Relapse: It Takes What It Takes

Rest Is Productive: The Reward is Quality of Life

Today I'm doing something I don't want to do: nothing. When you live with chronic illness, pain, or disability life can unpredictably erase your entire to-do-list forcing you to invest in tomorrow through rest. Doing less today allows you to do more tomorrow. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779] Visit my Recovery Upcycling Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling [https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling]

Recovery Doesn't Take a Day Off: Acceptance Every Single Day

My disability, chronic pain, and alcoholism doesn't take a day off. Invisible illnesses don’t do that. After staying up late to enjoy the Fourth of July celebration, I was reminded that even good choices can have consequences when you're living with a chronic condition. Sometimes I get tired of living a full time recovery life, but even so, I must accept reality and surrender to it, one day at a time. It's okay to get tired of being sick. It's okay to get tired of living with alcoholism. What's important is that we don't stop accepting what is true today and doing the next right thing. It's how we stay free. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779] Visit my Recovery Upcycling Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling [https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling]

Trusting Others: When Self-Sufficiency Fails Us

"I want help, but let me tell you how to help me." Classic Rachel! Whether I’m relying on my husband, sponsor, doctors, friends and family, or my Higher Power, I am constantly negotiating how others should help me. I become teachable when my self-sufficiency  reaches its limits, and humility and desperation force me to surrender. Only then does my life change in beautiful ways I never could have planned. I struggle to let go of control while still hoping things will get better. Recovery only exists when I’m willing to accept help, trust the process, and don’t try to do life alone. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779] Visit my Recovery Upcycling Etsy shop! https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling [https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling]

Relief Is In the Seeking, Not the Understanding

What does it mean to rely on God? If you've ever struggled with the idea of faith, wondered how to accept God into your life, or felt like you needed proof before you could believe, you're not alone. In this episode, I explore Step Two of Alcoholics Anonymous: "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." I talk about what sanity means, why open-mindedness and humility matter most, and how relief is in the seeking not the understanding. Just as science accepts unseen forces like dark matter and dark energy because of their effects on the universe, we can learn to recognize the evidence of a Higher Power in the peace, hope, and transformation that seeking Him brings. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779]

Stop Rehearsing the Worst: Walking Toward Fear Creates New Evidence

I don't become brave before I act. I become brave because I act. Every time I walk toward fear, my brain collects evidence that I can survive it. Confidence is learned. Before a difficult conversation or situation, my mind writes the ending before the story even begins. I rehearse failure, rejection, embarrassment, and loss while my emotions respond as if those imagined outcomes are  real. Understanding the emotions beneath my anxiety can change the way I approach challenges. Sometimes what looks like anxiety is really insecurity, fear, or even excitement. By slowing down and identifying what I’m actually feeling, I can stop reacting to the stories in my head and start responding to the reality in front of me. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779]