The Coronavirus situation has a lot of people sitting in fear, worry and anxiety. And this can affect those of us in recovery. I created this special episode of Buzzkill Pod to tackle this topic specifically, and which is loaded with tips and techniques on how to shift your mindset through your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical hygiene. What does that mean, exactly? It’s about looking at things differently. Shifting perspective. Coming at this with clarity and centeredness. And this affects our sobriety as well, because sobriety is about coming at life with a new way of thinking and ..read more

What is emotional sobriety, and why is it so important in recovery? It’s been called the “next frontier” of recovery by Bill Wilson, and simply put, is being able to experience, confront, and accept all emotions, even the painful ones. It doesn’t mean “turning a frown upside down”, but it does mean having a healthy relationship with emotions and using positive strategies to cope with those that are negative. And why is this so important? Simply put – potential relapse. Or a life wondering what it is that we’re missing in our recovery. When we are unable to tackle what life throws at us, we r ..read more

So here’s a question: Is it safe for those in recovery or who are cutting out alcohol for a while to drink NA beers and/or kombucha? Now, both of these beverages contain less than 0.5% alcohol, so for some, it’s not a problem. There have been unscientific experiments where people will have 15-20 kombuchas or NA beers and then see if they register on a breathalyzer. And they have failed. So if you’re looking to get a buzz from these, you probably won’t succeed and you may want to examine why you want that buzz in the first place  In recovery circles, the ideas of having anything with trace ..read more

I know. I KNOW. It’s been a while. But as R.E.M once said, this is part of Life’s Rich Pageant – we grow and move on and do things. You know…things. (I am about the segue in the most awkward way possible. Hold on to your hats) Speaking of doing things, let me tell ya what’s happening with this crazy cat. Let me dial you in to the deets of my existence since we last spoke here. I am still in recovery! I think we panic when we see someone disappear off the blogosphere. But it’s all good! 7+ years now of continuous sobriety. That’s a good thing, eh? <—my Canadian is showing. I retired my podc ..read more

So what the heck is a “functioning alcoholic”? There is this almost epic lore about the person who can drink excessively and daily, and somehow magically keep a career, a family and a life together without getting arrested, losing their job or getting divorced. This “unicorn” of the booze-hound family tree seemingly has the best of both worlds – an escape hatch for themselves, and the trappings of the “good life”. There is this myth about functional alcoholics, that they are somehow immune to the downward spiral that happens with your garden variety alcoholic. We hear about them, and picture t ..read more

The Coronavirus situation has a lot of people sitting in fear, worry and anxiety. And this can affect those of us in recovery. I created this special episode of Buzzkill Pod to tackle this topic specifically, and which is loaded with tips and techniques on how to shift your mindset through your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical hygiene. What does that mean, exactly? It’s about looking at things differently. Shifting perspective. Coming at this with clarity and centeredness. And this affects our sobriety as well, because sobriety is about coming at life with a new way of thinking and ..read more

Okay, I admit – I get envious. Even a “spiritual giant” like myself (oops, I almost spit out my coffee there) sees what other people has and wishes he had what they had. In fact, that happened this morning to me. WTF, Pauly? (That is how I refer to myself when I am finger-wagging in the mirror). Intellectually we know that being envious is a waste of time and energy. But why do we still feel like we’re too busy taking other people’s inventory and stock and ignoring our own? Why do we feel either we want that other person to fail (shades of Schadenfreude) or to sit and wallow in our own toxic t ..read more

So here’s a question: Is it safe for those in recovery or who are cutting out alcohol for a while to drink NA beers and/or kombucha? Now, both of these beverages contain less than 0.5% alcohol, so for some, it’s not a problem. There have been unscientific experiments where people will have 15-20 kombuchas or NA beers and then see if they register on a breathalyzer. And they have failed. So if you’re looking to get a buzz from these, you probably won’t succeed and you may want to examine why you want that buzz in the first place  In recovery circles, the ideas of having anything with trace ..read more

Happy New Year, guys! I hope you are having a great 2020 so far! Festivities have finished and we’re all rolling into business as usual. But I wanted to share something that I know most of us have gone through at some point in our lives (and this is for those who aren’t in recovery): It’s about those times when things are going awry, and we have a hard time coping with them. You know what I mean? And instead of using healthy coping mechanisms, we find ourselves doing things which at the moment feels helpful, but in the long run isn’t.  Like drinking.  Believe it or not, I am not ..read more

So what the heck is a “functioning alcoholic”? There is this almost epic lore about the person who can drink excessively and daily, and somehow magically keep a career, a family and a life together without getting arrested, losing their job or getting divorced. This “unicorn” of the booze-hound family tree seemingly has the best of both worlds – an escape hatch for themselves, and the trappings of the “good life”. There is this myth about functional alcoholics, that they are somehow immune to the downward spiral that happens with your garden variety alcoholic. We hear about them, and picture t ..read more