by Paul Churchill | Mar 2, 2020 | Podcast
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Tara took her last drink February 4, 2019. This is her story.
On today’s episode Paul talks about the top 10 reasons for quitting drinking. Number one; your authentic self will begin to emerge. Number two; you don’t have a headache due to lack of aspirin in your system. Number three; you’ll begin to find out who you aren’t. Number four; you’re open to signs from the universe. Number five; you can start to see the insanity of the mind. Number six; your brain will start to produce regular amounts of melatonin. Number seven; welcome back oxytocin. Number eight; you’re part of something much bigger. Number nine; you stop hoping. Number ten; you have a chance to start working on the one big lesson you’ve signed up for in this lifetime.
[19:15] Paul introduces Tara.
Tara is 46 years old and lives in Seattle, WA. She is a preschool teacher, founded her own preschool 25 years ago. She is married to her high school sweetheart and has 2 adult children. For fun Tara loves to dance.
[22:30] Give us a background on your drinking.
Tara says there were 3 scary moments that caused her to pause and think that alcohol could be a problem. The first was when she was 15 years old and she was at a wedding and the bar was opened up to her. This was a formal wedding and Tara jumped into the pool. She was the only one in the pool.
Tara’s second scary moment was also in high school. She was at a party drinking hard alcohol and decided to get into the hot tub. Tara says she got so sick that she threw up blood.
Tara’s third scary moment came when she was in her forties and was on an annual girl’s trip to Palm Springs. She drank like she normally did, with no off switch, and she fell and hit her head. All Tara could think about when that happened is that that was how her dad died.
[38:25] Talk to us about right before you quit drinking.
Tara says she went to a party and started drinking, and instead of calming her anxiety like she felt alcohol usually did, her anxiety amped up. It made her question how much she was going to have to drink to feel that ‘warm blanket’.
[42:50] Your Dad is listening right now, what do you have to say to him?
Tara said she just wants to let her Dad know that she loves him, and she’s proud of him.
[45:20] How did your relationship with your husband change after you quit drinking?
Tara says that her bond with her husband is even stronger and deeper now.
[49:00] What has been your biggest challenge this last year?
Tara says is the ones that kind or catch you out of nowhere.
[50:40] What’s an excuse you used to tell yourself of why you couldn’t quit drinking?
Tara said it was telling herself that she didn’t drink every day or that she didn’t drink by herself.
[51:20] What are your thoughts on relapse?
Tara says that on a personal level she doesn’t see it happening to herself.
[54:40] Rapid Fire Round
- What’s a lightbulb moment you’ve had on this journey?
I’m happier without alcohol.
- What is a memorable moment that a life without alcohol has provided you?
A trip to Costa Rica and no drinking whatsoever.
- What’s your favorite alcohol-free drink?
I like iced tea or Bubly water with a little mint in it.
- What are some of your favorite resources?
I love to listen to your podcast, and many others.
- What is on your bucket list in a life without alcohol?
A lot more travel, and I hope to go to Thailand.
- What parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners?
Just stick with it.
You might need to ditch the booze if…
You put a bikini on at a formal wedding and jump into the pool when nobody else is in the pool.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind – in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
You can find more information about our event here.
The book, Alcohol is Sh!t, is out. Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
by Paul Churchill | Feb 24, 2020 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Vinny took his last drink 9 ½ years ago. This is his story.
On today’s episode Paul talks about change. Whether you like it, or not, you are always changing. You’re either building new circuits or adding new blockages to your energy field. With an addiction it’s either gaining momentum or you’re lessening the energetic bonds of the addiction. You must make time to always do the work.
[15:45] Paul introduces Vinny.
Vinny is 61 years old and lives in Bangkok. For fun Vinny like to read, watch a good TV series, going to meetings and helping people.
[19:20] Give us a background on your drinking.
Vinny discovered alcohol in his late teens and continued to use it for 10 years. The next 10 years involved alcohol and smoking marijuana. He added crack to the mix and became a crack addict for the following 5 years. He went to 2 treatment centers and didn’t get clean until 2004. He hit his bottom while living (homeless) in Las Vegas. He managed to get sober after that and it lasted 3 years.
[22:45] What in your message you want to get out?
Vinny says that recovery can be simple. Simple means it’s not complicated.
[27:13] How can thinking get us into more trouble?
Vinny says that most of us do not think, or see, very clearly. He says we act based on the false evidence we see in front of us, so obviously if we are not relating to reality, we are always going to make the wrong choices.
[30:05] What do you see is the biggest challenge that someone on this journey will face?
Vinny says he thinks that people have the illusion that they have to do it all themselves.
[38:05] What do you think addiction is and where do you think it comes from?
Vinny says he doesn’t know where addiction comes from, and that it doesn’t matter.
[44:00] Talk to us a little bit about self-loathing.
Vinny says self-loathing is shame.
[46:35] Talk to us about burning the ships and being honest with others.
Vinny says that sometimes we are not even aware that we aren’t honest with ourselves.
[52:30] Do you think that someone can become recovered?
Vinny says if you want to use the word recovered in the present moment, yes. If recovered means you are cured, then no.
[54:50] Rapid Fire Round
- What is your favorite alcohol-free drink?
Pepsi-Cola
- What is a memorable moment that a life without alcohol has provided you?
The energy here at my job, on a Saturday afternoon, seeing 30 recovering people connect with each other.
- What’s some of the best advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
- And what parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners?
Take responsibility for yourself.
You might need to ditch the booze if…
You are a healthcare provider and you are taking care of somebody that needs you, and you have ran out of booze at 3 o’clock in the morning, and you abandon him and go and get booze.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind – in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach – October 8 – 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
The book, Alcohol is Sh!t, is out. Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
ZipRecruiter
This episode is brought to you in support by ZipRecruiter. Right now, my listeners can try ZipRecruiter for free. Visit Ziprecruiter.com/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
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
by Paul Churchill | Feb 17, 2020 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Sofi took her last drink on April 28, 2014. This is her story.
In today’s episode, Paul talks about tough love. If you are saying you want to quit drinking…but…”you can’t because…fill in the blank ”, or “you can’t because you don’t want to…fill in the blank”, in other words, you want to quit but don’t want to put in the work, well here’s some tough love for you…that doesn’t work.
[11:00] Paul introduces Sofi.
Sofi is 30 years old and it from London. She has 4 older sisters. For fun Sofi enjoys exercise and hanging out in nature while listening to podcasts.
[15:00] Give us a background on your drinking.
Sofi says she has always had an addictive personality. With alcohol Sofi noticed a change around the age of 14. She was at a boarding school so all her drinking took place on the weekends. Sofi says that the wheels came off when she went to university.
Freshman year she was going out every night. By her 2nd year of university, when most of her friends had slowed down, Sofi continued her drinking ways.
Sofi never finished university and at the age of 21 was in her fist rehab. That began a revolving door for the next 4 years…rehab, relapse, rehab, relapse.
[21:00] 13 treatment centers, was there ever a time when you just felt like the next one wasn’t going to work?
Sofi says she liked rehab. She liked that when she was there, she met people that thought like she did.
[25:50] What does ‘you can’t think your way out of this problem’ mean to you?
Sofi said she had learned all the tools in all of her rehab stays, but because she didn’t know how to use them, she kept relapsing and going back. It wasn’t until she had a moment of clarity that it all came together and made sense.
[31:15] Talk to us about what you learned in those first 3 years, and then in the 2 years after that.
Sofi says she was learning to live through the highs and lows during the first 3 years. She also learned, through the AA community, that she wasn’t such a bad person and how to make things right with her family. The biggest thing that Sofi has learned, and is still learning, is that she does not need to punish herself.
[34:05] How do you address self-loathing?
Sofi says she at the place where she accepts herself, most of the time. She tries to treat herself as she would treat someone else.
[36:15] Talk to us a little bit about your experience here at Hope Rehab.
Sofi says it is such a fun environment. Hope Rehab is teaching people how to enjoy life sober. There is a big emphasis on exercise.
[41:15] Rapid Fire Round
- What is a memorable moment, that a life without alcohol, has given you?
Going on holiday with my family again, for the first time sober.
- What is your favorite alcohol-free drink?
Hard to narrow it down, but anything sour.
- What are some of your favorite resources?
It’s easily other people.
- What’s on your bucket list in an alcohol-free life?
I’m living it now, going around the world and seeing as much of it as I can.
- And what parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners?
Stay connected.
You might need to ditch the booze if…
You have started drinking secretly.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind – in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach – October 8 – 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
The book, Alcohol is Sh!t, is out. Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
BetterHelp
hope-rehab-center-thailand.com
Visit betterhelp.com/ELEVATOR and join the over 500,000 people talking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Recovery Elevator listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/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
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
by Paul Churchill | Feb 10, 2020 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Lisa took her last drink on December 16, 2017. This is her story.
On today’s episode Paul talks about moderate drinking, and whether or not it works. For almost everyone, when we first decide to quit drinking, we try to moderate. The question isn’t, can I still have alcohol in my life, but…do I want to be a moderate version of my authentic self?
Are there success stories of moderate drinking? Sure. But they don’t work out in the long run.
[18:30] Paul introduces Lisa.
Lisa is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is 40 years old and has 2 kids, a 21-year-old and 18-year-old. Lisa has been a single mom for 13 years. She is a RN and does patient care part time and education full time. For fun Lisa loves going to the gym, and when the weather is nice, she likes to hike.
[22:00] Give us a background on your drinking.
Lisa started drinking at the age of 14. She wasn’t a huge drinker, but whenever she could drink, she did, and she always wanted to get wasted. At 27 she was newly divorced with 2 kids, and had come out of a very unhealthy relationship. Sad and depressed she moved in with her parents and that’s when her drinking ramped up.
Fast forward to 2017, at 37 years old, her son has left for college and she is feeling a little empty nest syndrome, is sad, is drinking and blacking out every weekend. Her last month of drinking she was drinking and driving, hanging out with people she wouldn’t normally hang out with, drawing lines in the sand and quickly going over them.
On December 17, 2017, she was up north with her twin sister, was nursing a really bad hangover, and says she looked at her sister and said she was done.
Within the following week Lisa had called a girlfriend who took her to 3 AA meetings by the end of that week.
[28:38] Was there a moment of clarity?
Lisa says yes. She went up north with her sister to see a Christmas light show, still extremely hungover and getting sick during the ride, and as she got out of the car and saw the convention center, she just knew she was done. Within an hour of saying she was done drinking Lisa says her spirit felt lighter.
[32:35] What roll has your sister played on this journey?
Lisa says her sister has played a vital role, and that her sister herself is 1 year sober. At 3 months sober Lisa, sitting in her closet crying, called her sister who gave her the advice she needed to hear…to not “go back out” (drink).
[36:30] Talk to us about how you did it, what’s working for you?
Lisa works a 12-step program and has a sponsor. She says that really early on she would look for ladies at meetings that had smiles on their faces. If she was asked to do something, she did it, she volunteered at a lot of events. Lisa loves bringing meetings into a detox. She also surrounds herself with friends that don’t drink.
[45:45] What did you expect sobriety to feel like, and what does it actually feel like?
Lisa says she didn’t expect life to be like it is. She expected her life at 2 years sobriety to be top notch. She catches herself being resentful that she doesn’t have all that she expected would come with 2 years sobriety, but when she focuses on all she does have and all that God has given her, her life looks a lot prettier.
[52:30] Rapid Fire Round
- What’s a lightbulb moment you’ve had on this journey?
When I saw the look in my daughter’s eyes when she thought I was drinking again. (Lisa was drinking a mocktail.)
- What is your favorite alcohol-free drink?
Club soda with cranberry and a splash of lime.
- What are some of your favorite resources?
The Recovery Elevator podcast, the RE Facebook group, making connections with people in Minnesota, AA and I sponsor a couple women.
- And what parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners?
Don’t take yourself so damn seriously.
You might need to ditch the booze if…
“If you are talking to the bartender, who you know is sober, about how much you want to quit drinking, at bar closing while intoxicated.”
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind – in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach – October 8 – 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
The book, Alcohol is Sh!t, is out. Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Resources mentioned in this episode:
ZipRecruiter
This episode is brought to you in support by ZipRecruiter. Right now, my listeners can try ZipRecruiter for free. Visit Ziprecruiter.com/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
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
by Paul Churchill | Feb 3, 2020 | Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe to the Recovery Elevator Podcast Apple Podcasts | | More
Andrew took his last drink on February 16, 2019. This is his story.
Update on the Alcohol is Sh!t book! The book is out! Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
On today’s episode Paul talks about 2 things. Number one is about how it is the simple things in life that matter the most. Number two is, watch out for addiction whack-a-mole, or transfer addiction, with an emphasis on technology and smart phones.
[16:15] Paul introduces Andrew.
Andrew is 47 years old and lives in Sidney, AUS. He is divorced and enjoys spending time by the water.
[20:20] Give us a background on your drinking.
Andrew was about 15 years old the first time he drank and he realized that, when he drank, he didn’t quite behave the same way as everybody else. He says that he felt that alcohol calmed him down.
[23:00] When did you first recognize that alcohol was causing more damage than good?
By age 19 Andrew had 4 drunk driving charges. Andrew thought that spending 5 days in jail, after running through a roadside sobriety test, was a holiday because he had been working so hard.
[24:30] How did you keep a lid on from age 19 to 46?
Andrew says he didn’t keep a lid on his drinking. He managed to work really hard at the jobs he had, working in the restaurant business. He says he was constantly getting fined at work, and driving to work drunk. Andrew says he was allowed to get away with this behavior at work because the restaurants would be doing so well under his management.
[35:20] Did you feel you still needed some field research after your ban from the grocery store?
Andrew says that this was the beginning of trying to find any way to get out from how he was. He was swimming in the ocean but this behavior increased for the next 6 months. After cutting his drinking back, but still drinking about 10 beers a day, he had a seizure, at the train station. This led to a 5-day hospital stay.
[44:10] What can you say to listeners out there that feel that they are too far gone?
Andrew says that there is no such thing as too far gone.
[55:19] Rapid Fire Round
- What’s a lightbulb moment you’ve had on this journey?
Probably the first time I was told, you can have alcohol, or you can have everything else.
- What is a memorable moment that a life without alcohol has given you?
Meeting my girlfriend.
- What is your favorite alcohol-free drink?
Sparkling water.
- What is on your bucket list in an alcohol-free life?
I have one travel journey I’d like to take.
- And what parting piece of guidance can you give to listeners?
Seek out people who have already survived and listen to what they have to say.
You might need to ditch the booze if…
27 years after almost ran over a police officer on the side of the road you get banned from your local supermarket.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind – in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach – October 8 – 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
BetterHelp
Visit betterhelp.com/ELEVATOR and join the over 500,000 people talking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Recovery Elevator listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/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
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
