A Sober Girls Podcast: Recent Episodes
A Sober Girl
After 12 years of Sobriety and doing things the hard way, I realized that putting the plug in the jug and just showing up wasn‘t doing it. Follow me as I go through my journey into sobriety, we will explore the steps, and talk about having positive mental health affirmations and growth. We CAN recover if we have the capacity to be honest - one day at a time.
Devon and I are simply a chance meeting. Involved in baseball - although worlds away (Okay, not really - Canada and the US) I was moved by Devon's approach to sobriety on LinkedIn - such a professional, public platform! Devon truly is amazing, his story, kinda blows my mind, because he KNEW he should quit drinking, probably should, but then one day, just did. And it's not as easy as it sounds, it took 10 years, but through that time he was successful, high functioning, married, father, baseball player and attended Ivy league level schools. So, when he decided that enough was enough, he started making changes for the better and I love his story. I love his story, because you never TRULY know what someone is going through on the inside. Thank you, Devon for this opportunity and I am so proud of your sobriety!
EverBlume is a more personalized way to connect with a sober community. We provide online small group recovery meetings with peers who support each other in their sobriety journey. Each member fills out a survey, and their group is uniquely tailored to them based on compatible and complementary characteristics.
You are matched with a small group of people you can share with, ask for advice and help. You are an integral part of the group. You are not one of 200 or even one of 20 members. Your group understands what you are going through and is there to listen and provide support. You meet twice a week for 1-hour meetings where each person has a chance to share, get feedback, and set intentions for the following weeks. The aim is to provide a safe space for honest conversation so members can develop meaningful connections.
Your meetings are facilitated by a recovery coach who is there to guide the discussion and help you set and achieve your goals. You will have access to a 24-hour per day chat with your group. In addition, you will receive affirmation emails to start and end your week.
We accept all pathways to recovery. We encourage anyone who is re-evaluating their relationship with alcohol to join. There is no shame or judgment, just connection.
Sonia is the founder of EverBlume which provides small group recovery meetings where members are matched into groups based on what they are struggling with. The goal is for members to find connection through conversation, and get meaningful support and feedback from eachother.
Sonia is an orthodontist and built and sold a successful multi-location practice in 2016 and got sober in 2017. Since then, she become a recovery coach and has dedicated her life to making a difference with social impact investing, volunteering with the incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, and victims of sex trafficking. And now she hopes to create her biggest impact by leveraging the power of peer support to create community for those on their recovery journey.
13 YEARS!!!!!!! I am in my sobERA (for all you swifties out there!!!!) I talk about what it's like being in my teens as a sober gal and the things that I KNOW kept me sober for that long.
This episode is dedicated to Kelsey. Kelsey, you have been a ROCKSTAR and I am SO proud of you! You changed my heart and my mind on the reasons why I needed to keep doing this. Never forget how awesome you are!
I have missed you! I know. I have been gone. It has sucked, but my mental health was not in a place where I could continue. I forgot why I was doing this, and then I received a message from a listener and she reminded me WHY I do this. She was looking for help, newly sober, a soldiers wife in a deployment and it reminded me why this is so important. I missed you all and I can't wait to bring you more stories of experience, strength and hope!
This one is so exciting, because the play on words is so awesome. Her name is Honesty and that's what we talk about. Her story, her decade of use and the decade after. I loved talking to her and she is as REAL as they come!
Social Media has been taking over our lives, but there is so much restriction on what social media can do in the way of support and help in the recovery community and thats when I found Dan. Dan and his amazing team have come together and created an app called Sober Together and it's a cross between Now and TikTok and Facetime. You can send video messages and check-ins, meet people from all over the world and if you are scared of anonymity, then you can just leave a voice message! I am so excited for all the people I have meet and I am going to meet!
So, you've made it this far? What have you done that's new? Have you actually stepped outside your comfort zone? Outside your bubble? Have you had those hard talks? Have you tried new things? Today we discuss what trying new things can look like and things I would love to do outside my comfort zone.
How many times have you looked at instructions when building something and just went, "Eh. I don't need that" and then it all falls apart? Same. This week we talk about the importance of instruction - even when it's annoying. Also, I have been having breathing problems lately with my diagnosis, so I apologize for some of the outside noise.
Last weekend I went to my first ever conference since sobering up. It was so much fun and the best part was I did it sober!!! I reached out to people in the community to ask them what they did to stay sober in situations like this and this episode is what they told me!
We talk a LOT about how we were SELFISH during our using, but one thing we forget, is that it is okay to be selfish. Don't get that twisted, but self care is an absolute MUST in order to stay sober. So how do you balance being "selfish" and being "Selfish"? Glad you asked, let's find out together!
