Soberful

When we get sober, the world takes it personally. There are four types of characters you may meet when you stop drinking: 'The overnight addiction expert, 'the drunk persuader, the 'moving the goalposts friend,' and the 'fun police.' Chip and Veronica talk you through how each one will approach you, what they will say, and how you can deal with them.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

Adrienne Miller, the President of the Women for Sobriety program joins the Soberful Podcast to delve into the 13 acceptance statements that are the foundation of the recovery program. Adrienne shares how Women for Sobriety offers unique support for women to stop drinking and how the 13 statements can be applied to our personal lives.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

Fear is a universal feeling, we all feel it, but not many of us talk about it. Managing fear is a skill we have to learn so we can grow. When fear takes over our lives, it keeps us small, and we make choices based on our perception of safety -- this keeps us stuck. In this episode, Chip and Veronica discuss ways they have broken through fear and how they manage it in their daily lives.   To learn...

Fear, insecurity, and loneliness often leads us to feeling disconnected from ourselves, our loved ones, and the world -- and alcohol gave us that false feeling of connection we craved. In this episode, Veronica and Chip talk about authentic connection as the solution to addiction, how to achieve a sense of connection during sobriety, and the joys that come with the experience.   To learn more, vis...

Joanne Bradford is an author, certified healing practitioner, and life consultant. She got sober at the tender age of 24 and has been inspiring young women ever since by presenting  'not-drinking' as a valid life option. In this interview, Joanne tells her story, how she was inspired to get sober, and how this has developed into her healing practice with Motherheart. She believes that we can learn...

Getting sober feels like hard work, and we get asked if we have to do this work for the rest of our lives. The answer is yes, and it's fantastic. What we are actually talking about is maintaining our emotional and mental health for the rest of our lives. Chip and Veronica discuss the rewards of doing just that.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

The Holy Grail of anyone with an alcohol use disorder is moderation. In this episode, Chip and Veronica look at why moderation (or social drinking) is very rarely achievable. We discuss the energy and effort that people put into trying to achieve it. The reason that we struggle with moderation is because of the perception that alcohol can benefit us when the reality is very different.   To learn m...

Whatever the question is, balance is always the answer. Balance is key to sobriety because if we become unbalanced; it can lead to relapse. In this episode Chip and Veronica discuss the mistakes they have made and how to achieve balance using some simple suggestions.    To learn more, visit the show notes .

We all have difficult people in our lives. Often it's family members, or colleagues they trigger us, and we find ourselves flooded with feelings of anger, frustration, and fear. Because we can't change these people, we have to learn to deal with them in different ways. In this episode, Chip and Veronica discuss how they have dealt with difficult people, what they have learned, how they remain calm...

Step Gaudreau mission is to help women create bigger, bolder, fiercer lives - by building health from the inside out. In this episode, we discuss body image, health, nutrition. Step advises us how we can get started with exercise how we can deal with cravings in early sobriety as well as discussing her own reason for ditching the booze.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

Emotional Sobriety is about learning to deal with your feelings and emotions. Stopping drinking just isn't enough. We have to learn to tolerate and experience emotions instead of running, and numbing Sobriety can give us the ability to experience our full spectrum of emotions, and then we can have appropriate emotional responses to events. Chip and Veronica talk through how this happens.   To lear...

We go on vacation to relax and have fun. But what do you do if you are sober? Surely you need alcohol to do both those things? In this weeks episode Chip and Veronica look at the 'vacation mindset' and how to not just stay sober on holiday but have an awesome time too.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

Have you fever felt anxious? Have you ever used alcohol to deal with social anxiety? You are not alone. Anxiety and problems with alcohol go hand in hand. We drink to take the 'edge' off and get through social situations, but the booze just makes everything worse. You may have even experienced a full-blown panic attack. Veronica suffered from extreme anxiety and regular panic attacks throughout he...

The Five Pillars of Sustainable Sobriety are essential for anyone wishing to live a happy and sober life. In this episode, Veronica takes a deep dive into the five pillars of Movement, Connection, Balance, Process, and Growth. She explains how they work, how you can apply them to your life, and why you can't get sober without them.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

This is probably the question we get asked the most. Am I an alcoholic? How do I know if I have a drinking problem? We explore the spectrum of Alcohol Use Disorder's and look at how an alcohol problem can progress. We give our response (and analogy's!) to clients when they first come to us and ask if they have a problem or not.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

***Trigger warning*** This episode discusses adult content about sex and sexuality as well as discussion of childhood sexual trauma. Jennifer Matesa is the author of 'Sex in Recovery: A Meeting between the Covers.' Jennifer and I discuss the discoveries she made interviewing subjects for her book. Many people suffering from addiction have experienced childhood sexual trauma, we look at the impact...

Relapse is a process, not an event. It can build up over days, weeks and month. In this episode Chip and Veronica talk through the emotional, mental and physical stages of relapse. What you can do at each stage to prevent relapse and tools you can use to change the outcome.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

On May 2nd Veronica celebrated 19 years of sobriety. In this solo episode, Veronica explores the 19 most important lessons she has learned in those 19 years. She teaches you a few rules that have transformed her life, mistakes to avoid and the lessons that have had the biggest effects.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

Why is asking for help so hard? How do you ask for help? In this episode, we explore this question, give you are insights in taking the first steps to reach out and discuss Russell Brand's book ' Mentors: How to Help and Be Helped ' where he explains how Chip helped him. We then consider how to get over the fear of asking for help, and it will ultimately change your life.   To learn more, visit th...

****Trigger warning**** We have long since known that trauma is at the root of all addiction. In today's episode, Veronica interviews Alina Frank and Craig Weiner leading experts in the field of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). We discuss why EFT is such a powerful tool to heal and resolve trauma. Alina and Craig explain the science behind EFT and why it heals the body and the mind from traumati...

J.F. Benoist is the author of 'Addicted to the Monkey Mind.' In this revolutionary new book, J.F. lays out how our negative self-talk and limiting beliefs shape our experience. We discuss precisely how our past shows up in our present and how to change this by using the Observing Mind. We also talk about the false sense of belonging that is created in our culture that blocks us from having a real...

In this episode, we look at cross addiction in its many forms. Including work addiction which we have both suffered from, smartphone addiction, gambling, and substance addiction. We look at what behaviors can be obsessive how addiction triggers a dopamine response and why we have to pay attention to these red flags in recovery.   To learn more, visit the show notes .

We get asked all the time what the secret to staying sober is. We wanted to share with you the most significant factors for not just staying sober but for having a fantastic life. 'Chip and Veronica's Five Secrets to Amazing Sobriety' is the stuff that we have learned makes all the difference. In this episode, we go over what those five things are and how they will transform your life.   To learn...

Lucy Rocca is the founder of Soberistas website in the UK. Eight years ago Lucy woke up from a terrifying blackout in hospital where she swore she was never going to drink again. Lucy discusses her relationship with alcohol, how she got sober and started the website Soberistas. We also discuss how she has stayed sober for eight years, the British relationship with alcohol and how to parent kids in...

To be truly alive we must experience meaningful connection. And we can only have this connection if we are prepared to be vulnerable. We discuss how vulnerability is a strength and is the only path to everything we want.   To learn more, visit the show notes .