Artwork

内容由Janet提供。所有播客内容(包括剧集、图形和播客描述)均由 Janet 或其播客平台合作伙伴直接上传和提供。如果您认为有人在未经您许可的情况下使用您的受版权保护的作品,您可以按照此处概述的流程进行操作https://zh.player.fm/legal
Player FM -播客应用
使用Player FM应用程序离线!

My Sobriety Journey - from Whisky to Water with Sam Cowen

57:54
 
分享
 

Manage episode 327039705 series 3246861
内容由Janet提供。所有播客内容(包括剧集、图形和播客描述)均由 Janet 或其播客平台合作伙伴直接上传和提供。如果您认为有人在未经您许可的情况下使用您的受版权保护的作品,您可以按照此处概述的流程进行操作https://zh.player.fm/legal

My guest today is a household name here in South Africa. After a successful career as a radio presenter Sam Cowen wrote a book called "From Whisky to Water" which documented her struggles with alcohol.

Sam came close to killing herself, often driving home so drunk that when she woke the next morning, she had no idea how she got home, let alone what she had said and done the night before.

She managed to ditch the drink but then became addicted to food, piling on 25kgs in her early sobriety. Her salvation was swimming – which is where she found serenity and training as a recovery coach has brought purpose into her life.

In this Episode

  • Sam didn’t drink at university but when she had her first whisky at the radio station where she worked she loved it – and felt like she had “come home”.
  • Broadcasting was very male dominated and Sam struggled to connect – apart from when she was in the bar with her colleagues.
  • She got a reputation for being able to “hold her drink” which she wore like a badge of honour.
  • Over the years Sam had been producing or presenting radio shows and her voice was well known throughout South Africa.
  • One day she did a tv appearance and was devastated to receive an email from a viewer saying “we thought you’d be really pretty”
  • She hadn’t really thought much about her looks before but this nasty comment rocked her self confidence and exacerbated her drinking – after all it didn’t matter what she looked like when she was drinking.
  • Her drinking escalated and she started doing things that were “not normal” – she would have to pull into a multi storey car park for a sleep as she knew she shouldn’t be driving.
  • Sam talked of the “golden 15 minutes” of clarity before closing down in a blackout while she was driving.
  • She told us about waking up and finding blood in her car – the result of taking an injured man to hospital during her blackout
  • We discussed blackouts and the fact that they happen because the brain is so soaked in alcohol it can’t even make memories – it’s not that we have simply forgotten
  • Sam got sober 20 years ago when AA was the only option. These days of course there are many alternative ways to get help, including tribesober.com
  • She felt that the AA meetings were like “coming home” – the warmth and the support of the community enabling her to stop drinking.
  • There is a quote in by CS Lewis in Sam’s book that summarises the connection we feel in the recovery community – “Friendship is born in the moment that one person looks at another and says – You too? I thought I was the only one” – the relief we feel when we realise we are not alone in this is deep.
  • She read a lot of memoirs in early sobriety and the book by Caroline Knapp – "Drinking, a Love Story" made a great impression on her.
  • I thought it was so interesting that Sam had been sober for 14 years but had still not found serenity.
  • Her time at AA had left its mark and she felt that she had to keep “doing penance” or she might drink again..
  • Like many of us Sam experienced a “void” in early sobriety – that feeling of “now what?”
  • She decided to fill the void with ice cream and put on 25kgs in process – then she became “invisible” due to her excess weight and actually enjoyed the fact that she was still “on air”, still being funny but could go unnoticed in public.
  • Her excess weight was causing her a lot of joint pain. A doctor prescribed a whole list of meds to deal with the pain which made Sam decide she must lose the weight instead.
  • She discovered swimming which was when she felt she had “come home” for the third time.
  • If you are in early sobriety and dealing with the “void” then please have a listen to the Tribe Sober podcast episode 55 with Dr Loretta Breuning. Loretta explains that we need a project to keep our happy brain chemicals triggered
  • Of course for Sam that project was swimming and she trained and took place in long distance swimming events – in freezing cold water which of course provides more health benefits!
  • Training as a recovery coach enabled her to find her place in the world. She realised that she could help people and she’s been able to find her purpose.
  • During the next 6 years she moved forwards and began to thrive in her sobriety and to finally find serenity.
  • Sam did her training with David Collins at the Ubuntu Academy of Coaching. He is a renowned international coach and has been interviewed for this podcast so watch this space!
  • She explained that recovery coaching is complementary – it’s not therapy and it’s not treatment but it will help people in early sobriety reconnect with themselves and figure out what they really want out of life.
  • To learn more about Sam and her coaching go to samcowen.co.za and of course her book is essential reading if you are thinking about giving up drinking or in recovery
  • It’s called From Whisky to Water and there is a link to it on her website.
    More Info

Subscription membership – you can join up HERE.

Episode Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program. If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today
Read more about our program and subscribe HERE

Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you

Help us to Spread the Word!

We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help. Please subscribe and share.

If you enjoyed the podcast, then please leave us a 5-star review on Apple podcasts.

Take a screenshot of your review, and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page – see PS below for instructions. We’ll send you something special to say thank you!

We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.

You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.

You can join our private Facebook group HERE.

PS: How to Leave a Rating/Review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS Device)

  1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
  2. Choose “Search” from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (e.g. Recover Like a Mother) into the search field.
  3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
  4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
  5. Click Write a Review underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You’ll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale and write a review (you can rate without writing too but it’s always good to read your experience).
  continue reading

205集单集

Artwork
icon分享
 
Manage episode 327039705 series 3246861
内容由Janet提供。所有播客内容(包括剧集、图形和播客描述)均由 Janet 或其播客平台合作伙伴直接上传和提供。如果您认为有人在未经您许可的情况下使用您的受版权保护的作品,您可以按照此处概述的流程进行操作https://zh.player.fm/legal

My guest today is a household name here in South Africa. After a successful career as a radio presenter Sam Cowen wrote a book called "From Whisky to Water" which documented her struggles with alcohol.

