Today we have Jeff. He is 47, from the Dominican Republic, and took his last drink on December 4, 2016.

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Highlights from Paul

Listeners provided highlights of some of their favorite episodes of the Recovery Elevator podcast.

330 – Learn to love yourself as your dog (or cat) loves you. You have a certain amount of energy and days in your life, and it is your choice on what to spend it on.

207 and 220 – Tom Topp inspired a listener to see social anxiety as a similarity. Another listener helped her learn that the body does heal from elevated liver enzymes without alcohol.

Another listener couldn't name one episode but instead said, sharing your story and recovering out loud helps shred the shame of addiction. It made me realize that I'm not alone, and together we can fight and overcome this!

370 Stephanie – a listener, learned to put the same energy into her recovery that she did into drinking.

Odette speaking about her relapse was also powerful

[15:21] Jeff feels great, thanks to five years of sobriety. He is married and splits time between Colorado and the Dominican Republic. He has a concierge service for people in recovery to enjoy a beach vacation without the triggers of alcohol. Jeff's services help sober experience sober fun.

Jeff experimented with alcohol as a teenager and described alcohol as a warm hug. He married at 18 and put alcohol on the sidelines to become a provider. In his mid-thirties, Jeff spiraled into self-pity. After DUI's and jail time, it took him several years to embrace recovery. He remarried and was a grey area drinker, until his drinking was problematic again.

Codependency caused Jeff to take on identities for other people. In sobriety, he started to get to know himself. When triggered, he asks his wife for help. Jeff listened to ninety episodes of the Recovery Elevator podcast in thirty days. Stubbornness helped to make sobriety stick. Writing is a great tool for Jeff and posting in Café Re provides him with great feedback.

Collecting the sober moments retrains the synapses in your brain to have different responses to triggering events.

Odette's Summary

You can handle this. Remember that you are not alone and together is always better.

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Resources

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Recovery Elevator –It all starts from the inside out.

I love you guys.