From Sobriety To Recovery: An Addiction Recovery Podcast

Ep #248 - Many people will feel stress and anxiety about whether their world is going to shrink when they decide to get sober. Others think the chance to explore life through a more transparent lens will allow them to see the vastness of their life from an uplifting perspective. Truth is...it is all subjective to your perspective. No one can determine how big or small your life is - only you can d...

Ep #247 - Often, you are not comfortable in your body. Yet, there is an unwillingness to get uncomfortable to achieve the comfort you seek in your skin. I have my body dysmorphia issues to contend with - and in this day and age, with social media alerting us to our flaws through the lens of thousands and thousands of people - it is of the utmost importance for each of you to realize that your opin...

Ep #246 - Ever caught yourself saying, "that person doesn't support me." Let's get into some self-introspection and ask ourselves, is it that they are not supporting us at all, or are they not supporting us in the way we want them to support us? When you say someone doesn't support you, you are negating all the support they are bringing you - or perhaps the challenges they are presenting you (beca...

Ep #245 - Your mind is an iceberg. Very little is experienced above the surface of the water consciously. A majority of your thoughts and feelings that drive your behaviors and actions are underneath the water's surface, in the unconscious mind. When we peel back the layers of our unhealed trauma, gathered through our many years of life, we will find that the more we heal, the more we reveal what...

Ep #244 - My mom was an amazing woman. She lived over 23 years with Crohn's disease with many of those years battling her own addictions and she stood by me throughout a majority of my hardest addiction years - even when I wouldn't stand by her. I honor her today, and every day, by living my best life - and even on those bad days I know they are better than my best day wasted.  I love you Mom and...

Ep #243 - We are choking ourselves. We are defeating ourselves before we even start. We are holding ourselves back in life, and the worst part is that we know we're doing it. You can choose to choose differently any time you make a different choice. Is it acceptance, hope, faith, belief, love, forgiveness - or any of the other 1017 emotions that exist - that you are searching for? In today's episo...

Ep #241 - We all have our own unique way of picturing things in our minds. Hearing things in our head. Feeling things in our body. Our five senses send us information; our mind does what it is programmed to do with it. When a negative, undesirable thought triggers undesirable feelings, you have the power to shift and change these mental thoughts and feelings utilizing the submodalities of your mod...

Ep #241 - Picture yourself as your spirit animal, deep in a dense, shadowy forest, embodying the emotional turmoil many face in addiction. This journey delves into the thickets of past mistakes and the fear-laden shadows of an uncertain future. But it also offers a guiding light – forgiveness. Let's explore how your spirit discovers the power of forgiveness, using it as a lantern to illuminate the...

Ep #240 - Imagine life as a series of snapshots, each moment capturing your experiences and storing those images away. Let's explore how we can reframe our addiction recovery journies utilizing a photography metaphor so we can navigate our journey toward change with clarity [even if that clarity feels fleeting at times]. I'll continue introducing you to Neuro-Linguistic Programming and these three...

Ep #239: Sober "kinda" Shorty - I create. It is what I do. It fuels me. It awakens me with energy and keeps me up into the night. I want you to find your meaning in life. I want you to create your best life. What your meaning for life, in life, is ultimately yours to decide - I want you to be decisive and courageous and begin [or continue] your journey of self-discovery with that as your core miss...

Ep #238 - New Year's resolution are a pitfall. So much pressure for one mere sunrise to handle. You know you want changes in your life. You wouldn't be here if you didn't. "I can't" is conceding today and giving up on tomorrow. In this episode I will discuss in-depth my "Baton" metaphor so you can end 2023 with strength and start 2024 with momentum. I will also focus on the Spheres: Career, Self,...

Ep #237 - There are nuanced shades between being thankful and being grateful. We'll explore the spontaneous joy of thankfulness through everyday gestures, like the relief of receiving help in a pinch or the simple pleasure of a shared meal. In contrast, we uncover the profound depths of gratitude—how it forms our emotional bedrock, grounding us with an enduring sense of appreciation that transcend...

