Sober Friends

Send us Fan Mail “I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that I am responsible.” -AA Responsibility Statement Steve C says that his program of recovery is never better than when he’s working with another alcoholic and he has a much better sobriety.  It brings us to the question, “Why do we do this podcast?” We get together e...

Send us Fan Mail Pete B joins us again this week for more of his emotional journey from drug addiction.   Pete discusses how his friend George got him to come back again after some of the guys in the group said Pete would not last.  George became his sponsor and was able to guide him on a path of 40 years of sobriety.  In this episode, Pete discusses: Getting involved in NA service NA having to st...

Send us Fan Mail Pete B is a veteran of the Navy.  His mother was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and father belonged to Al-Anon.  Pete's defense mechanism was to be the family joker.  Later on, he joined the military and got into a lot of jams due to his use of drugs and alcohol, including a black out in Israel.   This episode is incredibly emotional and Pete is very vulnerable with his exp...

Send us Fan Mail Kelly G shared her story in Episode 44.  She comes back a year later and now over 600 days sober and shares how she's continued to grow in recovery.  In our quest to know more about the different ways people get sober, Kelly is not a member of AA and tells us her method of recovery. Lots and lots of Sober Podcasts Connecting with folks on Instagram Cafe RE via Recovery Elevat...

Send us Fan Mail "God, grant us the serenity, to accept the things we can not change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." "And thats the hard part." -Jim A.  A Wise Old Timer Change has come to Matt's place of employment and knowing it was coming was really scary.  Was he going to lose his job?  Turns out, no.  He survived a cha...

Send us Fan Mail Stress is difficult to handle before getting sober.  We used to drink to handle how we felt about stress.  When alcohol is removed, we have to find another way of dealing with stress so it does not overwhelm us and cause us to shut down. A friend reached out to Matt, venting and for advice on how to handle stress.  It helped Matt to hear his friend's issue and made him think...

Send us Fan Mail Chris from the UK sponsored this episode and bought us 3 coffees at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberfriendspod .  By purchasing 3 coffees, Chris is ensuring the show will be available for the new guy and anyone needing to hear the message the recovery is possible. Lisa Gray is the founder of A Promise to Jordan.   Lisa lost her son Jordan Arakelian on June 30, 2018, at the age o...

Send us Fan Mail The show is brought to you by Sally, who bought us 3 cups of coffee at Buymeacoffee.com/Soberfriendspod .  If you, like Sally think it's important to get the message that sobriety is possible for the new guy, consider a donation to Buymeacoffee.com/Soberfriendspod . When we first get sober, we are flying on a pink cloud.  Everything is new, your method of sobriety is exciting...

Send us Fan Mail Alcoholic behavior, obviously shows up when you are drinking.  Just because you get sober and don't drink, doesn't mean your alcoholic behavior goes away.  If you don't work on your recovery, this behavior can come back right, quick!   We can behave alcoholically when the following happens: Not going to meetings Calling other alcoholics Practicing the principals of...

Send us Fan Mail Sober people are on platform at all times.  One slip up and it's easy for those around to point out why you are not walking the walk.  John kicked things off talking about a new sponsee who was going to a sober retreat.  John didn't want to go, but an oldtimer reminded him, that the sponsee can't go to these without the guidance of his sponsor.  There are so many wa...

Send us Fan Mail Oh boy.  I bet we get everyone upset with this episode.  People who go to AA.  People who don't go to AA.  We go through it all with what we feel are very realistic views on why some people don't go to AA and how 12 step programs are not perfect and how there can be some things that legit turn people off. Credit where credit is due.  This episode was inspired by Episode...

Send us Fan Mail This week's guest is Matt, who started drinking at 13.  Matt was a high achiever, doing well in college and Grad school.  He had a family and a great job.  And he was an alcoholic.   A lot of you will see yourself in Matt.  He was socially awkward until he found alcohol.  He had to be careful in public drinking.  Drinking at home, was another story.  He drank like he did in c...

Send us Fan Mail One of the Sober Instagram accounts we find the most inspiring is @jenmovesforward .  Jen joins us this week to talk about her story, overcoming relapse, making recovery her career and how fitness is part of how she stays sober. In this Sober Friends Episode Jen tells us: How she started using in her teens Knowing in her 20's that she had a problem Losing relationships over d...

