COURTNEY ANDERSEN

Hi friends, I wanted to share with you about my lack of writing words for my blog. I have started to shift my focus on another project with helping women in Recovery along with starting a PODCAST! I will still blog, just won't be all the time. I really love podcasting and super excited about this form of expression.

I wanted to share this hear so for anyone who does follow this blog and is not connected with me on my social media platforms, you have this opportunity to know about it.

Two recovering alcoholics meet on instagram over 3 years ago, form a friendship, support one another, share their love of all things wellness, BRAVO, helping others and then form this RAW partnership.

My friend Lori and I, Recovery membership site is going awesome with being able to help and support women in recovery and even women you are still in active addiction wanting to get sober. We also launched our RAW podcast over a month ago and we are loving the amazing love and support we are receiving.

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Once you quit, things just don’t get better over night.

It’s a process, you have to do the work(whichever type is right for you) on yourself and trust the process of getting very uncomfortable with feelings. For so long we were afraid of feelings. They are not the end of the world.

Feelings are emotionally energy, not personality traits!! You may be stuck in a feeling for some time, I know when I got sober I was sad for the first year with some angry rage in there. I mean I was a dick but that’s all part of the process...you are grieving.

In a matter of 6 weeks I quit drinking, lost my sweet Jerry and then quit smoking for her. Yes for her, if I didn’t make that promise to her I would still be smoking cigs today. For reals. That was a lot to lose at once and for some reading this you may think, what’s the big deal? But alcohol and cigs were my bestie, I was addicted to them and they were a shield of protection for me. That’s the story I created in...

Funny thing about addiction.. it does not discriminate. Lots of people have told me when I tell them I’m a recovering alcoholic that they would of never guessed. White female, grew up middle class, well traveled and educated and I was a mess.

I know there are lots of people who question their relationship with alcohol. If you are questioning that, there mostly likely is. But that is not up for me to decide for you.

Even though I was not a daily drinker, I binged. I could go days without it but man oh man once it touched my lips..goodnight sweet Irene. I would be on a mission to get drunk AF for days and wouldn’t stop. I will say and want to make this loud to the world, you don’t have to drink every day to be an alcoholic. This is a HUGE stigma.

My life revolved around drinking. My fun revolved drinking. My relationships revolved around drinking. Drinking. Drinking. Drinking. It controlled me but the physical act of drinking again was not everyday. Fucking...

Took some time off my blog but I'm back!!

I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is waking up on and the day after your Birthday with ZERO hangover in sight! TO me this is part of the freedom train of recovery and choosing to live a life of sobriety.

For years in my addiction I spent legit every Birthday waking up on October 5th and the day after feeling like death. Ashamed of my actions, anxiety so bad I felt like I was going to die and the voice inside me that always said, "this year I'm going to control my drinking and not be such a pig!"

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

It took me a few Birthday's in recovery to mourn the loss of what my old Birthday's were and realize how going forward they would look.  It's been a good different, one without booze and ones that I control with whatever I feel like doing! To me that is the greatest gift I could give myself, year after year!

It's hard to believe some days that I have spent ALL of my thirties Sober, 6 straight...

A few weeks ago I totally stepped outside of my comfort zone and was asked by my sweet friend Lori to be on her podcast!! She is the cats meow and I just adore her. We met thru the Instagram recovery world and I’m so happy our worlds collided cause she is the best. Link is below! Wanted to share on my blog for those who follow here but not on my social media. Would love to hear your feedback.

Podcast Tuesday! How I LOVE this girl. If you don’t know Courtney, she is the founder of @sober.vibes and she is a recovery champion! In this episode we talk health and fitness, the night and event that happened to lead Courtney to getting sober, how she feels about her her coaching business and personal development, #the5secondrule, ending emotional eating, paying off debt, @daveramsey, and reality t.v. Courtney is honest, open, and shares her story in the most authentic way to help others and to let us all know #wearenotalone. I’m proud of her and SO thankful for her...

This is what my active addiction looked liked.

