Recovery Elevator | Stop Drinking, Start Recovering. | Alcohol, Addiction & Life In Sobriety

Brigder decides to call it quits with alcohol after he wakes up in his car passed out covered in his own urine.

Simone from South Africa tells how she made it 8 months of Sobriety

Dez, with 18 months of sobriety shares her experience

Robert, with 5 days of sobriety, shares his journey.

Also in the episode, Paul discusses the must see The Anonymous People, which is a documentary about recovery.

Leleah, from Mission Canada, reaches 30 days of sobriety and shares how she did it

Lee Pepper from Foundations Recovery Network explains how rehab works.

Shane Ramer from That Sober Guy Podcast tells us how he has successfully navigated sobriety and addiction.

Randy Raphael has 8.5 years of sobriety and he tells how getting sober doesn't have to be such a struggle.

Eric finds himself in a wheelchair at 6 months of sobriety and doesn’t drink. He talks about what he thought sobriety was going to be like and what to expect.  

Alcoholism is a progressive disease and Paul, with 34 years of sobriety explains how he has made it this long with out a drink. Below are the key points Paul discusses.  Drinking destroys the intelligence After 34 years is still taking it one day at a time Drinking destroys in this order: Spiritual, Mind then body. Healing is in reverse order This disease is beautiful (the solution, continuing to be of service to the community and others) ISM – incredibly short memory Wants to be reminded on a daily basis that is doesn’t get any better Gets gooder and gooder and gooder Sick and tired of being sick and tired      

Moira has 9 months of sobriety, has lost 55 pounds and explains how her life is so much better without alcohol.   A dry drunk is someone who: 1.     Has made no emotional or behavioral changes. 2.     Someone who simply doesn't drink and does not work a programs or invest time into their recovery 7 Characteristics of a Dry Drunk: 1.     Selfish a.      Alcoholics are all extremely selfish and we think we are in total control at all times. We think we have beat the system 2.     My Way or the Highway – Tom Cochrane "Life is a highway" a.      Spontaneous decisions with only one person in mind 3.     The Blah…… a.      Things are getting boring. You’ve quit drinking, you're riding the pink cloud, but soon things start to get mundane and boring 4.     We start to forget a.      The magic of how our brains are wired to forget the past 5.     Sunsets aren’t quite as magnificent                a. Interesting things in life have lost their allure 6.     Negativity                a. A continuous trend in n

Maggie who has 14 days of sobriety in her early recovery explains how she made it this far and what gave her the motivation to stop drinking alcohol. Here are some of the resources discussed in Episode 10 AA on Air Wellington Hello Sunday Morning Foundations Recovery Network And of course, the battle with the iPhone  

In this episode, I interview Tom, who has 4 more days of sobriety than myself, and I hope that never changes! Tom you are officially my new accountability partner. In this episode I discuss 6 ways you can take action before really taking action. 1. Wake up - set a routine 2. Pray, say something positive to yourself and meditate 3. Make  healthy meals 4. Clean - organize the space you live in 5. Exercise - walk, jog, run, stretch 6. Get busy - keep your mind off alcohol with healthy time consuming tasks   DIY Pete has a great website that walks viewers through building great projects STEP BY STEP. This is a great resource and healthy activity in early sobriety!

Paul climbed Machu Picchu in 2014 while sobering up and the trek mentally and physically kicked my butt.  In 2015, he dominated the trek becuase sobriety was with my every step of the way. In this Episode Paul talks about speaking to the girls in the Peruvian Promises program, which is part of the non profit Peruvian Hearts about the topic of alcoholism. Although none of the girls in the orphanages and the Peruvian Promise program are alcoholics, several of their parents are. Portions of the donations submitted through the website and mobile app will be given to the Peruvian Hearts program in addition Paul will be organizing a trip in 2016 to the volunteer again. Paul speaking to the girls of the Peruvian Promise program     Paul and Nate hitch hiking in El Salvador in sobriety! You can tell it's a little warm at the time this photo was taken!

I was headed to Cusco, Peru as a chaperone for a group of highschool students around this same time last year, and when I started drinking on the first flight I kept drinking all night and up until moments before meeting the students. It was insane, which is exactly what this disease is.

Alcohol is the most dangerous drug in the world and you probably don’t even realize it.     David Nutt, psychiatrist at imperial college in the UK and former Chairman of the UK advisory council on drugs.   - Kills 3 million people worldwide   - Was fired for suggesting alcohol was most dangerous drug   - In the USA alcohol is responsible for 1/3 of all traffic fatalities   - With homicides ½ were intoxicated and 2/3 of domestic violence victims   - You’re likely to be a victim is doubled as well   Harm score from   - Measures drugs on a score of 16 (9 measure harm to individual user and 7 measure societal factors)   - Heroine, crack, and Meth are more dangerous when only individual factors, but even so, alcohol is the 4th.   - Tobacco is the 7th most harmful drug. 9/10 people can handle alcohol, but 0/10 people can smoke. QUIT SMOKING NOW   - Important to not confuse legality with dangerousness. The reasons some drugs are legal are mainly cultural and political.   - Marijuana is the gateway drug? Nope.

When I found out one of my brother's best friends is an alcoholic I was blown away; an a little upset that we hadn't connected years before so we could have been working together. Here are some of the resources that Elliot likes.   Joe and Charlie Rich Roll Sandy Beach   Like Elliot mentioned, if you would like to get in touch with Elliot, email info@recoveryelevator.com and we will put you in touch with him.      

It's so depressing to imagine the amount of money wasted on alcohol.       Celebration   ·      Ashamed, didn’t want to tell anyone. 185 days of sobriety.   Accountability   ·      Goals     The research is conclusive. Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, did a study on goal-setting with 267 participants. She found that you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.   Goal: Quit drinking. Must have a date, a plan, details, etc.      

Paul sums up his summer of 2014 and drinking career with one dream explaining why he decided his elevator had gone down far enough.   Points to discuss during Podcast   -It works! It's keeping me sober. Talk about every Monday at 6am goal and how someone reached out.   Fear of creating podcasts is no one will listen, mine is that people will actually listen.   Dream               Peace, Calm, unity, free Gary Jules - Mad World Dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had which describes how Paul felt in the summer of 2014.       Repeating statements, words etc. Broken Record. Are you not listening to your own podcasts?       Addiction doing laps on ten-speed bike               Addiction can dunk a basketball               Doing pull-ups               Burpees                        Taking a break, then buying performance enhancing drugs   Picture of my beautiful view while podcasting