly calm the mind and switch off the incessant chatter.
SHOW NOTES
[10:15] Paul Introduces Stephan.
Stephan is 33 years old and lives in Denver, Colorado. He’s married with a daughter. He owns a music school and is a freelance musician. He also plays golf.
[12:40] Give us a little background about your drinking.
He started after high school. He started to drink when he began working as a musician. He liked drinking at first. He tried to quit a few times along the way and began to suspect that he was an alcoholic pretty early. “Alcohol is the glue that binds phony friendships”. He would exercise and reward himself with alcohol. He used to live behind a bar and there was a crew of people that would go to the bar regularly. For a few weeks he only drank on Sunday. He began to feel a rift between the man he knew he was and his behavior. It was exhausting. His wife became pregnant and he used that as an excuse to drink every day. His wife would say “Do you remember what you said to me last night?” She knew he wouldn’t remember. He felt shameful that he couldn’t remember. There was a difference between what he knew he could be and what he was doing.
[20:58] How did you ultimately end up quitting?
He had several failed attempts. He stayed up at a wedding drinking by the fire. He woke up and he had bitten off some of his dental work. He felt like he was self-sabotaging. He had some oral surgery to get his wisdom teeth removed, and his first question was about alcohol. It all began to slowly add up. Then he found the Recovery Elevator podcast. He became mentally exhausted.
[23:58] Did you experience a rock bottom moment?
It all began to slowly add up. He became mentally exhausted. He knew he needed to be there for his new daughter. He couldn’t imagine being still drunk or hungover as a parent. There were complications with the pregnancy and he decided he was going to quit so he could be present while at the hospital.
[25:00] How did the birth of your daughter affect your attempts at sobriety?
No magic recipe. There was a decade of noise in his head already. He began to lean in to the new role. The birth of his daughter changed him, as well. He feels like he has a huge gift that he has a daughter and that he has his wife. He also visualized his daughter and his business as his purpose in life and his responsibility. He is proud that he’s been sober everyday of his daughter’s life.
[27:26] Have you experienced any cravings? How did you navigate them?
He had a family trip planned to New Zealand. He didn’t drink and he felt like a small kid with parental restrictions. Then on another vacation, everyone else was drinking but he stayed sober. The big challenges were easier, but the small situations were where he almost caved. He doesn’t keep alcohol in the house. His wife is really supportive. He also eats a lot of ice cream.
[31:25] Is there anything you would have done differently?
The next step is to reintroduce some fitness. In the past, exercise was motivated by rewarding himself with drinking. Now he wants to try it with a different intention with more longevity.
[32:44] Tell us about the vision board.
He was in a business development group. They had an exercise where they passed around a tin of dominos. The domino represents the one thing you need to change in your life/business. The one domino that will knock over all the other dominos. He put it on his vision board. He realized that his domino was sobriety. Since then he’s accomplished so much. He believes in himself again. Part of the static in his head was not believing that he could follow through on the commitments that he makes to himself. When he finally “knocked over the domino”, he began to see other things fall into place.
[37:06] Walk us through a day in your recovery.
Take it a day at a time. Today is all that matters. Don’t overthink it. Stay in the moment. He is looking into attending AA. He will reach out to people. He’s been making some sober connections. He wants to give his songs to other artists.
[39:23] Rapid Fire Round
- What was your worst memory from drinking?He was at his best friend’s wedding. He tried many new kinds of alcohol. They were driven to stay at a houseparty. He outdrank everyone. He slept out in the grass. He woke up with people taking pictures of him asking if he knew where he was. He wandered into the neighbor’s house and used their toilet. He fell asleep on a stranger’s couch. She woke up and came down and found him there. He was mortified.
- Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?Realizing that there is no controlling the beast, it needs to be slayed.
- What’s your plan moving forward?
- What’s your favorite resource in recovery?His wife, and the Recovery Elevator podcast.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)?Faith, belief, and action. Have faith that you will have the circumstances and the tools you will need. Believe that you will be able to do it, and take the action that needs to be taken. A recipe for success.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?Just do it! The other side is much better.
- You might be an alcoholic if…“If you rotate the liquor stores you stop in on the way home so none of them realize you have a problem.”
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Support for today’s episode is brought to you by Care/of. For 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, visit TakeCareof.com and enter the promo code ELEVATOR.
Connect with Cafe RE– Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
Sobriety Tracker iTunes
Sobriety Tracker Android
Sober Selfies! – Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”
