190 - Emily Holland Explores the Upside of Sobriety

Run This World with Nicole DeBoom Podcast

I met Emily Holland in October 2019. She interviewed me about my entrepreneurial journey on her Stokecast Podcast. Toward the end of the interview, we talked about my sobriety journey and I did what lots of podcasters pull on other podcasters - I turned one of her questions back on her. I asked her if there was anything in her life that she felt that she wanted to let go of. She replied, "I'm in the process of thinking about letting go of alcohol. I just haven't done all the thinking I want to around it yet." Or something very close! The point is that she was on the verge of starting the journey that has taken her life in a new direction. Sobriety.

Emily is an emerging thought leader in the world of alcohol and sobriety. She embarked on her sober journey over a year ago. In fact, she hit the one year milestone just a few days ago and wrote a powerful blog with 9 powerful takeaways. Emily is a very deep thinker. She is not taking her sobriety journey lightly. She has become so passionate about what sobriety has brought to her life, how much it has helped her grow, that she decided to start a new venture, a podcast called Nature Untold. Her goal is to normalize and destigmatize the discussion around sobriety, addiction, and recovery in the outdoor community and industry. And she is doing just that!

Notables:

The "Bristle" Trigger: What is bugging you? What is it time to examine?

Prioritizing Partying: Why this becomes important and when it's time to shift priorities

Question asked in therapy: "Have you grieved the loss of alcohol?"

Drinking is a relationship that brings you comfort or fills a void of some sort. It makes sense that the loss of it needs to be grieved.

Euphoric recall: Nostalgia for the memories & community that were part of one's drinking life

She believes there is a line between calling oneself an alcoholic and recognizing drinking isn't a positive part of one's lives and it's time to stop.

The habit of drinking: we riff a bit on the example used in the book "Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

Destigmatizing sobriety: It starts with having open conversations.

Replace the drinking addiction with something else like exercise or adventure

3 things that were key to Emily's decision to stop drinking: 1) Therapy, 2) Someone who loves you unconditionally and wants to support the changes you decide to make, 3) COVID

Best gateway (drug 😂) to sobriety? "Taking time off is incredibly awesome." Consider testing out a sober life for Dry January (or any month)

Sober support resources: Start with Grace, Praise for yourself, Therapy; then move on to community resources like AA, the Luckiest Club, Tempest Group, Phoenix Multisport (we mention Scott Strode too!)

Nature Untold Podcast: Emily has a passion to help people with their own journeys

Recommended books about sobriety: "Sober Curious" by Ruby Warrington & Holly Whitaker's "How to Quit Like a Woman"

Nugget: Stay curious. About yourself. What am I feeling, who am I, what do I want? knowing yourself. Curious about others too, about things you don't understand. This can only lead to positive discovery and growth.

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