Greg took his last drink on October 2, 2012. This is his story.
Update on the Alcohol is Sh!t book! The book is out! Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Registration is now open for the 2020’ Recovery Elevator LIVE event, Dancing with the Mind. The event will take place June 11-13 in Denver, CO. You can find more information about our events here.
On today’s episode Paul talks about what happens to the dome when you stop drinking alcohol. There is a long list of benefits of quitting alcohol, and the mental health aspects are just as important as the physical ones.
In the first year away from alcohol, and beyond, neurons in the brain that no longer fire together, no longer wire together. This means the neural connections that spark when we want to drink, or take a drink, begin to fade. In time new neural connections are created that don’t involve alcohol.
[9:40] Paul introduces Greg.
Greg is 35 years old and from Orange County, CA. Greg is an actor and has a 4-year-old daughter. For fun Greg likes to go on adventures with his daughter and create music.
[12:25] Give us a background on your drinking.
Greg first started drinking alcohol as a social lubricant. Alcohol made it easier to talk to people and deal with things that he had tried to avoid. In the beginning Greg was more of a clown when he drank, but in his early to mid-twenties his drinking got out of hand. He was no longer drinking for fun anymore; he was relying on it to get through the day.
[19:07] Was there a time when you knew the gig was up but you didn’t know where to go for help, or how to stop?
Greg said yes, that it was a really demoralizing moment involving alcohol and cocaine. He woke up, went outside in the rain, chain smoked about 10 cigarettes, and knew he needed to talk to somebody. He called his sister, and without giving it much thought, told her he needed help. His sister was there 20 minutes later, and with Greg’s mom helped get him into a place.
[20:55] What happened after that?
Greg entered a treatment center and white knuckled it the first two weeks, and then eventually the clarity started to come.
[24:30] Talk to us about your experience after rehab.
Greg said he surrounded himself with sober friends and family. He started going to school and focused on that, and also stated going to meetings. About 6 months out Greg got a job volunteering at a treatment center. He said he stayed really busy with a lot of structure.
[26:35] Why do you think it’s so hard for people to ask for help?
Greg said he thinks that it’s our pride that gets in the way a lot of the times. Greg said he had a hard time asking for help because he felt that he would be a burden on someone and he didn’t want people to become resentful of him.
[36:00] How could it affect us if we are always thinking about the past or the future?
Greg says if we are always thinking about the past we are going to tend to be depressed, and if we are always thinking about the future, we are going to tend to be anxious. Either one just drags us down and we are not productive.
[38:00] Why do you think addiction is higher in the entertainment industry?
Greg said that there are several reasons, one being that it is more readily available.
[44:00] Rapid Fire Round
Witnessing my daughter being born.
My trip to Argentina.
Yerba Mate Revel Berry.
AA literature, online literature, stuff like that.
Seeing my daughter have kids.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
You might need to ditch the booze if...
You get married in a blackout.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Asia Adventure – January 20-31, 2020
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind - in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach - October 8 - 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Care Of
For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to www.TakeCareOf.com and enter the code elevator50
This episode is brought to you in support by Care/Of. For 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter the promo code ELEVATOR
Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
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“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”
Kerri took her last drink on November 6, 2018. This is her story.
Update on the Alcohol is Sh!t book! The book is out! Pick up your paperback copy on Amazon here! You can get the Audible version here!
Happy New Year! On January 1st the 4th Café RE group, UP, opened.
2020’ Recovery Elevator LIVE event, Dancing with the Mind, will take place June 11-13 in Denver, CO. Registration opens on January 8th, you can find more information about our events here.
On today’s episode Paul talks about meeting the man he would stay with while in Mexico, hearing his story, and discovering they had a connection through the TEDx Talk that Paul gave. You can find the TEDx Talk, I’ve been duped by alcohol, here.
Paul also discusses a video he recently watched, an interview by Dr. Gabor Mate, (author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts). Dr. Mate says if you want to look at what causes the addiction you have to look at the benefit of addiction. That the greatest myth on addiction is that its genetic, the other myth around addiction is that it is a choice that people make. You can watch the Dr. Gabor Mate video here.