FINALLY THE EPISODE YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR You will see why this episode had to be waited on when you listen. This was one of the hardest episodes I have had to record. There are SO many things about alcoholism that if we aren't aware of can become all consuming, those things, some are our behaviors. You see, it's not just about not drinking, alcohol is merely a symptom and "just not drinking" is not the problem. Addiction can be in any form and so can "soothing" behaviors. Y'all have been with me over a year now and while I say a lot of things that make sense, I also am an alcoholic, so I am still fallible. This is why working our program is SO important. If anything, this episode will be a lesson for you on why working your program is vital to your sobriety and the success of your life.
EPISODE 50!!!!! WHEEEEWWW!!!! HOW FUN! What a perfect episode to talk about community and what the sobriety community has done for me and can do for you! We are all in this together! Listen to what I do in my community and who has helped me along the way!
I think one of the biggest downfalls we experience, no matter HOW far into sobriety we are is comparison. We are constantly comparing ourselves to friends, family, co-workers, and others in sobriety. We are all works in progress, and I am very guilty of "keeping up with the jones" - but until I let go absolutely, and I identified inTO AA my life was topsy turvy. Now, I love that I fit in with a group of people. This is my journey with finding myself.
I never understood this passage as much as I did when I went home a month ago. A LOT has transpired since then and I am going to be going through a few things as I post these episodes, so hang on.
The only reason that people, places, things and situations bother us is because OF us. That's right. We can't find serenity until we truly accept where we are in our lives and sobriety and until then, many, MANY things will continue to be a trigger...like going home.
Promises keep happening. It's true. Letting go of old resentments and behaviors make it amazing for everyone, but especially for you
I am still on cloud nine from being together a year! I am so insanely happy! I hope that it's made a small difference in your weekly routine. Today we talk about being complacent, what it is and my experience, strength and hope with what complacency did to me in my sobriety and how working the steps saved me.
EPISODE FIFTY AND HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!
Can you believe that we have been together for a year!?!?! WOW!!!!! I hope that you are all still here with me from the beginning and are continuing to grow with me! Today we take a look at an opportunity I have to be an ambassador for a company and why that is something I am being cautious with. Remember, Alcohol is cunning, baffling and powerful. If we are not cautious, it can sneak up on us and we can be right back where we started, only worse. I am really excited for a chance to try something new with a company - but I am nervous about the process of my thoughts and what it could mean for my sobriety.
One of the oldest sayings in AA "it works if you work it" and there is nothing more true....so what does working it look like? Join me while I tell you how it looks for me!
We all deal with difficult people in our lives. As we sober up and grow, not everyone does. Difficult people range from the idiot on 95 who flicked you off, the woman who screamed at you for not getting her order right to your best friends and family. Difficult people are everywhere. There are some that we just can say the serenity prayer and move on...but what happens when you can't? What happens when they are people you love and "well, they've always been that way"...today we deal with difficult people and how our behavior can be the change that makes it all better. I said what I said, but you have to listen for the answer...
Oh boy. This is a doozey, huh? Anger. Such a crazy emotion that we alcoholics feel. Did you know that you may have resentments that you didn't realize you have? yep. I just recently realized some resentments that I have that make me angry and manifest in certain behaviors with people in my life based on past experiences. Today we talk about my walk with anger and also, setting boundaries with people who show anger frequently in our lives. a little touchy subject, but we are alcoholics, what isn't?
I heard a saying on the radio that really got to me. The Jockey said "what is something you did good / or thought you did good when you were drunk?". It kinda stunned me into silence. What do we think is "good" about our drinking? Personally, I did NOTHING good when I was drinking.
You guys have heard me talk about my son for almost a year now. What I haven't told you is how hard it has been to parent him because of the guilt and shame I felt about being an addict. I never realized that NOT setting boundaries would be a problem. I thought by being his "friend" he wouldn't see me as the enemy or disappointed in me. What I was doing in reality was setting us both up for failure and that was something that I couldn't have. My son got his first job and it made me realize that my coddling and enabling him has set him back so much further than I'd like to admit. I wasn't protecting him, I was protecting myself. Being a parent as an addict is not easy, in recovery it doesn't get better, but WE can get better. We can become a strong parent, but there are things that we have to do in order to do that first.
One thing I did not address in the podcast: Al-anon is a great program for family members of those in recovery. Have your kids join your recovery path and get them involved by going to family centric meetings!
