Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol free life!

Take a Break from Booze - Part 2

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
We want to help you to make a healthy start to the new year so we've launched our 7th Annual Fundraiser which will provide you with online and community support for an alcohol free month - and enable you to help a disadvantaged child.  Talk about a win-win!
We believe in Challenges here at Tribe Sober - every year we run our Sober Spring Challenge - and then another one in January.  On this week's podcast we hear from 3 people who did Sober Spring 2021 - why did they sign up?  what was it like?  what tips do they have? 
Let's hear from Jenny, Jimmi and Sybille:-
In this Episode
Our Challengers had plenty of useful tips to share 
Throw the book at it! Both Jenny and Sybille have been reading all the quitlit and listening to all the podcasts.  As Sybille said if we understand the science behind alcohol dependence then we are more likely to stick with it – learn everything you can and eventually it will click!
Work on your mindset – Sybille sees her alcohol free future as a very positive thing – a life full of benefits rather than some kind of punishment!
Stock up on alcohol free drinks – if you are in South Africa and doing our January Challenge you can claim a discount from DrinkNil who will deliver to your door.
Journalling was another important tip - buy a notebook, process your emotions and log your progress during the Challenge.
We often have a vague feeling that we need to do something about our drinking but a challenge will enable you to dip your toe in the waters of sobriety and take action - SIGN UP FOR THE JANUARY CHALLENGE HERE
"Alcohol is the only drug we have to justify not taking" so doing a challenge is a great "reason".  If you have to explain to your family and friends why you are not drinking you can say "I'm raising money for charity by doing a Dry January!"
An alcohol free month will enable you to experience some benefits of sobriety but to really experience the joys of alcohol free living you need to keep going a bit longer.  You will meet others on the challenge who will be keep to extend the challenge to 66 days, 100 days - even six months!
Another great tip we heard from our Challengers was to reconfigure your day - shake up your routine a bit and you won't miss alcohol so much!
If you are listening to this and it's not January don't worry - we've got you covered - all you need to do is to go to our tribesober.com and hit Join Our Tribe and we'll put you on our 30 day starter challenge for new members.
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Take a Break from Booze - Part 1

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
This week’s podcast is released on Christmas Day so by the time you get to hearing it the festivities will be drawing to a close and your thoughts may be turning to 2022.  We want to help you to make a healthy start to the new year so we've launched our 7th Annual Fundraiser which will provide you with online and community support for an alcohol free month - and enable you to help a disadvantaged child.  Talk about a win-win!
We believe in Challenges here at Tribe Sober - every year we run our Sober Spring Challenge - and then another one in January.  On this week's podcast we hear from 3 ladies who did Sober Spring 2021 - why did they sign up?  what was it like?  what tips do they have?  Let's hear from Claire, Helena and Pam:-
 
In this Episode
Like many of us Claire had fallen into the routine of drinking a bottle of wine every evening - and she wanted to make a change.
Claire who wasn't sure that an online community would work for her - she thought she might be the "wrong generation" but in fact she loved it.  She posted comments daily and felt a deep connection with the other challengers.
She didn't find it that difficult.  She had been "thinking about it" for so long that one she actually took action and signed up for the challenge she was more than ready - and got straight through 66 alcohol free days without a slip up!
Then we heard from Helena who has struggled with drugs and alcohol for years but who is now making real progress.
She was fascinated by the idea of a 66 day challenge and the fact that a new neural pathway can be created in this time.
Pam explained  that she had been worried about her drinking for a while and that the challenge finally made it clear to her that "moderation" was not going to work for her.  
Our Challengers had plenty of useful tips to share - "make a plan" was a big one - Claire explained that visiting an exclusive game farm carrying a huge bag of AF drinks may have bemused the staff but it enabled her to stay on track!
Journalling was another important tip - buy a notebook, process your emotions and log your progress during the Challenge.
Treat your Challenge as a research project - listen to podcasts, read the quitlit and learn everything you can.
We often have a vague feeling that we need to do something about our drinking but a challenge will enable you to dip your toe in the waters of sobriety and take action - SIGN UP FOR THE JANUARY CHALLENGE HERE
"Alcohol is the only drug we have to justify not taking" so doing a challenge is a great "reason".  If you have to explain to your family and friends why you are not drinking you can say "I'm raising money for charity by doing a Dry January!"
An alcohol free month will enable you to experience some benefits of sobriety but to really experience the joys of alcohol free living you need to keep going a bit longer.  You will meet others on the challenge who will be keep to extend the challenge to 66 days, 100 days - even six months!
Another great tip we heard from our Challengers was to reconfigure your day - shake up your routine a bit and you won't miss alcohol so much!
If you are listening to this and it's not January don't worry - we've got you covered - all you need to do is to go to our tribesober.com and hit Join Our Tribe and we'll put you on our 30 day starter challenge for new members.
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Alcohol - and Breast Cancer with Mocktail Mom

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
This week’s podcast guest is Deb from Kentucky who is known as Mocktail Mom - she hosts an awesome IG live session on Monday night called Making Friends & Mocktails.  She has her own recovery journey to share and like me she is a breast cancer survivor.
Dramatically reducing your risk of breast cancer is one of the benefits of sobriety we don’t talk about much so we were both keen to highlight this issue during the conversation.
 
