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 clarity at brunch, when she said "no" to a mimosa for the first time.

From there, she began exploring sobriety through AA literature, community support, and eventually the practice that changed everything: journaling.

Key topics we covered:

• Moderation vs. abstinence: Some people can moderate; some can't. Addiction exists on a spectrum.

• Trauma and dissociation: Many of us learned early to ignore our intuition and numb discomfort.

• Healing through writing: Journaling processes emotions the same way talking to a friend does.

• Different journaling styles:

• Morning pages (The Artist's Way)

• Gratitude lists

• Emotional processing

• Prompt-based journaling

• Somatic/body-scan journaling

• Rebuilding after betrayal: Journaling helped Sonia reclaim her identity after divorce.

• The importance of community: A network of supportive women helped her through the darkest moments.

ACTION ITEMS FOR LISTENERS

✔️ Try morning pages for 7 days — write 3 pages of unfiltered thoughts every morning. ✔️ Start a nightly gratitude list focusing on 3 things from that day. ✔️ Practice a weekly "body-scan journal session" and write about physical sensations + emotions. ✔️ Identify 3 people you can call when you're struggling — and practice willingness calls. ✔️ Reflect on the question: Can I moderate? — and be honest with your evidence.

BOOKS MENTIONED

• Blackout — Sarah Hepola

• Running with Scissors — Augusten Burroughs

• The Artist's Way — Julia Cameron

• The Power of Two-Way Prayer — Father Bill W.

• Radical Self-Acceptance — Tara Brach

• The Obstacle Is the Way — Ryan Holiday

👊🏼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

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