We're continuing to re-release episodes throughout our summer break, choosing our most popular episodes from Season 2 to share with you throughout the months of July and August. If you've got kids, this episode will prove to be invaluable. Be sure to have a listen - or listen again!

Talking to your kids about your addiction is hard and it’s scary, but it’s also necessary. When you’re a parent and you’re working through addiction and recovery, it’s a challenge to know how much to share, and how to share it, with your children. In this groundbreaking episode, we have a conversation with Matt and Rachael about how we’ve approached talking to our own kids – of all ages – about our recovery. This is also a very personal episode, because Julie’s teenage daughter Cora joins us, to share with our listeners what it’s like from her perspective.

If you’ve got kids, this episode is a MUST listen.

In this episode:

• Preparing for the hard questions your kids WILL eventually ask you
• Allowing our kids to share what they experienced, without getting defensive or upset
• The value of letting your kids see your flaws
• Making your kids feel safe enough to ask for help
• Creating a space where families can talk about addiction and recovery without shame or fear
• How sharing our experiences with alcohol can affect the decisions they make when they’re confronted with it
• Co-parenting with different viewpoints
• Resources are available to support your kids, if you don’t feel capable right now\

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Matt, a 39 year old father of two from Burnt Hills, New York is14 and a half months sober. He always believed he would get sober but at the same time feared it may never come. The past five and half years have been a battle with alcohol that he wishes upon no one. Along the way he has had the constant support of his family, friends and so many he has met along the way to help him achieve sobriety. He wants to thank you all 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, accept and 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.

shamman780 – instagram

Ben Meyer Recovery Foundation Youtube Video

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My name is Rachael and I’m a proud to say I’m in long term recovery from both drugs and alcohol. My recovery date is 7/30/2017. I have chosen not to be anonymous and to use my voice and passion to help others like me find a solution. I am a harm reductionist and a certified peer support specialist in 2 states as well as recovery advocate. I am passionate about helping and inspiring others to better themselves which is why I created my page Addict with Purpose. https://www.facebook.com/addictwithpurpose/

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100 episodes! When this journey started, we had no idea where it was going to lead. We just knew we wanted to start sharing these conversations with others, in hopes that they would feel less alone, and a bit inspired.

The result? We've now created an online recovery community with a weekly meeting on Zoom, a Facebook group, and a weekly newsletter. We've become certified as recovery coaches and now offer individualized one-on-one support to anyone seeking a fulfilling, alcohol-free life. And we still produce our Top 5% podcast every Monday - the foundation and core of everything we do.

In this episode, we talk about where we started, how we got to where we are, and where we see Through the Glass Recovery heading as we make our way into Season 3, and into our 4th years of sobriety. We share the wins, the challenges, and the dreams. Our hope is that you'll get a bit of an inside look into what it's like to do what we're doing. So many of you have been listening since we started this podcast in September of 2022, and we want to invite you in and let you know what it's like behind the scenes - what we're excited about, what we're nervous about, and what it's taken to get from where we started to where we are now.

I would love to waltz in here and tell you all your friendships are going to be even better when you get sober. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Losing friends when you quit drinking is one of those challenges that nearly everyone has to learn to cope with, and it can be a very real struggle. It's painful to lose friendships, or even to watch them change as we move into this new, alcohol free phase of our lives.

We've gathered three fantastic guests to join us on this episode, to share what they've experienced and also what they've learned. Jason (Sober Gangster); Lisa (Hart2Heart Coaching); and our good friend Monica get real about how they're navigating a whole new social experience, sans alcohol. Have a listen - you'll walk away knowing you're not alone, and with some new ideas and perspectives to help you on your own journey of sobriety.

In this episode:

• How your circle shrinks as you get older, and especially in recovery - and how that's a natural process
• Exploring how your standards change as you begin the work of emotional sobriety
• Dealing with surface level, superficial friendships
• Being intentional with where you put your energy
• How to be a real friend
• Navigating friendships with people who aren't sober
• How to find people that are on a similar path
• Surprising fact: losing friends who ARE in your recovery circles is quite common
• Grieving lost friendships
• How to build a core community - no matter how long you've been at this
• Understanding that recovery changes us - and our friends have to learn to work through that, too
• How to use the internet to find people to build connections with

Want to hear more about friendships? Check out this episode from last season!

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At 18, I entered prison. At 19, facing a potential 10+ years for parole violation, a pivotal decision changed my life. In a jail cell on October 12, 1996, at 3 a.m., I swore off mind-altering substances. The 21st encounter with handcuffs pushed me to break free. Living clean and sober for 27 years, I’ve found genuine freedom—earned through work, willingness, and honesty. Sobriety, my most gangster feat, opens doors to a life beyond imagination. – Jason Williams aka Sober Gangster

https://www.instagram.com/sober.gangster

https://www.facebook.com/Sobergangster

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Hi, I’m Monica! I’m 54, reside in southern New Jersey, USA, and I am over 3.5 years sober. On Dec. 31, 2019, I woke up with my last hangover. I was finally done making life harder on myself, hurting my relationships, and slowly killing myself. I’ve learned that sobriety is a never-ending journey to becoming the person you were meant to be. It’s been incredibly hard, at times, but the gifts that sobriety have given me are much bigger than any hurdles I’ve overcome. I’ve worked to heal from my past, strengthened my relationships with my kids and husband, built a thriving massage practice, and made forever friends in recovery. I wouldn’t trade my sober life for anything.