In this Episode
Deb had done lots of challenges - we chatted about the value of short challenges and agreed that they can be counter-productive – 30 days is not quite long enough to experience the real benefits of sobriety so we are just doing the hard bit – and in the process our subconscious is registering that sobriety is difficult and not much fun!
Don’t let that put you off from doing our January Challenge though – it’s a great way to dip your toe into the waters of sobriety and connect with other sober curious people – what usually happens is that some people decide to keep going for longer – sign up by going to TS.com and tapping January Challenge
Deb didn’t start drinking heavily until she turned 40 when she started using it to cope with some major life challenges. This is a pattern I am beginning to notice with some of the people I meet these days – rather than drinking socially in their 20’s and 30’s which led them to becoming dependent in mid life, they hardly drank much at all until they reached their 40’s or 50’s and then used it to cope with difficult times.
People who do take up drinking later in life tend to hit it hard and within a decade Debs drinking had escalated to a level that worried her. She felt a lot of shame about her drinking – she felt she was driving a car with a trailer behind it – the trailer of shame!
What motivated her to finally take action was the prospect of her 50th birthday – she had the blues and decided that she was just not living the life she was meant to be living..- so she signed up for another challenge – but this time it was different…
When she signed up for her final 30 day challenge she was still lacking in confidence - so convinced she would fail that she told no-one… she didn’t tell her husband or friends – however what was different this time was that she connected with other people who were doing the challenge – people she could talk to freely – she felt less alone as previously she felt she was the only person with this kind of problem!
Deb had “found her people” and sure enough a group of the challengers decided to keep going when they got to the end of the 30 days – this is the way to do it, step by step. Avoid the “F” word – it’s just too scary when we are at the beginning of this journey.
Step by step is the way to go - we have so many examples of people who have signed up Sober Spring or our January Challenge and then have extended it – first to 100 days, then to 6 months, then to a year.
Here the thing: once you’ve got to a year of sobriety you feel SO different, physically and mentally that you just won’t want to go back to drinking.  You will be experiencing so many benefits that they will motivate you to carry on and it will become effortless – the new normal.
So rather than your motivation coming from external forces (from your doctor, your family, a challenge) – your motivation will come from within - a much more powerful place.
Deb learned the importance of planning – she would check in advance what drinks they were serving at the venue so she could decide what to drink and she would decide what she was going to say to people. She would play the movie forward which is one of our favourite tools here at Tribe Sober.
We agreed that we felt embarrassed at first having to explain why we weren’t drinking but that passes with time and Deb now just says “I choose not to drink” and we agreed that “I’m just taking a break” is also a good one.
I think we need to remember that although alcohol is the only drug we have to justify not taking it’s not our responsibility to make other people feel comfortable about their drinking – we must do what’s right for us.
We agreed on the importance of not even contemplating having “one drink” – as Deb put it that would be a switch and she’d be off and looking for the party!
We both notice that there is a bit of a societal shift towards sobriety these days – the #sobercurious movement is great and enables people who don’t even have a problem with alcohol to see what their lives are like without alcohol – to experiment a bit – and of course its so much lighter to say “I’m sober curious” than “I’m an alcoholic” (!)
Deb listed her benefits which include better sleep, no more headaches, no more shame – she's lost weight and most important of all she feels a sense of freedom.
I asked her for some tips for anyone listening who knows they need to make a change but is not ready to dive in just yet – her advice is to join some groups and just listen and learn – some of you may be doing just that as you listen to this podcast – your next step might be to join our January Challenge – use it to check your level of dependence – just be a bit sober curious. Go to ts.com and hit January Challenge for more info.
One fairly compelling reason to quit drinking is that it will reduce your risk of breast cancer…
Deb and I are both breast cancer survivors so we chatted about the fact that the evidence is stacking up linking alcohol consumption to breast cancer.
We both had hormone receptor positive breast cancer and research shows that alcohol increases the risk because alcohol increases the levels of estrogen and other hormones in our bodies.
Compared to women who don't drink at all, women who have three alcoholic drinks per week have a 15% higher risk of breast cancer. Experts estimate that the risk of breast cancer goes up another 10% for each additional drink women regularly have each day.
So dramatically reducing our risk of breast cancer is one benefit of sobriety we don’t talk about much – that’s why I wanted to highlight it in this podcast
On a lighter note Deb started her Making Friends and Mocktails sessions on IG because she wanted to have fun in sobriety
You can follow her on Mocktail Mom on IG – her live sessions are Monday at 9pm Eastern time
Her website is mocktailmom.com and she’s also bringing out a Mocktail Box and a Mocktail Course soon
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Art Therapy and Addiction with Samantha Davis

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
This week’s podcast guest is an Art Therapist.   Just as I didn’t realise how important yoga could be in recovery I also had no idea that Art Therapy had a role to play..
I interviewed Tribe Sobers yoga teacher Tamsin on episode 69 and today I’m chatting to Art Therapist – Samantha Davis
Sami has operated a private Art Therapy practice for the past 18 years. She’s worked with people who struggle with stress, addiction, depression and also people wanting to discover more meaning and purpose in their lives.
 
