Recovery Elevator

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 so...

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 gett...

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 fil...

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 glori...

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,...

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 bet...

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 trav...

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 pra...

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, reinfo...

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...

"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 d...

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. ...

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...

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 wi...

Bravery:  Ready to face and endure danger or pain.  Showing Courage. Many times in life we come face to face with our next step.  We can see clearly the path ahead that will lead to our next "level up".  We can know everything there is to know about our plight and circumstances.  We can possess the very map that will lead us to the next door.  But when the time comes, sometimes we hesitate to open...

The path of sobriety is not always easy.  Many of us will stumble, fall, relapse and find ourselves back at square one.  It's not the end of the world.  When we relapse, we have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes and, if necessary, reinvent ourselves.  Tamara, with 48 days since her last drink, shares her story...   SHOW NOTES   [3:57] Paul Introduces Tamara. Tamara is 31 years old, from N...

Please listen with an open heart and open mind. - Paul

Has addiction always been a problem?  Alcohol has been around for thousands of years, but has alcoholism? In Gabor Maté's book, " In the realm of hungry ghosts" he states: "The precursor to addiction is dislocation... the loss of psychological, social, and economic integration into family and culture.. a sense of exclusion, isolation and powerlessness.  Only chronically and severely dislocated peo...

When we are in the throws of an addiction to alcohol, the effects go beyond just us.  They affect our family and those closest to us.  After running the podcast for 3 years, Paul has begun to notice patterns emerging.  One of the biggest patterns he noticed might be the key to successful sobriety:  Accountability.  Getting sober can be daunting, and the people around you are owed an explanation. ...

The alcohol industry gives the government funds to prove light drinking is safe.  In today's era of information overload, it can be difficult to sort the truth from the strong opinions.  As the lines between journalism, science and advertising continue to blur, it can become difficult to know where to stand when one can find a seemingly reputable article or study to support any side of any opinion...

A quote from "Drinking: A love Story" by Caroline Knapp sums up the theme for today's podcast:  "Early sobriety has the quality of vigorous exercise, as though each repetition of a painful moment gone without a drink serves to build up emotional muscle." Life will happen.  We can't control what challenges life will send our way but we can control how we respond.  Each passing trial is an opportuni...

"Do I have a drinking problem?"  Part II The first episode under this particular theme came out back in March of 2015.  In "Drinking: A Love Story" by Caroline Knapp, a questionnaire is presented that will help you determine whether or not you have a drinking problem, and if yes, at what stage your drinking problem is.  See the questions below: 1.  Do you drink heavily when you are disappointed or...

Do the medications work? Paul reads messages he received from different podcast listeners about their experiences with some of the various medications often prescribed as quit aids for quitting drinking.  Though they are not known to be an effective all-in-one cure for alcoholism, they appear to be a positive piece to the recovery portfolio for some.  Ed, with 11 days since his last drink, shares...

Why do we drink?  When we no longer drink alcohol, the many reasons we used to drink come bubbling to the surface.  What may have started out as a fun activity or a social lubricant often morphs into a way to (not) deal with life's problems.  The barrage of pro-alcohol messages from media and society has the potential to pull the wool over our eyes as the addictive nature of alcohol quietly gets t...

"Your addiction will lie to you in your own voice." Your addiction will often appear to you as a voice in your head that sounds like your own rational thoughts.  It will tell you that it's not really that big of a deal, that you are really in control or, in many cases, will conveniently wipe your memory (the ISM or "incredibly short memory") so you won't recall what a tough time you had getting th...