Ep #236 - The brain wants you to succeed. You want you to succeed. You know how it feels to commit to something, and then the steam runs out, and you are left feeling empty by another decision you didn't see through to fruition. The main problem is there is a loop you have programmed into your mind that, if left unabated, can slide you right back into a pattern you already know you are tired of pl...

Ep #235 - Embracing emotional intelligence and cultivating a growth mindset will guide you along your path from sobriety to recovery and toward a fulfilling life. Let's discuss six vital topics: moving beyond past suffering to shape a hopeful present, mastering the art of forgiveness towards oneself and others, and transforming self-dialogue to uplift one's life. We also explore the strength in vu...

Ep #234 - Sober Shorty #2: Life in sobriety and recovery is amazing if you choose to make it amazing for yourself. There is no snap of the fingers, that one moment when all feels right in the world that you can freeze in time and stay in - life is life, and choosing to cut ties with your drug of choice, your substance of muting will be a journey. In this week's Sober Shorty, I get all cheerleader-...

Ep #233 - Sober Shorty! Like my regular episodes, it's just waaaaaay shorter. This week, let's talk about being consistent. As humans, the desire to fire ourselves out of a cannon and try to do like 17 things at once to change our lives can be, well, less than advantageous. Stacking new actions on top of one another at a pace that allows us to habituate these new behaviors is the sober side of us...

Ep #232 - Stigmas are the driving force behind a lack of empathy in our society. How you talk about yourself, to yourself and others, how society sees others who are different from them, and how our governmental and organizational policies, directives, and laws can subtly, and not so subtly, castigate the already suffering deeper into their isolation, addiction, and mental health quandary. In this...

Ep #231 - There is a force around you holding you back, holding you down, keeping you standing still, and it's your own doing. In this episode, I introduce the Breaking Through series. I desire to introduce an assortment of episodes that build together a vision of what you can do to break free from your old self and create the life you have only thought of in your head - and maybe not even in ther...

Ep #230 - There are so many different ways we can frame addiction. Numerous models and labels society wants to place upon addan attempt to take a very complex issue and whittle it down to a slogan or bumper stict's really discuss addiction, emphasizing it as a brain disease, not merely a lack of willpower. I'll shed light on the brain's pleasure circuits and the role of dopamine, elucidating how s...

Ep #229 - If you have feelings of an impending meltdown or that if something goes sideways, you won't be able to stop the spiral, then this episode is for you. If you feel that some days things go a little screwy and want to know how to get them straightened up, this episode is for you. If you breathe, think, and feel - this episode is for you. We all wear many hats. Dad, mom, spouse, boy/girlfrie...

Ep #228 - I wrote a book for my other podcast, "College Success Habits," and recently, I have been very self-aware of how these principles are guiding me in my newest endeavor as a clinical mental health counselor in training. Yes, I get a fancy-smancy-sounding title now that I am studying for my master's degree. As that journey, which has been six weeks so far, begins to ramp up, I decided to bri...

Ep #227 - Anxiety comes in waves. Anxiety can set up camp and be in me for weeks on end. The variables that create these feelings are just as infinite as the human experience. Whether it be during a new habit's creation or waking up realizing that 73 days has become 1 while I was sleeping - taking responsibility for my actions and results, and the thoughts and feelings floating (or rampaging) insi...

Ep #226 - Addiction recovery at it's heart is about personal growth and self-discovery. We chose to accept this journey when we sought sobriety as a way of life - or atleast you all chose this mindset because you do, after all, listen to this show.  Today let's get a bit philosophical. Let's explore our ways of thinking...not to necessarily change our opinions, values, beliefs, etc., but to check...

Ep #225 - In today's chaotic world, we often lose sight of the value of real communication, personal responsibility, and the importance of taking our time—especially crucial when navigating the journey from sobriety to recovery. Let's explore how these three elements become the cornerstone of any successful recovery story. Effective communication is vital in any recovery journey, as it helps preve...

Ep #224 - How you gauge your healing and growth in your sobriety and recovery journey is paramount to maintaining that pink cloud, early enthusiasm. If you aren't paying attention to the little things you are doing each day, and instead relying on big, huge, movements forward then your excitement for each day can begin to wane. So, now is the time for me to re-introduce you to the system I created...