You know it's important to keep moving forward in your recovery, keep doing the work. So what do you do when you start to feel stuck? What do you do when it feels like you're just treading water and you really don't know which direction to go next? Lasting sobriety depends on continuous forward momentum.

We've invited TTG regular Matt, sober instagram influencer Katie, and recovery community organizer Johanna to join us in a conversation about how we deal with feeling stuck. No matter where you're at in your sober journey, we know you're going to relate to what you hear.

In this episode:

• Authenticity, and letting life guide personal development instead of trying to force it.
• Self sabotage and how to overcome it
• The need for continuous self-reflection to prevent relapse
• The internet pressure for growth, even when external circumstances remain the same
• Uncertainty about the future, especially during and after big changes in life
• Feeling stuck due to emotional suppression
• Feeling stuck due to unresolved trauma, personal issues, and dissatisfaction with life
• The three reasons for feeling "stuck"

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Hi! I’m Katie and I’m an alcohol free advocate. My goal is to create an alcohol free community locally, as well as building connections online. I want to show people who are struggling with their drinking that living without alcohol can be even more fun and exciting than with it. We’re sober, NOT boring.

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Matt (shamman780), a 39 year old father of two from Burnt Hills, New York is 19 months sober. He always believed he would get sober but at the same time feared it may never come. He spent five and half years stuck in the up and down battle with alcoholism before finding a better way. He wants to thank you everyone for sticking with him through all this.

He’d like people to know that substance abuse and mental health issues do not discriminate and that if you are struggling there are people out there who want to and who will help you. Matthew Perry always said to people who are struggling “It’s not your fault”, but this Matthew believes it’s your responsibility. It’s your responsibility to acknowledge, to accept and to treat it every day, just like you would any other disease.

Be kind to those who are still struggling. Sobriety is hard, but it’s worth it.

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Visit our website at throughtheglassrecovery.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter, and to gain access to our FREE weekly recovery meetings.

You can also find Julie and Steve on:

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Facebook

When alcohol filled all of your free time, it's hard to find ways to fill that time up, once you remove alcohol from the equation. The result can be some loooong nights, watching the clock and waiting for time to pass, while that little voice in your head pipes up, "I know exactly what you can do to entertain yourself!" Ugh.

For our first episode of Season 3, we've invited some folks we've met in Facebook groups to join us to talk about how they filled their time, once they quit drinking alcohol. Meet Peggi, Ian, and Ben, and listen as they share what it was like for them in their early days and how they dealt with the inevitable boredom of early sobriety.

In this episode:

• Activities to help fill time, including books, podcasts, meetings, and journaling
• The value of time spent with family
• Permission to go to bed early!
• Helping and supporting others in their recovery
• Finding new hobbies
• What to do when you don't feel like doing anything
• Changing mindset and thinking patterns
• Finding purpose and finding yourself
• The feeling of chasing something

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Peggi Cooney is an author, speaker and sobriety advocate. She holds a MSW and has 26 years of experience in Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services. She is currently a social work instructor/coach for UC Davis: Professional and Continuing Education. In 2018, Peggi received an Outstanding instructor Award. Peggi published her first book, This Side of Alcohol: Random Thoughts and Candid Words of Pain, Hope, Humor and Love – and All that is Possible in Sobriety. She is also the Chief Connections Officer for award-winning Zero Proof Experiences/Sober in the City where she partners with founder Susie Streelman to provide alcohol free social experiences all over the world. Peggi is currently working on her next book about work-related stress in the helping and caregiving fields. She resides with her husband Paul in West Sacramento and Lake Almanor, California.

peggicooney@gmail.com

thissideofalcohol@gmail.com

thissideofalcohol.com

IG: @thissideofalcohol

Facebook: Facebook.com/groups/thissideofalcohol

zeroproofexperiences.com

This Side of Alcohol is available wherever books are sold.

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Ben is just a average dude trying to stay sober and help others along the way.

He is starting the process of writing his first book, trying to relaunch and grow FlipSockz with a mission to help support vets and first responders, and starting a sober hiking group. In addition, Ben created a Facebook group called Sober and Loving Life.

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Visit our website at throughtheglassrecovery.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter, and to gain access to our FREE weekly recovery meetings.

You can also find Julie and Steve on:

Instagram

Facebook

Our final re-release for our summer break is here! This will forever be one of our favorite episodes. It's meaningful, poignant, and you'll never forget these stories.

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Do I really need to stop drinking? Do I really have a problem?

So many people google these questions that there are dozens of quizzes to help you decide whether your drinking is really bad enough that you need to stop. So our conversation today is about exactly that – how did you know that you really needed to stop drinking? And how do you deal with the idea of quitting forever, once you make the decision?

Listen to this gripping and poignant conversation we have with Melissa (aka The Sober New Yorker) and author and motivational speaker Martin Lockett, about how their journeys got them to the point of choosing to stop drinking, and what they wish they had known before they got to that point. Each of them shares their journey to recovery, and while their stories could not be more different, commonality is found beneath the surface, when we realize how important connection and compassion are when it comes to sharing our stories.

This episode is unlike any other we’ve ever recorded. As we end Season 2, we want to thank each of our listeners for sharing this adventure with us. Be sure to follow along on social media as we explore new ways to deepen the sense of community that Through the Glass is fostering, and we’ll be back in September for Season 3, with all new episodes and guests so that we can all continue to grow and learn on this path we call recovery.

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Now released, Lockett continues his mission and message by helping those in need of counseling for mental health and substance use disorders and sharing his powerful story at DUI victim impact panels, high schools, conferences, and highway safety classes across the country.

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