In this episode of Alternatives to AA, Josh and Monique Robinson gravitate their

discussion around forgiveness towards the self and others. The first thing to

do when it comes to sobriety is to forgive oneself and accept that it is okay not

to be okay. Tune in as they share how they did it themselves so others can do

the same.

Perfectionism, the Root of Them All

Striving for perfection is a great quality to have. It just shows that you are doing

your best in everything you do. Yet, not all expectations are met, and that

leads to disappointment. In worse-case scenarios, it falls into alcoholism. Alcohol

offers a false sense of escape; that is why most alcoholics cling to it to

forget disappointment. Nothing is perfect in this world – that is a fact. It

takes acceptance to forgive yourself for not achieving the greatness in mind.

That is why forgiving oneself and others is required for sobriety. Forgiving

yourself means learning to do away with the all-or-nothing, black-and-white

thinking; it opens up to see the middle.

Outline of the Episode:

[00:48]

Episode introduction

[01:55]

Perfectionist mentality

[08:17]

Forgiving others

[13:59]

Express anger healthily

[18:59]

Social media and perfectionism

[22:18]

Repressed anger

[26:55]

Ways to cope with repressed anger

About Joshua and Monique Robinson:

Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist.

Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson.

Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree

in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their

own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the

form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA,

and their mission is to help others do the same.

Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson!

Josh's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395

Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

In this monumental first episode of Alternatives to AA, Josh and Monique Robinson break

down one of the biggest factors in alcoholism and recovery: fear. There are

many factors that contribute with fear, and apparently, people see one thing

that is perceived as the only solution – alcohol. Listen more to discover these

fears and how to confront them so you do not get tempted to drink.

Fear Factor

To drink occasionally is fine, but how much is too much that it becomes a problem?

Somewhere along the way, a drinking problem is rooted in fears. For Josh, his

fear of women urged him to start drinking. It was ingrained in him that he

could not talk to women if he had not had a sip of alcohol, thus developing his

dependency on it. Things got way out of hand when he saw alcohol as a solution

for everything. For Monique, alcohol was an escape to cover her frustrations,

anxieties, and insecurities. Having that alcohol kick masks off those and makes

her forget that she was afraid. All things are good in moderation, but that was

not the case for both of them. From Monique’s analogy, it started as a pebble

and rolled down into a boulder down the hill. Yes, fear must be faced, but

turning to alcohol as a solution is not the best route.

Outline of the Episode:

[00:00]

Episode introduction

[03:36]

Analogy of a little cut

[08:52]

Break the problem into smaller pieces

[15:23]

How to face your fears

[21:10]

Understand your self-awareness

[24:09]

Keep everything scheduled

[27:53]

Self-consciousness

About Joshua and Monique Robinson:

Joshua is a recovering alcoholic turned life coach and psychologist.

Co-host of Alternatives to AA is his wife, Monique Robinson.

 Josh Robinson is a bodybuilder, athlete, and life coach currently pursuing a degree

in psychology. Through hard work, relationship building, and developing their

own ways of coping, Josh and Monique are now packaging their recovery in the

form of a podcast. He and his wife battled and overcame alcoholism without AA,

and their mission is to help others do the same.

Connect with Joshua and Monique Robinson!

Josh's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshua.robinson.395

Moniques Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mo.cool.56

Welcome to Alternatives to AA. We're Josh and Monique. Combined we're over 5 years sober and we’re on a mission to make the difficult journey of sobriety easier to manage.

We’re not against AA, but we realized we needed to know how to manage the other 23 hours of the day. From communication to relationships to self-care, we’re going to show you how to cope when your triggers try to take you down.

Join us every Monday at 6 PM as we uncover not only how to live without alcohol, but how to actually thrive in sobriety and swap out your addiction for a better life.

Welcome to Alternatives to AA. We're Josh and Monique. Combined we're over 5 years sober and we’re on a mission to make the difficult journey of sobriety easier to manage.

We’re not against AA, but we realized we needed to know how to manage the other 23 hours of the day. From communication to relationships to self-care, we’re going to show you how to cope when your triggers try to take you down.

Join us every Monday at 6 PM as we uncover not only how to live without alcohol, but how to actually thrive in sobriety and swap out your addiction for a better life.