Addiction Unlimited Podcast

What would it feel like to continue NOT having a plan and wake up six months from now in exactly the same place- hungover again, feeling terrible, hating life? I know that moment all too well. My sponsor said to me once, “I want you to think about holding a hula hoop”, “Okay”, I said. “What all fits inside your hula hoop”? And I was like, what the hell is this dude talking about? And I looked at him and said, “Me”. To which he responded, “Exactly. And that’s everything you have control of. So if it doesn’t fit inside your hula hoop, leave it alone”! It was a moment that was equally frustrating and life-changing all at the same time, lol. But if it doesn’t fit in my hula hoop, I can’t control it and I don’t need to expend a lot of time and energy TRYING to control it. Listen in to hear more... Links mentioned in this episode:  Get the Recovery Starter Kit: https://www.myrecoverytoolbox.com/recovery-starter-kit Go to Italy with Me!!:  addictionunlimited.com/italy Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call Mindset Makeover: https://www.myrecoverytoolbox.com/mindset-makeover-opt-in

Getting sober is one thing. Staying sober is the real fight. If you've ever relapsed and thought, “What the hell just happened?” — this one's for you.In a raw moment of heartbreak and rage after a friend’s relapse, I wrote a letter to relapse itself. It's not warm. It's not fuzzy. And it's exactly what you need to hear. We’re digging into: Why relapse doesn’t just happen — it’s a series of choices The dangerous trap of indecision that keeps you stuck What it looks like to truly commit to your sobriety 3 no-BS actions to take right now to protect your peace and your sobriety Whether you’re 10 hours sober or 10 years in, this episode will remind you who’s really in charge. 💬 You’ll Hear: (2:01) What relapse really is — and why it doesn't just “happen” to you (9:14) The most common lies we tell ourselves about “controlling” our drinking (17:20) How my 60-day break turned into my biggest drinking spiral (27:33) The exact moment I lost control — and what I should have done instead (39:45) 3 actions to take today to make relapse much less likely 🧠 Quote to Remember “Relapse doesn’t start with a drink. It starts with a thought. And that’s where you take your power back.” 💡 You’ll Also Love: 🎧 5 Roadblocks Sabotaging Your SobrietyThe sneaky ways your brain keeps you stuck — and what to do about it. 🎧 What It Really Means to Be a Dry DrunkSober doesn’t mean healed. Here’s how to avoid the emotional pitfalls that lead to relapse. 🎧 How to Start Your Healing Journey TodayYou don’t need a perfect plan — you just need a starting point. This is it. 🎧 Who Are You Without Alcohol?The identity crisis nobody talks about. Let’s figure out who you really are, sober.   🔗 Links Mentioned Is Angela the right Coach for you? Book A Call Here to find out : addictionunlimited.com/call Is Relapse a Choice? Episode #79: https://addictionunlimited.com/is-relapse-a-choice/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

You may think you just have anxiety, alcoholism or ADD, but wait ’til you hear what’s going on under the surface and how to heal it. My special guest, Dr. Don Wood is an inspired leader in the field of trauma, healing, and how our brain controls us. This isn’t only a field of interest for him, but a personal crusade that began with a desire to support his wife in her healing, and to unravel his daughter’s illness from the inside out. He has worked with some of the world’s top athletes, is a renowned author, and has a special offer for Addiction Unlimited listeners! Dr. Wood reveals how we’ve created codes in our brains that dictate our behaviors, like addiction, AND the way to re-write the code. You won’t want to miss this.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

There are many theories about the causes of addiction and many of us are curious about what our underlying issues are, that lead us to an unhealthy relationship with substances and behaviors. What we know for sure is it’s a combination of factors – biological, psychological, social, and environmental. This is also what makes addiction more challenging to treat because it isn’t an illness that can be approached with a single solution. It’s not a matter of just putting down the drink and moving on with your life. Even if there was a way to fix the genetic piece of addiction, that solution wouldn’t be able to fix the psychological pieces. And when you work on the psychological healing, that won’t fix the biology or change the environmental and social aspects. Many of my clients spend a lot of time searching for why this happened to them. How did I end up like this? Why did this happen to me? But one theory that is super interesting to me, and will offer you some additional insight, is attachment theory. > What is it? > How does it affect substance issues? > What to do about it.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

Why is your inner critic so freakin' mean?? We all have that inner monologue - We talk to ourselves all day long. We debate with ourselves about eating another cookie, or drinking another cup of coffee, or how to respond to an email. Regardless of the topic, we hear that inner critic running through our head all day. At times this little voice can actually be helpful and keep you motivated toward reaching goals—like when it reminds you that what you're about to eat isn't healthy or what you're about to do may not be the best decision. But oftentimes, this voice can be more harmful than helpful, particularly when it gets into excessive negativity that can really bring you down. Basically, negative self-talk is any inner dialogue you have with yourself that may be limiting your ability to believe in yourself and your own capabilities. It isn't just stressful; it can also make it difficult to get motivated and achieve the things you want for your life and family. Today we’re talking about that inner voice we all struggle with: why it’s so mean sometimes how it’s holding you back from getting the life and recovery you really want.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call Secrets About Self-Esteem That Will Blow Your Mind: addictionunlimited.com/206   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

The REAL reason for feeling some depression or symptoms of depression when you quit drinking alcohol. And one of these may be something you’ve never heard of. If you've ever used alcohol to deal with feelings of depression, you may have found that after your buzz wears off, you feel even lower than before. It’s a chicken and egg situation – which came first? Were you struggling because you were drinking, or were you drinking because you were struggling? Well, both can be true. Drinking can increase depression – but depression is also linked to heavier alcohol use. There are a few things to be aware of to make sense of what you may be feeling and, more importantly, help you cope and have the understanding that it is fixable.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

