How do you know if drinking alcohol becomes too much for you that it affects your mental health and personal finances? Are you someone who uses alcohol to self-medicate in times of stress, anxiety, or depression?
Do you need to reach rock bottom before you realize you have a drinking problem and need help? The answer may surprise you.
Today’s episode is all about evaluating your relationship with alcohol, sobriety, and recovering from addiction with “The Sober Sexpert” Tawny Lara.
Tawny Lara is an NYC-based writer, public speaker, and event producer who’s passionate about smashing stigmas associated with both sexuality and sobriety.
She is the founder of the Readings on Recovery™ reading series and SobrieTea Party™, and co-host of Recovery Rocks podcast with Lisa Smith.
Tawny shares how she got addicted to alcohol and when she started to become aware of the problem because as she puts it, her alcoholism is not the kind where she ‘lost everything’.
She also discusses what she did to stay sober for one year and gave several tips and resources on how to stay sober aside from joining Alcoholics Anonymous.
In the end, Tawny talks about money, mental health, and the opportunity costs associated with drinking – the real side effects of drinking too much alcohol.
What You Will Learn From This Episode
- The gray area of being an alcoholic — how you can realize if you have a problem and need help
- Tips and resources to help you stay sober
- Ways to resist alcohol cravings/temptation
- Why people self-medicate when they have mental health issues, why it’s not good for you and how you can get real help
- What is ‘replacement behavior’ and how it can help you recover from alcohol addiction
“Why is alcohol so important to you that you’re grasping at straws to figure out ways to keep it in your life?” – Tawny Lara
“It’s all about replacing the behavior. When you think about it, unless you’re physically addicted to alcohol, not drinking is easy. You just don’t do it.” – Tawny Lara
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Timestamps
2:09 – What made Tawny realize that drinking alcohol became a problem for her
5:52 – Talking about the ‘gray area’ around drinking
7:24 – How Tawny sought help, plus her tips to stay sober and resources that can help you (aside from Alcoholics Anonymous)
11:50 – Tawny’s financial situation during the ten years that she was drinking
16:02 – The opportunity costs (the real side effects) of alcohol addiction
19:45 – How alcohol addiction affected Tawny’s health and why people self-medicate
23:54 – Advice for people who are self-medicating plus ways to help you overcome alcohol addiction
31:35 – How has Tawny’s mental and financial health changed after her recovery
36:15 – What to do during alcohol cravings or temptations
38:08 – DIfferent resources on where to get help
People Mentioned:
Resources:
Connect with Tawny
Connect with Melanie
- mentalhealthandwealth.com
- melanielockert.com
- Contact: mentalhealthandwealthshow@gmail.com