Depression is sneaky. It can rob us of so much. Even in sobriety, *especially in sobriety, when we don't have any "relief" from using, it becomes so much more prominent. I have had a really hard week. I think I know why, but all I know is that today, I got up and I showered for the first time in days and that is a HUGE accomplishment for me. Never get down on yourself for how "little" you did today, instead, be proud of the things you "did" to survive.
Happy JUNE!! Can you believe it's June already!? This week we are talking about Anonymity as it relates to us, our program, what AA thinks and how to handle it with other people. There have been so many changes over the past two years with how we are getting sober from zoom meetings to making friends on social media and podcasts, we need to remember WHY it's called Alcoholics Anonymous and what that means for this day and age. Sharing our story is one of the BEST things that we can do - but we can't be sharing other people's anonymity while doing it.
Co-Dependency is a huge issue in addiction. We struggle to becoming individuals and want someone to "take care of us" or take care of things "for us". Today we discuss rermoving a person as our higher power, what is a higher power and where does that fit into sponsorship and the program of AA and recovery.
Life can throw us some MAJOR curve balls, but what if I told you that mostly, you allow those pitches to be thrown? You set the tone for what you allow based on what you swing at that's coming at you. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Taking personal responsibility for ourselves is NOT easy, but it's necessary if we are going to stay sober. Walk this week with me through a live panic attack and talk my way thru a personal battle I have coming up.
GAH! I have hit 12 years!!!!! I can't believe it! I got my 12 year medallion last week and it was SO cool and emotional! To see my video please go check my Instagram or Facebook: A Sober Girls Podcast to see what the experience was like for me!
How did I get to 12 years? That's a good question - join me in this episode as I tell you all the things that got me to where I am ... starting with meetings...
Gratitude is not a feeling. It is an action. Did you know that? Now you do. Now you can learn exactly what gratitude consists of and what you can do to improve your life and the life of others by giving back, being in service and being grateful to be alive.
Putting down the bottle means we think we have a lot of "extra" money. We don't. A lot of us have a lot of debt though, and a void we are trying to fill. Let's talk about finances, the emotional pain behind needing to fill voids and what we can do to get our lives on the right path emotionally and financially for success.
Hey y’all!!! It’s spring break!!! We will be back NEXT week with a FULL episode. I am sorry I missed last week and this week I am traveling, but we have some GREAT episodes in the cue for the following few weeks and I am so excited to come back with fresh content!!!!
Listen to my experience with Celebrate Recover and see if it's something that will enhance your sobriety program!
In this episode we discuss something that the entire community fears: relapse. This past week I came within inches of relapse. 7 months of weight of feelings of failure and disappointment. This was not based on anything but my own perception of things that I was allowing in my life. I was allowing myself to believe that I was the cause of people's happiness or unhappiness. I had allowed myself to mentally regress to where I had been questioning my ability to drink or allow myself to think I could drink. When they say you relapse in your head, they aren't kidding. In my mind I was already drinking, so when opposition came my way, the ONLY solution for me was to drink. Join me today as we discuss how things happened, how I allowed myself to get to this point and how I used the program to stay sober on one of the toughest nights in my sobriety.
When we put the plug in the jug there is one thing we have left to do. Something that lots of us FAIL to do, and the hardest thing to learn: how to grow up. This is a two part series. You will hear my difficult story with emotional sobriety in episode one. Tune in next week for the rest.
Happy Episode 25!!!! I can't believe we have recorded 25 episodes and we are so thankful for each and everyone of you! We have seen our community grow and we could not be more thankful for you! I know that episodes lately have been really hard and a little dark, but I wanted to share the reality of what we deal with on a daily basis. This weeks episode is all about hope and what this program does for me on a daily basis and can do for you as well! I love being your host, I love sharing my journey with you and I can't wait for you to listen to this episode!!!
Happy New Year everyone!! I am SO glad to be back with you all! The beginning of the year is huge for a lot of new comers, so I wanted to take time to talk about what is expected of twelve steppers and information for new comers as well. We never want to make people feel like they don't belong, so lets go over a few things to help people feel welcome!
The holidays are hard! People's behavior makes us cranky, we feel rushed and out of sorts and some of us deal with mental health issues that amplify what we are feeling. So let's talk about ways to maintain an attitude of gratitude and how to stay "in our lane".
setting boundaries is hard. not people pleasing and being co-dependent are also hard. So what do we do in sobriety? Set boundaries and have self-respect. It's not easy and I find it hard somedays to find it - but I tell you a bit about who I was before I set boundaries and the type of life I lead now because I have them.
This episode we spend some time with Ryan Leaf - Broadcaster for the PAC12 and former NFL player and Washington Cougar. Ryan talks to us about his podcast "Busted" and how we get to tell our story and our character defects as they pertain to our lives now, who we are and how we stay sober.
