124: Confident Sober Women with Shelby John

Published: April 1, 2021, 8 a.m.

b"Recovery is not one size fits all. It is also not a one-and-done situation. Rather, recovery is a process and a journey.\\xa0\\nWhen someone gets sober and begins recovery, they are just starting to walk down the path of healing. Many of their previous feelings and temptations may continue to come up. However, they are gradually learning the tools they need to stay on their new path.\\xa0\\nShelby John is passionate about helping people who are in this stage of recovery. She is the host of the Confident Sober Women podcast and the founder of the Facebook group by the same name. Shelby particularly loves to work with women who struggle with substances by helping them control their minds and bodies and build confidence, using everything she has learned in her own recovery.\\xa0\\nIn this episode, you will hear:\\n\\nShelby\\u2019s mental health and addiction story.\\n\\nWhat being self-centered really means.\\n\\nThe problem with hiding and inauthenticity in our culture.\\n\\nThe eye-opening moment for Shelby in her alcoholism.\\n\\nWhy we can\\u2019t fight addiction by trying harder on our own.\\n\\nHow Shelby helps others who are walking through recovery.\\n\\nHow trauma is relative and can lead to addiction no matter what it looks like.\\n\\nWhat generational trauma is.\\n\\nThe link between anxiety and not understanding your core values.\\n\\nHow to determine your values and make decisions that align with them.\\n\\nKey Quotes:\\n[4:56] - \\u201cI didn't have a lot of reasons why I didn't feel comfortable within myself. I mean I had some\\u2026 trauma in my childhood but not like what I viewed as to be very extreme. And so I spent a lot of time thinking, \\u2018What's wrong with you? Why don't you feel good enough? You have all this life... you've got this boyfriend and these parents and you go to school.\\u2019 But yet I still felt really kind of dark on the inside.\\u201d\\n[9:15] - \\u201cI was immediately like, \\u2018I'm not self-centered. What are you talking about? I can't stand myself.\\u2019 And what I came to learn, was taught that self-centeredness isn't what I think about myself but how often. And I learned that I thought about myself all the time\\u2026 When was I gonna drink, when was the next time I was going to drink, when was I going to act out in this way, when was I going to have to lie, when was I gonna have to lie about the lie?\\u201d\\n[18:57] - \\u201cThere was a lot of things that didn't happen to me. I've never had a DUI. I've never been in trouble other than that\\u2026 My marriage stayed intact. I have three beautiful teenagers\\u2026 As I was told early on, when I started working through some step work... you know, my list of transgressions or whatever might not have been that long, but it's\\u2026 still pretty big, what was on there. So I needed that, I needed that powerful statement right in my face for me to kind of get it because I was a little stubborn and it was helpful. And it's helpful for me to look back to remind myself where I came from.\\u201d\\n[31:31] - \\u201cA lot of people don't reach out for help because they feel like they shouldn't have problems, like, they feel like they shouldn't be anxious or they shouldn't be depressed and they judge themselves and then all that shame comes up. And then they don't reach out for help and they don't get support and they have to turn to these isolative ways to cope: alcohol, drugs, sex\\u2026 gambling, whatever it is to try and just numb that out, get that away.\\u201d\\n[35:20] - \\u201cOur backgrounds or our upbringings or our situations, maybe even your stress\\u2026 it doesn't excuse you lashing out at your child and acting a fool, but it sure does help explain it.\\u201d\\nSupporting Resources:\\nNovusMindfulLife.com\\nShelby\\u2019s website\\nConfident Sober Women Facebook group\\nConfident Sober Women podcast\\nEpisode Credits\\nIf you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.\\nFind out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices"