Episodes

What Is Recovery? In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we attempt to define recovery. One very straightforward definition is “an improved quality of life”. However someone improves their quality of life, it must be self directed, people can’t be coerced or coddled into recovery. Recovery should look at root causes, look for a future episode on this topic. Dom provides an overview of the concept of a recovery coach and the components of recovery: self-directed, empowering, a holisti...

We’re baaaaaaaack! Hello beloved listeners, we apologize for the unplanned hiatus. Life got very lifey & our regular recording/release schedule was disrupted. We hope you’ve been well while we’ve been away. In this episode, we update on what’s been going on in our lives the last several months. Jillian talks about transitioning to life as a single empty nester, work overwhelm, navigating dynamics on a family vacation and the recent ending of the healthiest relationship she’s experienced. She re...

This time of year can be a joyous occasion or it can be a trigger for stress and anxiety. The Recovery Rebirth Podcast is sharing our take on the Holiday Season. Many people also struggle with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter months. It’s no secret that many in recovery are already prone to anxiety and/or depression, the lack of sunshine can amplify feelings of sadness & hopelessness. This can also be a time of year where we feel acute sadness about loved ones we’ve lost thro...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we delve into relapse prevention is a prevalent topic in the world of recovery. While people often think relapse only happens with substance use disorder, anyone in recovery can fall prey to emotional/mental relapse. We highlight the phases leading up to relapse and myriad behaviors that foretell relapse could be imminent (e.g. neglecting self-care, being filled with resentment) We underscore the difference between a slip and true relapse. Early ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss overwhelm which often leads to burnout. We all experience episodes or seasons of life where the deluge of stressors is too much for us. In these times, we could really benefit from self-care, but are also most likely to neglect ourselves because our reserves are depleted. Jillian reflects on her experiences with overwhelm, including her first panic attack. She also talks about the overwhelm she felt while in a relationship with an acti...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss a concept foreign to many people entering recovery–boundaries. Many of us have never seen this behavior modeled within our family systems. We may be shocked to hear “no is a complete sentence” We may believe that boundaries are somehow “selfish” and find that our loved ones in active addiction believe the same because we’re no longer enabling them. We often experience resistance and manipulation from people who benefited from our lack o...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss a fairly ubiquitous term–triggers. In the world of addiction & recovery, triggers can cause us to relapse & fall back in our addictive behaviors. Triggers are also discussed in psychology, especially when treating PTSD. A trigger can be defined as something that causes an unexpected emotional response. Jilian explores her triggers, which are rooted in her fears of abandonment & rejection stemming from her relationship with her mother. ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we explore the concept of recovery capital. The major aspects include: personal, community, and social. Whether it’s improving access to housing, healthy food, recovery coaches, etc. recovery capital supports sustained, long-term recovery. The continuum of care is a crucial aspect of recovery. We highlight the discrepancy in access to recovery for communities of color or other marginalized communities. As William Cope-Moyers says, “addiction doesn...