In this Episode
Sami began by defining Art Therapy which involves “using art materials to help a client to communicate and express themselves with the guidance of a qualified therapist".
We discussed how as adults many of us have lost the ability to play – we tend to get caught up in productivity and ticking boxes. We need to get back in touch with our creativity and art therapy can help us to do that.
Some people feel intimidated at the thought of Art Therapy thinking that they need some artistic skill. This is not true at all and in fact Sam loves clients who come to her with no knowledge or aptitude for “art” – Art Therapy is in fact a way of getting in touch with our creativity and playfulness.
Art therapy can play in important role in our recovery – it can help us to reconnect with ourselves and better understand who we really are. It can help us to decrease our reliance on alcohol and build new and different pathways and coping mechanisms.
As drinkers some of us spent years numbing our feelings. Art therapy will help us to get back in touch with our feelings - and to express ourselves creatively.
Sami sees the Art as the Bridge between what is inside and what is outside – it’s simply a way to express ourselves.
We discussed the fragility of early sobriety where Art Therapy can play the role of holding a safe space where we can “check in”. We talked about the power of vulnerability and how art therapy allows us to express our vulnerability
Sam explained the concept behind the vision board sessions which help us to reconnect with our passions using images, art materials etc – I’ve done one of these sessions and can really recommend it – a vision board allows us to express ourselves and then the power of manifestion will come into play. Our subconscious will register our vision and help it to become a reality.
The vision board workshop is particularly useful for people in sobriety as it helps them to get back in touch with what they really enjoy doing. We have extra time on our hands when we stop drinking so we need to find constructive ways to use that time.  Sam is quite happy to run a group vision board session for people in recovery so do get in touch with myself or Sam if you are interested.
Sam explained that addictions mean that we are always busy focusing on our next fix which prevents us from being in the moment. Art Therapy can help with mindfulness and mental health generally – focusing on a creative project will enable us to get “in the flow”  which can give our minds a welcome break from stress and anxiety. 
Art therapy can help us to build resilience and help us to recognize our triggers – all of which will help to prevent relapse.
We often say that “connection is the opposite of addiction” here at Tribe Sober and we are referring to community. Sam helped me to realise that we also need to connect with ourselves – to get to know who we really are.
Understanding ourselves better means that we can find new ways of coping – instead of using alcohol.
At Tribe Sober we love learning about neuroscience, happy brain chemicals and our Lizard Brains – our gurus have been neuroscientist Staci Danfield who you can hear on episode 67 of this podcast and author of the Happy Brain, Loretta Breuning who is on episode 55.
Sami explained that Art Therapy will also trigger our happy brain chemicals and will give us a boost in early sobriety when we can be plagued with a low mood. Loretta Breuning explained to us that we need a project in early sobriety to stay happy and focused.
That’s why we have designed our 7 step program – to give you a project – the project of self discovery, so sign up for our Art Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Coaching and Root Cause Therapy. Just throw the book at it!
Sam and I both run our workshops on Zoom these days and agreed that they work really well and we enjoy opening them up to people all over the world.
Sam works with individuals and with groups. Sometimes an individual will need personal attention for their growth, healing or recovery.
However the group sessions can be special – she believes that groups come together for a reason – they bring their life experience and of course a key part of the workshop is about sharing our stories. Jung calls this the “collective unconscious” – the people who need to be together come together.  I loved that and it made me think of our workshops and the synergy and bonding that I’ve witnessed during the 6 years of running workshops.
For more info about Sam and her courses just go to her website which is arttherapy.co.za https://www.arttherapy.co.za/about-samantha-davis/
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Why we need to Ditch the Drink in Mid-life - with Lori Massicot

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
This weeks podcast guest is the lovely Lori Massicot a midlife sobriety coach.
I discovered Lori when I found her podcast – it’s called “to 50 and beyond” – it’s a podcast aimed at women in mid-life where she highlights the beauty of aging and the freedom that comes along with alcohol free life.
She’s on a mission to raise awareness towards the life changing impact of sobriety as we age.  She interviewed me for her podcast and you can hear that conversation on episode 182 of to 50 and beyond.
It’s called “Getting Sober Over 60” and you can access it here
In this Episode
I’m always fascinated by the way peoples drinking evolves over the years – I’m the first person to admit that drinking can be a lot of fun – until it’s not – until you become dependent - check out our podcast on how we go from "liking to wanting to needing" 
Let’s remember that 20% of social drinkers WILL become dependent over the years – if we are in that 20% then that doesn’t make us bad people – or weak people – or diseased people. It just makes us people who have become addicted to an addictive drug!  People who will have to do a bit of work to change their habits – and that’s where people like myself and Lori come in – we’ve been where you are and we can help you make the change. 
As you heard Lori did the fun bit in her teens and 20’s – partying as a teenager and then working in real estate, earning good money and drinking wine with friends and colleagues.
Then it was the mommyjuice phase – in here 30’s Lori felt depressed, put on weight and found her high pressure job all a bit much. She was using wine at home to cope with her stress and felt trapped in a vicious cycle.
She refers to her early 40’s as the “dark years, she lost her mom and could get through two bottles of wine at a time. She had a wake up call when a family member asked her if she was an alcoholic.  That’s when she realised that alcohol had become the centre of everything in her life.
Of course like many of us she tried “the rules” (drinking only on certain days, drinking red rather than white etc etc) which of course didn’t work.
Of course she also tried to “moderate” but of course that didn’t work either - in fact we agreed that for many of us its only when we try to cut down that we realise the extent of our problem.  We realise that we have crossed a line with our drinking and it’s going to take more than a bit of willpower to make a change.
So if you are busy trying to “moderate” and using rules to control your drinking please save yourself a lot of heartache and take a complete break – no need to use the F (forever word) – just take a break
Every drinker needs to take regular breaks to test their dependence. Tribe Sober has just opened their annual Dry January Fundraiser which offers community and online support for 30 days - more info here.
“Playing the Movie Forward” is a very popular tool in our community.  Lori found herself “playing the movie forward 20 years” and was  horrified at what she saw.  She knew her drinking would escalate over the years and decided that she was done.  She poured her Chardonnay down the sink and got started on her life changing journey to sobriety.
Lori used journaling as her key tool –there is so much evidence of the value of keeping a journal – and it helps us so much when we are on this path. We can use it to process our emotions, note our triggers and track our journey. 
We can read back to the early days and see how much easier its getting and realise how many benefits we are experiencing. And of course the more benefits we do experience the less likely we will be inclined to return to Day 1!
Exercise was another key tool for Lori and she educated herself about the best ways to strengthen her body in midlife.
So journaling, exercise and playing the movie forward are all great tools which will help us to quit drinking. We all need to create a personal toolkit and we help you with that at our regular Tribe Sober workshops.  Read more about our workshops here.
Sobriety has given Lori freedom and peace. When she feels anxious she now understands how to self soothe without alcohol.
I loved the way she said that in early sobriety we have to protect ourselves and build ourselves up so that we can learn to cope.
Then we can go on to learn how to actually thrive our alcohol free lives. That’s exactly what we help our members to do at Tribe Sober with our 7 step program – get more info and sign up here. 
We agreed that ditching the booze gives us a feeling of power - we are doing something that the majority of the population would not even consider - Sobriety is a Superpower!
Times are changing and the sober curious movement is helping that. People are getting “sober curious” and wondering what their life would look like without it. Why not sign up for Tribe Sober's January Challenge and find out!
Loris podcast is called "to 50 and beyond" and her website is here: lorimassicot.com. Lori coaches women on health, wellness and sobriety and you can contact her via her website and she’s also on Instagram.
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

The Sober School with Kate Bee

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
This week my guest is Kate from the Sober School
About 7 years ago when I was casting about for help with my own drinking problem I stumbled upon a blog by Kate who had already been sober for a couple of years. 
She was the first person I ever heard suggesting that sobriety could be fun – rather than the grey and miserable place many drinkers imagine it to be. 
I now know that she was absolutely right of course so it was a real pleasure to chat to Kate about her own drinking story and the work she is doing these days.
 