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My name is Lisa Hart Anderson. I am a sober woman in her 5th decade reinventing her life in this beautiful world of recovery. I am a Certified Recovery Coach where my passion is to help others stay on the sober path and find joy and fun again in this new life of sobriety. I have been married 33 years, have 3 grown sons, and embracing the empty nester world as I continue to help and encourage others. Throughout my life, I have been an educator, mentor,instructor and coach. It has always been in my heart to teach, guide and inspire with compassion and empathy. Insta and TikTok- hart2heartcoaching Website -harttoheart.coach.

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The question, "How has getting sober affected your life?" brought about an incredible conversation about the benefits of a sober life. Join us as we chat with a few of our good friends (and Through the Glass regulars) - John, Antje, and Derrick - about how our lives have changed in recovery. The benefits are incredible - from the small changes and little wins, to life changing growth.

Some of the benefits of a sober life that you'll hear us talk about include:

• Learning emotional regulation, so our emotions don't run away this us anymore
• Healthy coping skills for stress management
• We're forced to learn new habits and new mindsets, and it's a gift
• Stopping to look back and appreciate the wins
• Letting go of self loathing and learning to love yourself
• Recovery is about a lot more than just not drinking
• Deeper, more meaningful relationships
• Finally being able to tell the truth, and being free from a life of lies
• Finding new, different friends that support our new lifestyle
• Learning to own mistakes and learn from failure
• Getting good at being bad at things; being okay with being a beginner
• How "One Day At A Time" applies to more than just not drinking
• Finally learning to be present in our lives
• Truly experiencing joy and gratitude
• Growing in courage and in confidence
• Gaining clarity about why we are the way we are
• Finding the strength to get through the hard times, from grief to depression, without drinking

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Antje first discovered drinking as a way to “fix” her eating disorder. She thought that drinking was more acceptable than binging and purging all of her meals. When drinking grew more and more out of control, she reluctantly considered sobriety in January of 2022. Soon after, she found connection and support in an online sober community. She is so glad to that she took that first, scary step and gave sobriety a chance.

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Derrick Deidel is 3 years sober. He has come from the depths of addiction, trauma, mental health , prison and homelessness to be a light in this world. He loves recovery and is a huge advocate for it and those seeking help. He works for Mile High Recovery Center managing the Residential treatment house, he is a peer recovery coach and personal trainer. He tries to be kind and gracious to everyone cause that same stuff changed his life.

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Sign up for our newsletter at throughtheglassrecovery.com for sober tips, tools, and motivation, and get access to our free weekly sober support meetings.

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It doesn’t matter if you’re a few days sober or ten years sober – cravings happen. At their best, they are annoying. At their worst, they sneak up on you when you least expect it and smack you upside the head and suddenly everything is spinning and you don’t know which way is up. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a whole new stack of tools to add to your sober toolbox, and you’ll realize that cravings aren’t actually something to fear or feel bad about at all.

Besides learning how to beat alcohol cravings, we help you work through:

• Coping with FOMO when it shows up as a trigger
• Creating and using a sober toolbox
• Surviving even the hardest cravings without giving in
• Breaking the habit of situational triggers
• Alcohol and social situations
• Giving yourself permission to put your sobriety first
• Cognitive dissonance – the argument inside your brain
• Finding the courage to talk about the hard things
• Recognizing the physical symptoms of triggers before it gets out of hand
• Romanticizing the old days
• Understanding that cravings aren’t a sign of a failing recovery

Katie talks about the toolbox that she uses to help her stay sober. Here’s her list of tools:

• Call my sponsor
• Call my husband
• Go to a meeting
• Take a walk with my dog
• Call/text sober support people
• Watch recovery Tiktok
• Write a prayer to put in my God box
• Set a 10 minute timer
• Meditate/breathing exercises
• Pray and let go of my will

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Robbie started his sobriety journey due to being sick of the same old story he would put himself though. He found his cannabis and alcohol use getting worse as the years went on. He used them to cope with everything and anything. Robbie is now nine months sober, and couldn’t be happier with his decision to take on this new journey. Robbie co-hosts Golden Hour Adventures podcast and can be found on Instagram @runshills605.

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Katie B is 42 years old from Dallas, Texas but currently lives in Everett, WA. She has a handsome husband of 7 years with 1 16 year old son, Jakob, and 2 bonus kids, Layla, 15 and Isaac, 20. For the last 2.5 years she’s worked at the same rehab facility where she got sober. Her sobriety date is March 16th, 2016 after 28 1/2 years of active addiction and alcoholism.

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Matt is a 38 year old father of 2 from Burnt Hills, NY who works in State government. He’s an avid outdoorsman, and his favorite times are those he gets to spend with his children playing games, reading, and coaching his son’s sports teams. Matt has attempted both inpatient and outpatient treatment multiple times in the past 5 years,and last year had the opportunity to experience residential sober living at Release Recovery in Westchester County. He encourages people who are still struggling to reach out and know it’s ok to ask for help. You can find Matt on Instagram @shamman780

Watch Matt’s story on YouTube here.

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throughtheglassrecovery@gmail.com

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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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Martin Lockett is a writer and speaker whose words have impacted thousands of people, even before leaving prison. He served almost 18 years for manslaughter, caused by an accident one New Year’s eve where he drank excessively and drove through a stop light, colliding with a car carrying three people. Upon learning that the two people who died that night were volunteers in the drug and alcohol recovery community, Martin chose to honor them by dedicating his life to helping others through addiction counseling and drinking and driving prevention.

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

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