When people tell you drugs and alcohol aren’t cool, believe them. Lots of cocaine and heavy nightly drinking during these years of my active addiction. I thought I was cool but I actually wasn’t. The best part about this picture is in fact around this time of my life I knew in the pit of my soul that one day I would be sober, I knew it was the alcohol that lead me to drugs and this depressing, lonely, chaotic, shameful life i was living. I knew I didn’t want to keep on this ride anymore but at the time I didn’t know how to get off. It would only take about another 4-5 years later of having a 100th rock bottom for me finally to say fucking enough already. Thank the universe I did, I won’t say I wish i did it early because things happen how they are suppose to. But I will say I am a lucky one to have escaped what addiction ultimately does to a person and that is death. It’s not dramatic, it’s...

Would I like to go back to this young lady in the picture below and tell her to stop drinking at this time before it all got so dark. Of course but going back wouldn’t have changed a thing.

I wouldn’t have listened and most likely told myself to “fuck off and that I was, followed by I’m not hurting anyone” which was not the case. I hurt family, friends, opportunities but most of all I hurt myself in my active addiction. That’s something you truly don’t see until you have some clarity. Clarity is a hell of a drug!! I wouldn’t change a thing and chose a life of recovery at the time I WAS suppose to. I was ready, my soul was ready for the big scary life of the unknown...My unknown was a life without alcohol. If

you are struggling and you're ready take the step of choosing a sober life today. Its not easy, some days are HARD AF(I just had one on Friday, 5.5 years in) but man oh man it’s worth it! Keep fighting the good fight to any...

2,000 days since I had my last drink..who would have thought??

I don’t ever count days anymore but think about how many day’s that is?!?! Is wild!! I knew in my soul there would be a day I was going to live a life without alcohol. I just didn’t know, when or how I was going to get there. I eventually did get to that point and on that day on 8/18/12, I finally chose a different route than the one I was on for the previous decade. Has Recovery been easy..absolutely not! Some days it’s the pits but other days you're like Fuck yes, I own this shit... I see you Recovery and I got this!! It won’t be easy, it will not be perfect, you may(you for sure will and that’s ok) eat a lot of sugar those first few years and question everything but I promise you it’s all worth it.

Sobriety has brought me peace within my self and a life I’m beyond grateful for because I make the daily choice to wake up another day sober.

Xoxo,

CMA

How many of you always said, “I will start fresh on Monday” after a complete shit show of drinking/using?!??

I did for years. It was always Monday I will start this new change of behavior with my drinking. I won’t take shots anymore, I will only drink wine, NO more cocaine, Absolutely no more Jager/Jameson/Grand Marnier, I won’t be mean to people anymore when hammered, if I can just get thru this hangover and not die god I will quit drinking?!?!? I’m sure there are a few of you that have been down this road or said these exact words. Well, today is Monday and on this Monday you have the power to STOP the madness. Just know that stopping the insanity does consist of putting the bottle or the drugs down completely. There is no in-between for us alcoholics and addicts. There just isn’t, so stop telling yourself you can control it. You can’t. I can’t. We can’t. Our brains are not programmed that way. It’s ok to be powerless...

I have whiskey in my left hand and a rolled-up dollar bill in my right. In front of me on a wooden coffee table are broken up lines of blow, ready for me.  Sobriety is not for me anymore, I take the Jameson to my lips and tip the shot glass back and its over. The light switch has been turned on and I can my addiction come to life.  The whiskey is burning the back of my throat and I feel it warm my bones, I have missed that feeling.  After taking a few shots I then indulge into the cocaine that patiently awaits for me.  I am back to a familiar crew of friends and It's like the last 5 years of sobriety never happened.  I'm right back to the life of FUN and giving ZERO soulless FUCKS.  I feel free and liberated but in the midst of my high, the realization of what I have just done comes into play. The anxiety sets in, my heart beats faster and I start to sweat. What has I done is on repeat in my head, like a broken record but I go in for another line. I'm...