RE 564: Hot and Cold

Today we have Yeimy. She’s 30 years old, from Rhode Island and took her last drink of alcohol on January 19^th, 2025.

 

This episode is brought to you by:

 

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January 1^st, 2026 is the official release date for Paul’s new book Dolce Vita

and he’d love to have you on the launch team. Email [e-mail] to join.

 

Registration for Recovery Elevator’s Dry January course Restore is open. We are meeting 13 times live in the month of January to give you the best chance of ditching the booze.

 

[03:30] Thoughts from Paul:

 

Paul shares with us a concept that he still struggles with but has made progress. It is embracing the world of duality that we live in. Of course, we would all want to be happy all of the time, but living in the world of dualities, we have to have opposites for defining purposes.  

 

Do your best to embrace it all. Square your shoulders to this thing called life and don’t get attached to any of it.  When you have a good day, be grateful. When you have a shit day, be grateful, knowing that you need them both equally.

 

[06:33] Paul introduces Yeimy:

 

Yeimy is 30 years old and works as a phlebotomist. Yeimy says she is still figuring out what she likes to do for fun but says she enjoys spending time with family and trying new things as in food or places. 

 

Yeimy says she was born into alcoholism as both of her parents were heavy drinkers. She doesn’t specifically remember her first drink but was allowed to drink as a teenager when on vacation in the Dominican Republic.

 

In her early 20s, Yeimy worked in a bar and was able to drink on the job. Paired with other substances, Yeimy says her drinking became limitless.  After COVID happened, she started drinking alone at home. Occasionally Yeimy would question how much she was drinking, but when she mentioned it to friends, they would reassure her that it was fine, and she was just having fun.

 

Over this time, Yeimy said she had a few small rock bottoms including a two-week hospitalization, crashing her car and waking up in strange places from time to time. She didn’t take the hint that she should stop the drinking and substance abuse and was determined to continue until something worse forced her to stop.

 

In 2022, Yeimy went to rehab. She says she wasn’t ready but due to the concern of a friend, she went for 30 days and was able to stay sober for another 30 days but became overwhelmed when she went right back into her life with the same people and places.

 

Yeimy attempted to moderate from time to time to try and avoid losing jobs and relationships like she had in the past. In 2024 while in the early days of her relationship with a non-drinker, Yeimy says she felt like her drinking was under a microscope. She would try to hide her drinking but that became exhausting. December 2024 found Yeimy having a lot of moments and mishaps that led her to realize she couldn’t do this anymore.

 

Yeimy began to go to AA meetings again but was still drinking. Her last rock bottom was when she fell asleep on the job the day after a blackout at a party. She was embarrassed and finally admitted to her boyfriend that she had a problem, and he said he would support her and she was relieved to have finally told him.

 

Whenever Yeimy felt the urge to drink, she attended meetings or listened to podcasts, staying focused on recovery for her first two months. With family support, she grew confident in her progress; she now works through AA steps with a sponsor.

Physically, Yeimy feels strong, and mentally she is more focused and decisive. Journaling, meetings, and connecting with sober people help her stay on track. She can now spend time around her drinking family, though she limits those interactions.

 

Yeimy’s parting piece of guidance: if you think you have a problem, you most likely do.

 

Recovery Elevator

You took the elevator down, you gotta take the stairs back up.

We can do this.

 

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