370 From Alcoholism, Suicidal Thoughts, and A Dying Mother To Helping Others Heal From Anxiety, Obsession and Depression

Today I am speaking with Author and Yoga Teacher Bryan Hyman. He will be sharing his experience with addiction, the catalyst to his recovery, and his book, Recovery With Yoga Supportive Practices For Transcending Addiction.

Before we jump in, Id like to introduce a new segment - Sobriety Shorts A bite sized bit of wisdom and an action step to move you deeper into your recovery journey.

Today Id like to talk about The Sobriety Drift. Its what happens when the motivation from emotional pain starts to subside and we start to skip on the action steps that help us feel better. Its happened to me many times. I get super willing out of desperation to do all the self-care like step work, meditation, journaling, exercise&all that stuff. Then voila&I start feeling better! Mood follows action. Cause and effect come into play and I start getting comfortable. Maybe Im tired or pressed for time, and I think Im going to skip my meditation or my journaling and before you know it, days or weeks pass by and I havent done my self care. This is the sobriety drift. Its so subtle I dont even realize its happening until BAM! Something happens to throw me off course and Im back to feeling totally dysregulated. Whats going on under the surface is that I am taking action motivated by a temporary fuel source - fear of pain. Which actually isnt a bad motivator to get you going, but we need to switch to a more sustainable source of motivation mid flight. That would be community, accountability, and routine. We are way more likely to do self care if there is someone else watching or depending on us to do things with them. Like having an exercise buddy, going to self help meetings with friends and doing service work. All of these things provide a more sustainable source for motivation, it encourages self discipline and ultimately keeps you on the straight and narrow.

Id love to hear your thoughts on what keeps you on the path, so leave a comment on the website at odaatchat.com or email me at arlina @soberlifeschool.com or DM me on IG at Arlinaallen.

If you find this helpful, please share it with a friend! The hardest part about growing a podcast is getting the word out, so if you know someone who loves sobriety, let them know about us!

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!

=J