Community is the foundation of recovery. We don't recover alone! But the ideas you're exposed to in early sobriety have significant impact on your recovery. Labeling yourself as an "alcoholic" and committing to lifetime abstinence can increase your chance of relapse into alcohol use disorder.

Ask someone who has what you want how they got it is good advice. But if you're human, what you want will evolve over time in response to what you need.

Giving yourself permission to change—not just how you drink but also how you think—allows you to grow into the person you are meant to become.

In this episode, I unpack the reasons I chose to opt out of the fear-based, one-size-fits-all approach to sobriety. And how I'm managing my recovery with emotional sobriety. Because my identity and my future are no longer defined by alcohol.

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If you need to stop drinking and want support, check out these two programs that will shift your mindset from "drinker" to "non-drinker" so you can declare your independence from alcohol.

5-Hour Change Your Mind Masterclass--self-study

10 Days to Spontaneous Sobriety --includes group and 1:1 coaching