RE 91: 12 Ways to Stay Sober Over the Holidays Recovery Elevator 🌴

 Sasha has been sober for just over 5 years... This is her story… Support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/ This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE! SHOW NOTES 12 ways to help you stay sober through the holidays. Last year, in Episode 43, I introduced a long list of ways to stay sober, and now, it's a year later. This holiday season, don't beat yourself up! Maybe you only get 1 day, but shoot for all the days, and if you miss a day, get back on the wagon without beating yourself up... Be kind to yourself. The holidays are about giving, give yourself kindness.
12 Ways to Stay Sober Through the Holidays:
Meditation - All of the following activities have a meditative and creative quality; guitar, piano, painting, woodwork, organizing, stuffing envelopes, whatever it is for you. Set a timer and chill-out for 10 minutes Headspace App Water - Hydrate! First thing I do in the morning is drink about 35 oz of lemon water. Give yourself a Hall Pass! I plan on eating 70% of the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving Dinner this year Exercise for 10 min during the first hour of the day. I stretch, do band work, and pushups. Practice visualization. I practice saying no to drinks and practice making good decisions in my sobriety. Tell someone no and put yourself first, i.e. "I will not be driving your ass around on NYE." Shovel snow or push dirt around. Think, "Service, service, service." Talk to yourself. Start doing something small and then in two years tell me how much of a difference that has made in your life. Turtle and not the hare. I'm playing the long game. Connect with your Community daily - Café RE. Share!  
[ 12:34 ] Paul introduces Sasha.
Sasha's last drink was a couple days before Sept. 2nd, 2011...Sasha is from Washington D.C. She is 31 and has her own coaching business. For fun she likes to hangout at home in her pajamas, being a mega-introvert!
[ 14:38 ] Talk to us about your Elevator. When did you hit bottom?
September of 2011 was the culmination of a long summer of heavy partying. "I was sitting in my therapists office with my head in my hands trying to recap my summer which I couldn't remember. My therapist handed me an AA flyer and slowly I started going to a weekly meeting."
[ 17:01 ] How much did you drink? Talk to us about your drinking habits.
"I was an all or nothing binge drinker. I probably partied one night on, one night off. When I went out, I drank as much as I possibly could. As soon as I had 2 or 3 drinks there was a switch, there was no off button."
[ 27:17 ] How did you do it? Walk us through the first day, the first week.
"I dropped into an AA meeting to listen. I heard stories of human suffering, pain and joy. It was like a humanities class. People were honest and really told the truth about how they were feeling." Sasha talks about how isolating alcohol is and the antidote was really learning to connect and let her walls down. Sasha was going to one 'speaker' meeting a week. She got a sponsor after 10 mos.
[ 30:43 ] Sasha talks about her experience as a 'dry drunk'.
[ 31:07 ] Tell us about your program.
"Principles of recovery flow throughout my day. I like to let things flow. I wake up with a prayer. I have daily readers (an app and a book) that set the tone for my day. I make several 12-step meetings a week and try to meditate for 10 mins. a day." Sasha also does yoga. Yoga has been crucial to her recover journey, connecting mind, body and soul.
 
[ 40:02 ] Rapid Fire Round What was your worst memory from drinking? "The summer before my freshman year of high school. I drank 2 beers and passed out." Did you ever have an “oh-shit” moment? "Chronic stress from acting so poorly." What’s your plan moving forward? "Sit with my self. Sobriety is all about staying with myself." What is your favorite resource in recover? "The Hazelden App. The books "The Language of Letting Go" and "Journey to t