Facts about Alcohol:  Less than 20% of people with alcohol abuse disorders actually seek treatment for their disease.  Excessive alcohol consumption costs the U.S. economy an estimated 250 billion dollars in lost productivity according to a study from 2010.  Alcoholic’s Anonymous success rates vary depending on the source.

Makenzee, with 1 year since her last drink, shares her story

SHOW NOTES

[12:05] Paul Introduces Makenzee.  I am from Boise Idaho.  I am 23 years old and I work in the emergency department at the hospital.  I love crafting, and fitness and nutrition.  I got married 9 months ago.

[13:15] Paul- When did you first realize you had a problem with alcohol?

Makenzee- I had a constant build up of sickness and hangovers on my days off.  I started to realize that my hobbies didn’t exist anymore.  I wasn’t really present in the moment.  It was miserable.

[16:57] Paul-  13 days ago, did you have a rock bottom moment?  Tell us why you quit drinking.

Makenzee-  It was hard to say one specific thing happened.  I was excruciatingly hung-over 13 days ago.  It lasted about two and half days.  I was going through some physical withdrawals. 

[25:22] Paul-  Let’s back up to Day 1,2, 3, 4, 5, how have you gotten this far?

Makenzee- Days 1,2,3,4,5 were…  I’m not going to sugar coat it, absolute hell.  My body was physically aching.  I had a hard time wrapping my head around the situation.  Yesterday was the first day I did not feel miserable.  It was very difficult the first few days.

[31:36]  Paul- What have you learned most about yourself over these past 13 days?

Makenzee-  I’m actually a good person.  I beat myself up a lot.  I realized everyone is not going to like me.  But I like me, and I am comfortable in my own skin.

[36:52] Rapid Fire Round

1. What was your worst memory from drinking? Blacking out after my husband face timed me from overseas, and not remembering talking to him.
2. Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment? Waking up after our wedding night and not remembering the last half of it.
3. What’s your favorite resource in recovery? Café RE, and self-care.
4. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)? Facing it is the only way to overcome it.
5. What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?  Rip it off like a Band-Aid.  It’s terrifying; it hurts like hell, but just do it.  Your life will flourish.
6. You might be an alcoholic if... you buy a plane ticket to Vegas instead of paying for a lawyer for your DUI.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Recovery Elevator in Dallas January Social

Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code Opportunity to waive the set up fee.

Sobriety Tracker iTunes

Sobriety Tracker Android

Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com

“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”

Randy Craig, with 49 days since his last drink, shares his story.

SHOW NOTES

[2:53] Paul Introduces Randy.  I was born and raised in Casper Wyoming.  I went to school in Colorado, and worked there for a few years.  Music has been a part of my life since I was very young.  I like to read, play music, take my dog on walks.  My passion revolves around my music.

Randy tells his story in detail to Paul, and explains his journey up to this point.

[41:59] Rapid Fire Round

1. What was your worst memory from drinking?  Waking up in that Hospital in ICU.
2. Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment?  My first detox.   
3. What’s your favorite resource in recovery? Out of the Wreck I Rise” – by Neil Steinberg
4. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)? It starts with you.
5. What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?  If you are even questioning it, odds are you should try to stop it before it gets worse.  It is an awful disease. 
6. You might be an alcoholic if...  I’m on my deathbed with an expired liver, and still have the energy to go to the bar. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

This episode was brought to you by RX Bar. Visit RXbar.com/elevator and use the promo code elevator for 25% off your first order.

Randy Craig's Website

Out of the Wreck I Rise- Neil Steinberg

Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code Opportunity to waive the set-up fee.

Sobriety Tracker iTunes

Sobriety Tracker Android

Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com

“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”

The 3 basic camps of addiction can be broken into the following categories:

1. The prevailing wisdom today is that addiction is a disease. This is the main line of the medical model of mental disorders with which the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is aligned: addiction is a chronic and relapsing brain disease in which alcohol use becomes involuntary despite its negative consequences.

The idea here is, roughly, that addiction is a disease because alcohol use changes the brain and, as a result of these changes, alcohol use becomes compulsive, beyond the voluntary control of the user. In other words, drinker has no choice and his behavior is resistant to long term change.

2. Marc Lewis’ “The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction is Not a Disease”, has stirred controversy among addicts, their families, addiction researchers, and treatment providers. Lewis claims that the scientific facts don’t support the disease model of addiction. Rather, addiction, like romantic love and other emotionally loaded habits, develops through accelerated learning. Combining scientific views with intimate biographies of addicts who recovered, the book also shows how addiction can be overcome, through self-directed change in one’s goals and perspectives.
3. Drawing on psychiatric epidemiology, addicts’ autobiographies, treatment studies, and advances in behavioral economics, Heyman makes a powerful case that addiction is voluntary. He shows that drug use, like all choices, is influenced by preferences and goals. But just as there are successful dieters, there are successful ex-addicts. In fact, addiction is the psychiatric disorder with the highest rate of recovery. But what ends an addiction?

