The Bubble Hour

Early recovery is full of “sober firsts”. They seem to come fast and furious in the initial weeks and months, and can be overwhelming at times. Eventually, the “firsts” are fewer and further between, but their infrequency can make them feel more jarring. On this episode of The Bubble Hour we look at “sober firsts” of three major types: “Mixing with the Normies” – going back to the places and situations where drinking is part of the milieu, now as a person in recovery “Engaging in Recovery” – new places and situations you encounter once you quit drinking “Sober and Solo” – the things you go to or through on your own. Join us and our guests as we talk about what these experiences were like for us and some tips for navigating these challenges of early sobriety.

In recovery meetings it is common practice for one person to share their experience, strength and hope and then to pick a recovery topic for the group to discuss. We thought it would be great to recreate that concept here on The Bubble Hour. Hearing that there are other people just like us...with the same experiences, thoughts and feelings is revolutionary.  Our featured guest on this show is a voice many of you will recognize - Lisa N., one of the founders and former Co-Host of The Bubble Hour. Tune in to this week's episode to hear our guest Lisa N's story and our discussion. 

How many times did we wake up saying, "Today is Day 1," only to pick up a drink later? Maybe we said, "I'm just a binge drinker. I can go weeks without a drink," but we still have a sneaking suspicion that something is wrong and can't quite figure out how to break the habit. Or we get some sober time - 30, 60, 90 days or more - and then think, "Surely I have figured out to moderate by now!" We cycle through dark thoughts of shame and defiance to willingness mixed with confusion. How can we get unstuck and into a sober life? Join us on this episode as the co-hosts of The Bubble Hour discuss the stages of change from around a table at our first ever in-person meeting. We talk about getting into action to move out of stuck thinking and into a life of recovery.

While we are active in our addictions, we are numbing all of our feelings.  Although the initial impulse might be to dull the hard emotions - fear, anger, hurt - the actual result is that we dull of our emotions, limiting our experience of joy, contentment, and connection.  When we get sober, we find a crazy new rush of feelings - good and bad - that can be overwhelming.  On this episode, we’ll discuss our experiences with our emotions and techniques for processing them.  Sobriety is a brave new world, which includes the full range of human feelings.  We're glad to be showing up for them all!

On this episode of The Bubble Hour our co-hosts Ellie, Amanda, Catherine and Jean look back on 2014 and discuss what lies ahead for each of them in 2015. They also reflect on their favorite moments on the show from the past 12 months. Lessons learned, hope for what lies ahead, and insights on the pain and joy of life from these four strong women in recovery.

When people stop using alcohol and drugs they are given a second chance on life. Some embrace this new life and never look back. Others find living without alcohol and drugs to be a struggle every day. Regardless of your experience, we are all susceptible to triggers which can cause us to relapse. Recognizing and managing these triggers is important to maintaining our sobriety. So what are triggers? A “trigger” of addiction involves any high-risk situation or stressor that “cues” a thought, feeling, or action to use alcohol or drugs. There are two types of triggers: internal, which occur within us, and external which occurs outside of us.  On this episode we will explore common triggers and discuss ways to counteract these unhealthy reactions and develop an action plan to keep ourselves safe and sober. 

All alcoholics and addicts feel shame. It’s impossible to avoid, and while shame is painful and can keep many of us stuck in the throes of addiction, there is hope.  We do not have to be defined by our shame, and indeed learning tools to cope with shame and learn and grow as people is an integral part of recovery. To begin with, though, it’s important to define shame.  One way to do this is to clarify the difference between shame and guilt.  Guilt is feeling badly about something we’ve done, and shame is feeling badly about who we are.   Guilt is based on actions, and shame is built on feelings.  Another way to put it is this:   When we feel guilty we feel we made a mistake.  When we feel shame we feel we are a mistake. In this show, we will talk about building tools to identify shame, build awareness of it, talk about the importance of reaching out to reduce the power shame holds over you, and discuss the power of story and voice in reducing and even eliminating the hold shame has in your life.

