The difference between sobriety and recovery. Not many people think about it in this way, but these two things are not the same.

For me, I had to get sober before I could recover and I think this is true for most people.

Sobriety

Sobriety is stopping the substance.

In twelve steps, it is recommended that you don’t make any major life changes in your first year of sobriety.

It's not because we have some overwhelming desire to control you and your life. It's because in your first year you want your focus and energy to go into NOT DRINKING.  Period.

I’m not talking about changes like changing your toothpaste. But big changes like starting or ending a relationship, a new job, moving to a new city- these changes disrupt your life and routine. They can also create additional stress, anxiety, overwhelm, and general discomfort.

You don't want situations and activities that are going to cause you to have high highs, or low lows. You want to stay even, because highs and lows are going to ...

Expectations are premeditated resentments. This always strikes a chord for me when I hear it, of course because there is so much truth in this simple statement.

When I started this journey of recovery, this is yet another piece of my puzzle that I didn’t understand or recognize. I had zero understanding that I put all these expectations on people and outcomes and situations- and then ended up mad when it didn’t go the way I thought it should go.

I know you are going to relate to this, too- because it’s human nature! It is something everyone does. Addiction or no addiction- these expectations are out here running wild in the streets.

Let me give you a simple example- I caught myself in this one,  years ago when I just learning about expectations.

I’m driving to my boyfriend's house and I’m excited to see him, he was in a pretty good mood when we were on the phone so I’m thinking I’m going to get there and when I walk in he’s going to give me a fantastic hug and he’s going to be re...

You know I am a believer that everything is the product of a million little things.

Our recovery, our lives, our relationships, our personalities- all of it is the product of a million little things. Just like the micro decisions I always talk about.

Something I stress a lot to my clients is to think of yourself as a thousand piece puzzle. Do you realize how small those pieces are?

Some are bigger than others, but we are made up of a lot of pieces.

When I talk about my past and tell you that I wasn’t very nice and I was selfish and manipulative- those are just a few of my pieces. I was also extremely kind and loving and generous. Those are a few more of my pieces.

One of my pieces is entrepreneur, and one is alcoholic.

I will tell you, my anger piece got much smaller when I got sober and so did my judgmental piece. And with that, other pieces got much bigger.

The pieces we are going to talk about today are the selfish and self-centered pieces.

I’m sure we have heard th...

Are You Alcoholic? 

When you want to make changes in your life it's easy to fall off track because that’s how we're wired.

Change is hard and changing habits is hard because we are hardwired to stay the same.

One of the things that makes it easier for me is when I have things laid out, super simple, to keep me on track. 

That’s why I make you all of these worksheets and cheat sheets- the road to success is keeping things very simple, and getting consistent. When you can master consistency, that’s when your true power kicks in and you can accomplish anything!

This conversation actually leads me perfectly into today’s topic- there is a saying that floats around all over the internet, and it is powerful:   

I have no idea who said it or where it comes from- I’ve seen it hundreds of times over the years and it strikes such a deep chord with me. 

I was never a person in denial. I never tried to convince myself I wasn’t an alcoholic because I don’t really care about the word o...

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...