The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast

Today my guest is Nadia Davis, Author of Home is Within you: A memoir of recovery and redemption. I think it’s going to be impossible to encapsulate just how accomplished Nadia is but I’m going to give you some of the highlights. She graduated from UCLA, she’s an accomplished attorney who worked to free Arthur Carmona from prison after a wrongful conviction, she's a gifted kundalini yoga instructor, and the mother of 3 beautiful young men.    Nadia has been through more in one lifetime than anyone should have to endure, including sexual assault, a horrific car accident, a tumultuous marriage in public life with a state attorney general, pubic shaming, and chronic relapse.    But this is not a tale of woe, it’s a story of triumph. What is amazing to me is her tireless persistence and determination to heal. You will hear her story in her own words, the wisdom and insights she has received, and the tools she uses to progress on her spiritual journey.    Just a little housekeeping before we get started I would like to remind you of the resources available on my website at odaatchat.com You can access show notes, past episodes or information about private 1:1 coaching with me. If you’ve heard past conversations, you will know I use hypnosis in my coaching practice to facilitate behavior change by addressing root cause issues. If you’d like to find out more, you can also schedule a free strategy call with me today.    And if you enjoy listening to the podcast then please, go to iTunes and leave us a 5 star rating and review. It’s the best way to show your support for the podcast. So without further delay, please enjoy this episode, with Nadia   Connect with Nadia here: Visit Website: https://www.nadia-davis.com/ Follow on Instagram:    Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Phillip Andrew Barbb, 2x Emmy nominated producer, Author and Performance Coach. Phillip joins me today to share his recovery story, insights and wisdom from 15 years of sobriety, and so many things I can’t even list them all! This is by far one of the longest conversations I’ve had to date, but he was saying so many good things, we just kept it flowing!     But before we jump in, I wanted to give you a sneak peek into one of our upcoming guests that I just interviewed today.   Britt Frank is the author of “The Science of Stuck: Breaking through Inertia to find your path forward” One of the many tips she gives is to NOT use metaphors when describing your situation. For instance if you feel overwhelmed, don't say “My life is a dumpster fire!” because your brain will trigger your nervous system into fight, flight, or freeze response.    Instead, list the specific things you have to do, then break that list down into tiny little micro steps, pick one, and do it! This makes sense to me because what I know for sure, is mood follows action. Once we start taking tiny little micro steps, we can start building momentum and make forward progress. I’m really excited to publish that one, so be sure to come back for that one!   I hope you enjoy this week’s episode with Phillip, so without further delay, let’s get into it!  

Today my guest is the fabulous host of The Chasing Heroine Podcast. I just wanna say, buckle up, because you are in for a wild ride. When you get two ADHD women together who are super passionate about Game of Thrones, telling stories and recovery, you get a wild episode!    I loved this episode because Jeannine is so transparent, vulnerable, and honest about her struggles with her 15 year addiction. She isn’t afraid to tell it like it was or share the wisdom of lessons learned in recovery. She is a living miracle of transformation and I can’t wait for you to meet her!   But before we jump in, I would like to share a quote that has really been working on my soul as of late. The quote is from Peter Crone who said ”Life will bring you people and circumstances to reveal where you are not free.”     I heard it right when I was feeling super triggered by someone very close to me who is suffering. I immediately recognized it as very old pain from my childhood when I watched my sister struggle with mental illness. In my young mind, I thought it was my job to save her, but I always felt like I failed her which made me feel horrible about myself. I remember what a hopeless and powerless feeling it was.   So to have been triggered in my current circumstance, it absolutely showed me where I’m not free. What I am reminded of is the idea that I can take a moment to acknowledge my feelings, validate them and to let go of what’s not mine. Other people’s feelings are not my responsibility, especially when they don’t want my help. Freedom comes when I can process through the cycle and return to peace. That’s how I regain my freedom from obsession.    So if you have challenging people or circumstances in your life, I hope this will help you to let go of what’s not yours so you can be happy, joyous and free.   That’s it from me, please enjoy this episode with Jeannine.    Connect with  here: Visit Website:  Follow on Instagram   Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Chris Stewart. He’s an author, motivational speaker, and an inspiring person in long term recovery. When he was 15 he chose to leave his family and become a rock star rather than go to Europe to live with his parents who were missionaries. As you can imagine, it was a rough road. Chris shares what it was like to be on his own so young, how he fell into addiction, years of relapse and finally how he was able to break his addiction and build a life of purpose and meaning. He has dedicated his life to helping others recover from addiction, so you know I love him already!   But before we jump in, I want to share something I learned from a guest I’m scheduled to interview, China Brezner. She is the Clinical Director at Clear Recovery Center and a licensed marriage family therapist. So before I interview anyone on the podcast, I do a pre interview chat to kinda break the ice and discuss topics for the podcast. What came out of my chat with China was the idea that in order to treat underlying trauma, the problem of addiction needs to be resolved first. The lesson here is that the tools of recovery should be used in order. For instance before moving to deep trauma work like EMDR, it’s important to stabilize first so that it doesn’t trigger a relapse.   