At the heart of Heyman’s analysis is a startling view of choice and motivation that applies to all choices, not just the choice to use drugs. The conditions that promote quitting a drug addiction include new information, cultural values, and, of course, the costs and benefits of further drug use. Most of us avoid becoming drug dependent, not because we are especially rational, but because we loathe the idea of being an addict.

Greg, with 361 days since his last drink, shares his story

SHOW NOTES

[13:45] Paul Introduces Greg.  I’m 54 years old, I live In Las Vegas, I’m an attorney, and working in HR currently.  I have been married for 26 years, and have 2 daughters aged 22 and 18.  I love being outdoors.

[18:59] Paul- Can you describe your rock bottom moment?

Greg- The summer of 2016 I played on a work Softball League.  We won the championship.  I had a party at my house to celebrate.  I drank way too much, I blacked out, we ended up doing shots of tequila.  It was a bad scene.  The next morning it was the lowest I had felt in my life.  It was ruining my relationships.   

[26:43] Paul- When you came out, how liberating was that feeling?

Greg- It was awesome.  I felt like I had taken a huge first step.  I admitted to myself I had a problem.  It was liberating.  I have expanded my accountability network.

[37:01] Paul- You look at it like an opportunity and not a sacrifice.  Comment more on that.

Greg- It is really a celebration.  There were times in the past when I tried to give up drinking.  With that mentality it didn’t work.  I have gained peace and happiness, and joy and serenity.  I really look at recovery as something that I have been given.  I am going to make the most of it every single day. 

[41:18] Rapid Fire Round

1. What was your worst memory from drinking? It was definitely waking up the morning after the softball party.  That was the low point from there, I started heading back up.
2. Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment? There was a time a few years ago when one of my kids had an event during one of my drinking nights.  I thought it is kind of twisted thinking for getting upset I was going to have to spend time with my family because it would interfere with my drinking. 
3. What’s your plan moving forward? Doing this podcast has been great.  One day at a time.  I’m going to continue to go to Celebrate Recovery.

1. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)? Focus on the similarities, not the differences.

1. What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking? If you think you might have a problem, reach out to one other person you trust.
2. You might be an alcoholic if...you are nick named after a drink.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

"Beyond the Influence" - Katherine Ketcham

Gene Heyman "Addiction: A Disorder of Choice"

Marc Lewis "Biology Of Desire"

Article: "Is Addiction a Disease?"

Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code Opportunity to waive the set up fee.

Sobriety Tracker iTunes

Sobriety Tracker Android

Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com

“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”

Paul discusses Step 2 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 

Mike, with 86 days his last drink, shares his story

SHOW NOTES

[11:31] Paul Introduces Mike.  I live in Vermont; I’m 33 years old.  I work as a social worker; I hang out with my wife, my 12-year-old son, and play video games. 

[16:50] Paul-  Describe the progression, coupled with Father time, hangovers are getting worse and worse, talk about that progression.

Mike- Yeah, I would buy those little boxes of wine, then I would just buy the bottle, and the bottle would be gone.  It felt like I was in quicksand, when you are running in sand and can’t get any traction.

[20:21] Paul- It’s tough to get 86 days of sobriety, how did you do it?

Mike- Listening to the Recover Elevator was huge.  I felt like I was in the contemplation stage.  I’ve been thinking about quitting for years.  Listening to Recovery Elevator is what really helped motivate me jump right in.  I listen to “This Naked Mind” on audio book and really tried to “brainwash” myself, and felt like it worked.

[28:12] Paul- What advice would you give to your younger self?  If you could go back to your 16-year-old self, what would you say?

Mike- I would like to go to my 15-year-old self and smack the beer out of my hand.  I disagree with the stance that some people can drink normally.  Don’t be ashamed that it’s hard. 

[35:29] Rapid Fire Round

1. What was your worst memory from drinking? The day after St. Patrick’s Day party trying to piece together what happened.
2. Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment? I had a lot of times, the most recent time I drank, I had the house to myself and just laying there by myself.

1. What’s your favorite resource in recovery? “This Naked Mind” by Annie Grace
2. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received (on sobriety)? Alcohol is shit.  It resonated with my bodies’ reaction to alcohol. 
3. What parting piece of guidance can you give listeners who are in recovery or thinking about quitting drinking?  When we are in the contemplation stage of am I an alcoholic or not.  The real problem is alcohol is an addictive poison, and anyone can become addicted to alcohol.
4. You might be an alcoholic if... you go to St. Patrick’s day party, spill red wine on the rug, you put your arm around another woman, and rub her back while standing with your wife, and you black, the last thing you remember is raising both fists to the sky and yelling “I’m the king of the world” 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

RX Bar - Visit www.rxbar.com/elevator for 25% off your first order.

Alcoholics Anonymous "Big Book"

"This Naked Mind" by Annie Grace

Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code opportunity to waive the set up fee.

Sobriety Tracker iTunes

Sobriety Tracker Android

Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com

“We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up, we can do this!”