Recovery Elevator | Stop Drinking, Start Recovering. | Alcohol, Addiction & Life In Sobriety

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 inst

Kelly, with 8 days since her last drink, shares her story… “Addiction gets harder and harder and ends in death. Sobriety is hard work too. But it gets easier and easier and ends in life.” - Andy Ziegler In this passage to sobriety, expectations do not always line up with reality.  In reality, it takes years for an addiction to take hold.  The healing process takes equally as long.  The negative thinking and behavioral patterns didn’t set in overnight, and won’t be lifted overnight.  It’s like turning a battleship.  We let go and reprogram gradually, a little bit each day, and that happens by making daily decisions that lead us down the road of self-love and health.    SHOW NOTES   [07:03] Paul Introduces Kelly.   In Fort Myers, Florida, 32 years old, sober for 8 days.  Happily divorced.  She is a mother, has a 4-year-old daughter.  She is learning who she is as a sober woman and mother.    [9:06] What lead to your decision to do the interview? She wanted to keep trying different things until she found some

Jamie, with 93 days since her last drink, shares her story… “No amount of alcohol is safe for your overall health.” “Alcohol was the leading risk factor for disease and premature death in men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide in 2016, accounting for nearly one in 10 deaths, according to the study…” A recent article released by CNN presents scientific studies that show the negative effects of alcohol consumption on one’s overall health.. delivering an opinion contrary to the largely pro-alcohol messages one typically finds in mainstream media.     SHOW NOTES   [9:15] Paul Introduces Jamie. Jamie is 39, from Alberta, Canada, and has been sober for 93 days.  She works in the school system and teaches fitness.  She is single, with two boys and dogs and cats.    [10:51] Give is a bit of background on your drinking. She started drinking when she was 12 years old.  She wanted to fit in with the bad kids.  Once she became old enough she drank much more.  She got married and had a child.  She los

Sarah, with 162 days since her last drink, shares her story… “When this happens, then I’ll be okay.”  You may already be living the live you have been dreaming about.  Try not to fall into trap of “when this happens, I’ll be okay.”  “When I get another month of sobriety”, or “when I move to another town”, or “when I get the right X” are all common examples of not living in the present moment.  Stop for a moment, take stock in the good things you have around you and try your best to find the magic and happiness you seek in the moment you’re in, right now.  Once you bounce back from the effects of alcohol, you might just notice that you already have enough.   SHOW NOTES   [7:50] Paul Introduces Sarah. Sarah has been sober for 162 days.  Sarah is from England.  She is divorced, with two kids.  She is still figuring out what she does for fun.  She loves camping, nature, the outdoors.  She has a sober boyfriend.  She recently quit her job in retail management and is now running her own little cleaning busines

Tamara, with 88 days since her last drink, shares her story… “There is only one line we can cross that we can’t come back from” The National Suicide Prevention Hotline – 1-800-273-8255 SHOW NOTES   [4:20] Paul Introduces Tamara, and she recaps her experience with relapse and suicidal thoughts. Tamara had a relapse after 48 days of sobriety.  She just moved to a new apartment.  She started the day running errands, then had a conversation with her sponsor.  She was alone, felt lonely and bought vodka.  She started to drink by herself.  She felt guilty because she is aware of the support structures that are in place, but she still witnessed herself resorting to alcohol to try to soothe her emotional pain.  She thought she had exhausted all of her options.  She began to have suicidal thoughts.  She recorded a goodbye message to her family.  She cut her wrist and sent the message.  Her parents received it and tracked her down.  They got in tough with her roommate.  Her roommate and her mother stopped her bleed

John, with over 1 year since his last drink, shares his story… The Journey One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice – though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do – determined to save the only life you could save. By Mary Oliver SHOW NOTES   [8:45] Paul Introduces Randy.   Paul is a musician from Helena, Montana.  He’s been sober f

Angie, with 146 days since her last drink, shares her story… “Alcohol gave me the wings to fly, then took away the sky” SHOW NOTES   [5:30] Paul Introduces Angie.   Angie is 36 years old, lives in Atlanta, GA.  She has been sober for 146 days and is the proud owner of 2 dogs.  She loves live music, the theater and the movies.  She enjoys cooking.  She now enjoys her own company.  [7:06] Give us some background about your drinking habits.  She never drank in high school or college.  She started when she was in her early 20’s.  Drinking gave her confidence.  After a divorce in 2012, she attempted suicide and her drinking also ramped up.  She was having between 6-10 drinks a night.  She felt like she was barely surviving.  Her move to Atlanta did not cure her drinking, but it helped her to realize she had a problem.    [10:25] Did you ever have a rock bottom moment? She was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  She never really wanted to stop, but she had a rock bottom moment when she drank before work. 

