
Soberful
Veronica Valli and Chip Somers are experts on recovery. Chip Somers was most recently described by Russell Brand in his book 'Recovery' as a 'right social liability.' Together they have been sober for almost 50 years and have a LOT of stories, messes, experience and occasionally helpful advice to share on living in sobriety. They bring all of that (and more) to the Soberful podcast. This podcast is for anyone who wants to live an alcohol-free life, is struggling to get sober or who is in long-term recovery.
Latest episodes

Jul 3, 2024 • 42min
273: Mother Daughter Relationships with Hilary Mae
The mother-daughter relationship is one of the most important and powerful relationships of our lives. But it can also be one of the hardest. From the unrealistic expectations placed on mothers to navigating when daughters change from children to adolescents to women. Daughters learn what being a woman is like from their mothers, and they may not necessarily want to be like their mothers. Hilary Mae is a therapist who specialises in the mother-daughter relationship and helps women navigate communication and healing. She discusses ways we can communicate with each other and how to listen to what our mother or daughter needs from us. A powerful conversation about complicated relationships.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 snips
Jun 26, 2024 • 42min
272: The Fear of Missing Out
The biggest obstacle to getting sober is the Fear Of Missing Out (or FOMO). But what are we scared of missing out on? In this episode, Chip and Veronica explore how feelings of missing out are very human because we are programmed to belong and connect. When we analyse what we are afraid of missing out on if we stop drinking, it is very undefinable. We have a fantasy in our heads about how we think drinking is going to be, but the reality is very different. Chip and Veronica also explore how alcohol makes us miss out on so much in life. That you don't miss out on the sobriety you gain.To stay sober, we have to shift our perceptions. When we perceive that alcohol is the best way to have fun, relax and reward ourselves, stopping will feel hard. But if our perception shifts and we see that the cost of our drinking far outweighs any benefit, we no longer feel like we are missing out. We see that alcohol is causing us to miss our lives.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 19, 2024 • 40min
271: Social Media Addiction with Dr. Nicholas Kardaras
Social media is addiction by design. Dr. Nicholas Kardaras joins Veronica to talk about social media addiction and how it was deliberately designed to hijack our dopamine system and get us hooked. It's digital candy and we are enticed into displaying our idealised internal lives. Dr. Kardaras explains how predatory algorithms work and how they are responsible for creating a mental health crisis for young people.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 12, 2024 • 37min
270 Complacency
What happens when we get complacent about our sobriety? Chip and Veronica discuss the times they had got complacent about their recovery. When they stopped going to meetings and stopped doing all the work they did to remain emotionally sober, Veronica shared her tool of 'when I'm ok with me, I don't have to make you wrong.' And how she uses that as a guide. When she notices that she is picking at or criticising other people, it's usually an indication that she is not ok and needs to do something to take care of her mental and emotional health. No matter how long we have been sober, we still need to connect with other sober people. Whatever sobriety program we work in, we need its principles to guide us for the rest of our lives.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 5, 2024 • 33min
269: How to Become a Sobriety Warrior with Cammie Wolf Rice
What do you do when the worst thing in the world happens? Cammie Wolf Rice lost her son to opioid addiction. He was a gifted student who was prescribed oxycontin for an operation and started a 14-year battle with opioids. After his death, Cammie used her pain as power. Learn how she is creating real change so nothing like this happens to another family.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 29, 2024 • 31min
268: Dealing with Boredom in Sobriety with Angela Pugh
After bartending her way across Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Angela was in over her head with a drinking problem that was relentless. She got sober in 2006 and dedicated her life to helping others do the same. She joins Veronica to discuss how to deal with boredom in sobriety and how we need to take responsibility for our lives and experiences.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 22, 2024 • 39min
267: Trauma and Addiction with Dr. Christy Gibson
Veronica interviews Dr. Christine Gibson about the link between trauma and addiction. how trauma impacts our physical health and how the brain responds to trauma. They discuss EFT and how effective matrix reimprinting is in healing trauma. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 15, 2024 • 36min
266: Selling and Drinking with Emily Lynn Paulson
Emily Lynn Paulson is the founder of Sober Mom's Club. She joins Veronica to discuss her new book 'Hey Hun' and her role in predatory Multi-Level-Marketing. Emily explains how the MLM fuelled her drinking and nothing on the outside matched what was really going on.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 8, 2024 • 35min
265: Think you are too old to get sober?
Veronica is joined by Cathy who got sober when she was 76. When Cathy met Veronica last year she told her she had two choices; she was either going to drink herself to death or, get sober. Thankfully she chose sobriety and she shares her story and dismisses any limiting beliefs you may have that you are too old or it's too late to stop drinking.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 1, 2024 • 43min
264: When Other People Sabotage Our Sobriety
Chip and Veronica explore how other people can try and sabotage our sobriety. This is an experience most people have in early sobriety. Whether it is from family, friends, colleagues we may have people in our lives who don't like the fact that we want to be sober. One of the most hurtful ways is when people tell us we aren't 'fun' anymore.To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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