Self Medicating with Alcohol? Here is how you can QUIT while you're still ahead, with Jen Clements

If you have been following me on social media for the past year (2019-2020), you will know that I got to a point where I felt like I had a problem with drinking. Yes, it is true. After becoming a Mom and watching my childhood trauma and hormone induced anxieties rise like the sun every morning, I found myself at the bottom of a bottle of wine (and sometimes TWO) most nights of the week, and usually chased back with a few cigarettes. I was NOT living my best life (even though I often liked to think that I was). It got to the point where I decided to quit drinking alcohol altogether, forever; and it ended up lasting 9 months. It was in this period of sobriety that I came across the most inspiring high-vibe sober coach, Jen Clements. Jen also used to LOVE drinking alcohol. So much so that the social lubrication of her 20’s turned in to self-medication in her 30’s. Like me in my big drinking days, Jen also had no outward sign of a problem. Her friends and family respected her, she was a successful lawyer, happily married with two healthy little boys. And she exercised regularly! So, of course, she had no problem, right? The problem, however, was a dark vicious cycle of torment on the inside. Every day she did mental cartwheels waiting for 5pm when she could pour her beloved ice cold sav blanc into a large glass and drink again, ending the mental torment. And almost every day, that innocent one glass of vino would turn into a bottle, even if she were alone. Of course, the next day, she would work on “controlling” her drinking by setting new drinking rules to live by. If you have ever experienced this mental insanity of trying to moderate drinking, you will know what I am talking about here. “No drinking in the week!” “OK only one glass a day.” “I just can’t get DRUNK.” “As long as I stop by 9PM.” It drives you crazy! Jen realised that alcohol was starting to take away from her far more than it was giving. And, perhaps, the need to drink at 5PM each day was driven by the previous day’s drinking. It was a toxic cycle and she wanted to live in a radically new & free way and, deep down far under the wine haze, she knew it was possible. In Jen’s own words, “I became intrigued by sobriety. Let us be clear: TERRIFIED but intrigued... Would my life be better if I stopped the moderation madness? I hadn't hit the stereotypical rock bottom, but did I really need to wait for that?! I decided to try and quit while I was still ahead and see if my life improved.” And so that is just what Jen did. Using her natural lawyer-fuelled research skills to get to the bottom of this mystery around alcohol addiction and the moderation madness, Jen embarked on a journey to not only heal herself but to empower others to do the same. Jen found the EASY path to quitting alcohol for good and, in doing so, to not feel deprived but to THRIVE. Her life transformed in a way that led her to feel liberated, happy and, finally, absolutely FREE. In this episode of The Honest Hour, Jen and I break down her journey of finding the EASE to a sober and thriving life. We talk about how addiction needs to be redefined and the toxic new socially acceptable “mommy drinking culture” of today. Making myself super vulnerable, as I always do, we talk about my own former alcohol abuse problem and how I medicated myself with alcohol to numb childhood trauma. We talk about an incredibly interesting science experiment dubbed “rat park,” and how if we address the root of WHY we abuse alcohol, or any act or substance for that matter, we may actually build ourselves a life we don’t want to escape from. Do you want to QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD? Visit www.thrivalistsobriety.com or https://instagram.com/thrivalistsobriety?igshid=1ltbotdenxuj8