Episode 480 – AF Legends

Today we have Emily. She is 31 and lives in Raleigh, NC. She has been sober since March 17th, 2019.

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[02:26] Thoughts from Paul:

Paul shares with us a list of his favorite AF (Alcohol Free) legends.

Included in the list is a man named Barry he met on the Gold Coast of Australia who taught him it's the little things in life that create the most beautiful textures in life.

Another AF legend is Bill Wilson who together with Dr. Bob would become founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Paul also includes the 480 rock stars wo have shared their story on this podcast. Our interviewees have realized that for them to be successful, they have to help others. Thank you to all of the interviewees on the podcast.

Included in the list is Paul's dog Ben. He taught him unconditional love.

And above all else, Paul feels the number one AF legend is the universe. It has provided everything he has needed for wholeness, happiness, and wellbeing. Even when being handed a roundhouse kick to the kidney, the universe only does so with the goal of promoting growth or to illuminate a better path.

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[10:46] Kris introduces Emily:

Emily is 31 years old, and lives in Raleigh, NC. She has a Husky named Yogi and she works in water treatment. For fun she enjoys attending music festivals and concerts.

Emily says she is an adopted only child and grew up with wonderful parents that were always supportive. It was a religious household and while Emily feels she learned some great values through that, as she got older, she wanted to rebel a bit. Drinking with the older crowd was how she chose to do that and feels that she always drank to get drunk and didn't see the point of drinking otherwise.

After high school Emily would have rather gone to the military instead of going to college, which was what was expected of her. She decided to go to school and join the reserves instead. Shortly after turning 18, she got a DUI which ruined the military path for her. School became a big party for Emily, and she ended up failing out of school. Emily was watching her peers graduate, start families and begin careers and she wasn't sure what she was doing. She feels that this led to her drinking more to cope with the lost feelings she had. She would end up having two more DUI's before she was 23.

While dealing with the consequences of these DUI's, Emily went to rehab in Texas for 30 days. It was the first time she realized that she might have a problem but still wasn't certain. After leaving inpatient treatment she started an outpatient program and was living in a sober house. She ended up transitioning to California and was excited to have a new start. Gradually drinking started back up for Emily and she ended up moving back to North Carolina because of how expensive it was where she was living.

After serving her probation from the DUIs, Emily found herself drinking again, but says it wasn't as much as before. She was beginning to start working on her health with nutrition and exercise. Emily says that alcohol wasn't fitting into her goals, so it slowly tapered off. She had one last hangover after St Patrick's Day and decided she no longer wanted to feel that way anymore.

While working on sobriety, Emily learned that a friend from rehab had passed, and she used it as fuel to keep going. She was looking for podcasts and found Recovery Elevator. Listening to people's stories really helped her and she started participating in communities learning that she was not alone.

Emily's favorite resource in recovery: people

Emily's parting piece of guidance: Be proud of the days that you don't give up and celebrate even the small wins.

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We're the only ones that can do this RE, but we don't have to do it alone.

I love you guys.