Episode 126

We have decided to re-release our stories over the next two weeks at it is a timely reminder for us both and for any of you who are new to the podcast. In this episode Mandy interviews Kate about her relationship with alcohol.

Resources mentioned: Add Action - https://www.addaction.org.uk/

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Episode 125

This week on the podcast Mandy talks to the incredible Jen Elizabeth @resurrektion_of_me a

Jen is a writer, speaker, trauma educator, Harm Reduction Specialist with The Sidewalk Project, and the founder of Resurrektion of Me, a community for people healing from trauma and addiction. She is the author of the book, “Shape of a Woman.” And host of the “Sober Mom Squad.” As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, familial abuse, addiction, the prison system, and spending the majority of her adult life experiencing houselessness... she has taken her power back and dedicated herself to supporting others as they heal from trauma. Her incredible story and triumphant recovery has been shared worldwide in publications including The Mirror, LAD Bible, The Sun, and The Daily Mail. She is a mother to two incredible children and lives in beautiful Southern California.

This conversation is incredibly insightful and empowering, *trigger warning* on a discussion about trauma and sexual abuse, please do take good care of yourself and use discretion if you feel you are not in the right space to listen x There is a lot of learning to be done around language, stigma, shame, harm reduction and addiction. We really hope you get something from this and greatly thank Jen for her work and sharing her story with us. Grab a cuppa and let’s chat.

Love K & M

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In this episode we are looking at the Easter weekend and easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK and the attendant anxiety and social triggers we may be feeling as sober people and/or introverts. It's like we are all learning a new skill or remembering how to connect with other people not on Zoom. I mean, what lipstick are you going to wear? That red that is genius on Zoom makes me look like The Joker IRL ( Kate). In all seriousness it feels like a a big change and it is a big change so we are talking about bossing our sober tool kits with tips, tools and strategies. 

We are diving into Chapter 12 in our book Love Yourself Sober to mine those treasures about bossing sober & social. 

Grab a cuppa and let's chat

K&M X 

This week we are opening the discussion about neurodiversity ( ADHD, autism, Dyslexia, dyspraxia , SPD etc) - what it is and our reflections as mums, coaches and in our own experiences. We look at the spectrum of diversity and traits that we recognise that in part contributed to us developing a problematic relationship with alcohol such as exective function and identifying as highly sensitive. We talk about strengths and shame,  the all important topic of care for the carer, nervous system regulation in greater detail and why alcohol is never the right 'medicine.' 

Because it's Autism Awareness Day in the Uk on April 2nd we wanted to keep talking and doing work to understand and support our families and to raise awareness. There are big links there for the sober community - Dr Gabor Mate has written books about ADHD and part of what we can do is try to raise awareness for schools and workplaces to be diversity supportive - neurodiversity  is one of the layers of othering that is traumatic for kids and adults and can affect peoples' lives and outcomes dramatically if not understood and supported. With20% of people identifying as neurodiverse we hope the tide is turning and we can embrace and foster different ways of learning and being in the world and these incredible gifts, not just saying that there is something wrong. 

We also explore the phenomenon of Kate's 'Covid Armpit'.

It's Ok , it's gone now. 

Grab that cuppa and let's chat:) 

Love Kate & Mandy x  

Episode 122

This week we had the great honor of talking to one of the early pioneers in the conversation about women and alcohol. Ann Dowsett Johnston she is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author, turned psychotherapist.

Winner of seven National Magazine Awards, she is also the recipient of a Southam Journalism Fellowship and the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. It was for the latter that she prepared a 14-part series on Women and Alcohol in the Toronto Star, looking at the closing gender gap on risky drinking. In 2013, she wrote Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, a book named one of the top 10 of the year by the Washington Post. Part memoir, part journalistic exploration, the book exposes the “pinking” of the alcohol industry. Says Gabor Mate: “The writing is gripping and vivid, the voice personal, the research exacting, the stories revealing if sometimes heartbreaking, the conclusions essential. A triumphant life, a triumphant book.” Since the publication of Drink, she has worked hard to destigmatize mental health and addiction, earning an honorary Doctor of Laws from Queen’s University for her efforts. She is also the recipient of a Transforming Lives award from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the American Research Society on Addiction’s Media Award, plus the T. A. Sweet Award from the Ontario Psychiatric Association for helping address stigma related to mental health and addiction. In 2017, she decided to follow her heart, applying to the Master’s of Social Work program at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. What this represents is the fulfillment of a decades-old dream: to become a psychotherapist. Writing remains a significant part of her life, and she is  hard at work on her second book. She also has recently started a writing group and workshops https://www.anndowsettjohnston.com/workshops .

