Dear Relapse,

I am not afraid to honestly tell you, I hate you.  I do not hate many things in my life and it is not a word or emotion that I use recklessly, but for you it is appropriate.

You are a predator.  You lurk around preying on the slightest moment of vulnerability in myself and the people I love.  You are dirty and under-handed, and you should be ashamed.

I pray each day that I never meet you myself.  And I pray even more for the sake of those that do meet you.  I pray for their safe return to a safe place.  I pray for them to have the strength to come back, the strength to reach out, and the strength to be loved back into one piece.

Tonight I pray for my friend who met you yesterday.  I am sending him every ounce of fight I have, hoping that he will have the power to take his sobriety back, and hoping that he sees you have nothing to offer him.   Your promises are of a lifetime of pain and discomfort, insecurity and hopelessness.  And nobody wants you.

Sobriety offers ...

Hey everybody, welcome to episode #89 of the Addiction Unlimited Podcast- I’m your Coach, Angela Pugh. Helping you get that clean and sober life you want.

Thank you for hanging out with me today, I hope your new year has been awesome so far. I’ve been thinking about you guys and wondering how many of you took some time to write down your new year intentions.

Most of my sessions in December and January are exactly this.  I work with a lot of people who do not have addiction struggles, too, and those clients have definitely been lining up to get their intentions on paper and get a process in place to make sure they can achieve everything they want this year.

And, many of my clients with addiction have been doing the same. And some of those who are really early in sobriety we’ve been working on focusing on those micro-decisions and small victories, and also plugging in some non-drinking rewards in life. And all of that stuff is just part of my process of coaching people for maximum s...

Hey everybody! Welcome to episode 83 of the Addiction Unlimited Podcast, I’m your coach Angela Pugh- thank you for hanging out with me today and listening to the pod, I’m really happy to be spending some time with you and getting my schedule back to normal.

Last week, I was a speaker at Global Entrepreneurship Week, and not only did I do my own speaking gig there, but I was also asked to be on a panel talking about being a sober entrepreneur and how being sober has changed my business, or me as a business person. It was pretty amazing, honestly.

You know I do a lot of public speaking, usually about personal development and empowerment, creating change and all of those things I love, but as my businesses grow, I’m getting asked to do more things in the entrepreneurship arena and digital marketing and social media. I love all that stuff too, so it’s been really fun.

But I spent a lot of time last week at the Global Entrepreneurship conference so I spent the weekend getting caught...

Hello friends, welcome to episode #79 of the Addiction Unlimited Podcast, I’m your Coach, Angela Pugh. Here to help you get that sober life you want! Thank you for hanging out with me today and listening to the pod- I’ve got an awesome topic today with a little bit of a truth bomb- that relapse is a choice.

That’s right, you heard me, my friends, it’s a choice. And we are going to dig into that in depth in just a moment. But first- let’s do a quick shoutout-

This shout out is going to be to my Facebook group members who are stepping up and getting raw and honest and posting in their first 1-2 days of sobriety. I LOVE YOU GUYS!

The bravery it takes to show yourself, to share your struggle- and it’s so smart of you to reach out and let people know exactly where you are! Those are the actions that show me you are serious about not drinking, you want help and support and guidance, you aren’t hiding in the shadows letting addiction run the show- you are creating accountability and bein...

When you feel bad or feel down and you think nothing is working- that doesn’t mean it’s not working- it’s totally working!

I want you to think about your sobriety and imagine it as an actual bank account- and, at the beginning, because you haven’t made any deposits, it’s totally empty.

Now, your number one job is to make deposits in this account. And look at this like an investment account- it’s not instant gratification, but it’s for your future. And you may be less motivated some days because it doesn’t feel like you are getting great rewards from the work you are putting in- you really do get instant gratification in the way that you are staying sober, but sober, especially in the beginning, doesn’t always feel good. You may be tired a lot, have problems sleeping, your anxiety may be super high- and all these things make it even more challenging to make sure you are making deposits in your sober bank.

We talk a lot about being of service- doing service work which is voluntee...

We all understand when we quit drinking the goal is to not have another drink. But what do you do after that? What do you do to occupy your time or deal with your crazy anxiety? That’s the hard part of quitting drinking.

In the episode, we talk about Post Acute Withdrawal, what it is, what to be aware of, and strategies to make early sobriety a little easier. You need relief, and you deserve to have it.

No need to feel like you are crazy or losing your mind, most of us go through the same things and, with a little guidance, you can get through it, too. Get tools and strategies here- AND there’s a special offer toward the end that you will love!

Tons of resources and tools:  myrecoverytoolbox.com

Use the special offer code (in the episode!) here:  Recovery Starter Kit

Join the Facebook Group

Follow me on Instagram!!

First things first- I want to give a shoutout and say thank you for all the great reviews!

You probably don’t think too much about reviews, but in podcast world they are super important and for me, personally, it’s so good to get feedback and it really keeps me going to hear from you, so thank you for taking a few minutes to write something, I love that.

And when you hear an episode you enjoy, make sure you share it with someone!

That’s a huge part of the beauty of doing a podcast is it has the ability to reach and help so many people- and as people in recovery, we have to constantly be of service and share resources with one another to help us all get through this journey- so share this episode with a  few people you think would enjoy it, or pick out another favorite you listened to in the past and share it with some people- let’s spread the word and stay sober!

For those of you who don't know, September is national recovery month. So I decided to do a whole month of solo episod...

Do you sometimes feel like you are sabotaging your own sobriety and life? You get some sober time under your belt and start feeling pretty good, then all of a sudden you find yourself drunk again, hating life, wondering how the heck this happened. Self-sabotage is a phrase we hear often, especially as addicts.

In this episode, we’ll talk about the 3 stages of belief with clear examples of what they look like, how to recognize them, and show you how to transition from not believing you can ever live successfully sober and happy, to believing anything is possible for you.

This may not sound like it’s part of the getting sober process, but your beliefs shape your reality. If you don’t truly believe you are capable of living a life without alcohol, then how far will you really make it? If you quit drinking, but are overwhelmed with doubt about staying sober, how long will you stay sober?

These 3 stages of belief are important to recognize in everything we do. Getting honest about wher...

 Drinkers Guilt

First things first- I want to give a shoutout and say thank you for all the great reviews! You probably don’t think too much about reviews, but in podcast world they are super important and for me, personally, it’s so good to get feedback and it really keeps me going to hear from you so thank you for taking a few minutes to write something, I love that. And when you hear an episode you enjoy, make sure you share it with someone! That’s a huge part of the beauty of doing a podcast is it has the ability to reach and help so many people- and as people in recovery, we have to constantly be of service and share resources with one another to help us all get through this journey- so share this episode with a  few people you think would enjoy it, or pick out another favorite you listened to in the past and share it with some people- let’s spread the word and stay sober!

National Recovery Month

For those of you who don't know, September is National Recovery Month. So I deci...

These stumbling blocks can pop up at any time in our lives and at any stage of sobriety so it’s good to be aware and know how to work around them.

This is my observation over the course of the last decade+ working with addiction, being an addict, AND being a Life Coach studying behavior and personal development.

Most of the tools I talk about are centered around the art of change and breaking habits and understanding how all of that works. It just so happens that getting sober or quitting drinking is a HUGE change- and it requires action, intention, and being purposeful about the moves you make so you can get the results you want.

It’s like GPS for your life. You wouldn’t get in your car for a cross-country road trip and not use a map or GPS, right? Because who knows what would happen or where you would end up. So it doesn’t make sense to try to navigate a ginourmous shift in your life without guidance and an understanding of your destination.

Know what your big picture goals are...