In this Episode
When Kate looks back she realises that at University she used to drink alone in her room – even though there were numerous bars and opportunities to drink with other students!If you enjoy drinking alone then that’s a bit of a red flag because it means that you are not using it to “socialise” – you are using it to relax or perhaps to try to calm your anxiety.
As you heard Kate cleverly gave up drinking at the tender age of 30 but for many of us the pattern seems to be that we DO use alcohol to socialise in our 20’s and 30’s and then as we get into our 40’s and 50’s it often turns more into self medication and that when we enjoy drinking alone.
Kate had been worrying about her drinking for years before she actually did anything which is not at all unusual – A recent study highlighted the fact that it takes an average of 11 years between realising that you have a bit of a “problem” and actually doing something about it. This is a shame because for many of use our dependence and our unhappiness worsen during this period. 
I think it takes such a long time to tackle our drinking for two reasons:- 1. As Kate said society tells us that we are either a “normal” drinker or we are a raging alcoholic –if we are a raging alcoholic we must to go AA – if not then we are fine.  We do see articles about “cutting down” which make it sound simple but of course once we’ve crossed a line with our drinking that becomes impossible.  Personally I spent my 11 years of procrastination trying to “cut down” so that I wouldn’t have to quit completely!2. Second reason we resist reaching out for help is that we don’t know where to find it. Many of us don’t want to go to AA or we try it and it doesn’t work – then we just get stuck.  But times are changing and the modern recovery movement means there are many online solutions these days.  Solutions which work for the millions of people who are not “raging alcoholics” but they are not “normal drinkers” either. 
Kate had been sober for 8 years and back then there was very little help around. However she discovered a blog – (the blog was Unpickled by Jean McCarthy) and it resonated with her.  For the first time she felt that there was someone out there “just like her” – which is exactly how I felt when I discovered Kate's blog.  So it’s all about “finding your people” – that’s the first step in the journey.
Her own journey to sobriety began with a blog where she connected with others on the same path and did a 100 day challenge – she felt a “shift” after those 100 days and found herself reflecting on whether she could make sobriety enjoyable – rather than something to be “endured”.
We both agreed that doing a Dry January is too short to experience any benefits of sobriety so by gritting our teeth and getting through all we teach ourselves is that sobriety is a miserable place to be!
We discussed the value of of writing a Goodbye to Alcohol letter - you can check some out here
I loved Kate's Breakthrough story when she was organising her 30th birthday party in early sobriety. Rather than organising a big party she decided to do it completely differently.  Accepting the fact that she actually didn’t like socialising in big groups she organised several small gatherings – and loved them.  She realised that she’d been using alcohol to squeeze herself into what society expected her to be!
This happens to SO many of us and in fact a whole book has been written about the subject! Do get hold of a copy of the book Quiet by Susan Cain which explains that roughly 50% of society are introverts but society favours extravert behaviour which leaves many of us using alcohol as a coping mechanism – fascinating! 
The subtitle of Susans book is:-
The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and she argues that:  modern Western culture misunderstands and undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people, leading to "a colossal waste of talent, energy, and happiness".
So if you ARE an introvert and use alcohol to help you cope then please read this book – it will help you understand yourself – and your power – so much better!
Kate explained that the impact of quitting alcohol is deep – we lose our shame, guilt, worry which is SO freeing. We also free up our mental space and start keeping our promises.
We agreed that another advantage of dealing with our drinking problem is that we get to know ourselves so much better than people who have never had to deal with addiction issues.
Sobriety also means we start reflecting on what we really want out of life:-
If we are an introvert and have been using alcohol to cope we may decide to embrace our introvert side and make some lifestyle changes
Kate completely changed her lifestyle – she swopped her life in the city as a tv producer for a life in the country running the Sober School which helps other women to stop drinking.
You can find Kate’s blog and more info about the Sober School on her website which is thesoberschool.com
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Soberfishie Dawn tells her story...

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
My guest this week is Soberfishie Dawn. Her nickname is Fish. Of course she got the nickname because she drank like a fish!
For Dawn her journey began back in 2016 when she decided to try an alcohol free year.  She blogged about her journey, decided to stay alcohol free and is now a Sobriety Advocate with a membership and a large social media following.  
I always enjoy talking to people who do similar work to myself and in fact I had one of my “light bulb” moments during this conversation which I will highlight at the end..
In this Episode
Dawns original plan was to do a Sober Year – she had done short stretches in the past but wanted to see what kind of results she got from a longer period.  Well the results were overwhelmingly positive which is why she is still alcohol free 5 years later!
So if you’ve done lots of Dry January’s and Sober Octobers but then gone back to drinking with great enthusiasm then you’re missing out. You’ve done the hardest bit (those first few weeks are tough!) so now you need to keep going for a bit longer! 
In 66 days when you will have built a new neural pathway you will not only find it easier but you will also experience more benefits - a win win situation which may well result in your choosing an sobriety as a permanent lifestyle choice.
After all there is nothing so exhausting and demorolising as spending your life jumping on and off the wagon!
Dawn shared her drinking story – started at 14 years old when she discovered that she didn’t really have an off switch once she got started.  She would pre-load her drinks before going out – in theory to save money on drinks when she was out but she would drink as much as ever.
We both agreed that there was a time when we would anticipate the week ahead and not arrange any activities for the day after drinking as we knew we would be feeling miserable and hungover
Inevitably Dawn set herself some “rules” to try to limit the drinking – she actually came up with one that I hadn’t tried – she set herself a curfew – a set time when she had to leave her event and come home. She actually managed this a few times but then found herself drinking when she got home!  Maybe to celebrate that she’d kept to her rule!
We both suffered from blackouts and agreed that we’d put ourselves at risk in this way
We also found ourselves at a bit of a loss when we first got sober – unlike “normal people” we had not built up hobbies or interests over the years because all our leisure time had been taken up by drinking! As Dawn put it we found ourselves wondering “what do normal people do with their time?!”
Dawn got started on her sobriety journey by blogging and walking. She also "Saturated herself in Sobriety" to change her mindset.  Like many of us she needed to change her thinking about drinking!  Unlike willpower a different mindset will enable us to sustain our sobriety.
We agreed that when we got sober 6 years ago sobriety had a definite image problem – it was seen as a dark and miserable place.  Things are changing and just a couple of weeks ago I interviewed Susan Christina, editor of the amazing Hola Sober monthly magazine.  This magazine is free and its busy making sobriety just as cool and glamorous as we all thought drinking was - you can access a copy HERE
Dawn talked about what she calls her “contentment line” – when we drink we are either on a chemical high or on the hungover low – we rarely sit “on the line” which is actually where we live when we are sober. The contentment line is a peaceful and happy place to be – when Dawn feels a bit low and knows she is below her contentment line she knows how to self soothe – without alcohol.  In early sobriety we zig zag all over the line,  the highs of the pink cloud and the lows of FOMO but hang in there because the contentment line will be yours after you’ve done the work and notched up a period of sobriety.
So talking of “doing the work” that’s where I got my light bulb moment thanks to this conversation with Dawn.
It hadn’t really occurred to me until Dawn said it but “the work” is different for each of us
AA talk about “doing the work” and of course they mean working systematically through every one of the 12 steps but I prefer William Porters approach that we should see it as a buffet and choose what works for us.
For Dawn and myself “the work” has involved sharing our stories, writing about sobriety and leading a sober community – neither of us knew in advance that this was “our work” – we just did what felt right and gave us joy.
So let’s think about sobriety as a journey of self discovery – some of us missed out on creating hobbies and interests because we were too busy drinking – but now we have time and even a bit of extra money to explore – to discover what we really like doing
That’s why the Tribe Sober membership program offers yoga, nutritional advice, coaching and different types of therapy – we want to you to experiment and get to know yourself!
I ended our conversation by asking Dawn to list her benefits and there were many!
Quality of sleep, productivity, discovering work she loves, confidence – and specifically the confidence to go on two sober solo holidays!  Holidays she loved and can’t wait to go on more
To find out more about Dawn go to her blog soberfish.co.uk and she is Soberfishy on IG.  She is also a moderator on William Porters brilliant FB group which is called Alcohol Explained
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Yoga in Recovery - with Tom & Tamsin