The Holidays are coming up! Please make sure to take care of yourself! I found a few helpful ideas for how to handle situations that may arrise during family, friend or work gatherings. Please take care of yourself and reach out if you need help!
Join me as I walk you through the Serenity Prayer and what a game changer it can be in your everyday life! Also, a little history lesson included in this one! 14 is my lucky number so I am excited for this episode to be my Fourteenth!
Praying is funny isn't it. Some of us kinda shrink back and hold back a little bit as we quietly pray - others hands held high and on our knees praising to our higher power...There is not a right way - but not having that connection to a higher power is certainly going to make your journey with sobriety more difficult. I have a few ideas for you and let you know what I do to maintain that contact and how it helps me in my everyday life.
Happy HumpDay Fam!!! I am so excited about this week's guest. Another social media friend has turned out to not only be a saving grace in my life, but he is finishing school for addiction counseling and he is going to really be a light in people's lives and touch lots of hearts and make big changes. I am so glad that he is a friend and person I can talk to and I hope that you enjoy hearing his story. Today is his sober-versary of 9 years and I am so grateful that he decided to spend that time with me explaining how he does it one day at a time!
Fear plays a huge role in our lives. Whether we like to admit it or not, fear is a real human emotion, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming - it doesn't have to be scary and we certainly can be sober and have fear. I share a few of my fears with you, a self realization and things that the program does to help us deal with our fear. You are not alone. Take back your power! Fear doesn't live here anymore!
In this Episode we discuss what making an amends look like - When we starting making changes to our behavior is where we really start to make the difference in our lives. Being able to say I am sorry I used you, I am sorry I took from you, I am sorry I lied to you is a huge step in recovery - but even bigger is never doing those things again. Let's talk about those things.
Welcome to our 8th official episode! I am just so excited about how well this podcast is being received and how much positive feed back I am getting. I am enjoying hearing from people who listen and I personally am starting to grow in ways I didn't know I could! I hope you enjoy this weeks episode. It is a little more meat and potatoes but that's because at steps 6 and 7 we are truly starting to make large changes in our lives and it becomes action - not just words.
Join me for a look into Steps four and five and discuss the mental health implications that they have. While we discuss our character defects, we often forget that mental health may be a huge part of our character defects and we look at what outside help does for us to improve ourselves and our program.
HOLY SMOKES! Exciting news! We are going to Patreon AND we are doing something fun for the bonus episodes! Listen here and then hop on over to Patreon to look at options for joining the community!
Patreon Link
Say Hi to my friend, Tyler!!! Tyler is a friend I met through social media and is a huge ambassador for all things sobriety! We touch a little on Tyler's story - his experience, strength and hope - and how his character defects became his greatest asset!
A new episode on Sponsorship!!! It’s a corner stone to success in our program! Tune in tomorrow to hear my journey and what goes into sponsorship! This episode is dedicated to my sponsor, Carol. The Saint she is.
(Ps. No intro or Outro - it’s not you - it’s me)
Tomorrow’s episode I talk about my journey to getting a sponsor. In that episode I talk about stressors such as suicide and sexual assault. If you have any issues with EITHER of these, it’s okay to skip thru the episode or portions.
Willingness is a huge part of our recovery. Willingness to trust God, Willingness to work the steps, Willingness to grow along spiritual lines....Being willing is so important. As the Big Book states, we are our own director and when we try to run our own show and things do not go to our liking, we fall apart. Without God, or our higher power, the work we do in the program truly is not going to take hold as it is a spiritual program. Join me to talk about willingness, not a story or a history lesson, just what Willingness looks like and how we can achieve sobriety through being willing to trust God.
In this episode we take a brief but important step in stopping our insanity. Being a part of the bigger picture is realizing that we must subscribe to a spiritual - not religious - program if we are going to stay sober. Coming to step two was something I could do, but not without a little proof from God it was going to work first. Come along on the journey to finding how I came to believe that God was going to give me back my sanity and help me grow and not be scared.
This episode we explore my journey through alcoholism and my acceptance of being an alcoholic. Some names are changed, but the stories are real. I leave out heavy details that may be triggering to some people, but leave the events in large enough pictures that you see how the disease of alcoholism progresses over time.
Hey Fam! Welcome to our first episode! I am so glad that you decided to give us a listen! In this episode we talk a little bit about what is going to be happening in our journey together, a teaser on my story with alcohol and what my goals are for this podcast! I am so excited that you are here and I can't wait to watch this podcast and our connection grow!