When I first got sober, and could finally see clearly for the first time in years, I felt this intense desire to SPEED WAY UP AND PLAY CATCH UP FOR 20 YEARS OF DRINKING. Every day was filled with a sense of anxiety that told me I was behind, and that feeling guided my days to misery, and funnily enough, it didn’t much help me to move forward in life. ha!

Turns out, slowing down is not only allowed but useful especially in early sobriety (and always? what do you think?) as you navigate life without substances, as you build a new foundation, as you learn to take care of yourself in this wild world.

Why not slow down and do it right this time? Why not give yourself the space to notice every detail? Why not leave room for divine gifts?

Thank you so much for listening! As always, New Here with Allison is not health or life advice.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

I drank and abused alcohol for 20 years and when I finally quit, 2+ years ago, everything clicked and I stepped into sobriety with certainty.

Don’t get me wrong, since entering sobriety, I have been humbled and my confidence in life has been challenged, but never enough to consider drinking again, at least not seriously.

So how did I do it? How did I arrive here at the decision to quit alcohol? Well, I tried and failed to quit a million times and learned a lot along the way until the scale tipped in the direction of love and care and I stepped into this new reality.

Thank you for being here and listening. This podcast is not advice.

Feel free to follow this podcast on Substack, Apple, or Spotify.

Feel free to share with a friend.

Feel free to leave a review.

Feel free to be free.

xoxo

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

A week ago, I had the brilliant idea to get rid of (almost) everything that I purchased in the years I was abusing alcohol: clothes, bags, books, art, jewelry, furniture, a guitar.

As I looked around, these items from my drunken years were weighing me down as they constantly reminded me of my old chaotic life while simultaneously trying to build a new freer one.

The process of letting go scared me-fears came to the surface and I needed to confront them with every item I released, and it was a solid practice in letting go, releasing my grip, and having faith that the gaps will fill in with good things of my creation.

This podcast is for entertainment purposes and is not advice.

Thank you for being here and listening.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, getting sober is like stepping into a brand new reality. There was before and there is after. It’s undeniable. At least for me. Do you feel that too?

This shift in realities deserves attention because if everything is new, then many of us could afford to be patient and caring with ourselves as we find our way in this new life.

Many of us could afford to offer ourselves a little more grace. Don’t you think?

Thank you for being here and listening.

(This podcast is not advice)

You can listen to New Here on Substack, Spotify, and Apple. If you feel called to do so, you can leave a review and I’d very much appreciate it. Thank you!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

If you’re alive on earth, you live in a body. For our time here, it’s our home and vessel, and so many of us do our best to ignore it, run away from it, numb it, stay so busy we forget it exists so that we don’t have to feel the corners and crevices and vibrations; so that we don’t have to feel the symptoms and messages it is sending us.

What are we so afraid of? Do we feel powerless in our bodies? Are we scared that, if we dive in, we’ll have to confront what we find and we won’t know how?

The body is communicating and yet we ignore and push it away.

What could happen if we listened and got to know it INTIMATELY and listened to it’s guidance? How could we grow? In what ways could we heal?

In this episode I talk about the wake up call I am currently receiving from my body through symptoms and physical sensations and the lessons I am learning from this experience. I recall the years I drank and how my body was communicating with me and ways we can practice listening to our bodies and learning to trust them and their guidance.

This episode (and podcast) is not health advice.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

Recently, 2+ years into sobriety, I realized that something I’m doing isn’t working. A lot is working, but there is a big piece of the puzzle that is missing, and I’m fairly certain it’s that I don’t know how to surrender, have faith, and trust God or myself on this journey. Oof.

It’s ok. I’m learning, you’re learning, we’re all learning.

Sobriety is a new life, so it’s no wonder I/You/We don’t know how to do everything. Who does?

Anyway, in this episode, I break down what I believe can be scary about surrendering, what it can feel like, and how we can (possibly) embody this practice + life-style of surrender.

This podcast isn’t advice. I’m figuring this life out as I record and sharing what I feel, think, observe and learn along the way. I hope something shared here can serve you or help you along.

Cheers!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

Something clicked a few months ago when I realized just how much of my life has been guided by fear. I noticed it as I’ve moved through my relationship with procrastination because I've had to or I won’t get ANYTHING done.

But as I’ve, ever so slowly, worked through this part of my life, it’s grown clear that i’m afraid of the unknown.

“What will happen there in the unknown? Will I know how to handle it? What if I can’t handle it? Ok, i’ll just stay over here, making myself busy with all the same things I’ve been “working on” for months and then i’ll never have to move forward” Said the woman who was afraid of the unknown and procrastinated on lots and lots of things.

Well, luckily for HER, awareness is the first step and from there, amazing growth and change can occur.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

Back when I drank alcohol, there was very little room for expansion or healthy change, as I was filled to the brim with the mental, physical, and emotional drama that accompanied my alcohol consumption. 

Post-alcohol, I’ve learned there are endless ways to fill one’s life with noise and distractions, and it can interfere with one’s potential. 

In this episode, I discuss the observations I’ve made about creating space to make room for expansion, healing, and growth, how easy it is to fill one’s life with noise to avoid making space, and what has helped me create space in my life post-alcohol. 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

With sobriety and awakenings or years spent drinking or doing anything else destructive, there can be loss and a whole lot of it. It can look like things being ripped out of the palm of your hand or choosing to peacefully part ways with the life you once knew, but loss can occur.

And it can be devastating.

But it seems that the loss needs to occur for new growth to take place. It seems some of us must lose the life we once knew so that we can make room for the great things to come.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe

I found myself on an energy drink bender, a surprising new way for me to escape the moment and keep the high going; keep that constant buzz going.

Don’t worry, I made it out and through and I gained some wisdom along the way that I believe more people can relate to than one would initially think.

And it got me wondering: are those of us who seek out a constant buzz just trying to escape the moment? Are we trying to avoid something or run away from something even if it’s boredom? Even if it’s presence? Even if it’s God?

I wonder, I wonder, I wonder: What are we afraid of?

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newherewithallison.substack.com/subscribe