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45. Sober Coach Allie Clark: When Looking Perfect Keeps You Stuck (Part 1)
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“What happens when the family rules are: look good, don’t talk, and keep the peace — even when everything inside you is falling apart?”
In this week’s AF Superpowers episode, Coach Allie Clark (@soberdreamteam) shares the first half of her powerful sobriety story. From the outside, she was the fun, high-achieving, straight-A kid. Inside, she was carrying trauma, fear, and family dynamics she couldn’t name until decades later.
Allie walks us through losing her mom at 20, the traumatic Thanksgiving that rewired her nervous system, and how wine became her way to survive emotions she didn’t understand. She opens up about motherhood, panic attacks, the Joplin tornado, mixing Xanax and alcohol, and the moment she realized, “This could be me and my kids.”
Part 1 ends at the turning point — the day she finally surrendered and agreed to medical detox.
We explore:
- Why perfectionism and silence can keep you stuck for years
- How early trauma shapes drinking long before you notice
- The moment alcohol shifted from “fun” to emotional escape
- Grief, guilt, and the Thanksgiving blackout she repeated for 16 years
- Motherhood, panic, and daily wine creeping into the routine
- How Xanax and alcohol intertwined in a dangerous cycle
- Emotional flashbacks, breakdowns, and the wake-up moment
- The intervention that changed everything
🎧 Part 2 drops in early December!
Key Moments
00:01 — Early drinking rules and first blackout
01:18 — Telling her story and breaking generational cycles
02:44 — Connecting trauma and drinking
03:48 — Complex PTSD diagnosis
05:00 — Family rules and silence
06:49 — Her mom’s cancer diagnosis
08:13 — Guilt and emotional overload
09:22 — The call: “I think this is it.”
13:41 — The moment alcohol becomes relief
14:31 — Thanksgiving trauma and blackout coping
19:26 — Motherhood and panic attacks
23:27 — Joplin tornado and escalating symptoms
25:13 — Xanax, wine, and survival mode
27:15 — Holiday breakdowns
29:52 — “This could be me and my kids.”
31:31 — Intervention in the closet
32:38 — The boundary
32:53 — Saying yes to medical detox (end of Part 1)
Connect with Allie:
Instagram: @soberdreamteam
Connect with AF Superpowers:
- Website
View all episodes
By JenniferSend us a text
“What happens when the family rules are: look good, don’t talk, and keep the peace — even when everything inside you is falling apart?”
In this week’s AF Superpowers episode, Coach Allie Clark (@soberdreamteam) shares the first half of her powerful sobriety story. From the outside, she was the fun, high-achieving, straight-A kid. Inside, she was carrying trauma, fear, and family dynamics she couldn’t name until decades later.
Allie walks us through losing her mom at 20, the traumatic Thanksgiving that rewired her nervous system, and how wine became her way to survive emotions she didn’t understand. She opens up about motherhood, panic attacks, the Joplin tornado, mixing Xanax and alcohol, and the moment she realized, “This could be me and my kids.”
Part 1 ends at the turning point — the day she finally surrendered and agreed to medical detox.
We explore:
- Why perfectionism and silence can keep you stuck for years
- How early trauma shapes drinking long before you notice
- The moment alcohol shifted from “fun” to emotional escape
- Grief, guilt, and the Thanksgiving blackout she repeated for 16 years
- Motherhood, panic, and daily wine creeping into the routine
- How Xanax and alcohol intertwined in a dangerous cycle
- Emotional flashbacks, breakdowns, and the wake-up moment
- The intervention that changed everything
🎧 Part 2 drops in early December!
Key Moments
00:01 — Early drinking rules and first blackout
01:18 — Telling her story and breaking generational cycles
02:44 — Connecting trauma and drinking
03:48 — Complex PTSD diagnosis
05:00 — Family rules and silence
06:49 — Her mom’s cancer diagnosis
08:13 — Guilt and emotional overload
09:22 — The call: “I think this is it.”
13:41 — The moment alcohol becomes relief
14:31 — Thanksgiving trauma and blackout coping
19:26 — Motherhood and panic attacks
23:27 — Joplin tornado and escalating symptoms
25:13 — Xanax, wine, and survival mode
27:15 — Holiday breakdowns
29:52 — “This could be me and my kids.”
31:31 — Intervention in the closet
32:38 — The boundary
32:53 — Saying yes to medical detox (end of Part 1)
Connect with Allie:
Instagram: @soberdreamteam
Connect with AF Superpowers:
- Website