Send us Fan Mail The root of our alcoholism and our alcoholic thinking is our character defects.  The 12 Steps are instrumental in getting through our character defects, especially with Steps 4 and 5.  Many of our character defects are associated with fear and ego.  Character defects have a root in selfishness and doing for others is a way to bust them.  Here are ways to work on a character defect...

Send us Fan Mail Matt was inspired by Gill Tietz's Sober Powered episode, Staying Sober During the Holidays .  The episode is much less staying sober during the holidays, and more staying sober at events where booze is available.  Practicable advice for those in recovery for anytime. BBQs Work parties Concerts Ect John, Matt and Steve talked about their experience being on guard for the ungua...

Send us Fan Mail The show is brought to you by Sean, who bought us a coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberfriendspod .  Sean thought it was important to put the show in the newcomer's ear. Recovery is not just for the person getting sober.  Recovery affects the family too.  For us, our family was very happy when we put the bottle down.  But they had a hard time understanding all these...

Send us Fan Mail Ryan M has made recovery a huge part of his life.  He didn't get sober, he got involved.  Ryan has been part of the service culture of AA from his entire time getting sober (March 2013).  Coming into the program in his early 30's, he was attracted to the younger people in his 12 step group and got involved the the Young People in AA organizations.  If you go to a service...

Send us Fan Mail Vacation is a dangerous time for those of us with problem drinking.  Vacation is a great time to suspend all the rules and drink as much as we want.  Hey, it's 5pm somewhere!  Am I right? Or am I right!   On this episode of the Sober Friends podcast, Matt, Steve and John talk about the trap that vacation can cause for us.  It's a risky time because we have time on our ha...

Send us Fan Mail The dictionary definitions of "Abstinence" and "Sobriety" look very similar.  For the purpose of living a happy, joyous and free life in recovery, they can mean very different things.   Overall, Matt, Steve and John identified Abstinent as being dry.  This is a state where alcohol has been removed but nothing has come in to replace it.  To get sober, you have t...

Send us Fan Mail For those of us with a drinking problem, one of the symptoms was isolation and putting up walls to drive others away.  Once some of us get sober we still have a hard time letting others in.  If you discovered what I really am like, you'd see I was a fraud, an awful person and someone you'd be repelled by.  Do you feel this way sometimes? John, Steven and Matt discuss the...

Send us Fan Mail It’s so easy to focus on the bad stuff in life and even easier to correlate them. Matt has had some issues with his house and financing the repairs. At every corner, he’s run into roadblocks (see last week’s episode). Matt’s therapist posed a question: “Have you considered a gratitude list?” So instead of focusing on all the bad stuff, why not look at what good you still have? In...

Send us Fan Mail Oh my!  Financial insecurity.  It's one of those fears that can make you drink and can derail any period of recovery.  One of the AA Promises says: " Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us." Does that mean if financial insecurity pops up again, you've been doing the program incorrectly? Matt J has some financial issues lately.  Along with a lot...

Send us Fan Mail In this compelling episode of the Sober Friends podcast, join Matt, Steve, and John as they dive deep into a powerful story of overcoming addiction and finding hope. As a police officer, Steve shares candidly about the constant state of hypervigilance he experienced on the job and how it intertwined with symptoms of PTSD and alcoholism. From the early days of experimentation with...

Send us Fan Mail Today’s show is dedicated to the memory of Frank C. He helped so many in East Hartford, CT and the surrounding area. When I got sober, I marveled at the old timer. They had respect of the room. They looked content and they were sober. Not just sober, really, really sober with a lot of years. How the hell did they do it? Was it the way they crossed their legs? I was determined to f...

Send us Fan Mail The episode is sponsored by Victor, who became a member at Buy Me a Coffee and agreed to do so each month.  With people like Victor, we can remain self supporting through our own contributions and bring the message to the new guy. Arlina Allen is the host of the One Day at a Time Podcast.  You can find her at https://odaatchat.com/ or wherever you get your podcasts. In this show A...