RE 568: Showing Up

Today we have Sarah. She is 49 years old and lives in San Diego, CA. Sarah took her last drink on August 6th, 2025. This episode is brought to you by: Better Help – 10% off of your first month #sponsored Pick up your copy of Paul's newest book Dolce Vita. You can get it on Amazon, listen to it on Audible or order it at your favorite bookstore today. Join us on January 10th for the start of our AF Ukelele Course. This course is sponsored by Kala brand ukelele and if you register, you get a code for 10% off an instrument. [02:00] Thoughts from Paul: This is the first podcast of the new year and maybe you are a new listener. Paul wants to cover some basics and let you know what we are about. Recovery Elevator is about quitting drinking. The goal isn't cutting back, moderation or putting the beast back in the cage. It's full send on zero alcohol consumed. Recovery Elevator is also about embracing that there is no right or wrong way to ditch the booze, just don't do it alone. No explanation needed her, we get it. What you'll find here and in Café RE is there is no judgment. We all know where you are and have been there ourselves. Recovery Elevator is the podcast, courses, Dry January, sober travel, merch, Instagram and more. Café RE is the non-profit alcohol-free community – it's the social app for sober people. We've got 25+ chats each week, Accountability Partner pairings, in-house AA meetings, book club, movie club, etc. [06:27] Paul introduces Sarah: Sarah is a painter and lives in San Diego with her partner and two daughters, 17 and 19. For fun, she enjoys surfing with her partner, backpacking with her older daughter and loves living on the beach. Sarah says she grew up in an idyllic childhood. Her parents drank but not to excess. She recalls that she was a worried child with a tendency towards overthinking and had a addictive personality to many things. Drinking wasn't part of her story while in school. She was on the cross-country team from seventh grade until she was a sophomore in college. After an injury took her out of the sport, she began to participate in parties more. She quickly recognized that drinking took away some insecurities and inhibitions and enjoyed that aspect but realized she couldn't moderate. Sarah developed a "take it or leave it" attitude towards alcohol but developed an eating disorder. Food became the replacement for alcohol when it came to self-medicating. After a divorce, Sarah made a new friend that was going through the same things. She confided in him about her eating disorder and he helped her find treatment for it. While in the process of recovering from the ED, she started using alcohol again and would replace meals with beer. Sarah began asking God, "why are we having me have another problem?" She knew she was meant for better things but was having a hard time stopping the addictions. Sarah used prayer to try and find the help she was after. She began going to AA, listening to podcasts and working herself to try and gain the tools to decide the addiction wasn't an option anymore. She was able to gain some traction but relapsed after several months of sobriety. In spite of being upset about being back at day one, Sarah learned to just keep showing up for herself and others and stopped beating herself up. Sarah has removed food and alcohol as options for coping. When she needs to get away, she utilizes the beach and the ocean. She enjoys the studio space with her art to help her get out of her head. Sarah O'Connor Art Sarah's Instagram Recovery Elevator You took the elevator down We gotta take the stairs back up We can do this. Café RE RE on Instagram Sobriety Tracker iTunes RE YouTube