Re-Broadcast: Motherhood & Recovery: Perspectives on Telling our Kids

Although there are many common truths and shared experiences in addiction and recovery, family dynamics may differ from person to person. When it comes to motherhood, there is no magic formula or handbook for anything including talking to our kids about recovery. What we can do is share our experiences and perspectives with one another, and be willing to thoughtfully consider the best fit for our family. This episode explores a variety of positions, from being completely open to selectively shielding our children from our experiences, and why those choices make sense.

Rebroadcast: Sober Firsts, Part 2

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.

This rebroadcast episode is a continuation of an earlier show called, Sober "Firsts” - Part 1, which turned out to be such a rich subject that we continued the discussion. We cover everything from going to meetings to going to work and we will even be talking about sober s-e-x.

Teaching People How To Treat Us - Setting Boundaries in Early Recovery

Setting boundaries is an essential skill in life, especially for people in recovery. Alcoholic and addicts often have dysfunctional boundaries: either too rigid (leading to suppressed emotions or distant relationships) or too enmeshed (depriving us of a sense of personal identity). If we don't learn how to create and maintain healthy boundaries interpersonal relationships may continue to be defined by old roles and patterns, increasing the risk of relapse.

As part of recovery, we learn how to set boundaries and to respect other people’s boundaries in return. 

But, especially in early recovery, this can be daunting.  An important aspect of setting healthy boundaries is learning, simply, how to say "no".  Another important part of setting boundaries is identifying how we are feeling; something that can take practice when we are newly sober. We can't teach other people how to treat us if we can't identify our own thoughts, feelings and emotions.

On this show we discuss what boundaries are, why they are important, and share tips, tools and advice on ways we identify, build and strengthen them, with an emphasis on how to do this when you are newly sober.

Re-Broadcast: The Importance of Boundaries

Healthy boundaries create healthy relationships.  Unhealthy boundaries create dysfunctional ones.  

By establishing clear boundaries, we define ourselves in relation to others.  To do this, however, we must be able to identify and respect our needs, feelings, opinions, and rights.  Otherwise our efforts would be like putting a fence around a yard without knowing the property lines.

On this show, we will discuss boundaries - how we establish them, how we know when they are (or aren't) healthy, and why boundaries are important to sobriety.

Please join us for this important conversation!

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As they say..."A Grateful Heart Will Never Drink"

Google the phrase 'the power of gratitude' and you'll find many links to articles and research that show how living a life in gratitude can increase our sense of well-being and optimism and can decrease our levels of stress, anxiety and depression. 

Those benefits alone would make this a worthy topic - who doesn't want to feel happier? - but for the alcoholic and addict, an active gratitude practice can be a game changer. Alcoholism and addiction are characterized by a mental obsession. Our behaviors and thought patterns can defy logic, such as when we drink or use despite consequences or vows to stop. We may feel justified in our drinking or using by anxiety, worry, anger, depression. We may get stuck in this thinking with self-pity, shame, and blame, and the painful cycle continues. 

Gratitude is the fastest way out of the despair caused by this cycle! This is why many people in long term recovery subscribe to the notion that an active gratitude practice is an essential part of their sobriety. Join us as we discuss with our guests the ins and outs of a gratitude practice - the ways it helps them stay sober, examples of its benefits, and how to build a practice. In sobriety, we can have Thanksgiving every day!"

Click on the wideget below to listen to this inspirational show!

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Special Guest: Ann Dowsett Johnston, "Drink, The Intimate Relationship Between Women & Alcohol

We are thrilled to have a Special Guest, Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of "Drink, The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol" on our show!

While women over the past few decades have been closing the gender gap in their professional and educational lives, they are achieving parity with men in rates of alcoholism with alarming momentum--in the U.S., rates of alcoholism among women have risen more than 50 percent in the past decade.

Johnston illuminates this startling epidemic, dissecting the psychological, social, and industry factors that have contributed to its rise, and exploring its long-lasting impact on our society and individual lives.

Drink is groundbreaking and EVERY woman - whether she struggles with alcohol or not - should read this book.

