Recovery Elevator

Lou, with 2 years since his last drink, shares his story… 5/20/17 – Join us for Run for Recovery in Bozeman, MT.  Not a runner?  Sign up for a virtual run @ RecoveryElevator. Com/Run.  Enter promo code recoveryelevator to receive $5.00 off. Is quitting drinking a sacrifice?  We often fear that we are giving up on pleasure if we have to give up alcohol.  This is absolutely false.  If we are in the...

Chris, with 11 months since his last drink, shares his story…… Does alcohol relieve our fears?  Absolutely not.  It may initially feel like it does but what booze is really doing is taking away our survival instincts.  It removes our ability to face our fear (and fear is there for a reason).  We become the turtle hiding away in its' shell.  Or worse yet, alcohol takes away our inhibitions which ca...

Mitchell, with 30 days since his last drink, shares his story How to quit drinking Do not drink. Replace the beverage in your hand with a Popsicle or a ginger beer Watch the movie Leaving Las Vegas and then watch it again Listen to every Third Eye Blind Song ever written Do not watch the movie Beer Fest Go to 90 meetings in 90 days Get a sponsor or an accountability partner Think about joining Caf...

Amanda, with 19 months since her last drink, shares her story   Why we drink:   Alcohol is everywhere. Drinking appears to be the norm.  We are bombarded with alcohol advertisements 67 times a day.  Our society has a love affair with booze. We have a genetic make-up to become addicted to alcohol. Our environment is flooded with alcohol. We think everything we do should be accompanied by alcohol. A...

Paul G with 10 years of sobriety, shares his story…… What is mindfulness?  Mindfulness is basically a type of coping strategy.  It is being in the moment, paying attention and being present. Why should we practice mindfulness? It is good for our bodies It helps boost our immune system It increases positive thoughts while decreasing negative thoughts It changes how the brain functions and helps us...

Henk, 5 years sober, shares his story….. How do most people get sober?  We all assume that it is through rehab or 12 step programs and that your odds are slim if you try to do it on your own (www.addiction.com).  During the 1980's an idea was promoted that the only way you could get and stay sober was through rehab programs or AA.  However, a study that followed problem drinkers from 2001-2005 sho...

James, with 79 days sober, shares his story…….. Paul starts the show by recommending Annie Grace's video course on how to get started in sobriety and how to make lasting changes.  www.recoveryelevatory.com/Annie .  Enter promo code elevator50 to receive $50 off. Does getting sober mean simply not drinking?  No – not drinking equals a dry drunk.  Getting stuck as a dry drunk also means that your li...

Jeff, who has been sober since Dec 5, 2016, shares his story……   Paul starts the show recounting his 2 weeks visiting Hope Rehab in Thailand. (www.hope-rehab-center-thailand.com)   What I learned in Rehab People came for other drugs but quickly realize that alcohol was the real issue Most people were still in denial of their addiction and will not stay sober A lot of the clients were just going th...

Shane with 3 days since his last drink, shares his story….. Paul starts the show off by listing his reasons for quitting drinking : I wake up eager to start the day I'm not lying to myself anymore Because It's a progressive disease and I know the pain and misery that awaits I do not have a beer gut anymore  THIQ was being deposited into my brain after every binge drinking episode which made it har...

Amelia, with 79 days since her last drink, shares her story…… According to the HBO documentary, Risky Drinking, 70% of people drink.  Most drinkers fall within the following spectrum: no risk, low risk, mid risk, moderate risk, severe and death.  The documentary chronicles 4 people in different stages of alcoholism.  If you are drinking to fix the problem that drinking has caused, you may need to...

Erik, with 67 days since his last drink, shares his story…. What exactly is alcohol and how is it created?  According to the book, Beyond the Influence, by Katherine Ketcham, the basic ingredient of alcohol is yeast.  Let's just call it what it is; yeast dung to be exact.  The yeast eventually dies off during the fermenting process leaving alcohol in its' basic form, which is ethanol.  That's righ...