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
My guests this week are Tom and Tamsin Sheehey, co-owners of The Shala Yoga Studio in Cape Town, South Africa.  They are both yoga teachers and Tom is also a health coach with expertise in nutritional guidance.  They will both be offering their expertise to the Tribe Sober members.
In this Episode
Tom’s studies were in what is now called “complimentary medicine” which we both agreed is a better description than “alternative medicine”. If we want to use things like nutrition, yoga, massage, acupuncture etc as part of our healing process then it should be seen as complimentary to traditional medicine – not as an alternative.
He talks to us about how regular alcohol use can put the body in a state of chronic inflammation which is a pre-cursor to many illnesses including cancer.
In fact a recent study showed evidence that alcohol is linked to 7 different types of cancer https://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20160722/alcohol-seven-types-cancer 
From his nutritional viewpoint Tom also pointed out that alcohol is simply liquid sugar which will affect our blood sugar levels which can lead to diabetes which again can lead to multiple health issues.
We talked about whether alcoholism is genetic and Tom agreed that if people have alcoholism in the family then they may well be more pre-disposed to developing dependency issues but he firmly believes that our health is dependent partly on our genes, partly on environment and partly on our lifestyle. More on whether alcoholism is genetic in this podcast episode with Mary Anne Shearer - episode 31. 
When Tom works with his clients we tends to coach people mainly on lifestyle changes as that is what is usually in our control.
He talked about the negative impact of alcohol on the gut which is twofold. Not only does it prevent us from absorbing some of the nutrients in our food but it also means we are less efficient at expelling metabolic waste – resulting in increased toxicity.
Tom coaches people around the 4 pillars of health which are diet, stress reduction, toxin reduction (alcohol being a toxin of course) and moderate exercise.
He advises us to increase the three dietary essentials – oxygen, water and vegetables and reduce refined sugar refined salts and synthetic foods…. If you do this and remove the toxin that is alcohol you are going to feel amazing!
Tamsin explained that she took up yoga because she wanted to access her body’s natural vitality. Although she was only in her early twenties she didn’t feel great and wanted to understand her body better.  20 years into her yoga practice Tamsin is a wonderful role model of health, strength and serenity.
Becoming a yoga teacher has made her own practice sustainable as she integrates what she is teaching into her own body. She loves her healthy lifestyle and the fact that she now gets to “teach it forward”
We talked about how yoga can help in recovery and Tamsin explained that it’s about coming home into your body. With the focus on breathing and mindfulness we become aware of what’s going on in our body.  Getting on our yoga mat gives us the opportunity to check in with our bodies and discover how we actually feel.
If recovery is about connecting with something greater than ourselves then there is a consciousness that comes with yoga that can facilitate that.
Yoga is not a competitive sport and Tamsin urged us not to be intimidated however old or unfit we are – especially now that we can do yoga online in the privacy of our own home!
As we get older a yoga practice becomes more and more important – we need to keep our bodies strong and flexible and we need to move our joints to prevent arthritis.
We are never too old to begin yoga and Tamsin explained that she has clients that do chair yoga or even bed yoga. She adapts the classes to her clients. 
I discovered Tamsin after reading a feature in a magazine about “lymphasising” – I was recovering from cancer and read that it was an aid to recovery. So that’s how I discovered trampolines.  You heard her saying that bouncing was essential to health and wellness.  Tamsin begins her day with a session on the trampoline and sees that as a lifetime practice.
If like me you spend all day sitting at your computer then get a mini trampoline and get up and bounce for 5 minutes every hour. There are SO many health benefits and we really do need to keep “doing the dishes” as Tamsin described it!
Sobriety is a journey of self discovery.When we give up drinking we have time on our hands and recover our energy– we actually want to try new things and start to look around at other areas of our life. Do we need to clean up our eating habits, do we need to do more exercise and some yoga for example.   One of my podcast guests (Will Black on episode 52 calls this the Domino Effect)
So if you think your diet could do with a bit of a review and if you are ready to give yoga a try then please take this opportunity.
If you are not yet a member of tribe sober then please sign up today – go to tribesober.com and hit join our tribe.
Once you are a member go into “members only” area of the website and you will see an ICON for yoga and one for nutrition – just hit the Icons to read more about Tom and Tamsin what they are offering to our members.
You can do just one online Yoga session with Tamsin and a couple of sessions with Tom – so much to gain and absolutely nothing to lose!
You can read about The Shala Yoga Studio on their website www.theshala.co.za
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober is just R85 (£4/$6/$8AUS) a month - you can join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Sobriety Goes Punk - with Jon Turner

