Recovery Daily Podcast

Its the small changes to our routines that create a powerful force towards progress. In this episode, Rachel talks about how it is not the size of the change that matters as much as the consistency of performing it. Anticipate lack of motivation and interruptions, and be kind to yourself when they happen. Be brave enough to give up and give in. Treat yourself with kindness and love. Most important...

Consider yourself warned. In this episode, Rachel has to use her creepy inside voice because everyone in the house is sleeping during recording. If you dare to proceed, you will hear Rachel share about her absolute and total faith that happiness is a choice. The most pivotal moments in her life, or spiritual awakenings, emerged from emotional bottoms. Having pulled herself up from feeling broken,...

Shifting self-pity into passion poses the question, "what can I do about it?" As a recovering alcoholic and stroke survivor, Rachel must take action daily to transform adversity in to opportunity for growth. In this episode, Rachel shares that by putting herself in the center of her recovery community she no longer feels alone and a victim of the world. It's hard to be self-absorbed...

In this episode, Rachel shares her experiences with drinking dreams and how she manages the emotions after waking up. Drinking dreams are a normal part of getting sober, and for Rachel, a normal part of staying sober. Most recently she had a vision impairment dream—now THAT's new! Rachel compares drinking dreams to the stories that we make up in our heads in our day to day lives. Both seem rea...

What?! Procrastinators are more emotionally invested and often suffer from insecurities, depression, and stress. In this episode, Rachel talks about how these qualities are the cause of procrastination, not the result. Procrastinators can get caught in an emotional loop while one part of their brain battles another. Rachel shares her techniques for beating procrastination: 1) take a step forward,...

Rachel comes clean about her need to always obsess about something. In some ways her compulsion to complete things and keep moving can be a good thing, however as you listen to the episode you'll agree it's a little chaotic. With neurological vision impairment its critical for Rachel to slow down. In this episode, she share's some techniques for slowing down at least three times a day....

Rachel shares about one of her lifelong character defects: her stubbornness. In this episode, she breaks down why she resists listening and provides some techniques for how to approach these conversations with a less confrontational reaction. Are we more interested in being right or doing right? Would you rather have burnt garlic or take a suggestion to turn the stovetop heat down? Follow  Recover...

Our thoughts stimulate emotions and actions. When we think things that elicit defeat and hopelessness, like "I can't," our motivation to act shows itself as turning (or running) away. If we avoid doing something we think we can't do, it increases anxiety as the threat remains. Rachel discusses her experience with changing her mindset to one of growth and hard work to overcome a l...

Habits are built in the same way that neuroplasticity enables stroke survivors to relearn. Rachel shares about the first years of sobriety as she practiced picking up the phone, going to meetings, working the steps, and praying when life was good. She says it helped her to create that muscle memory so that she knew exactly what to do when life was hard. In this episode, you can work in parallel wi...

In this episode, Rachel admits to years of being judgmental, manipulative, and unkind. She's learned that when she's being judgmental she's only judging herself. When she's acting superior, she's feeling inferior. When she's manipulative, she's fearful of being hurt. When she's unkind, she's unwilling to bend. The people that upset us are our greatest teachers....

If you happen to have a relationship with your own "Thy", you may repeat this as part of your daily prayers. Rachel shares about her growing understanding of what "Thy Will Not Mine Be Done" means to her. She goes on to talk about what we are capable of if we stop forcing our will on everything and letting life play out without us. Follow  Recovery Daily Podcast  on Spotify,  A...

Negativity bias is the thing that drives us to dwell on the negative in our lives, like embarrassing moments, regrets, fears, anxiety, etc. These thoughts can be irrational and catastrophizing. The good news is that we can challenge these negative thoughts and train our brains into a positivity bias. In this episode, Rachel shares about her experience with negativity bias and some tips for how to...

