The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast

Welcome to the podcast!

Today I’ll be joined by Charlie LeVoir, the Co-host of The Way Out Podcast. With nearly 400 episodes, it has become wildly popular and ranks in the top 1%.

Charlie has got to be one of my absolute favorite people to talk to about recovery, especially the 12 step program. He’s got such deep knowledge of the literature, and addiction recovery in general. I really love talking to people who have put in the work to heal trauma.

If you are just starting your recovery journey, I have a free guide that you can download from my website called “how to quit drinking: 30 tips for your first 30 days”. It includes strategies to deal with cravings, how to socialize sober, managing stress, and resources to gain the perspectives you need to change your relationship with alcohol. You can get a copy by visiting soberlifeschool.com

And if you have been trying to get sober on your own, and you’re just not able to get past 30 days, you might want to consider private 1:1 coaching. My coaching practice is usually full, but I have some availability coming up. You can book some time with me through Sober Life School to see if coaching is right for you.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Charlie, and let me know what you think!

Connect with Charlie here: https://www.wayoutcast.com/

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Today I’ll be joined by Todd Crandell. He is an author, speaker, triathlete, and recovery advocate. This guy has super high energy, does a ton of service work and has an incredible impact on the lives of his clients, and their families through Race for Recovery.

I had so much fun talking to Todd. He has a great message and I can’t wait for you to meet him so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Todd!

Connect with Todd here: https://racingforrecovery.org/todd-crandell/

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

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Thank you for downloading the episode! If you’re new here, my name is Arlina and I’ll be your host, and if you’re a long time listener, welcome back!

At the time of this recording which is 4/23 - I am celebrating 30 years of continuous sobriety! It feels a little surreal to be honest, but mostly I feel deeply grateful. Grateful that I was able to stay sober with the help of so many people, grateful for my relentless curiosity about all things self-help and personal development, and all of the experiences I’ve had as a sober woman.

So I’m going to do something a little bit different today.

Typically I interview guests about their recovery journey and ask them to share the solutions that helped them get sober, but today, I wanted to share some things that will help people just starting out, some solutions for people who are focused on staying sober, and some of the practices that I use today to address my own mental health.

As a disclaimer, if you are physically addicted to any substance, please consult with a medical professional. I am not a doctor, and I don’t play one on the internet. This is for educational purposes based on my own personal experiences.

With that out of the way…

First, for those who are thinking about quitting drinking. I’d like to cover some basics that will help you get started. I actually have a free guide called “How to quit drinking, 30 tips for your first 30 days” that you can download for free at soberlifeschool.com but I’ll go into a little more depth here if you are in the contemplation stage.

I think the first step involves coming to the conclusion if you can moderate or not. Like being 100% brutally honest with yourself. You don’t even have to tell anyone yet, but that is a question that you have to answer for yourself.

What I mean by moderation is, can you create a drinking plan that you can stick to? If you decide you want to drink no more than 2 glasses in an evening, and you fail, that is a sign that you cannot moderate. But what about if you can do it some of the time? I would say that if you cannot stick to it 100% of the time, you cannot moderate.

Especially if you experience blackouts, vomiting, interrupted sleep, hangovers, and do or say things under the influence that create problems in relationships, work, or in your finances.

If you are not sure, I suggest you run the experiment. Give yourself a plan, a time frame, and give it a shot because you need to know that you cannot moderate if you are going to practice abstinence.

If you have enough evidence without having to run the experiment, then it’s time to move to the next phase which is getting prepared. I recommend you start by prepping your environment. Take out all the temptation. I don’t care if you pour it down the drain, give it away or put it in the trash, but just get it out of your house.

After you do that, it’s time to let people know. Keep in mind that people receive information with the same intensity and energy that you deliver it. So depending on who you tell, you can keep it light and say something like “hey, I’m focusing on my health right now and creating better habits, so I’m going to go alcohol free for 30 days and I could use your support.” Or there might be people close to you who you feel safe with to say, “I don't think I should drink anymore, and I could really use your support.” The point it to let people know so you don’t walk into a situation with friends or family who expect you to drink, and try to have that conversation then. It’s better to give people a heads up so it’s not so awkward in the moment.

