In the Wake - Trauma, Addiction, and Recovery with April Hill

Trauma, Addiction, and Recovery with April Hill

Explicit content warning

08/26/20 • 37 min

In the Wake

***Trigger Warning***
This is a heavier episode as we speak of childhood abuse, addiction, and trauma. If you are suffering or recovering from a mood or mental disorder, an addiction, or are a victim of abuse, please listen with caution or skip this episode entirely. The last thing I would want is for hearing these things to set you back in your healing journey or to trigger negative thoughts or emotions. Also, if you are a bit more sensitive or an empath, you also may want to listen with caution.
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As a survivor of early childhood trauma and a recovered alcoholic, April looks to shatter the stigmas and shame that surround both these experiences. From age 2 to 5, she was sexually molested, starved, and beaten. After enduring these life-altering experiences that many people could not fathom, she went on to struggle emotionally in life for quite some time. This truly displayed itself later in adult life through addiction and other toxic relationships and behaviors.

Her purpose now is to be a voice for those suffering - to shed light on abuse, recovery, and the journey that it takes to dig through the pain and wreckage they both cause. She believes the veil needs to be lifted on the prevalence of child sexual abuse as well as sex trafficking. Survivors of abuse deserve a voice and the resources to help them overcome their trauma.
In this episode, April shares her raw and vulnerable story with us and how her childhood trauma led her to self-medicate and fall into an alcohol addiction. She went through a rehab program at a facility where they addressed healing both the trauma and addiction. After working with her sponsor, attending AA meetings, and doing the hard inner work, she is currently sober and thriving as an advocate, podcaster, and owner of The Hills Beauty Lounge Day & Med Spa.
April takes us through her rock bottom and the turning point that led her to where she is now. We discuss the myths and stigmas around addiction and abuse, lingering triggers from her trauma, and what self care practices work for her.
"Whether it was with my addiction or trauma, there was always a lack of self love and I felt almost as if I didn't deserve good things." - April Hill (quoted from this episode)
Tune in to hear the rest of her powerful story and what her healing journey has entailed.
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Connect with April Hill:

Website: abuserecoverysuccess.org
Instagram: @april_thehills

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Resource:

Street Light USA

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Song: Hello by Adele

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Follow along with the rest of my journey.

Instagram:
- @whytli
- @inthewakewithwhytli
Facebook: Whytli Rogers
Twitter: @whytli
Pinterest: Whytli
LinkedIn: Whytli Rogers
Website: whytli.com
Contact me here.

Support the show

Website: abuserecoverysuccess.org
Instagram: @april_thehills

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Resource:

Street Light USA

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Song: Hello by Adele

//
Follow along with the rest of my journey.

Instagram:
- @whytli
- @inthewakewithwhytli
Facebook: Whytli Rogers
Twitter: @whytli
Pinterest: Whytli
LinkedIn: Whytli Rogers
Website: whytli.com
Contact me here.

Support the show

Previous Episode

Setting Personal Boundaries with Raven Robinson

{ Use promo code: WAKE for $5 off The Way Thru Boundaries Workbook }
Raven Delana is the Founder, Strategist and Coach at The Way Thru. She works to support your creative vision as a mirror to help you see your blind spots, a magnifying glass to bring your vision into focus, and a spotlight on your shadows so that you can do the work required up-level your creative venture and contribute to your community in meaningful ways.
With over 15 years of experience developing marketing and operational strategies for solo business owners, Raven is on a mission to help other perfectly imperfect visionaries work through the barriers and get their work into the world using mindful practices such as self-care, meditation, and yoga.
In this episode, we dissect boundaries and the work and conversations around boundary setting. Boundaries sometimes get a negative reputation (for lack of better words) but I learned so much from Raven during this discussion and would hope you listen in with an open mind eager to learn as well. Raven takes us through the following:

Myths, misconceptions, and stigmas around what boundaries are
Countering those misconceptions to define what boundaries actually are
Defining the differences between porous, rigid, and healthy boundaries
Framework for boundary setting
Getting clear on your values
Listening to your body when it comes to boundaries
Consequences vs. punishment
Verbal and non-verbal boundary setting
How to have those hard conversations around boundaries
Honoring other people's boundaries

Integrity + Self Advocacy = Boundaries
"My definition of integrity is when all of the things about you match up -- your thoughts, your actions, your beliefs, your value set -- all of these things should align. When that happens, you then have to advocate for yourself based on those things and that's when you begin to set boundaries." -Raven Robinson (quoted from this episode)

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Connect with Raven and her work:

Instagram: @thewaythru
Website: thewaythru.com
Workbook: The Way Thru Boundaries: A Workbook with Raven Delana
- USE PROMO CODE: WAKE for $5 off

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Song: I Get Out by Lauryn Hill
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Follow along with the rest of my journey.

Instagram: @whytli or @inthewakewithwhytli
Facebook: Whytli Rogers
Twitter: @whytli
Pinterest: Whytli
LinkedIn: Whytli Rogers
Website: whytli.com
Contact me here.

Support the show

Next Episode

Perfectly Hidden Depression with Dr. Margaret Rutherford

Dr. Margaret Rutherford has been a psychologist in private practice for over twenty-five years and is the author of Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression, which was published in November 2019.
Margaret has been researching and writing on this topic for over five years, and she’s passionate about the message that although depression can be heavily masked by perfectionism, its damage can still be devastating to that someone who’s trying so hard to smile their way through growing loneliness and despair.
In this episode, Margaret helps break down perfectly hidden depression with me and provides some incredible insights including the following:

Dangerous forms of perfectionism
What denial of depression or perfectionism entails and why people may be in denial
Denying struggle hidden through toxic or rigid positivity
Factors of perfectly hidden depression
Difference between self perfectionism, other perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism
Treating perfectly hidden depression

"Jon Kabat-Zinn uses the term 'Rigid Positivity,' because you can stay so rigidly in the mindset of 'Everything's great and I don't want to focus on anything bad, sad, or what make me angry because then I'm not being appreciative enough.' That is just as dangerous as someone who's constantly negative, constantly sad, or constantly looking for their victimization in their life. There should be a balance. I think healthier people most often stay in the glass half full but part of mental health is also being able to connect with what hurts, what's disappointing, or what you're afraid of. Connect with it, feel those feelings, and then move back to the glass half full. Recognize, understand, and respect that you have some hardship in your life -- we all do!" --Dr. Margaret Rutherford quoted from this episode.
Tune in to hear more from the wise Dr. Rutherford herself!
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Connect or work with Dr. Rutherford: