Sober, Free and Being Me

On this episode I chat to the lovely Kate from Shropshire, AKA Instagram's very own video queen - walking_the_straight_line Kate talks about her journey of self-discovery, videoing herself drunk and watching it back made her recognise that enough was enough and that she didn't want to live that life anymore. Waking up with that dreaded sense of impending doom, shame and guilt and trying to understand why she kept putting herself through this time and time again. From drinking 10 bottles of wine a week to her glorious life out in the country enjoying life's simple pleasures and how since becoming sober and living a healthier life, she no longer has those awful feelings of self-doubt and self-loathing. Kate talks us through how she got sober by joining an online sober community and taking responsibility and being accountable to herself and the group on a daily basis for her sobriety. Being supported and helping others in the same boat along the way has given her a solid foundation on her road to recovery.

On this week's episode I chat to the lovely Heather from Wakefield (finally! we've been trying to record this podcast for the last three weeks) Heather talks candidly about her consequences when drinking - how she stopped caring about a job she once loved how she ended up with no empathy for the patients she was caring for. We also touch on relapses and how telling ourselves it will be different this time - funnily enough, it wasn't! Heather shares her experience with AA and how this has helped her overcome a massive loss in the family and how her relationship with her mum has gone from strength to strength, working the steps and the dreaded anxiety around step 9. We discuss the array of alcohol-free options available - which might not suit everyone, but how they can help in social situations when you're not quite ready to announce to the world that you're an alcoholic!

On this episode, I talk to a local lady from Reading, who is almost 5 years sober. Jo came into recovery at a very early age in her early 20's and talks about some of the misconceptions she had about being a younger person trying to get sober and how she thought she would be boring and wouldn't have a life without a drink. Jo talks about how being emotionally available to her friends and family and being in touch with her emotions are some of the biggest gifts she's been given since getting sober. We talk about some of the lessons we've learned since becoming sober and discuss how making peace with yourself and being accountable for your actions is another massive gift of sobriety. Jo has some fabulous words of wisdom for anyone on their alcohol-free journey and some useful advice for younger people new to sobriety Once again - we have a few giggles along the way when we touch on some of the simple pleasures that we enjoy that we used to look down upon.

On this episode, I talk to the lovely Patricia from Belfast, who is 13 years sober. She will very kindly let us in to her life and talk about some of her consequences around losing her children, jobs and friendships and how the insidious illness of alcoholism affected her mental health and nearly took her life. We discuss the stereotypes surrounding alcoholism and how we believed we couldn't be alcoholics as we didn't fit the stereotypical tramp on a park bench with a brown paper bag. Patricia tells us how this illness told her she didn't have it, and in the end, why she decided enough was enough any why she wanted to get sober.  She will talk through how she got sober and more importantly how she's stayed sober. From the attitude of gratitude to not sweating the small stuff. Patricia is candid and honest when talking about her journey and has a fantastic sense of humour to lighten the tone, because after all, us alcoholics are not boring people!

Hi everyone - Thanks for finding me and for taking the time to listen my very first podcast! In this episode, I thought it was only fair that I share a bit more about me. What life was like for me during my drinking days, why I decided to quit and what life is like for me sober and free. Join me on my journey of recovery - from the dark days of crippling anxiety and blacking out, to my simple, happy and drama free life that I am so grateful for due to the gift of sobriety. Each week, I will be interviewing a different guest on their own journey into sobriety to discover what life was like for them during their drinking days, how they got sober and what their life is like now.