My Final Days of Drinking and First Day Sober Story

01/11/23 • 47 min

Addiction & Recovery Conversations with Brett Lovins

This is a topic that I'm fascinated by. I like asking people to recount their final days and the final approach to the moment they stopped. There are a wide variety of stories. Some are gradual, some are sudden. Mine is kinda both. Here's my story of the full court press, Steve Dunn the Fort Collins counsellor and the beginning of my new life, from November 2012 to May 28th, 2013... my final days of drinking/drugging and my first day of being sober. If you or a loved one are having substance use issues, I'd like to recommend Shatterproof.org as an excellent place to get curious.

Other useful links from Brett:

Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
Brett's YouTube channel
Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.

Other useful links from Brett:

Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
Brett's YouTube channel
Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.

Previous Episode

Conversation with my First Sponsor - Todd Edwards

Really happy to bring you a conversation with my first sponsor, Todd Edwards. We cover multiple topics including: swapping stories about our early work together, the steps, helping others, and anonymity. If you or a loved one have issues with drugs and/or alcohol, consider visiting Shatterproof.org as a place to learn more about this disease. This podcast is now available on all of the main podcasting platforms including Apple and Spotify. Hoping these conversations help some people. Thank you for listening.

Other useful links from Brett:

Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
Brett's YouTube channel
Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.

Next Episode

The Front Row Seat to the Progressive Nature of the Disease - My Wife, Molly Sanders's Story

Posting a really special episode today, a conversation with my wife of 24 years, talking about a common thing in our household - recovery and sobriety. There are several references in this episode to the previous episode where I talk about my final months of drinking and drugging before getting sober. Might make sense to listen that one first if you have the time. We talk about Al-Anon, AA, early recovery, alcohol in the house after getting sober, the progressive nature of the disease and more. Molly absolutely had a front row seat. Hopefully this conversation continues to do what all of these episode are attempting to do: normalize conversations on addiction and help some people. For additional information and resources on Substance Use Disorder and Addiction, here's a link to check out: Shatterproof.org.

Other useful links from Brett:

Sober Curious Consulting - Brett's Recovery Friendly Workplace consulting business.
Brett's YouTube channel
Washington Recovery Alliance - building the capacity of the recovery community to advance substance use recovery and mental health wellness by catalyzing public understanding and shaping public policy in Washington State.
Recovery-Ready Workplace Toolkit - providing information, tools, and resources to help employers from all sectors—government, for-profit, non-profit, and not-for-profit—effectively prevent and respond to substance misuse in the workforce from the Department of Labor.
Data on SUD in the US (2022) - from SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Link to my favorite PDF for statistics.
Addiction 101 - it’s not a moral failing—it’s a treatable illness. Get the facts about this misunderstood medical condition from my friends at Shatterproof.