RE 68: The Stigma is Even Worse for These Alcoholics

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06/06/16 • 36 min

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Matt, sober since 12/11/15, who is the 4th lawyer to be interviewed on this podcast, shares how leaving a law firm to start a private law practice while drinking, can be tumultuous; to say the least.

I got the idea for this podcast from the a article I recently read in the Fix called My Top Five Female Recovery Memoirs by Regina Walker .

Statistically, women don’t recover from alcoholism at nearly the rate men do. A study in Germany concluded that alcoholism was twice as fatal for women as for men. The women in the German study with alcohol addiction were five times more likely to die during the 14-year period of the study than women in the general population.

As a culture, we often judge women with addiction issues far more harshly than we do with men. Alcohol advertising often portrays men drinking as a bonding experience, while portraying women who drink as sexual predators or, at the very least, sexually objectified (“if she is going to get drunk, she is asking for it”). Though it’s difficult for anyone with a substance abuse issue to ask for help, it is that much more difficult for a woman, who often bears an additional, gender specific stigma.

Turnabout, by Jean Kirkpatrick

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas,

Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America by Jennifer Storm

Drunk Mom by Jowita Bydlowska

Yellow Tale, by Tiffany Goik

Don’t forget to support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/

Matt, sober since 12/11/15, who is the 4th lawyer to be interviewed on this podcast, shares how leaving a law firm to start a private law practice while drinking, can be tumultuous; to say the least.

I got the idea for this podcast from the a article I recently read in the Fix called My Top Five Female Recovery Memoirs by Regina Walker .

Turnabout, by Jean Kirkpatrick

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas,

Blackout Girl: Growing Up and Drying Out in America by Jennifer Storm

Drunk Mom by Jowita Bydlowska

Yellow Tale, by Tiffany Goik

Don’t forget to support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/

Previous Episode

RE 67: Can Alcoholics Form True Relationships?

Buddy, with 7 years of sobriety, bounced in an out of AA for from 2002-2008 before something finally stuck and ironically, he explains how drinking actually saved his life.

Don’t forget to support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link: www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/

I read the following line out of an AA Grapevine, August 2013 issue, while on a tumultuous ride over a high altitude Andean pass in Chile. It didn’t help that I was only 2 days sober (relapsed shortly after reading that line and ended up vomiting on myself and the bus) and I thought a relationship would solve my problems.

Page 53 in the 12&12:

The primary fact that we fail to recognize is our total inability to form a true partnership with another human being.

Next Episode

RE69: How Many of Us Have Stayed Sober?

Stephen, with 32 years of sobriety, explains how he's made it this far.

I often get asked if any of the interviewees on this show have relapsed and the answer is yes. Sure, some of them have relapsed, but how many. When I really got to thinking about this, my optimism wavered and when I dug deeper into the question, I realized it was more than just a few had relapsed; it was a lot.

Don’t forget to support the Recovery Elevator Podcast by shopping at Amazon with the Recovery Elevator link:

www.recoveryelevator.com/amazon/

This episode was brought to you by Cafe RE and get your daily AA email here!