Tricia, with 30 days since her last drink, shares her story…. Congratulations Recovery Elevator on 100 episodes!  How did we make it to 100 episodes?  How else, but one episode (day) at a time. Problem drinking that becomes severe is often given the medical term alcohol use disorder or AUD.  Some interesting studies from the NESARC show that in 2012, 7.2% of the population surveyed had an alcohol...

Mona, with 2 weeks since her last drink, shares her story……. Paul starts the show by answering some "fan" mail questions about God and AA.  Many listeners wonder how they can participate in AA without accepting a higher power.  When the pain of drinking outweighs everything else, you just may be willing to try anything.  Statistics show that alcoholism is on the rise but attendance at AA meetings...

Shaun, with 2 months since his last drink, shares his story One of the most common questions we get asked as alcoholics is, "What do you drink now that you no longer drink alcohol?"  Or, "How do I fit in at social functions now?"  There are plenty of tasty non-alcoholic drinks to choose from, so when water is just not cutting it, check out the list below: Shirley Temple (don't' forget to double up...

Bubba, with 1 year since his last drink, shares his story. SHOW NOTES Cognitive dissonance = the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.  "First they ignore you, than they laugh at you, than they fight you, than you win."  Sobriety is measured one day at a time and if we take it slowly, we will be the winner....

Wynn, with 28 years of sobriety, shares his story... SHOW NOTES Tis the season to be jolly and sober….. What are the differences between food cravings and alcohol cravings?  Our gut sends signals that tell us to eat.  We can only go 14 days without food and 80% of our serotonin is created in our gut.  This feeling is very similar when we are craving a drink.  The mind starts chirping and gives us...

Melissa, with 1 month of sobriety, shares her story... SHOW NOTES It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…. Many of us believe that we cannot quit drinking.  "I am the life of the party, that's just who I am!"  (I bet the crowd around us would beg to differ but that's besides' the point.)  Life will not be fun if I do not drink.  Yeah right- blackouts, hangovers, depression, and anxiet...

John with 17 years of sobriety and Adrianne with 11 years, share how they did it. This is their story... SHOW NOTES According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), addiction is a brain disorder, not a behavioral problem.  This is nothing new so why are we still talking about it?  Probably because even though society is starting to finally believe that addiction is a disease and not...

Stephanie has been sober for nearly 5 years... This is her story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE ! SHOW NOTES Why do some go down the path of alcoholism faster than others? Why do the wheels come off at different times for all of us? Is it an 'addictive personal...

Sara, with 5 months and 10 days of sobriety, tells us how she did it. [9:21] Paul introduces Sara Sara has been sober for 5 months and 10 days, or a total of 163 days. Sara is feeling better than she has ever felt, which is a common response in early recovery. Sobriety has not been all wonderful colors, tastes, and smells. Sara's experience  so far has been overall great, but not without challenge...

 Sasha has been sober for just over 5 years... This is her story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE ! SHOW NOTES 12 ways to help you stay sober through the holidays. Last year, in Episode 43 , I introduced a long list of ways to stay sober, and now, it's a year lat...

Christine has been sober for 129 days... This is her story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE ! SHOW NOTES What is a dry drunk? It is someone who just doesn't drink anymore, who has 'quit' using sheer willpower... ***Spoiler Alert*** Willpower eventually runs out....

 Zach has been sober for 3.5 years... This is his story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE ! SHOW NOTES "You gotta get through it to get to it..." Open your eyes and start to notice those around you. Often, you'll find others who don't drink. Talk to them, discover...

Val has been sober for 6 months... This is her story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE ! SHOW NOTES If you drink enough alcohol over time our brains will change due to the response to alcohol. Some of the damage is irreversible, thus proving that you can pick up r...

Kenny has been sober for 1 & 1/2 years... This is his tale... Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE and get your daily AA email here!   SHOW NOTES Why did alcohol stop working for me? (***Spoiler Alert*** If it still works for you, IT WILL STOP working.) I needed more...