394 How To Quit Drinking Alcohol Without Hitting Rock Bottom
Sobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
Release Date: 09/18/2025
Sobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
Anxiety Isn’t the Problem — It’s the Habit Loop Behind It I recently had a conversation with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Jud Brewer that stopped me in my tracks — not because it was abstract or inspirational, but because it finally explained something I’ve lived with for decades. Even in long-term sobriety. Even with years of self-work, therapy, meetings, journaling, and personal development. That thing is anxiety — and more specifically, how anxiety quietly turns into habits like worrying, overthinking, scrolling, information hoarding, procrastinating, and self-judgment. What...
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One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation with Emma is that anxiety, depression, and burnout aren’t character flaws—they’re nervous system responses to feeling unsafe. We talked about how depression often mirrors the nervous system’s shutdown response, and how anxiety shows up as fight-or-flight. When your body feels overwhelmed for too long, it doesn’t motivate you—it protects you. Why Worry Keeps You Stuck Emma explained that worry is actually reinforced behavior. When we worry and nothing bad happens, our brain learns, “That worked—do it again.” Over time, worry...
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Choosing Yourself Isn’t Selfish — It’s Necessary In this episode of The One Day at a Time Recovery Podcast, I sit down with Hakeem to talk about what happens when performance, substances, and distractions can no longer protect us from unresolved pain. Hakeem shares how the death of his younger brother, years of buried grief, elite athletics, addiction, and eventually incarceration led him to a moment of total reckoning. Sitting alone in a jail cell — without substances, screens, or distractions — he was finally forced to face himself. What stood out to me most is Hakeem’s belief...
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How Journaling, Community & Self-Compassion Can Transform Recovery: A Conversation with Sonia In this episode, Sonia from Sisters in Sobriety joins us for a deeply honest conversation about recovery, journaling, trauma, and rebuilding life after addiction. Sonia shares how her drinking escalated from teenage experimentation to daily wine-drinking as a high-functioning professional. While she never had the “traditional” external bottom, she described being emotionally bottomed out — chronically ill, blacking out, and unable to imagine a future. What finally shifted? A moment of...
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Today I am joined by Brett Eaton, who is a motivational speaker, high performance coach, and the best selling author of "Uncomfortable Either Way: The Blueprint For Building Confidence Through Discomfort”. You might think that he doesn’t fit the typical guest profile, but Brett’s expertise on building confidence, behavior change, identity shifts, and building momentum - are the foundational building blocks of sobriety. In this episode we talk about: ✅ How accepting discomfort leads to change ✅ The importance of micro-commitments ✅ Why focusing on the wins is critical...
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In today’s episode, I sit down with my dear friend Julie Bloom - She’s a coach, mental health trainer, multilingual communicator, and survivor of childhood abuse, and severe workplace trauma. Julie shares her remarkable story of navigating PTSD, burnout, trauma, addiction, and a complete midlife unraveling… and how she rebuilt her identity through emotional regulation, nonviolent communication, and deep personal healing. Together we explore: ✨ Why emotional regulation is the foundation of all healing ✨ What actually happens in the brain during triggers ✨ How to respond...
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In this powerful and deeply honest conversation, I sit down with David Shamszad, author of I Am Someone You Know: The Fight for Recovery and Mental Health, to talk about the hidden pain behind high-functioning addiction, growing up in an alcoholic home, and the courage it takes to heal. David shares his journey through childhood trauma, undiagnosed bipolar disorder, suicidal ideation, and eventual recovery, revealing how vulnerability and self-care became his path to freedom. We explore the power of telling your story, breaking cycles of generational trauma, and how choosing courage—moment...
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When Ashley Jo’s world fell apart—the death of her young son, the collapse of her marriage, and the depths of addiction—she turned her pain into purpose. In this raw and emotional conversation, Ashley shares how she survived unimaginable grief, overcame suicidal thoughts, and found healing through sobriety, grace, and faith. We talk about: The devastating diagnosis and loss of her son What it’s really like to grieve and feel relief at the same time How shame and secrecy fuel addiction Why her affair was actually an “exit affair” The spiral that led to her rock bottom...
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At sixteen, Sean typed “how to end my life” into Google. What he found that night set him on a path of healing, spirituality, and eventually — the creation of Rosebud, an AI-powered journaling app that helps people process pain and grow. In this raw and honest conversation, Sean and Arlina explore depression, men’s mental health, and how AI can actually become a compassionate mirror for self-awareness. If you’ve ever felt hopeless or alone, this episode will remind you: your pain can become your purpose. Download The Rosebud App Here: https://www.rosebud.app/ 👊🏼Need help...
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Today I am joined by my dear friend Michelle Ferriss, a licensed marriage family therapist. She’s been on the podcast two other times because she’s awesome! Her area of expertise is on dealing with codependency, how to escape narcissistic relationships and overcoming anger issues. In this episode, we’re going to talk about toxic friendships, how to know if you’re in one, ways to improve them, and steps to take to escape them. This is such an important topic because as we grow, evolve and change, so do the relationships we have. And with people feeling more disconnected and...
info_outlineIn this powerful and thought-provoking conversation, meditation teacher and author Billy Winn shares his journey from heavy drinking to finding peace and fulfillment through Zen Buddhist practice. Billy talks about the pivotal moment that led him to stop drinking, the lessons he learned from opening (and later closing) an alcohol-free bar, and the transformative power of meditation in rewiring the brain. He opens up about childhood adversity, workaholism, burnout, and how he ultimately found freedom by realizing he was already enough—without needing to do more or be more.
We also discuss his new book The Empty Path: Finding Fulfillment Through the Radical Art of Lessening and his work shaping psychedelic-assisted therapy policy in Colorado. This is a must-listen for anyone curious about sobriety, mindfulness, or how to find peace in a busy world.
Before we jump in, I wanted to let you know I am about to publish the second episode of “Sobriety Reset” which will be focused on what I think are the 3 phases of recovery, and this is after 31 years of personal research and experience. I’m going to cover everything from how to rebuild self-esteem and why that’s important, how to identify the root causes that may compel you to drink, and of course, emotion management to make sobriety stick.
Please be sure to subscribe to the YouTube Channel. There will be a link in the show notes at odaatchat.com, and if you enjoy this episode, it would mean the world to me if you leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It might surprise you to know that according to the analytics, less than 1% of our audience will actually leave a review. By leaving a review, it helps others who are suffering to find the podcast and get the life saving resources they need to get and stay sober. You can even think of leaving a review as an act of service! So thank you so much for your support!
And without further delay, please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!
Guest Contact Info:
👊🏼Need help applying this information to your own life?
Here are 3 ways to get started:
🎁Free Guide: 30 Tips for Your First 30 Days - With a printable PDF checklist
Grab your copy here: https://www.soberlifeschool.com
🎁Free Journaling Exercise: How To Get Unstuck, Be Consistent andamp; Reach Your Goals
Download Here: https://www.innercompassprogram.com
☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick
https://www.makesobrietystick.com
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