Confident Sober Women

Today I talk with Susan Packard about her transformative long-term recovery journey from a high-level executive struggling with alcohol to a beacon of sober leadership and authorship. Once a successful executive at HGTV who couldn't control her drinking, Susan entered recovery embarking on a path that would not only transform her life but also inspire countless others. Key Highlights: Susan&a...

In this groundbreaking episode, we explore the crucial role of nutrition in addiction recovery and mental health with Christina Veselak, MS, LMFT, CN . Discover how proper nutrition can be the key to long-term sobriety and emotional well-being for those struggling with substance use disorders. Key Topics Covered - The impact of nutrition on addiction recovery and mental health - Protein's rol...

In this insightful episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast , we delve deep into the intricate connection between our nervous systems and how we show up in relationships, especially in the context of long-term recovery.  Our guest, Amy, shares her journey as a highly sensitive individual who learned to "read the room" from a young age to avoid being a burden. We explore the concept o...

As we transition from summer to fall, join Shelby John for a special episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast. Today, we're diving into Chapter 1 of 'Recovering in Recovery: The Life-Changing Joy of Sobriety' - a memoir born from the chaos of 2020. In this episode: Explore the journey beyond getting sober Discover the power of emotional sobriety in long-term recovery Learn about...

Welcome Back, Sober Ladies! Hello, my beautiful sober ladies! I’ve missed you all so much! This summer has been a whirlwind, full of both fun and distractions, but I’m thrilled to be back behind the mic. In this special solo episode of the Confident Sober Women podcast , I’m giving you an inside look at what’s been happening behind the scenes and sharing my exciting vision for this new season.  I’...

I am not a writer, and I published a book.  This doesn’t make any sense right?  I still can’t believe I published a memoir but I blame the fog and chaos of the year 2020. Many people over the past few years have asked me how I did it? Today, on the Confident Sober Women podcast , I decided to share more about what possessed me to share the deepest and most personal stories of my life, with the wor...

Did you feel isolated when you got sober? Christina shared her feelings of social isolation due to her sobriety and COVID. It was actually helpful that things were shut down in the beginning for her but when the world opened bac up she found she didn’t know how to socialize. Through her own lived experience of sobriety and not having a community, she decided to create one. She was a military spous...

Do you desire MORE now that you have been sober for longer? Alysse got sober before all the “sober luxuries” that are available now just weren’t available and she was still very young and her social and professional life revolved around drinks.  Thankfully immediately she enjoyed some of the benefits of not drinking however she was still making a lot of the same bad decisions in dating and managin...

Have you ever heard of the "power dead-even rule"? Pat Heim of the Heim Group coined this phrase in her book Hardball For Women: Winning At The Game Of Business. She says for a woman to have a healthy realationship with another woman the self-esteem and power of one must be of the same weight as the other in the eyes of each woman. I share more about this on todays episode, and much more...

Chrissy found drinking to be problematic in her 30s. She shared how sometimes things would go ok and that prevented her from understanding her problem with alcohol. Chrissy’s mission is to teach people how to understand their intuition and listen to their bodies. She shares how this is critical in understanding not only the thoughts and feelings we have but why are we having them. She didn’t use a...

Kristin followed more of a social curiosity path and doesn’t live completely alcohol-free but has taken a hard look at her drinking and made changes. Kristen had a week of a lot of events and drank a lot more than she usually would and noticed how it truly affected her and she didn’t like it. This was her aha moment. Kristen realized she didn’t really love the alcoholic drinks she was consuming an...

Can you feel a big change coming and is it bringing a lot of emotions? Today it's just you and me on the show talking about emotional transitions. This time of year often brings up a lot of change and therefore a lot of feelings. Many of them are good, sometimes not so good but either way, they are there. Thriving in long-term sobriety means learning how to get comfortable with your emotions...