If you find yourself in yo-yo sobriety, and you can’t figure out why you keep going back to drinking when you KNOW you don’t drink well – I’m going to give you some solutions. If you have followed me for any length of time, you know I’m all about solutions and I’m a believer in investing the majority of my time and energy into solving a problem rather than obsessing about it. One thing I can tell you with certainty is, I know what works for recovery. Not only from my personal recovery and fighting all the same battles you’re fighting, but also from the thousands of people I’ve worked with over all the years of my career. Addiction, alcoholism, alcohol use disorder… whatever you want to call it – is very predictable. It’s course and progression is the same in everyone, and the core solutions are the same, too. So if you are back at ‘day one again’ or you have been sober for a minute and you’re fighting your head telling you, “maybe it wasn’t that bad”, “maybe you can control it now”, “you can get away with just one drink!” – if you can relate, I want you to listen up, and take action. And if you want my notes from this episode so you don’t have to take notes, then make sure you are signed up for the 30 Days to Fast Track Your Recovery series where I’m not only providing all these bonus episodes, but also some great bonus resources to help you in your process so you can get farther and feel better, faster. addictionunlimited.com/fasttrack If you’re signed up then next week you are going to get access to some bonus videos I put together for you, then we are going to do a LIVE webinar so we can be face-to-face you and me! And it’s all FREE! addictionunlimited.com/fasttrack Now let’s get into the magic of solutions and what to do to feel better, and stay sober longer.   Links mentioned in this episode:  30 Days to Fast Track Your Recovery: addictionunlimited.com/fasttrack Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

Does recovery give you a framework to follow to build a happy and fulfilled life? Pete Sousa definitely thinks so, and he’s here to tell you all about it in this week’s episode! In this episode, Pete breaks down his addiction step-by-step and shares all the things he did to get, and stay, sober. Pete is a news anchor in Texas, an ESPN broadcaster, and a powerful recovery advocate on his podcast The Payoff with Pete and today he’s sharing his whole story with you. From backing his car into a ditch at his friend’s party, going to treatment, and working at KFC to strengthen his recovery, Pete’s dedication to sobriety is second to none. This episode is overflowing with moving personal stories, self-acceptance, and real life examples of how to live a recovery lifestyle for years to come. Click here to listen on the web, or go to your favorite podcast app to listen to this incredible conversation with Pete!   Links mentioned in this episode:  The Payoff with Pete:  https://open.spotify.com/show/7eoXPG5Mq3gv9W2GVQxh9d Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

Being High-Functioning Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Have a Drinking Problem I understand why you feel that way and how easy it is to separate from the pack when your habits and struggles look different. It does create a sense of being different and not fitting in to traditional methods and programs. And it’s hard to call yourself an alcoholic when your picture of what an alcoholic is, is not good. But let me ask you this – if you are high-functioning, does that mean your problem is different? Or your lifestyle is different? And if you continue to view your problem as different, which is probably what you’ve been doing, then you could continue to stay stuck in yo-yo sobriety, wasting your time and energy for months or years. So what do high-functioning problem drinkers do to be successful at sobriety? Well, we start with facing the real problem, instead of being distracted by the lifestyle and labels. Think about it – there are tens of millions of people with drinking problems across the globe. There is no way all of our details are going to be the same. How we live, education, houses, jobs, cars, money, how much we drink, how often we drink, trauma… all of these details will vary to some degree. But our misuse of alcohol is the same. If you’re like most of my clients, you use alcohol as a way to numb feelings and discomfort. You use it as a way to connect with your friends, to make laundry and kids and chores feel more doable, to escape the stresses of reality and adulting. So, isn’t it more important to focus on the causes and conditions so you can get away from alcohol, get control of your life back, and be present with your family?   Links mentioned in this episode:  30 Days to Fast Track Your Recovery: addictionunlimited.com/fasttrack Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”

The uncomfortable topic no one is talking about. Or, not too many people are talking about because it can be awkward and weird like everything else in life. But it’s so important for women to understand. And, there are some great recovery revelations in this episode that have nothing to do with life stages or being a man or a woman – but have everything to do with getting sober and living the life you really want. You may know today’s guest from the To 50 & Beyond podcast. When she quit drinking at forty-five, she felt like she had been run over by a truck for years. She was doing the back and forth, back and forth thing, and she finally decided to quit drinking after thirty years of a close relationship with alcohol – finally tired of settling for that life. Lori Massicot loves to talk about the disadvantage of just a small amount of alcohol. From sleepless nights, waking up in the morning fuzzy and hungover, to ending the day with another drink even when you promised yourself you weren’t going to drink today. She found herself in mid-life, stressed out, she didn’t like her work, had no confidence, and knew her life had to change. And if you aren’t a 12-step person, you’re definitely going to love the inspiration and motivation that comes with Lori’s story because she had a different path, is respectful of the program, and has amazing and fulfilling sobriety.   Links mentioned in this episode:  Insights Into Addiction and 12-Step Programs Today with Angela Pugh:  https://www.lorimassicot.com/to-50-and-beyond-podcast/283 Lori Massicot:  lorimassicot.com Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/addictionunlimited Want to work with Angela? Book A Call Here : addictionunlimited.com/call   Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts “I love Angela & Addiction Unlimited Podcast.”