As a side note, you might want to think about what specific support you want. It could be asking someone not to offer you a drink, or drink in front of you. It could be that you ask someone not to lecture you or tease you about it in front of others. It could be that you have a friend that can run interference for you in social situations, like if someone offers you a drink or tries to pressure you into drinking.

After you clean up your environment, and let someone know, it’s time to set a date. There will never be a perfect time, but I encourage you to trust your instincts and decide on a date that works for you.

Once you’ve picked a date, then I would start thinking about what you will do to replace drinking. Make a list of things you can do to relax, to have fun, to give yourself as a treat, and to de-stress, especially at the end of the day. If you don’t know what you can do instead, the temptation to drink will be too strong to resist.

One thing to note, you can expect to feel a little bored or empty at first. THIS IS NORMAL, but it won’t last. Keep in mind that your brain is healing from being overloaded with dopamine. It needs a little time to heal, so don’t panic into thinking this will be how you feel forever. It won’t.

Also, I highly recommend starting a morning self-care practice. I like to use the 5 minute journal because it incorporates gratitude, setting your intention for the day and a positive affirmation for inspiration. Exercise is huge during this time because it is a great way to reset your neural transmitter circuit that will help you deal with stress, feel better and give you more reserve to resist temptation.

So if you’ve been listening to the podcast, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of support groups. I have a private women’s group you can join if you’re a woman, there are 12 step groups you join and you can join anonymously online to start if you want, or go in person. There are tons of sober facebook groups online too. The point of these groups is to connect with others who are going through the same challenges and feelings that you are too so you don’t feel so alone. They can really make a difference in helping you to get through the hard times.

The next thing I wanted to share are solutions for those that are focused on staying sober.

Outside of support groups, which are peer based, I highly recommend professional help. I want to cover some of the treatment modalities that are available because there are so many and different treatments can offer different results depending on what you are dealing with. And just for reference, I have personally tried all of these that I’ll be covering.

So let’s start with the basics. I would highly recommend that you find someone who specializes in substance use disorders or you might find providers who are addiction specialists. I think it’s important to find someone who understands all of the nuances you’ll be facing.

These people can practice CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy or DBT dialectical behavior therapy, which generally speaking is talk therapy.

There are a couple of forms of trauma therapy you might want to consider like EMDR, which is eye movement desensitization reprocessing. It helps to heal the underlying causes of addiction by reframing past traumatic experiences that are hard to metabolize, and that leave you with negative feelings about who you are as a person.

IFS is internal family systems, which is also amazing at addressing the root cause. You can think of it as doing “parts work”. You have parts within you that drive your behavior, so this is a way to heal the inner child, to calm your protective parts that may show up as self-sabotaging behaviors, and strengthen your higher self so you can be more intentional about creating the life you want instead of being reactive.

Of course as a certified hypnotist, I have to recommend hypnosis for a variety of issues such as developing self-esteem, self-worth, releasing subconscious limiting beliefs, and if you are in long term sobriety struggling with “character defects” this is a drug free process to reprogram your subconscious mind to connect with character assets. It’s especially helpful for people in sobriety who need drug free pain management. It is so effective, I could literally do a whole episode on the benefits of hypnosis. There are actually a ton of good videos on YouTube if you want to try it out at home, but nothing beats a personalized session.

So, I hope this episode gives you some ideas to think about and some resources to try.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list of things to try to quit drinking, or to stay stopped but it should give you some direction. I realize that is a lot of information to absorb, so if you are feeling a little overwhelmed, just know you are not alone. If you want to talk through some of this stuff and come up with a plan, you can actually book a free strategy call with me. There’s no obligation to hire me, it’s literally my purpose in life to help, so don’t be shy. You can put some time on my calendar by visiting soberlifeschool.com and I’d be happy to talk with you, man or woman. I realize a lot of my marketing is aimed at women, but honestly, I’m happy to support the men too!

If you’ve found this episode helpful, please share it with a friend. Or let me know on social media, and I will do more of these in the future.

Thank you for spending time with me today. Thank you for supporting the podcast and just know I am sending you all the love and peace you can handle… bye for now!

Welcome to the podcast! In case you are new here, my name is Arlina Allen and I am the founder of Sober Life School. I have been sober since 4/23/94 (which means I will be celebrating 30 years!) In that time I have been obsessed with self-help, spirituality, psychology, and behavior change.

And let’s not get it twisted, I did not do it alone. In fact, I have had many many helpers along the way including mentors, sponsors, professional therapists and lots of loving friends and family.

As a way to say thank you to them, I try to be as helpful as I can and pass along what was given to me. That’s why I created a free guide for you with all my best tips on how to start your alcohol-free journey. It’s called “How to Quit Drinking: 30 tips for your first 30 days”. In it you will find strategies on how to avoid common mistakes, foods that will reduce cravings, how to talk about it with friends and family, what to do in social situations, and so much more!

So visit soberlifeschool.com, get your free copy and start creating a life you love!

And just a little programming note: I recently lost my podcast editor, so this episode and future episodes will be published in the raw and unedited format. I appreciate your patience and continued support!

Today I’ll be joined by Justin B. Long. He is an author, business owner of a successful veterinary practice, and author of The Righteous Rage of a Ten-Year-Old Boy. He shares the traumatic events in early childhood that formed his negative self-image, his journey through addiction, and the process of healing that has led to finding peace.

You know, after hearing Justin’s story, I was reminded of just how painful childhood can be for some people. When I hear these stories, I often feel amazed at how they survive, and the truth is, some people don’t. In fact, Justin could have very easily become another statistic - but he didn’t. He survived. And not only did he survive, but he is thriving today!

That is the story of hope.

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Justin.

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

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Welcome to the podcast!

Today I’ll be joined by Barb Nangle, who is going to give an absolute masterclass on how to recover with co-occuring addictions. We’re going to talk about OA, ACA, Coda, and go over some practices for setting boundaries, building self-worth and finding your true identity.

I’ll just note that Barb does more for her self-care than anyone I’ve ever met, I’m not even kidding. She’s incredible. So if you’re new to recovery, it might sound a little overwhelming, but just know that you don’t have to do everything that we talk about to start feeling better right away. Listen for the practices that pique your interest and follow your intuition.

Before we jump in, I just want to give you a heads up about some upcoming changes to the podcast. After 7 years of the same format, I’m going to be experimenting with solo episodes focusing on some of the basics for those who are just starting their recovery journey.

Also, I would like to hear from you, the listeners! What do you want to hear more of? What do you want to hear less of? Do you want more book recommendations or are there people out there that you think I should interview? Let me know!

Follow me on IG @arlinaallen and shoot me a DM with your suggestions.

So without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Barb

Connect with Barb here: https://higherpowercc.com/

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

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https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

Welcome to the podcast!

Today I’ll be joined by CEO and Founder Chandler Rogers of the Relay app. He’ll be sharing his story of overcoming addiction to pornography and how it led him to create a highly successful sobriety app to help people connect anonymously.

We’re going to talk about how we met, and how after I heard about their project, I decided to partner with them so I could connect with you!

I’m always reachable on social media, but not everyone wants to reach out that way. In fact, a lot of people either want to say anonymous or NEED to be anonymous because of work or fear of exposure, or you’re not ready to tell your family and friends or whatever…

The point is that we all need a safe place to start, with support, accountability and compassion.

So I’ll be hosting a private group, not on social media, totally private, where you can get support from me and others just like you who want to live an alcohol and drug free life.

I’m going to give you some instructions but don’t worry if you can’t remember everything, I’ll put it in the show notes:

• You can join my recovery team by signing up here: (https://joinrelay.app/odaat), answer Yes when the signup survey asks "Do you already have a group?", and input the team code ONEDAY. You'll get to try Relay for free + 20% off after the free trial, and you can stay as anonymous as you want. I'm excited to meet you soon!

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Chandler, and let me know what you think!

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

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You are going to hear from Angela Pugh today, host of The Addiction Unlimited Podcast and a woman in long term sobriety. In fact she just celebrated 18 years!

Before we jump in, I do have a couple of resources for you. For a loooong time… like almost 8 years, I’ve only had group support for women. The good news is now there is a new podcast, called The Self-Help Junkie Podcast. It’s for seekers, dreamers, hustlers and overachievers who want to get focused, take the actions that will help them reach their goals and connect with others, just like you!

We also have biweekly meetings that are open to everyone! The format of that podcast is we discuss a self-help topic, identify 3 action steps, and the following week we review what went well, what we learned and if we didn’t do the action steps, what got in the way.

You can join the meetings to ask questions, share your experiences, and connect with others who love self-help as much as you do. You can find the podcast on all podcast players, and you can join the meetings by visiting patreon.com/selfhelpjunkie.

Today Angela and I are going to talk about getting back to basics, why she got sober, how she got sober, the evolution of the online sober space and so much more.

If you enjoy this episode, please be sure to share with a friend and leave us a review on Apple podcasts.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Angela and let me know what you think!

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

We have a special guest today, former NBA basketball player, Chris Herren. He will be sharing his story of going from a rising star in his community, to the risks he took in active addiction.

And just a quick note before we jump in. There are so many people I would love to invite onto the podcast that I know you’ll love. The first thing they do to see if this is a good use of their time, is look at the podcast ratings and reviews and check our IG followers.

So if you enjoy this podcast, could I ask you to leave us a 5 star rating and a review on Apple podcasts? It’s a zero cost way to support the podcast and on a personal note, it would mean the world to me. As a community we can spread the message that recovery is possible and bring hope to people suffering, all over the world.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Chris.

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Reach out to Chris here: https://chrisherren.com/

Welcome to the podcast!

There are a couple of resources I have to share in case you just found me.

There is a free guide on my website called “How to Quit Drinking: 30 Tips for 30 Days”. After nearly 30 years of being sober myself and helping thousands of people get sober, I created a guide that has practical tips on how to start your sober journey. Everything from how to prepare your home, what to do if you get a craving, how to talk to your friends and family and so much more! It’s my gift to you and if you have any questions, DM on Instagram @arlinaallen. I read every message and I promise to personally respond. You are not alone in this! To access the guide, just visit soberlifeschool.com

The other resource is for my sober girlies, there’s a free private women’s group on Facebook that’s tied to the podcast. It’s where I share books, videos, quotes and anything that I personally consume to support my personal growth. I’m definitely a self-help junkie, so if you need suggestions or support, come visit me there too. Just do a search on “one day at a time private women’s group”

Today’s guest is Kate Baily, co-author of two books Love Yourself Sober, and Love Your Sober Year. She is also the host of the “Love Sober” podcast. We’ll be talking about how she got sober without a traditional 12 step program, the books which are so practical and rich with powerful insights that will change how you think about living sober.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with Kate.

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Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB

Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast

My guest today has been sober for over 37 years. He has published several books including “Conscious Recovery, A Fresh Perspective On Addiction”. TJ is a featured thought-leader on wholehearted.org along with Dr. Gabor Maté and Marianne Williamson, and was given the honor of being ordained as an Agape minister by Dr. Michael Beckwith.

When I listened to the audible version of his book, I was intrigued by some of his ideas that challenged some of my own personal beliefs about 12 step programs. Ideas that imply that a dependency on anything outside ourselves is just another substitute for what we’re addicted to.

He actually makes a compelling case that while the 12 step program is great, especially in the beginning of recovery, and that there is more to explore beyond the rooms.

We’re going to talk about how to heal through unlearning, how to build self-trust, and how to move past trauma, toxic shame and disconnection.

And if you enjoy this episode, please be sure to share with a friend and leave us a review on Apple podcasts.

I’m really excited to share this conversation with you, so without further delay, please enjoy this episode with TJ and let me know what you think!

Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. You can watch the interview on YouTube here.

Be Sure To Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!