Catastrophizing means that a person fixates on the worst possible outcome and treats it as likely, even when it is not. In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we continue our conversation about health issues, focusing on catastrophizing–the tendency to focus on the worst case scenario. Many people in recovery had chaotic home environments. We were always waiting for the other shoe to drop and sometimes our worst fears have come to pass. But, many times we suffer needlessly about thing...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we continue our conversation about health issues, focusing on chronic pain. Jillian shares about her recent experience with a major surgery, anxiety that ensued and her recovery process. The surgery didn’t go quite as planned which impacted her recovery time. She found that her mind was frustrated with her physical limitations after surgery. She was able to spend a few weeks with her daughter who came to support her in her recovery, which was a tr...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we explore health issues we’ve experienced while in recovery. Jillian details health concerns she’s been navigating for the past 18 months & an impending hysterectomy. She shares her anxiety surrounding her first major surgery & general anesthesia. She talks about her propensity for catastrophizing & fears related to dying young since after brother died at 49. In the midst of her anxiety & fear, she reached out to her sponsor, attended extra meeti...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we expand our discussion on social media addiction into fantasy addiction. From childhood, we are fed unrealistic concepts of love & romance. Whether a myriad of childhood movies of princesses being rescued or romantic comedies that never show the mundane, unromantic parts of life (e.g. arguing over bills, bodily functions, stressors of parenting, etc.) We can get caught up in an ideal or people’s potential vs. who they truly are. Jillian shares h...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we discuss social media addiction. Addiction is defined as a treatable chronic medical disease. It involves the brain, genetics, environment & life experience. Just like any other addiction, social media addiction can involve compulsive behavior that can negatively impact our lives.. 75% of Americans are estimated to be addicted to their phones. With such staggering numbers, this addiction warrants further discussion. According to statistics, the ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we discuss a crucial component of 12-step recovery: sponsorship, accountability partners & recovery coaches. Dr. John Kelly’s (Harvard) research provides data to support a substantial increase in 12-step recovery success by having accountability partners. We share our experiences with sponsorship/accountability partners. These relationships have enriched our lives &deepened our recovery. The beauty is there is no hierarchy in these relationships, ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast we discuss how punitive treatment toward addiction (e.g. incarceration) is ineffectual in treating addiction and can actually exacerbate the issue. This approach fails to get at the root of the problem. If we focus on treating the cause (trauma) and not punishing the symptom (addictive behavior), people are far more likely to heal and recover. Through recovery we can begin to view our loved ones’ addiction as an illness not a moral failing. We are...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast–our one year anniversary show–we discuss the varying stressors during the holiday season. The holidays can be especially difficult for people in recovery. Whether we’re trying to stay sober from our addictions or obsessively worrying about & trying to control a loved one’s addiction.Navigating addiction & codependency amplifies the usual holiday stress. finances, overscheduling ourselves, feeling pressure over obligations (e.g. sending cards, bakin...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss an incredibly serious topic that could be triggering. Suicide & suicidal ideation is all too common for people in recovery. Suicide can be described as a permanent solution to a temporary problem. In researching this topic, we were surprised to learn that rates of suicides didn’t increase sharply during the pandemic, unlike relapse rates which soared. We also discovered that the rates of suicide among men, especially middle aged and ol...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we mull over what it means to be restless, irritable and discontent; which can be warning signs of imminent relapse. We discuss the red flags that alert us that we’re veering off our path in recovery. Even after we establish a good stretch of sobriety, we can fall prey to the pitfalls that take our focus off of our recovery. A strong indicator is when we start taking others’ inventory, or focusing on others shortcomings. Or thinking we’re experts ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss what it means to hit rock bottom. Experiencing rock bottom can manifest in many ways: emotional, physical and spiritual. For some people, it’s a combination of or all of these. It has been said that people change when the pain of staying where they are becomes greater than the pain of changing. Whether people are battling substance abuse or emotional turmoil related to codependency and other maladaptive coping mechanisms, recovery can b...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we discuss anxiety, an increasingly common human experience. The COVID pandemic has had a profound emotional impact on humanity. Even for people who are generally unaffected by anxiety, the unknowns of a pandemic caused us collectively to be more anxious. For those of us already affected by anxiety, the forced isolation of the pandemic amplified our anxiety. Anxiety is a ubiquitous and it’s an especially common experience for many people in recov...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we explore many types of grief separate from death. Some of these include: breakups, betrayal and infidelity, miscarriage, loss of a job or loss of a pet. These losses can be incredibly painful and feel like death at times. We share our experiences with relationships and job loss. Like many people in recovery, we struggle with fears of abandonment and rejection. Loss of a relationship or job can trigger our deep-rooted, painful feelings of unwort...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we share our experiences with death of family members..Jillian talks about the death of her brother and Dominick discusses the death of his parents. Death is the ultimate loss and many of us in recovery can struggle with complicated grief when an addicted loved one dies. Oftentimes we’ve had to have very strong boundaries to protect ourselves and to prevent damaging our relationships. While boundaries are necessary, we can feel crushing guilt for ...

In this episode of the Recovery Rebirth Podcast, we begin a discussion on grief. Grief is an unavoidable part of the human experience. We all experience grief over the course of our lives, whether it’s heartbreak or death. In recovery, we encounter with a wide array of grief and oftentimes complicated grief due to the complexity and difficulty of relationships. We delve into the Five Stages of Grief devised by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Kübler-R...

Many of us are in survival mode in early recovery, lacking healthy coping mechanisms or tools. As they say, nobody comes into recovery on a winning streak! We discuss the importance of keeping it simple, for example, not getting overzealous with to-do lists and setting ourselves up for failure. We acknowledge the reality that sometimes One Day at a Time is too big a hurdle in the beginning stages of recovery–sometimes recovery is moment-to-moment. While in survival mode, repeating the serenity p...