Fighting the urge to drink alcohol is exhausting. And exhaustion leads to drinking.

In this episode, we chat with Mary, DeeAnn, and Billie about how to curb alcohol cravings. Whether you're working your way through Dry January and it's turning out to be tougher than you thought, or you're just starting out on a life long sober journey, we're armed with the tools and mindset shifts you need to get through the cravings and urges, take back your power, and gain the strength you need to keep moving forward.

In this episode:

• Changing patterns and disrupting old routines
• Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) including Naltrexone
• Finding a therapist to overcome trauma that causes cravings
• Learn to ride the roller coaster without fighting it
• Cravings are signals and information about unmet needs
• Find someone to talk to about the urges
• Shifting to a healing mindset
• Understanding the physiological and mental effects of alcohol and withdrawal
• Take the option to drink away
• Building sober muscles - gaining strength from each craving
• Learning to change your language to create empowerment
• Changing the associate with certain activties and alcohol
• The "Alcohol Monster" tool for making cravings feel empowering

Looking for more tools to fight cravings? Check out these other podcast episodes to support your sobriety!

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DeAnn is a human in recovery for just under 5 years. She has a non-profit committed to advocacy for those struggling with substance use disorder. Her podcast, Show Up and Stay, focuses on the space between recovering from a substance and starting the steps to healing your life. She also has a special project underway: Sober Positive Workplace, which focuses on helping organizations normalize recovery and substance-free individuals in our workplaces and other shared spaces. DeAnn is currently working on her Masters with Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies and is especially focused on integrated recovery options and counseling services inclusive of resources for co-occurring disorders.

Sober Positive Workplace showcase page on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96108017/admin/feed/posts/

https://www.instagram.com/showupandstayorg

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deann-knighton2079

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Billie hails from the great state of Oregon in the greater Pacific Northwest. After a career in law enforcement, she now works as a professional elder justice subject matter expert, as well as an instructor in Oregon’s law enforcement academy. She is also a domestic violence advocate for her local police department and meets with survivors of intimate partner violence to provide resources and safety planning options. Billie continues her advocacy by being involved in her states suicide prevention and awareness programs and facilitates her local chapter of a suicide bereavement group for families who have lost their loved ones to suicide. She is wife, mom to two wonderful kids and an avid dog lover.

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When you're starting out in sobriety, the unknown of it all can feel really overwhelming. Each day that goes by comes with questions like, "Is this normal?" and "Will it always be like this?" Sometimes it feels impossible to imagine what life will look like a month or a year from now, and that can cause some real anxiety.

We get it. We've been there - and we've felt all those things. So we decided to gather up some people to have a conversation about what we wish we'd known in early sobriety. In this chat with Alex McRobert (Sober Yoga Girl Podcast host) and Lucy Linger (film writer/director/producer), our hope is that we'll set your mind at ease, make this all feel a little more possible, and let you know you're not alone.

In this episode:

• You're going to have to experience your own journey and learn your own lessons
• There are tons of options for support, outside of AA.
• There are medication options to help with withdrawals, to make them more comfortable and safer
• Your experience doesn't have to look like anyone else's
• Your life is REALLY going to change - for the better.
• Health benefits abound - both mental and physical health
• Sobriety allows you to develop resilience you never knew you were capable of
• Your relationships are going to start changing - some for the better, some for the worse.
• All emotions eventually pass on their own, with no action from you required
• Nostalgia is real - and it can trick you into drinking if you're not aware of it.
• Go find a hobby... and then find more.
• Learn how to experience emotions instead of fighting them.

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Lucy is a writer-director-producer working in theatre, film, and TV. She has been directing for over 20 years and her work has been seen at theatres and film festivals in the UK, Europe, and the USA receiving 5 stars and glowing reviews from renowned critics such as The Stage, Time Out, and The Independent and featuring on the British Comedy Guide. She is the Artistic Director of Threadbare Theatre Company and Linger Longer films.

You can visit her website at lucylinger.com

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Alexandra McRobert is a 500-hour registered yoga teacher educator, certified life coach, and holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University in Canada. She has lived overseas since she was twenty three in Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Bali, Indonesia. Alex founded The Mindful Life Practice, a worldwide community for those seeking connection and spirituality on a recovery journey - whether that is recovery from alcohol addiction or something else. Alex teaches yoga online and in-person in Bali, and she leads retreats in Bali and around the world. She also runs 200-hour and 300-hour yoga teacher trainings. Alex is the host of the Sober Yoga Girl Podcast. In her free time, she writes, plays guitar, and likes to spend time with her cat, Princess.

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Visit Through the Glass Recovery for free resources, support, and more!

throughtheglassrecovery.com

Is sobriety worth it? You hear all the time that it's the battle of a lifetime. That it's a lifelong journey of emotional growth and 'doing the work'. Is it really worth pouring that much time and energy into staying sober?

When you're in the thick of the struggle, it can be tough to remember why you're fighting. This episode is meant to remind you what life is like on the other side of that craving, or that hard situation, or that tough emotion. Listen, and then bookmark this episode so you can come back to it the next time you're not sure if it's really worth it.

In this episode:

• Sobriety is "The Ability To..."
• Be present; get healthy; save money
• Facing the issues on the inside that you've avoided for too long
• Emotions - understanding and allowing them
• Self discovery and authenticity
• How relationships improve with sobriety
• Experiences keep getting better the longer you're sober
• Understanding happiness and how to achieve it
• The health benefits of sobriety - and no longer worrying

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Chris Cardone, owner of Continuous Beverage Solutions, boasts 24+ years in bartending and hospitality, consulting for NYC’s top bars and restaurants. A 2017 Diageo World Class Bartending US Champion, he placed 5th globally and now judges the competition. Featured in Epicurious and major publications, Chris also educates with DiageoBarAcademy.com, partners on Astreaus Gin, and pioneers "healthy mixology." A flair bartending finalist and trainer to stars, he’s shaped the industry with expertise and passion.

Chris Cardone

Founder @ Continuous Beverage Solutions

Chief Mixologist @ Via Carota Craft Cocktails

Director of Mixology @ Astraeaus

2017 Diageo World Class US Bartender of the Year

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Matt (shamman780), a 39 year old father of two from Burnt Hills, New York is 19 months sober. He always believed he would get sober but at the same time feared it may never come. He spent five and half years stuck in the up and down battle with alcoholism before finding a better way. He wants to thank you everyone for sticking with him through all this.

He’d like people to know that substance abuse and mental health issues do not discriminate and that if you are struggling there are people out there who want to and who will help you. Matthew Perry always said to people who are struggling “It’s not your fault”, but this Matthew believes it’s your responsibility. It’s your responsibility to acknowledge, to accept and to treat it every day, just like you would any other disease.

Be kind to those who are still struggling. Sobriety is hard, but it’s worth it.

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Visit our website at throughtheglassrecovery.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter, and to gain access to our FREE weekly recovery meetings. We also have a Facebook Group where our friends and listeners can offer support to one another. Come join us!