In this interview Ann talks openly about her mental health and drinking. Her recovery and finding purpose in her writing to change the conversation around alcohol in society and especially how it is marketed to women. Such a great conversation, we might have been a little over excited! Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love K & M xxx

Episode 121

In this episode we had a really, really interesting discussion with the International President of Movendi https://movendi.ngo/ Kristina Sperkova. Kristina is a psychologist, alcohol and other drugs policy advocate, development aid specialist, feminist, civil society activist, Human Rights defender and humanist.

Kristina has a master degree in psychology from the Comenius University in Slovakia.

She has been active in the field of substance use prevention within civil society for 20 years starting in a peer program in her hometown community. Later on Kristina engaged in prevention work on European level and served as a Secretary-General of a European Youth Organization, Active – sobriety, friendship and peace. She worked both with capacity building of youth organizations active in the prevention field in Europe and with youth and alcohol policy advocacy on EU level.

From 2012 onwards, Kristina worked for a Swedish NGO, the IOGT-NTO movement that conducts development aid work with partner NGOs in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Balkan countries, in the field of official development assistance. She worked as a Programme manager, Strategic coordinator and subsequently as Junior Advisor with questions relating to alcohol as obstacle to development.

Kristina has been in the board of Movendi International since 2006, first as International Vice President and since October 2014 as International President.

Kristina leads Movendi International with wit and compassion, heart-driven diligence and persistence. Kristina’s work is guided and inspired by our vision for a world where free and healthy citizens actively contribute in all levels of society.

This chat is about switching the focus away from individual alcohol use and towards the responsibilty of industry and government. It's about question social norms around alcohol and making space for living alcohol free. It was pretty inspiring and validating to hear that this is a movement for social change, gave us some fire in our belly that's for sure! So grab a cuppa and let's chat. Love K & M xx

In this week's podcast we welcome sober star, Janey Lee Grace. Janey is a BBC Radio presenter, speaker, NLP practitioner, grey area drinking recovery coach, founder of The Sober Club and author of several best selling books. The new book is Happy Healthy Sober - ditch the booze and take control of your life. 

Connect with Janey at the following: 

www.thesoberclub.com

facebook@janeyleegraceloves

instagram@janeyleegrace 

Happy Healthy Sober 

BALANCE revisited. In this week's podcast we talk about the last few sections of our holistic sober tool the BALANCE model. N- nurture, C-connection and E-enjoyment. All the sober tools to keep us balanced , well and thriving in our sober lives. 

We also talk about Love Sober Life School spring term which starts on March 21st - there's an early bird offer on at the mo so if you want to join us click here and enter the code EARLY. 

Lastly we discuss Kate's shoplifting incident turned joyful micro-connection and the best sex on TV. 

So grab a cuppa and let's chat. 

Kate & Mandy 

This week on the pod we talk to @josh_ffw about his mental health and sobriety journey, his work with @nacoa and his personal journey growing up with a parent who drank too much. Josh is a wonderful speaker and this raw and honest conversation really stayed with us, we recorded it at the end of last year, but it now being #coaweek2021 it seemed like the right moment.

Please just a note that Josh’s story refers to suicide so take care listening and if you’re feeling fragile come back to it when you’re feeling stronger. It’s a great conversation about resilience, sobriety and finding purpose, well worth a listen so grab a cuppa and let’s chat.

Love K & M xxx

Episode 117

This week Mandy is joined by the wonderful @dufflyn to discuss recovery and relationships, fitting before Valentine's Day!