Sam came close to killing herself, often driving home so drunk that when she woke the next morning, she had no idea how she got home, let alone what she had said and done the night before.

She managed to ditch the drink but then became addicted to food, piling on 25kgs in her early sobriety. Her salvation was swimming – which is where she found serenity and training as a recovery coach has brought purpose into her life.

In this Episode

  • Sam didn’t drink at university but when she had her first whisky at the radio station where she worked she loved it – and felt like she had “come home”.
  • Broadcasting was very male dominated and Sam struggled to connect – apart from when she was in the bar with her colleagues.
  • She got a reputation for being able to “hold her drink” which she wore like a badge of honour.
  • Over the years Sam had been producing or presenting radio shows and her voice was well known throughout South Africa.
  • One day she did a tv appearance and was devastated to receive an email from a viewer saying “we thought you’d be really pretty”
  • She hadn’t really thought much about her looks before but this nasty comment rocked her self confidence and exacerbated her drinking – after all it didn’t matter what she looked like when she was drinking.
  • Her drinking escalated and she started doing things that were “not normal” – she would have to pull into a multi storey car park for a sleep as she knew she shouldn’t be driving.
  • Sam talked of the “golden 15 minutes” of clarity before closing down in a blackout while she was driving.
  • She told us about waking up and finding blood in her car – the result of taking an injured man to hospital during her blackout
  • We discussed blackouts and the fact that they happen because the brain is so soaked in alcohol it can’t even make memories – it’s not that we have simply forgotten
  • Sam got sober 20 years ago when AA was the only option. These days of course there are many alternative ways to get help, including tribesober.com
  • She felt that the AA meetings were like “coming home” – the warmth and the support of the community enabling her to stop drinking.
  • There is a quote in by CS Lewis in Sam’s book that summarises the connection we feel in the recovery community – “Friendship is born in the moment that one person looks at another and says – You too? I thought I was the only one” – the relief we feel when we realise we are not alone in this is deep.
  • She read a lot of memoirs in early sobriety and the book by Caroline Knapp – "Drinking, a Love Story" made a great impression on her.
  • I thought it was so interesting that Sam had been sober for 14 years but had still not found serenity.
  • Her time at AA had left its mark and she felt that she had to keep “doing penance” or she might drink again..
  • Like many of us Sam experienced a “void” in early sobriety – that feeling of “now what?”
  • She decided to fill the void with ice cream and put on 25kgs in process – then she became “invisible” due to her excess weight and actually enjoyed the fact that she was still “on air”, still being funny but could go unnoticed in public.
  • Her excess weight was causing her a lot of joint pain. A doctor prescribed a whole list of meds to deal with the pain which made Sam decide she must lose the weight instead.
  • She discovered swimming which was when she felt she had “come home” for the third time.
  • If you are in early sobriety and dealing with the “void” then please have a listen to the Tribe Sober podcast episode 55 with Dr Loretta Breuning. Loretta explains that we need a project to keep our happy brain chemicals triggered
  • Of course for Sam that project was swimming and she trained and took place in long distance swimming events – in freezing cold water which of course provides more health benefits!
  • Training as a recovery coach enabled her to find her place in the world. She realised that she could help people and she’s been able to find her purpose.
  • During the next 6 years she moved forwards and began to thrive in her sobriety and to finally find serenity.
  • Sam did her training with David Collins at the Ubuntu Academy of Coaching. He is a renowned international coach and has been interviewed for this podcast so watch this space!
  • She explained that recovery coaching is complementary – it’s not therapy and it’s not treatment but it will help people in early sobriety reconnect with themselves and figure out what they really want out of life.
  • To learn more about Sam and her coaching go to samcowen.co.za and of course her book is essential reading if you are thinking about giving up drinking or in recovery
  • It’s called From Whisky to Water and there is a link to it on her website.
    More Info

Subscription membership – you can join up HERE.

Episode Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program. If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today
Read more about our program and subscribe HERE

Book a Discovery Call with me to find out if our membership would help you

Help us to Spread the Word!

We made this podcast so that we can reach more people who need our help. Please subscribe and share.

If you enjoyed the podcast, then please leave us a 5-star review on Apple podcasts.

Take a screenshot of your review, and DM it to Tribe Sober’s Instagram page – see PS below for instructions. We’ll send you something special to say thank you!

We release a podcast episode every Saturday morning.

You can follow Tribe Sober on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.

You can join our private Facebook group HERE.

PS: How to Leave a Rating/Review in Apple Podcasts (on an iOS Device)

  1. Open the Podcasts app. EASY.
  2. Choose “Search” from the bottom row of icons and enter the name of the show (e.g. Recover Like a Mother) into the search field.
  3. Select the show under Shows (not under Episodes).
  4. Scroll down past the first few episodes until you see Ratings & Reviews.
  5. Click Write a Review underneath the displayed reviews from other listeners. You’ll then have the option to rate the show on a 5-star scale and write a review (you can rate without writing too but it’s always good to read your experience).
  continue reading

205集单集

所有剧集

×
 
Loading …

欢迎使用Player FM

Player FM正在网上搜索高质量的播客,以便您现在享受。它是最好的播客应用程序,适用于安卓、iPhone和网络。注册以跨设备同步订阅。

 

快速参考指南