Celebrating One Year: Cory's Story

Cory first wrote to Jean (via unpickledblog.com) when she was just 14 days sober. The two stayed in touch over the months that followed, encouraging one another and checking in with updates. When Cory wrote to say she was celebrating one year of sobriety, Jean invited her to share her story with listeners of The Bubble Hour.

Re-Broadcast: Perfectionism

When we are active in an addiction, we can feel like there is no one else in the whole world like us. “Alcoholics are screw ups and losers,” we tell ourselves, “whereas I seemed to have developed this drinking problem in spite of doing everything else in my life to a high level of excellence. I am the most unlikely alcoholic ever.” In fact, alcoholics share many common personality traits, and surprisingly that includes perfectionism. On this rebroadcast episode we discuss the various ways perfectionism can manifest in our lives, why it is so common to those who struggle with addiction, and some suggestions for easing perfectionist ways.

Listen below, or follow the instructions on our website for how to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes: 

Re-Broadcast: Sober Firsts, Part 1

Early recovery is full of “sober firsts”. They seem to come fast and furious in the initial weeks and months, and can be overwhelming at times. Eventually, the “firsts” are fewer and further between, but their infrequency can make them feel more jarring. On this episode of The Bubble Hour we look at “sober firsts” of three major types:

• “Mixing with the Normies” – going back to the places and situations where drinking is part of the milieu, now as a person in recovery
• “Engaging in Recovery” – new places and situations you encounter once you quit drinking
• “Sober and Solo” – the things you go to or through on your own.

Join us and our guests as we talk about what these experiences were like for us and some tips for navigating these challenges of early sobriety.

Listen through the widget below, or follow the link above to subscribe to our podcast! 

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Shame Does Not Define Us - Tools, Tips & Advice for Working Through Shame

All alcoholics and addicts feel shame. It’s impossible to avoid, and while shame is painful and can keep many of us stuck in the throes of addiction, there is hope.  We do not have to be defined by our shame, and indeed learning tools to cope with shame and learn and grow as people is an integral part of recovery.

To begin with, though, it’s important to define shame.  One way to do this is to clarify the difference between shame and guilt.  Guilt is feeling badly about something we’ve done, and shame is feeling badly about who we are.   Guilt is based on actions, and shame is built on feelings.  Another way to put it is this:   When we feel guilty we feel we made a mistake.  When we feel shame we feel we are a mistake.

In this show, we talked about building tools to identify shame, build awareness of it, talk about the importance of reaching out to reduce the power shame holds over you, and discuss the power of story and voice in reducing and even eliminating the hold shame has in your life.

Listen to the show below:

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The Gift of Desperation

When most people hear the word “desperation”, they certainly don’t think of a gift. In fact, the dictionary defines desperation as, “a strong feeling of sadness, fear, and loss of hope”. But as with so many other things in recovery, like surrender, vulnerability and powerlessness, desperation has an opposite meaning.

Taking that first step in stopping drinking is extremely difficult for most of us. We can’t even begin to imagine how to live our lives without alcohol…until we become desperate. When we are in enough pain, when we become desperate...we make a change. We surrender. We ask for help. This is why we call it, “The Gift of Desperation”.

On this episode we will discuss what the gift of desperation felt like for us and how we use that same gift as a tool in maintaining our sobriety.

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Summer Announcement

For the summer months, we will be broadcasting live shows every other week, instead of every week.

During the "off" weeks, we will re-broadcast popular or topically relevant shows - for example, this Sunday we will be airing "Let's Talk About Asking For Help".

The show will air on Sunday, July 6th, at 9pm EST, 8pm Central, 7pm Mountain and 6pm Pacific.

Go HERE to see the show's page on Blog Talk Radio!