Did you know that healthy boundaries allow you to protect your core values? Beth shared how her drinking took off when she went off to college and escalated into adulthood but since she always held a job and was productive she never viewed it as problematic.  Her consequences increased until her last six months of drinking where every day she said ‘I’m not going to drink tonight.  Finally, she rea...

Do you struggle with bloating, joint pain, digestive issues or knowing what to eat? Samantha is a woman in long-term recovery who has dedicated her life to service work and helping others. She shares how she enjoyed several years of sobriety, was in a toxic marriage, went through infertility treatment, and hadn’t done the emotional work on he own past trauma and turned to drugs and alcohol. Samant...

Do you ever wonder about the "science" behind addiction? Judy shares her history of using drugs and alcohol and even though she was doing exactly what she thought she wanted she was miserable. Today, after decades of sobriety her life is beyond what she could have ever imagined.  Her neuroscience journey has been driven by her desire to understand what is different about the brains of pe...

A few years ago Jen started talking about normalizing not drinking. Jen got sober in AA and at the time she kept questioning when she would integrate back into normal social spaces.  She wanted to have elevated non-alcoholic options that were on par with her friends and family were drinking and beautifully presented.  Jen shared how her introversion and shyness as a young person prevented her from...

Have you ever believed the lies you told yourself? This episode is for you. Marci shared how alcohol originally was something she did for fun but then became her medicine when she was depressed. She used it to numb all the pain she had until she realized she couldn’t stop.  Marci found a recovery program that aligned with her values and focused on changing her thoughts. She shared how she realized...

Laurie was raised by parents who struggled with substance abuse and took those coping skills out into the world and her professional corporate experience which perpetuated the drinking.  Laurie works in the world of Human Resources where she shares her story with those who need to hear it. Through those experiences, she had to look at herself and be accountable for her choices related to her healt...

What do sobriety, spirituality and menopause all have in common? Kate shares how her early religious experiences had a  key role in her drinking.  In fact, religion was her first drug. Kate shares vulnerably about her struggle with her drinking and her spiritual struggle, she referred to it as an inner and outer mismatch. She also realized later that as a child who was neurodivergent in a neurotyp...

Did you get sober using a 12 step program or are you an AA skeptic? While she was getting sober and in the midst of a series of lost relationships Arlina found some people at work who were also living alcohol free and ushered her into a twelve step program. Arlina embraced her twelve step program as a “very pragmatic process for sorting out her baggage and gave her an opportunity to redefine what...

Have you ever “fought” the addiction path? And then everything you touch has to do with sobriety? Melissa shared how she coped through her first year and how she allowed herself to feel all the feels. Then at the year mark she decided to write a book. The desires of her heart were bubbling up in long-term recovery. She created a vision board at that time and she has achieved everything on that boa...

Does your employer know you are sober? Janet struggled in the beginning of sobriety because she didn’t know there was a whole world of sober people out there who could help her. She had to decouple her identity from the drinker and party girl and work out who she was in long-term sobriety. Janet shared how she has found so many things including cold plunging to get the dopamine hit that she was se...

Do you know how to discover your own personal core values? Angie’s freedom from alcohol started the month before the pandemic started her 5th hospitalization due to her drinking. The pandemic put all her in-person programs on hold at 40 days of sobriety.  She used a core values activity from graduate school to help her regain leadership in her sobriety. Angie shares the activity she does with othe...

Jess is the mom of two boys, she is sweet, honest and was a sucker for the mommy wine culture. It seemed normal to her. Jess shared how she was hanging in the crowd that did everything with alcohol until she found This Naked Mind and started to become curious as sobriety. The first year of sobriety for her was very much about survival, how can I get past the witching hour. And then she came to bel...

What if huge transformations in your life only take small changes done every day? This is exactly what Michelle Smith did when she first got sober in order to prevent herself from turning to a drink. Michelle was dealing with grief from the loss of her mom, her husband was deployed to war and she was suffering from postpartum depression. She struggled with shame and guilt and used alcohol to quiet...