Emotional sobriety isn't just for recovering alcoholics. In this episode, Rachel talks about the importance of practicing purposeful introspection on a daily basis. By making this a habit, its easier to manage emotions in a healthy way when they are heightened. Rachel shares a creative coping activity to help recognize emotions as signals that are meant to initiate action. Follow  Recovery Dai...

Alcoholism is a fatal disease. In this episode, Rachel reminds us why we are here as a recovery community. Her sobriety is the strength behind her recovery as a stroke survivor. She shares some troubling stories that are just a few out of millions of suffering alcoholics globally. As Rachel learns how to build and accept her new identity as a stroke survivor, she's ever reminded of the fatal d...

When entering recovery its normal to wake up to the limitations your impairment or disease has left you with. In this episode, Rachel shares about her struggles getting out of the mindset of all that she couldn't do when she could no longer drink. She's facing the same struggles today and is determined to wake to the possibilities rather than the limitations of a stroke survivor. Rachel ta...

In this inspirational episode, Rachel shares her mission statement that she wrote four years ago prior to her stroke and only three years into recovery from alcoholism. Its evident that life has prepared her with adversity to fulfill her mission. Listen to a message from Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust-survivor Viktor Frankl. Follow  Recovery Daily Podcast  on Spotify,  Apple Podcasts , or  Yo...

In this episode, Rachel discusses life balance composed of physical, emotional, and spiritual components. She shares the importance of leaving work off the scale. True balance is within you, not where you are and for how many hours. Rachel expands to say that the more she gets to know herself, the more she is able to focus outward and share what happiness and serenity she has left over with others...

Happiness starts with acceptance. Rachel talks about how focusing on what needs to change within rather than what needs to change in her environment is the key to happiness. Happiness is not a result of some thing . It is a state of mind that depends on serentity. In this episode, Rachel shares the three main components that feed her happiness: acceptance, helpfulness, and forgiveness. Follow  Rec...

Repeated failures teach us that we can't, even though we can. We learn how to be hopeless. So, we learn how to be hopeful, too. Rachel shares in this episode about the importance of acknowledging what you are willing to do to reach your goal. She uses sobriety as an example. She shares about a pivotal moment after relapsing. When her daughter told her its ok to try again, she realized at that...

In this episode, Rachel shares about sacrificing her health to work hard. Even with neurological vision impairment she still pushes her limits against what causes her chronic headaches. The popular term these days is work-life balance. There's a difference between passion and obsession. Passion enriches your life and obsession steals from it. Rachel talks about the key components to passion ar...

How do we know whether we are making the right decision? Rachel suggests that there is no right decision. It is the action you take after the decision, your commitment to the decision, and urgency that impact the consequences of your decisions. Have you ever evaluated whether you were making a decision with your head or your heart? How 'bout your gut? Has fear ever driven a decision you've...

In this episode, Rachel shares some highlights from her drunkalogue. The personality change that was a result of her drinking was one of the reasons why she drank, until it became a reason why she couldn't drink. Rachel talks about the false idea that drunks all look like drunks and drink 24/7. Alcoholism is all around us and does not discriminate. Follow  Recovery Daily Podcast  on Spotify, ...

Rachel shares about her struggles with when to depend on her own internal resources for happiness and when to ask for help so she doesn't have to go it alone. She shares about a time in her life when she realized that she needed to cultivate her own happiness that remains static under all the life stuff that happens day to day. Solely seeking happiness outside of ourselves tees us up for disap...

In this episode, Rachel shares her thoughts about investing her emotions and actions toward writing her story. She does not see herself as an exception to the odds of living as a stroke survivor and recovering alcoholic living with mental illness. She is not exceptional in the way that she walks through recovery. Rachel shares that she simply practices acceptance the way she learned to in her sobr...

Rachel is one of those people who believes that we can manifest our own greatness in life. Similarly by practicing gratitude, even when we don't want to, we generate more to be grateful for. Rachel shares in this episode how the greatest difficulties in her life evolve into the greatest gifts that prepare her for the next great difficulty. Gratitude during difficult time cultivates our own sta...