Soberful

Whatever the question is, balance is always the answer. Balance is key to sobriety because if we become unbalanced; it can lead to relapse. In this episode Chip and Veronica discuss the mistakes they have made and how to achieve balance using some simple suggestions. To learn more, visit the show notes.

We all have difficult people in our lives. Often it's family members, or colleagues they trigger us, and we find ourselves flooded with feelings of anger, frustration, and fear. Because we can't change these people, we have to learn to deal with them in different ways. In this episode, Chip and Veronica discuss how they have dealt with difficult people, what they have learned, how they remain calm and unaffected despite what other people do. This is the last episode before our summer break, Chip and Veronica will be back in September. To learn more, visit the show notes.

Step Gaudreau mission is to help women create bigger, bolder, fiercer lives - by building health from the inside out. In this episode, we discuss body image, health, nutrition. Step advises us how we can get started with exercise how we can deal with cravings in early sobriety as well as discussing her own reason for ditching the booze. To learn more, visit the show notes.

Emotional Sobriety is about learning to deal with your feelings and emotions. Stopping drinking just isn't enough. We have to learn to tolerate and experience emotions instead of running, and numbing Sobriety can give us the ability to experience our full spectrum of emotions, and then we can have appropriate emotional responses to events. Chip and Veronica talk through how this happens. To learn more, visit the show notes.

We go on vacation to relax and have fun. But what do you do if you are sober? Surely you need alcohol to do both those things? In this weeks episode Chip and Veronica look at the 'vacation mindset' and how to not just stay sober on holiday but have an awesome time too. To learn more, visit the show notes.

Have you fever felt anxious? Have you ever used alcohol to deal with social anxiety? You are not alone. Anxiety and problems with alcohol go hand in hand. We drink to take the 'edge' off and get through social situations, but the booze just makes everything worse. You may have even experienced a full-blown panic attack. Veronica suffered from extreme anxiety and regular panic attacks throughout her drinking. In this episode, Chip and Veronica look at the relationship between alcohol and anxiety, how getting sober will change it and give you their strategies for dealing with anxiety when it strikes. To learn more, visit the show notes.

The Five Pillars of Sustainable Sobriety are essential for anyone wishing to live a happy and sober life. In this episode, Veronica takes a deep dive into the five pillars of Movement, Connection, Balance, Process, and Growth. She explains how they work, how you can apply them to your life, and why you can't get sober without them. To learn more, visit the show notes.

This is probably the question we get asked the most. Am I an alcoholic? How do I know if I have a drinking problem? We explore the spectrum of Alcohol Use Disorder's and look at how an alcohol problem can progress. We give our response (and analogy's!) to clients when they first come to us and ask if they have a problem or not. To learn more, visit the show notes.

***Trigger warning*** This episode discusses adult content about sex and sexuality as well as discussion of childhood sexual trauma. Jennifer Matesa is the author of 'Sex in Recovery: A Meeting between the Covers.' Jennifer and I discuss the discoveries she made interviewing subjects for her book. Many people suffering from addiction have experienced childhood sexual trauma, we look at the impact of this on their recovery. We also discuss what the word virginity means, how not talking to teens can lead them to have dysfunctional sexual relationships. We also consider how people can get back in touch with their bodies when they get sober and have sex again. To learn more, visit the show notes.

Relapse is a process, not an event. It can build up over days, weeks and month. In this episode Chip and Veronica talk through the emotional, mental and physical stages of relapse. What you can do at each stage to prevent relapse and tools you can use to change the outcome. To learn more, visit the show notes.