RE 536: The Birds

Today we have Jenny. She is 53 yeas old from Belgrade, MT and took her last drink on August 25th, 2015. This episode brought to you by Better Help – 10% off of your first month The message that alcohol is good for you is outdated. Paul shares an article from GQ that was released shortly after the World Health Organization declared that no amount of alcohol is safe for you. WELCOME to all our new listeners to the RE podcast! [03:56] Thoughts from Paul: In the interviews on this podcast, you've heard the word nature probably hundreds of times as a powerful tool to help overcome an addiction. Today Paul shares with us a specific free tool that can enhance your experience in nature: the Merlin bird app. There is science behind how birding can help you heal. Listening to birds reduces cortisol, slows your heart rate and triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which calms us. The opposite of addiction is connection, and Paul shares that he feels a connection to some of his local birds. He encourages us to give birds a chance as they have the capacity to take our connection to nature to the next level. [08:03] Paul introduces Jenny: Jenny was originally a guest on episode 86. Jenny lives in Belgrade, MT and says teaching fitness classes is her passion. She enjoys music, her chickens, playing golf and pickleball, and loves concerts and comedy as well. Jenny had her first drink when she was just nine years old. Her parents drank socially and any time there was a party at their house, she and her brother or friends would sneak alcohol. In high school, she and her friends didn't participate in activities, so they just drank and dabbled with marijuana and hallucinogens. Jenny moved from Helena to Bozeman to attend college and it was then when the drinking and drug use ramped up. While working in a restaurant, Jenny says drinking after work was common, and she was later introduced to harder drugs which she used for several years. Jenny quit the harder drugs but drinking remained. It ebbed and flowed after she got married and had kids. Her drinking escalated when her husband became a firefighter and would work very long shifts. This time was stressful for Jenny with multiple young children and battling postpartum anxiety. Over time Jenny would start drinking earlier in the day but felt she was very high functioning therefore didn't see her drinking as a problem. Jenny began to realize that her drinking was becoming an issue, but no one said anything to her, so she decided to quit on her own without telling anyone. She didn't attend AA and just used exercise and podcasts to help her quit. It took a bit for others to notice, but she was confident in her decision in spite of them insisting that she didn't have a problem. In 2016, Jenny learned she had stage 2 breast cancer. She says that it was aggressively treated and once in remission, she didn't know what to do with herself. She started running half marathons and decided to use her degree in exercise and wellness and started teaching exercise classes which she loves. Recently, Jenny and her husband hit a rough patch, and they have been attending counseling. Their counselor told Jenny they thought she might be a dry drunk and suggested she start the AA program. Jenny says she needed to hear that and has recently began going to AA and has gotten a sponsor who she is about to tackle step work with. Jenny also has learned that she suffers from several different disorders that have given her a lot of "a-ha" moments about who she is. Jenny shares her journey with the world now. She believes being our authentic selves is most important. Jenny has learned that she needs to protect her mental health and her sobriety above all. Jenny's parting piece of guidance: listen to that inner voice. Recovery Elevator We took the elevator down, we gotta take the stairs back up. I love you guys. RE on Instagram RE merch Recovery Elevator YouTube Sobriety Tracker iTunes