Trigger warning: This episode contains references to drunk driving, DWIs, and thoughts of not wanting to live.

Zita was in her kitchen in 2017, working up the nerve for a hard conversation with her boyfriend, when the thought arrived: "You know what would make this easier?" She took a shot to self-soothe before the conversation, and it worked so well that her brain filed alcohol away as the answer to hard moments from then on. She's a registered nurse in her mid-30s who felt nothing when she watched other people drink, all the way through nursing school, with no reason to think that thought would change anything. It did. Three years and several DWIs later, one blacked-out night finally made her stop and ask what she was doing. Now approaching five years alcohol-free, she shares her story.

Zita and Coach Cole discuss:

How one shot before a hard conversation taught her brain a lesson it never unlearned
Why year two brought DWIs and car accidents, then a family intervention she wasn't ready to hear
The hiding stage, and what it costs to act unaffected while drunk around people who love you
Waking up unable to remember the night she drove food to her sick brother
Why she never missed a nursing shift while everything else came apart
The promise to her mom she couldn't keep, and what that finally broke open
How one addiction specialist's number, 90 days, became the only thing she could hold onto
And more on faith, filling her own cup, and what it really means to find your own path to alcohol freedom…

Ready to take the next step? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

Episode links:

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More on this episode:

https://thisnakedmind.com/podcast/using-alcohol-to-self-soothe-zita-naked-life-ep-926/

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How Do You Deal With Stress Without Alcohol? | Reader Question | EP 158 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-158-how-do-you-deal-with-stress-without-alcohol/

When Alcohol Is The Only Coping Tool You Know | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 917 - https://thisnakedmind.com/how-to-stop-using-alcohol-to-cope-alcohol-freedom-coaching-ep-917/

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