Recovery Elevator

Today's episode includes a Q & A session conducted live at Recovery Point, which is a resource center for those who struggle with addiction located in Bozeman, Montana.   This episode is brought to you by:   Sober Link sign up and claim your $100 enrollment bonus Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026   [02:19] Paul introduces Jay, Jennifer, Chris and Linda   Each panel member shares a little about themselves and what drove them to seek recovery.   Question – When did you open up to community?   Jay shares that he started going to AA while in jail and attended a program called Bridging the Gap through treatment court which helped him find connection and community.   Jen was a few months into her recovery when she discovered Café RE and found that others sharing their stories helped her a lot.   Chris said he had made several half-hearted attempts at quitting before finding books and communities. He shares that he was stubborn at first, but now has made many friends in Café RE.   Linda attended treatment court with Jay but was trying to be a lone wolf. She didn't have a driver's license and found herself having to ask others for help. She found community in AA and NA/   Questions – What's your favorite recovery quote? One word to summarize your sobriety?   Linda – "it's only a thing if you make it a thing" and her word is "unbelievable"   Chris – "play the tape forward" and his word is "peaceful"   Jen – "keep it simple" and her word is "content"   Jay – "this too shall pass – the good and the bad" and his word is "serenity"   The panel shares their observations on the stigma around addiction decreasing and the increase of alcohol-free options when they go out. They all agree it is great to see that there are more options for people that don't want to drink and more and more places for opportunities to have mocktails while socializing and living life. Question – In a life without alcohol, has something surprised you?   Jen shares that she always loved to camp and the first time she went alcohol-free, she felt uncomfortable at first. She sees that she has more time to do the things she loves and try new things.   Chris says he has so much clarity and energy to do things. Having more time, flexibility and extra money has been nice.   Jay says a lot of his hobbies stayed the same, he just enjoys them more now. He realized he doesn't really like fishing after doing it for so many years. He has also found that he enjoys coaching his daughter's softball team.    Question – What advice do you have for the person that may be struggling to quit drinking?   Jay – you don't have to do it alone, you don't have to be ashamed   Jen – you can do it, and reach out   Chris – you don't have to do it alone, reach out and engage in a community   Linda – find one person that you can trust and start there.   [49:39] Thoughts from Paul:   The planet is currently giving out signs of distress, and all have anchoring to humans and what we have done to nature. Addiction may be the answer to this. When we stop poisoning ourselves with alcohol, a connection or reconnection with nature takes place.   Addiction, or the other side of addiction, is what connects our species back to the pulsations of the earth, animals, wind, sea and within our own hearts. Addiction and the healing that follows is what connects us back to ourselves, the planets, and the animals.   Recovery Elevator You took the elevator down. You've got to take the stairs back up. We can do this.   RE Instagram Sobriety Tracker iTunes  RE YouTube Café RE    

Today we have Brittany. She is 44 years old, lives in New Braunfels, TX and she had her last drink on May 27th, 2025.   This episode is brought to you by:   Sign up and get 10% off: Better Help Café RE – THE social app for sober people Bozeman 2026 – August 12th-16th, 2026   [02:07] Paul introduces Brittany:   Brittany is 44 years old, is originally from Wisconsin, and lives in New Braunfels, TX with her husband of 18 years. Together they have four kids. For fun, Brittany enjoys sporting events and traveling with her family.   Brittany shares she had a great childhood. Her parents were very supportive of her and her older brother. Her father was the child of alcoholics, so he chose not to drink so there was limited exposure to it while Brittany was growing up.   Brittany's first drink was when she was 15 years old. She didn't drink much throughout her teens as she was more into sports that didn't leave much room for it. In Wisconsin, attending sporting events always included drinking. In college, Brittany enjoyed the party and playing drinking games and all of her friends drank like she did, so she didn't see it as a problem.   After college, Brittany met her husband. He went into the Air Force which found them moving to San Antonio. They hung out with a lot of other young married couples, and they all partied a lot on the weekends. Her husband didn't like Brittany's drinking so she would begin hiding how much she drank, seeing it as him trying to control her.   When their second daughter was born in 2014 with a rare genetic disorder, Brittany began to use alcohol as medication. Caring for a special needs child and also moving a lot as a military family was very stressful for Brittany. With her husband being deployed or on assignments, she was doing a lot of parenting alone which led her to self-medicate often.   When COVID happened, Brittany's husband was able to be home more, but that led to her drinking increase. Brittany switched from wine to vodka, assuming it would be less noticeable to her husband. She began to hide her drinking more and started promising to drink less but it never happened.   Memorial Day weekend of 2025 Brittany's husband left town for work, and she was getting the family settled into their new home with her parents. Brittany had vodka stashed and was drinking in secret throughout the day. That evening, she passed out at the dinner table. Since she had been lying to everyone about drinking, they were worried that something else might be wrong and her mother took her to the hospital.   While she was there, both the nurse and the doctor could see what the issue was, but Brittany was still in denial. Brittany will never forget when the doctor told her, "You are not alone". At this point, the family knew and it felt like a weight was lifted.   A family friend became a lifeline for Brittany, and she contacted him the next day. He is also in recovery and helped her feel less alone. She went to her first AA meeting that day. With the help of her parents since they were living in Wisconsin, Brittany was able to attend meetings, sometimes two, daily.   Brittany says things changed for her very quickly. She started feeling better physically, was losing weight and began working out. The light was beginning to come back into her eyes. Parenting was hard, but she enjoys it much more now that she isn't drinking.   Brittany's parting piece of guidance: You are not alone. Find a sober community and jump in with both feet.   Recovery Elevator It all starts from the inside out. I love you guys.   RE Instagram Sobriety Tracker iTunes  RE YouTube Café RE