Amanda, with 19 months since her last drink, shares her story   Why we drink:   Alcohol is everywhere. Drinking appears to be the norm.  We are bombarded with alcohol advertisements 67 times a day.  Our society has a love affair with booze. We have a genetic make-up to become addicted to alcohol. Our environment is flooded with alcohol. We think everything we do should be accompanied by alcohol. Alcohol is a highly addicted drug. We have shitty coping skills.   Not on the list of why we drink: a moral failing or a weakness of character   SHOW NOTES   [ 7:45 ] Paul Introduces Amanda.  How long have you been sober?   Amanda – I have been sober for 19 months.  This is the longest I have ever been sober.  I feel very proud of myself.   [ 8:51 ]  What is your background?   Amanda – I am from Mississippi but now live in Florida with my 15 year old daughter.   [ 10:27 ] Did you ever try to put rules in place to moderate your drinking?   Amanda – I started drinking when I was 16 so there were no rules in the beginning.  I was that sloppy drunk girl in the room.  I would start watching the clock for 5:00 which meant it was time to drink.   [ 12:34 ] When did you first realize that you had a problem?   Amanda – In 2010, one bad thing after another happened to me.  I was put in jail for domestic violence.  I was so ashamed of not being able to control myself with alcohol.  I felt that I was a strong person since I had raised my daughter alone.  I did not want to appear weak and vulnerable.   [ 14:26 ] Amanda and Paul discuss the stigma of addiction.   Amanda – I had twin cousins who died because of alcohol.  Their memory and my daughter were the only reasons why I didn’t commit suicide myself.  I felt like no one cared about me so why should I care about myself?   [ 16:01 ] How did you get sober?   Amanda – I did not use AA.  I went to a rehab that taught the 12 steps but after I was released, there was no support.  No one called or checked on me.  My parents had basically just dropped me off at rehab.  I still drank for 4 years and then turned to meth.  I finally decided that I was either going to die or go back to jail.  I moved to another state but was still hanging out with the same type of people.  I knew I needed to give up booze so I started looking for something else to do.  This led me to find a group of people who were into mud runs.  I got into fitness.   [ 21:42 ] Amanda and Paul discuss her days in rehab and her personal development.   Amanda – I did not feel like anything had changed after my 60 days in rehab.  Afterward I started looking into motivational development.  Someone told me that I was born with a purpose.  Everyone has the power to help others.  I was under the false assumption that life was going to be a piece of cake.  I joined a personal development community (Breather University).  The people in this group accepted me and my life has completely changed.  I am Amanda and I am amazing!  I am not a part of sobriety groups because I hate the alcoholic label.  What you say about yourself is what you are.   [ 33:36 ]  What is your pump up song?   Paul – Limp Bizkit, “Nookie” (Life is an opportunity, not an obligation). Amanda – Jason Aldean, “Gonna Know We Were Here” (Self-affirmations are super important to me).                          [ 34:08 ]  What is your relationship like with your daughter?   Amanda – We have had to rebuild our relationship.  She lived with my parents for the last 6 months that I was using.  She moved in with me when I went to Florida.  There has been a lot of growing and we have had to push through the hard times.   [ 36:50 ]  What is a typical day like for you?   Amanda – I say positive affirmations to myself every day.  I list 3 things that I am grateful for every day.  I try to exercise, read or watch personal development videos every day.     [ 39:09  ] Rapid Fire Round What was your worst memory from drinking? getting knocked out by a big guy I had tried to beat up Did you ever h