E61: Navigating Changing Family Relationships in Recovery

What happens to family relationships in recovery? It's no secret that addiction affects entire families, but we thought it would be good to also talk about navigating family relationships after you've stopped drinking. Spoiler alert: it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Of course there are positives, like more meaningful connections and rebuilding trust. But there are struggles, too. In this sober podcast episode, we're joined by DeAnn from Show Up And Stay, Ali from The Sober Witch, and our friend Kernie, to talk about what relationships look like, now that we're sober and working on healing ourselves.

"First I had to heal myself, before I could heal my relationships."

In this episode:

• We all thought we were hiding our drinking from our families
• We pushed everyone away to "protect" them from us.
• Discovering the very real need for connection
• Creating new beliefs around intimacy
• Developing the maturity to have healthy relationships
• Other people aren't ready to change just because you are, and that's hard to accept sometimes.
• Finding connection in recovery communities is an important part of recovery
• Our growth is going to make our families uncomfortable
• We discover new identities, and have to introduce our families to the new "us"
• Where you are at now - in your relationships and in life - is not where you'll always be.

"It's really hard to do the thing that is best for you, and disappoint the people that you care about."