That makes perfect sense to me! We have so many tools and resources available to us in recovery, that it can be overwhelming to the point of paralysis. I know in my own coaching practice that it's important to space out the resources I offer. My recommendation is that in the beginning, we set up a daily self care of no more than 3 activities like consuming a daily reader, 10 minutes of meditation and 10 minutes of journaling. It’s been my experience that a routine you can complete is 100x better than the elaborate one you never get to.    So I hope that helps! Make sure you are subscribed to hear my conversation with China, and Please enjoy this episode with Chris Stewart.   Connect with Chris here: Visit Website: https://www.chrisstewartworldwide.com/ Follow on Instagram: @chrisstewartworldwide   Watch this episode on YouTube! ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Anna David, NYT Best Selling Author, podcast host of “On Good Authority”, and Founder of Legacy Launch Pad Publishing. This episode will be a little different than what you’re used to, and I mean that in the best way possible. Especially if you find yourself in a place in recovery where you are craving a life that is in alignment with a higher purpose. We’ll be catching up a bit but mostly talking about her new book “On Good Authority: 7 Steps to Prepare, Promote and Profit from a How-To Book that Makes You the Go-To Expert.   What we’re talking about today is really about orienting your life so that it’s in alignment with your purpose, and the vehicle is through storytelling and book publishing. She has created a very successful company that helps people build a business through a book and has had some incredible client success stories. So if you are craving a life and work with deeper meaning, and you think you might have a book in you, even in the distant future, this episode is for you.   Just as a quick side note, this is actually Anna’s second appearance, so to hear her full recovery story, check out episode 53 on the website at odaatchat.com or better yet, you can read her memoir “Party Girl”. It’s a wild story filled with humor, insightful wisdom and hope.   But before we jump in I’d like to share some insights that I gleaned from the mega successful book, Atomic Habits. Specifically How to create a good habit using the 4 laws of habit creation. It’s not a recovery book per se, but the principles are incredibly applicable to recovery.   I’m going to be reading a worksheet I downloaded from the atomic Habits website and it’s the habits cheat sheet.   So the four laws are: 1) Make it Obvious. 2) Make it attractive 3) Make it easy and 4) Make it Satisfying. If we look at these laws through the lens of recovery we can apply them to things like developing a self care routine that might include prayer & meditation, exercise, meetings, or building a support system. You can make these things obvious by putting them on your calendar. You can make it attractive by inviting a friend to do these activities with you. You can make it easy by using the 2 minute rule. For instance if you’re trying to start a meditation habit you can make it easy by meditating for 2 minutes. And the 4th law: make it satisfying by giving yourself when you complete the habit. This is obviously an oversimplification but gives you a brief overview into making new healthy habits. I encourage you to get the book for a deeper dive and a ton of practical and actionable advice. Since this is such a popular book I imagine a lot of you have already read it, so I would love to hear how you have applied it to your recovery! Shoot me a message on social media or email me at arlina @ odaatchat.com   So that’s it from me!  Please enjoy the episode with Anna David!   Connect with Anna here: Visit Anna’s Websites:  https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/ https://annadavid.com/   Watch the interview on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Dawn Nickel, Author of “She Recovers Every Day: Daily readings to support your recovery practice”. She is also the co-founder of SheRecovers, a large worldwide non profit organization that supports women in recovery. There are annual conferences with about 500 attendees and some of the most amazing speakers who are literally changing lives. They also have free online meetings every day that are really incredible.   Fun fact, I believe in the SheRecovers foundation so much, I actually got certified as a SheRecovers coach two years ago.   We met to talk about her new book, which I highly recommend, and not just because she included me in it, but because she has so much practical wisdom packed into every entry. We had a wide ranging conversation about her experiences with addiction, domestic violence, suicide attempts, workaholism and how to process grief.    You can listen to her first interview here: https://odaatchat.com/index.php/2018/04/21/dawn-nickel/   So that’s it!  Please enjoy the episode with Dawn.   Connect with Dawn here: Visit Website: https://dawnnickel.com/  Follow on Instagram: @recoveringdawn   Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is the Founder and CEO of Wired For Addiction®, Dr. Evelyn Higgins is a recognized international expert in the epidemiology of addiction.  As a Certified Addictionologist, Diplomate of the American College of Addictionology and Compulsive Disorders, and Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts specializing in pain management.    We are going to talk about understanding the genetic markers of addiction, and how a simple test could identify missing chemicals that contribute to the mental health disorders that lead to addiction like anxiety and depression. Her work is fascinating and I can’t wait for you to hear it.   But before we jump in, it’s time for new resources! I just completed the 12 step workshop last week and the topic was step 12 which is about carrying the message, or in other words, being of service to those who suffer from addiction. I think I’ve probably shared this before but it’s worth repeating.   