A common fear of getting sober is that we won't ever have fun again. Our memories of celebrations, nights out, socializing with friends typically include alcohol, so we can't imagine what we will do without it. Will our friends still want to hang out with us? Will we still laugh? What on earth will we DO now that we don't drink? Join us for a discussion that will quell those fears! Sober life opens the door to a life of fun and laughter that we never contemplated. As a famous recovery saying goes, "we are not a glum lot"! Come have some Sober Fun with us!

The months of December through January are a hectic time of year that are chock full of stress, expectation and temptation. It can be a particularly challenging time of year for people in recovery, especially early recovery, as we can feel vulnerable and be blindsided by triggers and cravings. Even people with long term sobriety can find themselves susceptible to the pressures of this busy time of year.  It is a time for us to prioritize self-care so we don't become complacent.  Preparedness is the KEY to surviving the holidays with our sobriety (and our sanity) intact! On this week's Bubble Hour, we will be discussing the difference in strategies required depending on one’s stage of recovery.

Intimacy…allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with another person, can be very difficult.  Many of us have used alcohol or other substances to help remove our fears intimacy so the thought of being intimate while SOBER can be terrifying. Some of us were sexually abused as children. Some of us engaged in unhealthy sexual behaviors as a result of our substance abuse and still hang onto feelings of shame about our sexuality. Some of us were afraid of getting sober because we thought it would be the end of our intimate relationship with our partner. Some of us simply find it hard to let go.  On the other hand, some of us have foundintimacy to be much more fulfilling and, well…intimate in sobriety. We are thrilled to have a very special guest, Tanya Cole-Lesnick, LCSW, life coach and psychotherapist, to help us with this topic. We have four guests joining us on the show to share their experiences with intimacy in sobriety and Tanya will offer insights based on her experience with this topic. Tanya Cole-Lesnick, LCSW, is a life coach and psychotherapist since 1995, in private practice since 2000.

It seems to us that Gratitude just might be the answer to even the most complex life problems. We know for sure that it keeps us sober by shifting our perspective just enough to get us out of stuck-mode (self-pity, blame, defiance, anger) and into action (service, connection, honesty). Join us on this episode as we share our experiences with the power of gratitude in recovery and offer suggestions on how to build an active gratitude practice. Gratitude just might become the most potent tool in your recovery toolbox!

Are you ready? Because here comes holiday season – the most wonderful time of the year say many and for those of us in recovery, possibly also the most triggering time of the year. There are a lot of contributing factors to the challenges we face over the holidays, but tonight we will zero in on “people pleasing” and how it undermines our ability to enjoy the festivities.

In recovery meetings it is common practice for one person to share their experience, strength and hope and then to pick a recovery topic for the group to discuss. We thought it would be great to recreate that concept here on The Bubble Hour. Hearing that there are other people just like us...with the same experiences, thoughts and feelings is revolutionary.  Tune in to this week's episode to hear our guest's story and topic of discussion. 

High-powered executives can be some of the most notoriously difficult people to treat for alcoholism and addiction. What can we learn about addiction and the “C-suite” to inform our own recovery?  On this episode of The Bubble Hour, we chat with a recovery coach about the particular challenges of the high-functioning alcoholic. Tune in for an insightful discussion!

You think you have a problem with alcohol, and you have tried everything you can to stop on your own, and nothing works. You vacillate between “I’m not that bad”, and “I need help”, but don’t know how to go about getting the help you need.  You think you may need to go to a detox and/or a rehab, but you are afraid. What would it be like? How do you get in? Who do you ask for help and what resources are out there?  How long do you need to stay?  Do you need a medical detox?  What IS a medical detox?  How do you juggle the complexities of work and/or family life while you are there?  How can friends and family be helpful, and what is their role? On this Sunday’s show, co-hosts Ellie, Amanda and Jean, along with special guest Lisa, will discuss their own experiences going to detox and/or rehab, answer the questions above, and also discuss the common symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, the difference between inpatient and outpatient rehab, the difference between a detox and a rehab, and more.