Jennifer, with 568 days since her last drink, shares her story… Tracking your sobriety time – Do the numbers matter? To begin with, know that it’s not a competition.  We’re going for quality over quantity!  We quit alcohol because we want to improve our lives.  The end goal isn’t in the numbers, but in the increase in one’s quality of life.  Removing alcohol was the first step in a journey of getting to know ourselves, finding out what we really want from life and making the best of each and every day.  The real tracker is how you feel about who you are, where you’re going and what is meaningful in your life.    SHOW NOTES   [9:52] Paul Introduces Jennifer.   Jennifer is 36 years old from Cleveland, OH.  She has 3 cats and runs a business walking dogs. [11:52] Describe to us your background with drinking. She started drinking at 15.  She always thought it was normal to binge drink.  She thought it was a part of youth.  Her drinking held pretty steady until her mid 30’s.  She realized that we live in a drin

Paul, with 28 days since his last drink, shares his story... The article mentioned in the episode introduction:  Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God - Wall Street Journal   SHOW NOTES   [10:57] Paul Introduces... Paul. Paul is from St. Paul, Minnessota.  He's 67 years old, retired.  He is married with 2 kids, and 2 grandchildren.  He hosts an internet radio show.  He enjoys cooking and films.    [13:18] Describe your drinking history. In his 20s, he feels that he was a normal drinker.  Sometimes to excess with a bad hangover, but usually a moderate amount.  During his first marriage, his wife didn't drink as much.  He started to experiment with stronger mixed drinks.  His second wife died of breast cancer, and he was a caretaker for her.  He used drinking to deal with the pain.  He married again a third time and didn't feel compelled to drink too much.  It started to creep back in.  His office culture encouraged drinking after work.  He gradually switched from beer to whiskey.  He tried to moderat

Jason, with 178 days since his last drink, shares his story... “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson   “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier   “It’s difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness of the universe. Everything beautiful in the world is within you.” – Russell Brand   “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” – Henry Ford   “If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.” – Zen proverb   “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier   “If things go wrong, don’t go with them.” – Roger Babson   “Recovery is not for people who need it, but for people who want it” – Anonymous   “When the past calls, let it go to voicema

Chris, with 96 days since his last drink, shares his story... In sobriety, it's possible to become more in tune with the inner workings of our minds.  By stopping the intake of a numbing substance, our minds and bodies become more sensitive, and with that sensitivity comes a glimpse into the processes and systems that run under the hood. Our emotions and how we handle them (or, in early sobriety, often we will see how our emotions are handling us!), the physical sensations that return as our body heals, and how our subconscious mind has an impact on our every waking moment. In practices like meditation, we can begin to see how our thoughts can interrupt our every waking moment.  As we examine further, we can see that thoughts have a big impact on how we see ourselves, the world and, ultimately thoughts can make up who we are. To learn to manage your thoughts, follow Paul's first steps:  - Trust that your body knows best. - Your mind is a secondary organ to your body.  You may think you are in control, but

Jodi, with over 100 days since her last drink, shares her story... You’d think that when dealing with something as simple and common as water, there couldn’t be any confusion.  Water is water, right?  It turns out that not all waters are created equal.  Water comes in many forms and despite what you might think, the differences aren't just regional nomenclature.  There are distinct differences between these types of water, and while they are somewhat slight, they’re enough to merit their own name.  Here’s what you need to know: Mineral Water Sparkling mineral water comes from a natural spring which contains various minerals, like salts and sulfur compounds. It's defined by its "constant level and relative proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the source." Minerals aren't added to this water and neither is carbonation (with the exception of San Pellegrino, which has additional carbonation added by the bottler). That means that the bubbles in these bottles are completely nat

Craig, who has been sober since 9/21/16, shares his story. The unprecedented success of this podcast mirrors a simple approach to recovery.  Just show up and continue to show up.  The future of Recovery Elevator is promising!  The plan is to migrate the growing community over to a private forum and away from facebook.  The focus will be on creating many local groups, in-person meet-ups, sober travel, and sobriety events . SHOW NOTES [14:00] Paul Introduces Craig. Craig is 40 years old, from central Scotland.  He's married and a father of two.  He works in flooring and is a part time Taekwondo instructor.   [16:53] When did you realize you first had a problem with drinking? He started when he was about 14.  His family moved a lot.  Alcohol was a big presence.  His first binge was extreme and he had to go to the medical center.  He started to drink a case per night.  Eventually whiskey entered the picture.  He became more isolated.  He couldn't relax without alcohol.  He would drink with colleagues after work

Problems are a part of life.  When one problem is resolved and filed neatly away a new one arrives to take its place.  At times, our problems in life may seem overwhelming.  When the pressure is on and things get difficult, often our response is avoidance or escape.  In sobriety we learn to neither rely on fight nor flight when things get tough.  Instead, we consciously engage in the life long practice of facing our fears.  We have a choice.  With courage, acceptance and humility we can find the strength to deal with our problems.  Kelsey, with 94 days since her last drink, shares her story..   SHOW NOTES   [8:10] Paul Introduces Kelsey. Kelsey is 26 years old, from Utah.  She lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with her boyfriend and two dogs.  She manages a coffee shop and runs a business producing handmade clothing.  She likes the outdoors and sports.  Sewing has been therapeutic for her since she quit drinking.    [10:56] What was your drinking background, and when did you first realize you wanted to quit? High