For a lot of people with little kids or constrictive schedules, I would like to offer up a flexible and simple way to be useful, and that is to practice what I call “willingness calls”. It’s also a simple way to establish a support system if you don’t have one already.   A willingness call is simply to find 3 or 4 people that you can reach out to on a regular basis to check in with. You do it when you feel good, because most of us just want to isolate when we feel bad. There’s an old saying that we don’t rise to the level of our expectation, we fall to the level of our training.   It can be a short call, just a hey how are you? Let them share a little bit, then you offer up what is going on in your life and that’s it! Pretty soon you are current with several people, and when life get’s too “lifey” you are already in the habit of calling, and you don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the back story. You can get right into solution. The interesting thing that happens when you practice willingness calls, is you might catch a friend in the middle of being upset and you can offer support and be of service. Or they might start reaching out to you in a moment when you feel shut down or too sad to call. I’ve had such amazing experiences over the years of this practice, so I wanted to share this with you too.   So that’s it!  Please enjoy the episode with    Connect with Dr Higgins here: Visit Website: https://www.wiredforaddiction.com/   Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Dr Laura Petracek, a clinical psychologist and author of “The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction: Skills and Strategies for Emotional Regulation, Recovery and Relapse Prevention”. Can I just tell you… I LOVE A WORKBOOK! This one in particular is good for people like us because there are questions and writing prompts that support behavior change.   But before we jump in, it’s resource time! Today I just want to talk about one of the most misunderstood tools, meditation. Whenever I suggest meditation to clients or friends, I’m inevitably met with resistance. The two comments I hear the most are: either “I just can’t meditate”, or “Yeah I should probably do that”, but it never happens.    So let's clarify the biggest misconception: Meditation is not about not thinking. If you think you’re failing at meditation because you can’t keep thoughts out, that idea is a misunderstanding. In meditation, there is no goal per se other than to be fully present in the moment. As you notice your brain is thinking, you just bring your awareness back to the breath. If you notice you are thinking 1,000 times, then you simply notice without judgment and bring it back. It’s like casting a line out when you’re fishing. You focus on the breath, notice when you’re lost in thought, and reel it back in. Meditation is a practice, and like any practice, we suck at it in the beginning, then we keep practicing and get better and better.    In regards to why people consider it but don’t do it, I propose it;s because it’s not a priority. I wonder if it’s not a priority because the value of meditation just hasn’t been made clear enough. But instead of talking about why its so good for you, which a lot of people do, I’m going to highlight the COST of NOT doing it. If we can agree that the quality of your life depends on the thoughts you think and the actions you take, then we have to acknowledge a simple truth which is that it all centers in your brain. And just like you wouldn’t run a marathon without training first, why would you think you could tackle something like getting sober, or make any major change in your life without conditioning your mind first? It’s where all your decisions are made! Meditation is the process of conditioning your mind and your nervous system to help you achieve your goals so that you can ultimately achieve what we all want. Things like better relationships, health, peace, satisfaction, contentment and connection. If you DON’T practice meditation, it could literally cost you the very things you are actively trying so hard to achieve.    I hope this helps you to decide to make meditation a priority. There are endless youtube videos and apps available at your fingertips. So do it today, and let me know what meditations you like and I’ll share them on the Facebook page!   So that’s it!  Please enjoy the episode with Dr Laura Petracek   Connect with Dr Petracek here: Visit Website:  Follow on Instagram   Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo  

Today my guest is Dr Luke Sniewski, author of Somawise: Get out of your head and into your body. I’m really grateful he reached out to share his story because if there is still a taboo subject in recovery, it’s porn addiction, and we need to talk about it.   You’re going to hear his story, the underlying trauma that is at the root of his addiction and the healing practices that helped him to transform his life. In fact he was so deeply transformed that he has dedicated his life to helping others. He shares a lot of wisdom along with a lot of practical advice that you can apply to your life right away.    And speaking of transformation, I wanted to let you know that we do have a women’s Big Book study on Saturday Mornings, 8am pacific, 11am eastern. This is the book that is mentioned as being the most helpful in early sobriety, more than any other book from the 257 guests I’ve spoken with. We’re at the very beginning of the book so it's a perfect time to join. If you would like to check it out, just join the One Day At A Time - Private Women's Group on Facebook for the zoom link.    So that’s it!  Please enjoy the episode with Dr Luke Sniewski.   Connect with Dr Luke Sniewski here: Visit Website: https://www.lukesniewski.com/ Follow on Instagram @dr.luke.sniewski   Watch on YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNuRolkOZ7X8fCEFCDYd5tg Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!   Listen On:   https://apple.co/30g6ALF   https://odaatchat.libsyn.com/spotify   https://bit.ly/3n0taNQ     Watch Full Episodes!   https://bit.ly/2UpR5Lo