Recovery Elevator

Dan, who doesn't practice abstinence based recovery, shares his story… Link to the Fox News article mentioned in the episode "To be human is also to suffer from addiction. The particular vices vary as do our degree of addiction to them, but it takes precious little searching to know we've all got something unhealthy that pulls at us." - Mike Kerrigan, Fox News SHOW NOTES   [ 11:08] Paul Introduces...

Corey, with 5 days since his last drink, shares his story… The mentioned article from the Irish Times   SHOW NOTES   [ 8:48] Paul Introduces Corey. Corey has been sober for 5 days.  He's from Minnesota, now lives in Boston.  He's 25 years old and is working full time.  He likes to exercise.  He loves music, plays guitar and piano.  He has an upcoming trip to Columbia, is learning Spanish.  He feel...

Kellie, with 2 months year since her last drink, shares her story...   SHOW NOTES   [ 11:00] Paul Introduces Kellie. Kellie has been sober for 28 days.  She's 43 years old, married with two children.  She's a real estate broker that enjoys puzzles, reading, cooking, running and hiking, and her animals.    She tried alcohol for the first time around 10 years old.  She dabbled in different drugs in...

Nel, with over 1 year since her last drink, shares her story… Drinking is more than the average habit.  To reduce our problems with alcohol to a "bad habit" is missing the bigger picture.  We drink for a variety of reasons.. for example: to cope, to ignore, to numb, to hide.  Digging ourselves out of alcohol dependency actually requires the changing or removal of several habits.  We need to change...

Stephan, with 10 months since his last drink, shares his story… Harm Reduction - The feeling of constantly downgrading addictions.  Most of us address one addiction at a time, and usually tackle what we perceive to be the most harmful addiction first.  Things improve with each hurdle.  The lessons we learn from each stage strengthen our ability to move on to the next stage.  Often at the root of m...

Kelly, with 8 days since her last drink, shares her story… "Addiction gets harder and harder and ends in death. Sobriety is hard work too. But it gets easier and easier and ends in life. " - Andy Ziegler In this passage to sobriety, expectations do not always line up with reality.  In reality, it takes years for an addiction to take hold.  The healing process takes equally as long.  The negative t...

Jamie, with 93 days since her last drink, shares her story… "No amount of alcohol is safe for your overall health." "Alcohol was the leading risk factor for disease and premature death in men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide in 2016, accounting for nearly one in 10 deaths, according to the study…" A recent article released by CNN presents scientific studies that show the negative...

Sarah, with 162 days since her last drink, shares her story… "When this happens, then I'll be okay."  You may already be living the live you have been dreaming about.  Try not to fall into trap of "when this happens, I'll be okay."  "When I get another month of sobriety", or "when I move to another town", or "when I get the right X" are all common examples of not living in the present moment.  Sto...

Tamara, with 88 days since her last drink, shares her story… "There is only one line we can cross that we can't come back from" The National Suicide Prevention Hotline – 1-800-273-8255 SHOW NOTES   [4:20] Paul Introduces Tamara, and she recaps her experience with relapse and suicidal thoughts. Tamara had a relapse after 48 days of sobriety.  She just moved to a new apartment.  She started the day...

John, with over 1 year since his last drink, shares his story… The Journey One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice – though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!" each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff finge...

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...