As we continue our re-release schedule for the summer, we're excited to bring back this super important topic that seems to affect nearly all of us. If you find yourself wrestling with the pros and cons of social media now that you've created an alcohol free lifestyle, this episode will shine a light on the challenges and help you see everything more clearly.

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One “transfer addiction” that gets overlooked all too often is social media. And while social media has many benefits, it certainly also poses many dangers, especially when it comes to addiction recovery and mental health. In this week’s episode, we’re chatting with our friends Robbie, Britt, and Vanessa about how social media shows up in our lives, in our recoveries, and its impact on our emotional and mental wellbeing.

Key topics in this episode:

• Taking a break from social media
• The dopamine hits that come with posting and getting interactions
• How to curate your feed to create a positive experience
• Using social media to find true connection
• Recognizing the different between real connection and surface connection online
• The hidden dangers of external validation
• Using social media to create drama and chaos when sobriety feels boring
• Tools for managing social media use
• Setting your intention when using social media
• How comparing yourself to others on social media can damage mental health
• AI and its detrimental effects on creativity, emotional intelligence, and relationships

To learn more about our guests, check out the full show notes

Visit our website for tons of sobriety resources:

• A full library of podcast episodes
• FREE support meetings on Zoom
• 1:1 Sobriety coaching with Julie or Steve
• No Alcohol Needed blog

We're continuing our summer re-release schedule with a throwback all the way to Episode 7 from 2022.

This conversation was so good we didn't want to stop, and ended up releasing it as a two part series. If you love the first half (and we know you will) you can find the second half here.

We hope you enjoy it! Make sure you subscribe to Through the Glass Recovery Podcast so you don't miss the rest of our summer re-releases, and the new episodes we've got coming in September.

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Everything we wish someone would’ve told us in the first 30 days of sobriety.

The first 30 days are some of the hardest on the recovery journey. In this episode – the first of a two part series – we talk with John, Kris, and Ashley about early sobriety. Everything we wish someone would’ve told us as we headed into the first 30 days of getting sober.

We talk a lot about the work of sobriety here on Through the Glass. But before anyone gets to the point of doing that emotional work, they’ve got to get through the early days – the days when withdrawals are wearing them down, cravings are constant and brutal, and it seems like you think about drinking – or not drinking – about once every minute.

Listen as we share what worked for us, and what didn’t. We talk about withdrawals – the physical misery that accompanies a decision to quit drinking, and the emotional struggles as well. Steve and Julie talk about fearing just leaving the house, wondering how they’d find the strength to drive past the liquor store instead of stopping. Kris talks about the importance of sleep, and needing more than she expected. Everyone agrees that there is a lot of crying that often happens in the early days, and that crying is where the healing begins, no matter how uncomfortable it is.

Julie and Steve talk about deciding to tell others in your life or not. Julie didn’t tell anyone, Steve told everyone. They discuss the pros and cons of both options and how they affected their sobriety early on. Ashley shares about her worries that life wouldn’t be fun anymore, when alcohol is everywhere and permeates every part of life, especially for the younger crowd. Julie talks about wondering who she is at all without alcohol, and Steve says it felt like losing his best friend.

Everyone agrees that finding support in a recovery community was the most important part of getting through the early days of recovery – and continues to be the most important part of their recovery paths. As John says, “It’s really hard to be facing that kind of eternity without someone there.”

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Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for access to our weekly sober support meeting on Zoom, and weekly insights and advice to support your recovery. You can sign up at throughtheglassrecovery.com.

We're continuing our summer re-release schedule, where we repost our most popular episodes from the past three years of recording.

In this podcast episode, we dive deep into the hidden challenges of cross addiction and transfer addiction. You’ve worked hard to get sober, but now a new struggle may arise - swapping one addiction for another. Transfer addictions often sneak into our lives without us even realizing it. Stay tuned for a conversation with Daniel, Robbie, and Nadine, where we uncover some cross addictions and talk about how to tackle those, now that alcohol is out of the picture. We’ll help you recognize the signs of cross addiction, understand why it happens, and explore proven strategies for overcoming it.

In this episode:

• What it means to have an “addictive personality”
• Recognizing the patterns when addictive behaviors show up
• Why society tries to tell you that “healthy addiction” is okay
• Facing what’s under the addiction
• Temporary fixes and why they don’t work
• The implications and dangers of social media addiction
• Finding a balance with behavioral addiction
• Escaping by helping others so you don’t have to face your own problems
• Shedding unhealthy behaviors and continuing to grow
• Recognizing when something is no longer serving you

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To learn more about our guests, click here.

Visit our website for tons of sobriety resources:

• A full library of podcast episodes
• FREE support meetings on Zoom
• 1:1 Sobriety coaching with Julie or Steve
• No Alcohol Needed blog