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
My guest this week is Jon Turner, the founder of Soberpunks – he is a musician, a blogger and is busy helping others to ditch the drink.
He shares his personal recovery story and explains how he feels that not drinking is not only rebellious but it’s positively punk..
 
In this Episode
Like many of us Jon spent a decade trying to cut down – using those tried and tested “rules” that of course are useless once our drinking has crossed that line into dependence – lets face it people who can moderate just do it – they don’t need to impose any rules
We agreed that accepting that we can not drink any alcohol at all is a key moment on the path to sobriety – “if you can’t have one – have none” or as AA say “one glass is too many and a thousand is not enough”
Jon drank as a teenager and found that he quickly became the one urging the rest of his mates to drink more and more – we discussed the fact that for some of us the buzz of alcohol is more intense than others – and that’s one of the reasons we get hooked when others can take it or leave it
It was love that gave Jon the impetus he needed to give up drinking – he met a woman who loved him but hated the person he became when he drank – she made it pretty clear that she would not be sticking around if he continued to drink – so he stopped – and they got married
What I really love about Jon’s story is that he gave up drinking to please his partner – but after a few months of sobriety he realized that his life was SO MUCH BETTER without the booze he was motivated to continue.
Many of us give up drinking to save our relationships and our health but not many of us are expecting sobriety to be much fun. I for one was expecting it to be a grey and boring place but in fact it’s turned out to be the opposite for both Jon and myself – so if you’re listening to this and you know you need to ditch the booze just try it for 6 months – you will be amazed at the improvements in your life and the chances are you will want to stay alcohol free.
Jon eventually got divorced from the lady who convinced him to stop drinking. By then he was hooked on his sobriety and had not intention of restarting his drinking career.  As he puts it – “it would only make a horrible situation worse”
That got me thinking about one of our recent Zoom Cafes – several of our members had been through a very tough time – three of them had recently lost a parent and they all said – I’m SO grateful to be sober – I have the strength to cope so much better.
I found that really interesting as I remember feeling relatively secure in my sobriety after about six months but often wondering if I would turn to alcohol if something dreadful happened – so it’s lovely to hear that Lucy, Merleen and Lexi were not even tempted. Well done ladies.
Jon and I agreed that being present for the tough times is key to our emotional development – I remember listening to a podcast with Glennon Doyle when she describes alcohol as the “easy button” that we use to bypass the pain – but we are also missing out on an opportunity to become stronger.
Along with being present comes the importance of “getting comfortable with being uncomfortable” – sitting with our thoughts is part of the healing process and can be cathartic.
We talked about dealing with partners who drink too much and agreed that people have to want to do it for themselves rather than for anyone else – although Jon had in fact give up for his girlfriend he had been struggling for a long time and was pleased to get a concrete reason to make the change.
He did say that sometimes the partner has to decide that in order to protect themselves they will just have to walk away – which can be really hard but may avoid years of pain.
I asked Jon to list the benefits of sobriety and he had plenty!
Weight loss and having more energy (stop drinking and start running was his advice)
Reduction in anxiety – Jon used to have such a feeling of dread on his way into work that he was wishing his train would crash! -  since he is sober he is enjoying his work and is busy fulfilling his career potential.
That made me think of one of my previous podcast guests – Ken Middleton, episode 23 - he said “even if alcohol doesn’t destroy you it will prevent you from reaching your potential” – that is so true.
Jon feels sobriety is a journey of self discovery and he is learning so much about who he is and what he really likes to do.
We talked about the joys of a sober community – about how we immediately understand each other and can have fun together – we agreed that ex drinkers have been through a lot and proved themselves to be strong and resilient people – yes ex drinkers rock!
Jon is passionate about the fact that those of us in recovery must support others as part of our own recovery – that’s exactly what he is doing via his blogs and his FB group.
So if you want to join a community please check out tribesober.com and also take a look at the SoberPunkGang FB group.  You can find Jon’s blog on soberpunks.co.uk
 
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober is just R85 (£4/$6/$8AUS) a month - you can join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).

