Re-Broadcast: From Self-Medicating to Self-Care

“I need a drink” is a common catch phrase people use to sum up a bad day.  The culture is rife with advice that a “nice glass of wine” is all it will take to feel better about whatever challenges life dishes up.  So, when we are faced with big health issues, like anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses; physical illness or changes in our physical health; or stress caused by any social or familial changes or losses, it can seem like an easy fix to pick up a drink to “take the edge off.”  

As alcoholics, this response becomes our go-to.  We come to depend on alcohol to deal with our problems.  It becomes a vicious cycle as our bodies and brains are stressed from processing the alcohol, as we stuff our emotions deeper and deeper down inside, and as we become dependent on the drink to fix us.

We find great freedom from that dependence in sobriety, but it can be daunting to realize that even though we are now sober, we still have the same issues we had before we sought relief in the bottle - the same anxiety, the same depression, the same hormonal changes, the same trauma.  

On this show, our guests share their experiences about how they found new and better ways to deal with their lives.  From menopause to dual diagnoses, we can move from self-medicating to proper self-care!

Listen below, or follow the instructions in the tab above for how to subscribe to our podcast! 

Re-Broadcast: Relapse Triggers

When people stop using alcohol and drugs they are given a second chance on life. Some embrace this new life and never look back. Others find living without alcohol and drugs to be a struggle every day. Regardless of your experience, we are all susceptible to triggers which can cause us to relapse. Recognizing and managing these triggers is important to maintaining our sobriety. 

So what are triggers? A “trigger” of addiction involves any high-risk situation or stressor that “cues” a thought, feeling, or action to use alcohol or drugs. There are two types of triggers: internal, which occur within us, and external which occurs outside of us. 

On this episode we explore common triggers and discuss ways to counteract these unhealthy reactions and develop an action plan to keep ourselves safe and sober. 

Check Out Lifestyle Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio

Feeling Our Feelings: A Brave New World

While we are active in our addictions, we are numbing all of our feelings.  Although the initial impulse might be to dull the hard emotions - fear, anger, hurt - the actual result is that we dull of our emotions, limiting our experience of joy, contentment, and connection.  When we get sober, we find a crazy new rush of feelings - good and bad - that can be overwhelming.
 
On this episode, we discussed our experiences with our emotions and techniques for processing them.  Sobriety is a brave new world, which includes the full range of human feelings.  We're glad to be showing up for them all! 
 
Listen through the widget below, or go to the tab at the top of the page to learn how to subscribe to our podcast!

Check Out Lifestyle Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio

Relapse Triggers

When people stop using alcohol and drugs they are given a second chance on life. Some embrace this new life and never look back. Others find living without alcohol and drugs to be a struggle every day.
Regardless of your experience, we are all susceptible to triggers which can cause us to relapse. Recognizing and managing these triggers is important to maintaining our sobriety.

So what are triggers? A “trigger” of addiction involves any high-risk situation or stressor that “cues” a thought, feeling, or action to use alcohol or drugs. There are two types of triggers: internal, which occur within us, and external which occurs outside of us.

On this episode we explored common triggers and discuss ways to counteract these unhealthy reactions and develop an action plan to keep ourselves safe and sober. Listen below or follow the tab at the top of the page to subscribe to our podcast.
 

Check Out Lifestyle Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio

Re-Broadcast: The Importance of Balance

We all strive for balance in life - a manageable blend of things we have to do and things we want to do is the ideal.  We also all know what it feels like when things get out of whack - too much work, not enough play or relaxation, not enough of the important things we do for ourselves to stay happy, healthy and sane.

We decided to do this show on balance because all three of us are struggling with it at the moment - year-end school activities, big work projects -- everything is busy.
We only announced the show today because we've been so busy we didn't have time to plan a topic.  We figured this was a clear sign from the universe that we needed to do a show on balance

Listen to the three co-hosts - Lisa Amanda and Ellie - talk about why balance is important in recovery, how we know when our balance is off, and ways we try to re-prioritize things like self-care which are so important in sobriety.

New Lifestyle Internet Radio with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio

From Self-Medicating to Self-Care

“I need a drink” is a common catch phrase people use to sum up a bad day.  The culture is rife with advice that a “nice glass of wine” is all it will take to feel better about whatever challenges life dishes up.  So, when we are faced with big health issues, like anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses; physical illness or changes in our physical health; or stress caused by any social or familial changes or losses, it can seem like an easy fix to pick up a drink to “take the edge off.”

As alcoholics, this response becomes our go-to.  We come to depend on alcohol to deal with our problems.  It becomes a vicious cycle as our bodies and brains are stressed from processing the alcohol, as we stuff our emotions deeper and deeper down inside, and as we become dependent on the drink to fix us.

We find great freedom from that dependence in sobriety, but it can be daunting to realize that even though we are now sober, we still have the same issues we had before we sought relief in the bottle - the same anxiety, the same depression, the same hormonal changes, the same trauma.  On this show, our guests share their experiences about how they found new and better ways to deal with their lives.  From menopause to dual diagnoses, we can move from self-medicating to proper self-care!

Discover Lifestyle Internet Radio with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio

Keeping It Simple In The New Year

"Keep It Simple" is a phrase we hear often in recovery, but what does that really mean? On this episode of The Bubble Hour we talk about how we plan to keep it simple in the New Year. We will share some tips and suggestions that have worked for us in recovery, as well as some things that didn't work that we plan to avoid doing this coming year. This show is not about high expectations or extreme New Year's resolutions. In fact, it's really the opposite of that. We will focus on ways we plan to be kind to ourselves and let go of trying to do everything perfectly in the New Year. So much pressure goes into the resolutions we make for ourselves. Let's talk about how we can be more gentle on ourselves. 

New Lifestyle Podcasts with The Bubble Hour on BlogTalkRadio