Listen to this show by clicking on the widget below, or click on the link on the right hand side bar to subscribe to our podcast (note: it is much easier to listen to the show by downloading the podcast if you are viewing this from a mobile device): 

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Accepting Acceptance

We hear often that acceptance is key in both getting sober and staying sober.

But what does this really mean?  What does acceptance mean to you? 

We know that in order to get sober, we must accept that we are powerless over drugs and/or alcohol. 

But even during sobriety, accepting things we do not have control over - which turns out is all people, places and things - is critical to maintaining recovery.

In this show we talk all about Acceptance:  why it is important, how it can be elusive, what gets in the way of acceptance, what it means to us, tools we use to find acceptance, how we know when we're not accepting something and what we do to get it back. 

We also share stories of times lack of acceptance has made us struggle or suffer, and share our experiences with times acceptance has helped us not just stay sober but maintain a healthy recovery.

You can listen through the widget below, or look in the tab above to find out how to subscribe to our podcast!   You can also click on the link on the right below our video, which takes you directly to iTunes. 

Thank you!  

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Too Old To Get Sober? Never.

There’s an old saying that you’re only as old as you feel. But that’s just telling half of the story. When it comes to those of us of a “certain age,” whatever that age may be, who have been comfortably ensconced in our particular drug of choice for many a year, it may often mean that we believe we are too old to get sober.

Research studies, however, show the negative assessment to be largely a result of conditioning. In other words, if we think something bad about our prospects, especially about our ability to get clean and sober and stay that way, and we’re older adults, guess what? Our belief tends to become reality.

On the other hand, as psychologists and behavioral health professionals readily agree, if we adopt more positive attitudes toward ourselves and our capabilities, it doesn’t matter how old we are. We can still find peace and happiness in a life of sobriety, and we won’t cut ourselves off from the chance to realize this new lifestyle.

On this show we talk to women who got sober "after a certain age" and how they faced their own doubts, the stigma and how they stay sober now. 

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Re-Broadcast: The Stigma of Alcoholism

In this episode, we will have women on the show talking about how the stigma of alcoholism impacted their ability to reach out for help and get sober.

We all know what the stigma is: the homeless man in a door stoop with a bottle in a paper bag, or the woman who can't hold down a job or take care of her children are just a few examples of what we picture in our head when we hear the word "alcoholic".

The reality is that the stigma is one of the biggest roadblocks to getting sober (denial being the other one) and it isn't true 99% of the time. One in ten people in the USA suffer from this disease, and many (if not most) are high functioning: holding down jobs, raising children, being productive members of society.

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

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Starting Over - Facing Yourself After Relapse

Many people who try to quit drinking alcohol have at least one relapse before achieving long-term sobriety. For many, a relapse is part of the recovery process. If you had a relapse, all is not lost. It is time to face the facts, pick yourself up, and start back on the road to recovery. A relapse can be a valuable lesson that helps to strengthen resolve and continue to live an even more authentic and fulfilling sober life. Relapsing is not an indictment, it is simply a reality. The problem is that once it has happened to you, it can be overwhelming to face what has happened. There is a tendency to heap blame on yourself, to feel that you are a failure. That is counter-productive. This week on the show, we will be looking at constructive ways to face yourself and move forward after relapse.

Join us as we hear stories from guests who have relapsed. We will take an honest look at relapse as it relates to recovery.

Click HERE to go to the show's page on Blog Talk Radio.

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The Importance of Boundaries

Healthy boundaries create healthy relationships.  Unhealthy boundaries create dysfunctional ones. 

By establishing clear boundaries, we define ourselves in relation to others.  To do this, however, we must be able to identify and respect our needs, feelings, opinions, and rights.  Otherwise our efforts would be like putting a fence around a yard without knowing the property lines.

On this show, we will discuss boundaries - how we establish them, how we know when they are (or aren't) healthy, and why boundaries are important to sobriety.

Please join us for this important conversation!

Show airs at 9pm EST, 8pm Central, 7pm Mountain, 6pm Pacific.

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

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