Is knowledge alone enough to quit drinking? “To know and not to do... is not to know.” - Buddhist Proverb Are we able to successfully quit drinking by devouring books, blog posts, podcasts and internet articles?  The facts about the dangerous nature of alcohol can be quite sobering.  Though education is never a waste of time, knowledge alone is not enough to keep you sober.  It can inspire, reinforce, or encourage you to quit, but it is not enough.  Self knowledge is no match for our unconscious mind, which is where most of the internal workings of our addiction lie. Sobriety requires knowledge, action and community.  Ky, with 10 months since her last drink, shares her story..   SHOW NOTES   [10:40] Paul Introduces Ky. Ky is from 28 years old and is from British Columbia.  She works 3 jobs and enjoys, cooking, comedy shows, movies, and crossword puzzles.   [12:50] When did you first realize you had a problem with alcohol? She started drinking around 12 years old.  She thought “This is it!”  She thought i

Today we hear from Jade. She's 27 years old, from Kentucky and has had her last drink on April 14th 2018. The Ego:  The part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and unconscious mind.  It is in charge of reality testing and gives us a sense of personal identity.  The self concept.  A collection of beliefs that serve as the foundation for our bearings in life.  A healthy ego can serve to give us something to lean on when times get tough.  We believe in ourselves and are capable of handling adversity or difficult emotions.     An unhealthy ego can cause us a lot of problems.  When an ego gets unhealthy, it can keep us from living in the present moment because we harbor beliefs about ourselves that aren't congruent with reality.  Letting go of an unhealthy ego is a big step in recovery.  Jade, with about 2 months since her last drink, shares her story...   SHOW NOTES   [11:15] Paul Introduces Jade. Jade is a 27-year-old liquor store manager from Kentucky.  She has a dog, and enjoys the outdoors, p

“There are many excuses to drink... but no reasons.”  “When you are an addict, the only line you can cross but can not come back from is death.” Dating and Sobriety Modern dating has us drinking more, but being less successful at it.  Drinking can give us a false sense of connection.  A 2014 Survey from Plenty of Fish found that 36.4% of singles drink before going out and 48.9% drink during the date.   It's not entirely surprising that modern dating and drinking are so thoroughly linked.  Having a conversation with a stranger can be difficult, whether the internet was involved in your meeting or not.  People will drink to make themselves feel more relaxed, but in reality, all they are doing is slowing down their brains, dulling their senses and intuitions.  Not drinking works in our favor.  Jitters are your body's way of telling you that you care.  Mating is natural, primal, and our bodies have developed mechanisms for sniffing out whether or not a potential mate will be good for us.  When we drink, we a

Alcohol and Anxiety Today we will look at anxiety and the role it plays in alcohol addiction.  Anxiety is inevitable, but we can change what we do and feel about it, ultimately affecting the level of severity we experience and the frequency of attacks.  It shows that we care about what is going on.  Anxiety is a tool we inherited from our prehistoric past that let us know that we were in danger.  It is useful and necessary, and is a natural part of life.  Unlike normal anxiety, chronic anxiety does not have roots in the present moment.  Chronic anxiety begins when the anxiety becomes our default modus operandi.  The conscious mind focuses on the anxiety, fueling it and allowing it to expand and become consuming.  We find ourselves on a hamster wheel of potential causes, cures, analyses, and ultimately, fear and discomfort.  It surfaces for, as far as we know, no apparent reason.  We make attempts to repress or sidetrack it.  Drinking is one way that many try to deal with their anxious feelings.  While we

Compassionate Curiosity: a way we can get to the root of why we drink. “The problem's not that the truth is harsh, but that liberation from ignorance is as painful as being born. Run after truth until you're breathless. Accept the pain involved in re-creating yourself afresh.” - Naguib Mahfouz One of the biggest root causes of addition is self loathing.  Feeling like we are not worthy or that we are in any way less than others is a belief often found at the center of our addictive behavior.  The cure for self loathing is self compassion, or self love.  Replacing the habit that is self judgment with forgiveness, the mental rigidity with an intention of being open, or the repetitive criticism with positive messages that we can do this are some of the first steps toward distancing ourselves from addictive tendencies.  We begin with a process of self examination, wherein we compassionately do so without judgment.  “There is no moving forward without breaking through the walls of denial.” -Gabor Maté Kim, wi

Burn The Ships For many people, the answer of what is it that is holding us back in our lives isn’t exactly obvious. The question of what is blocking us from obtaining that inner peace we deserve can be difficult to answer for some. The good news is that if you’re listening to this podcast, the answer is most likely alcohol is what’s holding you back any it may be time to “burn the ships”. Fran with 16 months since his last drink, shares her story...   SHOW NOTES   [8:00] Paul Introduces Fran. Fran is 43 years old from Indiana, but originally from Cleveland.  She's married and a mother of 2.  She's a program director and massage therapist.  She is an entrepreneur and loves yoga and the outdoors.  She also likes to work in her yard.  She previously had 3 years of sobriety during her 20's.    [11:15] What made you seek out a sober life initially? She injured herself as an athlete and then got into the restaurant business.  Initially it was fun, but then she began drinking on the job.  She realized her life