[10:14] Paul introduces Kerri. (**Doing the shownotes for my own interview is awkward! **)
Kerri just turned 50, is married, and lives in Redding, CA. She has two adult daughters, that both have families, and is a grandmother to 4. For work Kerri recently fell into a new career, as a baker, and does stuff for RE. For fun Kerri loves to be outdoors, hiking, taking her 3 rescue dogs out, travel, and kayaking.
[15:51] Give us a background on your drinking.
Kerri started drinking in high school and was a black out drinker from the start. A family move before 9th grade made Kerri very angry. Alcohol helped her fit into a new school and she quickly became known as a partier.
Kerri got married at 19, had her daughters right away. She says that her and her ex-husband were problem drinkers throughout their entire 17-year marriage. Kerri’s drinking really ramped up after her divorce.
[17:00] How old were you when you realized you had a problem with alcohol?
Kerri says that in high school she knew she didn’t drink like her friends, but that she didn’t care. Alcohol got her out of her shell.
[18:00] What happened after your divorce?
Kerri says her drinking ramped up and it got bad, really quick. It was a big life change for Kerri, with the divorce, having to go out and find a job, and her daughters basically being out of the house. She was drinking at home alone, blacking out every time.
[23:35] How come you didn’t feel ready to do this interview?
Kerri said she didn’t feel like she had anything worth sharing. She said that has felt that way all her life.
[26:23] Did you have a rock bottom moment?
Kerri said yes. After getting her teaching credential later in life, which Kerri says was a dream job, she was fired from two teaching jobs as the result of her drinking. Kerri surrendered her teaching credential.
[31:00] Talk to us about how you did it the first weeks, first month.
Kerri said it was really hard, that she didn’t know what anyone (co-workers, parents) was told or what they knew. Kerri was afraid to leave her house for fear of running into someone, she would grocery shop at 2:00 AM. She said she was filled with so much anxiety that she didn’t know how she was going to come out of it the 2nd time around. She went to a therapist for the first time. She sought out and entered into a 90-day IOP program.
[35:17] You’ve burned the ships on social media, what kind of response have you received?
Kerri said she has received nothing but support and encouragement, and she encourages everyone to do it.
[37:50] Talk to us about the breakthrough you had at the Bozeman retreat.
Kerri said she got much from the entire retreat but it was the Clarity Breathwork that really did it for her. She said once she was able to stop paying attention to what was going on around her and just do her thing, she was able to experience something powerful that changed her.
[44:38] Rapid Fire Round
That I don’t have to live up to, what I think are, other people’s expectations.
All these RE retreats, that is something I never would have imagined doing…taking off and meeting strangers.
I’m kind of boring, I really don’t do the mocktail thing, I’m a water drinker.
Definitely Café RE, these sober meetups, retreats and I listen to a lot of podcasts.
Travel, travel, and more travel. I want to do a marathon.
To recover, get sober, whatever you want to call it, your way. Your way may be different than someone else’s, and to not worry about what other people think.
You might need to ditch the booze if...
You wake up one morning with a broken ankle and you have no idea how you did it.
Upcoming Events and Retreats.
Asia Adventure – January 20-31, 2020
Recovery Elevator LIVE: Dancing with the Mind - in Colorado – June 11-14th, 2020
Recovery Elevator in Costa Rica: From Jungle to the Beach - October 8 - 18th, 2020
You can find more information about our events here.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
SkillShare
Get two months free of classes with Skillshare at www.skillshare.com/ELEVATOR
BetterHelp
Visit betterhelp.com/ELEVATOR and join the over 500,000 people talking charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Recovery Elevator listeners get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com/ELEVATOR.
Skillshare
For two free months of premium membership visit www.skillshare.com/elevator
Connect with Cafe RE- Use the promo code OPPORTUNITY for your first month free
Sober Selfies! - Send your Sober Selfie and your Success Story to info@recoveryelevator.com
“Recovery Elevator – It All Starts from the Inside Out. We can do this.”