Rebranding Sobriety - with Susan Christina

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!
My guest this week is Susan Christina is an Irish lady living in Spain.
She’s on a mission to rebrand sobriety and make alcohol free living as attractive and glamorous as we thought drinking was
She’s an advocate for the modern recovery movement and wants women to take back their power!
 
In this Episode
 
Susan is using her considerable communication and marketing skills together with her experience in the global drinks industry to rebrand sobriety.
She talked about the way that the wine industry has targeted women and how we have bought into the idea that wine is our “me time” – we’ve come to believe that a glass of wine is an act of “self care” when in fact it’s the exact opposite for many of us!
Susan’s personal story was a familiar one – successful career woman holding down a responsible job, bringing up a family – and drinking a bottle of wine a day. I think so many of us can identify with her description of getting home, opening a bottle of wine and gradually working our way through it during the evening – it just felt so normal and because we weren’t getting “drunk” we didn’t really think twice about it.
But 7 bottles of wine a week is not sustainable – as she says we have to ask ourselves not whether we are an alcoholic but whether we can sustain a happy and healthy life drinking this amount of alcohol every week.
Like many of us Susan was able to change course when she found “her people” – she signed up for the Sober School and met other people like herself – people she could relate to – she felt she had found accountability partners and connection. The relief of finding other people on the same path is considerable.
She created a WhatsApp group and talked about having “people in her pocket” who she could reach out to when she is travelling – that’s exactly what we provide with our membership program – an international community who support and encourage each other – because connection is the opposite of connection.
Go to tribesober.com and hit “join our tribe” if you would like to join a community who are busy supporting each other on this life changing journey.
Knowledge is everything and so many of us drink for decades without the slightest idea of the harm it is doing us. Even when I got breast cancer I was still in denial – I simply refused to join the dots and carried on drinking.
Susan found that once she had understood the complexity, the toxicity and the way we use alcohol to numb the pain she began to see everything differently and was able to make the changes she needed to.
I asked Susan what the biggest benefit of sobriety has been for her and she said “being present” - present for the ups and downs of life – after all our personal growth comes for being present and dealing with difficulties, rather than zoning out.
She talked about the “drinking train” that many women board and pointed out that it was only travelling one way – the way of increasing dependence, rehab and for some people it’s unfortunately travelling to disease and death.
Susan set up a support group for her class when she graduated from Sober School and sent them daily mails and PDF’s to keep them inspired. She started to collate this content which gave birth to the fabulous monthly magazine she now edits which is called Hola Sober.
This magazine is quite simply rebranding sobriety – from a place of struggle to an aspirational lifestyle choice. It is a beautiful publication and relects how to live fully and joyfully in sobriety. It’s absolutely free so sign up and then share it with everybody you know. 
Susan also has a website called holasober.com as well as an IG account – just this week she’s published a brilliant PDF called “The Giant Feck” which is a must read.
Susan and I agreed that AA is not the only gig in town as she puts it – there are so many alternatives. We are both providing alternatives to AA and the people we work with would never dream of going to AA.  Woman are bonding together via recovery groups – women are taking back their power!
All of us on this journey need to be advocates of the Modern Recovery Movement – we are part of something powerful – we’ve got smart and are seeing through the BS pumped out by the liquor industry.
Sobriety is a Superpower so lets get the word out there – lets get this sober party started!
Step one in making a change is to find a community – find your people – if you are looking for a community then just go to tribesober.com and hit “join our tribe”
More info
Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
To access our website click HERE
If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
Episode Sponsor
          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then                 sign up today          Read more about our 7-step program and subscribe HERE
          Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you 
        
 Help us to spread the word!
We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help.  Please subscribe and share.
If you enjoyed the podcast then please leave us a 5 star review on Apple podcasts, take a screenshot of your review and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page - see PS for instructions - we'll send you something special to say thank you!
We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.
You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram 
You can catch our FB live on Saturday mornings (11am SAST) and you can join our private Facebook group HERE
Thank you for listening! 
Till Next Week
Janet x
PS   How to leave an rating/review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS device)
1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
2. Choose "Search" from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (i.e., "Recover Like A Mother") into the search field.
3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
5. Click "Write a Review" underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You'll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale, and write a review (you can rate without writing, too but it's always good to read your experience).