406 The Midlife Unraveling: How Julie Rebuilt Her Life After Addiction, PTSD & Burnout
Sobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
Release Date: 11/27/2025
Sobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
One of the most powerful moments in this conversation came when Amber said: “I didn’t want to do what I was doing… but it became my comfort zone.” If you’ve ever struggled with food, alcohol, or any compulsive behavior, you know exactly what she means. This episode isn’t about dieting. It’s about why the body holds on — to weight, habits, protection, and survival patterns — even when we desperately want to change. Amber walks us through her healing journey, from childhood trauma and food addiction to full recovery, and explains why binge eating isn’t a lack of discipline...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
I recently sat down with my dear friend and author, John Loxley to discuss the fundamentals of sobriety. John is 15 years sober and works in mental health services in the UK. We weren’t talking about shiny breakthroughs or dramatic transformations. We were talking about the basics — the things that quietly keep sobriety intact, year after year. Because here’s the truth: most people don’t relapse because they don’t know enough. They relapse because they slowly stop doing the things that keep them emotionally regulated, supported, and self-aware. This episode was a reminder of what...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
Hi friend, thank you for downloading the episode, my name is Arlina and I’ll be your host. In case you haven’t seen it, the new show notes include all the action steps and links to resources mentioned in the podcast, along with a link to the YouTube interview. You can access them by visiting the website at I keep hearing from listeners that they are missing some of the episodes and as it turns out, only 73% percent of listeners are subscribed. So if you could do me a favor and take a moment to make sure you are subscribed, that would be tremendously helpful. It’s the free...
info_outlineSobriety: 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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineSobriety: The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
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...
info_outlineIn 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 instead of react
✨ The surprising power of compassionate communication
✨ The connection between trauma, addiction, and high achievement
✨ How sobriety opened the door for Julie’s personal transformation
✨ Tools like the RAIN method, journaling, two-way prayer, adaptive thinking, and more
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your emotions, stuck in old patterns, or unsure how to communicate your needs… this episode will give you hope and real strategies you can use today.
Before we jump in, I want to wish all who are celebrating a Happy Thanksgiving! This episode will be released on a day where many of us spend the day with family, for better or worse.
For those who find Thanksgiving to be a challenging day, whether it’s due to being around people who push your buttons, or the loneliness that comes from distance or estrangement, I wanted to offer some practical advice on getting through the day sober - both physically and emotionally.
First, start your day with self-care for your body, mind and spirit. Even if you can only spend 30 minutes in the morning doing it, the return will be well worth the investment.
Think of it like this, if you have to travel a long distance, you’d put gas in your car first so that you could go the distance. Same thing with challenging or high emotion days. Be sure to fill your tank with inspirational literature, or content before venturing out. Also, be sure to boost your positive feel good neurotransmitters like oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. Go for a walk, do some yoga, or get a workout in too. The physical exercise will burn off anxious energy, and help you to respond instead of react in stressful moments.
Lastly, have an exit strategy. Give yourself permission to make an excuse to leave whenever you need to. Remember, your sobriety and your feelings take priority over someone else’s expectations.
And who knows, if you run the experiment, maybe you’ll have a completely different experience of the holidays!
If you find this episode helpful, please share it with a friend.
So that’s it from me today. Please enjoy this episode, and let me know what you think!
Find Julie on Instagram at @juliebloomworld
👊🏼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
☎️Private Coaching: Make Sobriety Stick
https://www.makesobrietystick.com
Subscribe So You Don’t Miss New Episodes!
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon Music, or you can stream it from my website HERE.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast/id1212504521
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4I23r7DBTpT8XwUUwHRNpB
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a8eb438c-5af1-493b-99c1-f218e5553aff/the-one-day-at-a-time-recovery-podcast