A Little Light Reading.
A Little Heavy Listening.
Art and Recovery with Tamlin Allbritten
Episode #38: Art and Recovery with Tamlin Allbritten In this episode of Back Porch Chats, Vince and Jeanna talk to Tamlin Allbritten who has worked for 40 years with families, children, and people in rehab using art to help them understand each other, their...
Pain and Pleasure Motivators in Recovery
Episode #33: Pain and Pleasure Motivators in Recovery Are you running from pain or towards pleasure? When new in recovery, most people are running from the pain they have endured because of their addiction to alcohol. After a while, however, that pain...
Now What with Jeanna: Journaling for Recovery from Addiction and Trauma
Have you considered the benefits of journaling for recovery from alcoholism and other addictions? In this episode of Back Porch Chats, Jeanna shares some of her journaling experience and expertise and the knowledge she has gained from it. Listen to this...
The Entrepreneur in Recovery: Louise’s Story
An Entrepreneur in Recovery: Recovering from addiction and alcoholism means healing more than just the desire to self-medicate. Louise uncovers some of that in her story about healing from co-dependency and past trauma to having a recovery baby and building a new...
Fierce Independence Revealed
Are you fiercely independent? Does it get in the way of your relationships? Your well-being? In this episode, Jeanna gets real about her difficulties as a fiercely independent woman. She talks about how she came to be fiercely independent, how she let being...
Lisa Teggart offers a Door to Serenity for People in Need of Recovery
Door to Serenity is an inclusive sober living facility located in Mobile, AL. Back Porch Chats brings to you, Lisa Teggart who, after experiencing the overdose death of her sister, realized that she had to do everything in her power to offer a “Door to Serenity”...
Mary Catherine’s Story of Addiction and Overdose
To honor International Overdose Awareness Day, we have another episode featuring a story of addiction and loss. In this episode, we talk to Marcia and David Grayson who lost their daughter, Mary Catherine, to overdose. Mary Catherine attended St. Jude school and...
Julie Waters Talks about Her Son’s Overdose Death
Listen in as we talk about overdose death with Julie Waters and what families can do to honor the loved one they lost. International Overdose Awareness Day, August 31, is approaching fast, and here at Back Porch Chats, our goal is to heighten your awareness of the...
Recovery Support in Zoom with Annette and Steve
Recovery Support in Zoom Listen in as we talk to Steve and Annette about how they've been helping people get recovery support in Zoom meetings during the pandemic. Covid hit the recovery world and made some drastic changes to how people stay sober and find new...
Addiction Interventions with Psychologist Jim Ware
This week we talk about addiction interventions with psychologist Jim Ware. Do you have a loved one whose alcohol or another substance use has gotten out of control? Are they behaving in ways that are incongruent with their own values? In this week’s episode, we...
The Sponsor, Sponsee, Therapist Relationship with Dr. Camila
When a Sponsor Relationship Needs More She’s back. Vince and Jeanna have another conversation with Dr. Camila Williams. In this episode, they talk to Dr. Williams about the benefits of working a recovery program that involves therapy and a 12-step community, and...
Digging Deep into Our Fears
While Vince and Jeanna have enjoyed producing these podcasts for you, sometimes they are a struggle. This one about their struggles with the podcast was no different. In this episode, they dig deep into their fears to address where they really come from. It takes a...
Triggers and the Drinking Habit Loop
A common concern for alcoholics is how to deal with the things that trigger them to drink. In fact, many relapses happen at the start of a trigger. Familiar environments, people, or events launch a thought in the alcoholic's brain that says, “let’s deal with this...
Hypnotist Terry Stokes Jr. on Limiting Beliefs
A few months ago, Vince and I had the opportunity to see hypnotist, Terry Stokes Jr. perform his comedy show for an audience of alcoholics. In his show, he works the message of recovery into an environment of laughter. In this episode, Terry talks with Vince and...
Gastric Bypass and Alcohol Addiction with Shana
Alcohol Addiction After Gastric Bypass If you have had, are considering having, or have a loved one who is considering having gastric bypass, you will want to listen to this episode. One of the leading difficulties amongst gastric bypass patients is the development...
Fun with Carol and Anna Part 1
Fun with Carol and Anna Part 1 And boy did we have fun. In this first part, Anna shares her story of recovery, isolation, and connecting with nature. It’s a short episode full of laughter. Highlights in this Episode Include: How alcoholics don’t understand fun...
Fun With Carol and Anna Part 2
Fun with Carol and Anna Part 2 Gears switch drastically as we continue this episode of “Fun with Carol and Anna” on a more serious note. Carol talks about her multiple addictions, experience with mental institutions, and growing up in a critical home. It’s...
Roban’s Story and Driving Miss Jeanna
Recovery from Meth Addiction and Childhood Trauma In this episode, Vince meets Roban, Jeanna’s taxi driver from “back in the day”. Roban tells her story of how she was introduced to her drug of choice (meth) and quickly became addicted. She also shares with us how...
When Enabling Becomes Abuse
When Enabling Becomes Abuse For many of us, helping is part of our nature. We want to help our children, our parents as they age. and our partners. Unfortunately, sometimes our desire to help leads to more harm than good. That helping becomes enabling. Do you know...
8 Areas of Self-Care
Self Care for the Recovering Alcoholic Do you have trouble determining the difference between selfishness and self-care? If so, this episode is for you. Often, the recovering alcoholic feels guilty when they provide themselves with self-care because it means they...
A Land Far Away – Jenny Hewitt Smith
The connection between childhood traumatic events and self-medicating with alcohol as adults. We had the wonderful opportunity to speak with friend, Jenny Hewett Smith. She tells about her childhood in South Africa and the trauma she endured during Apartheid. In...
Hierarchy of Emotions: Anger, Fear, Shame, and Grief
Understanding The Hierarchy of Emotions Anger, fear, shame, and grief. These emotions give us the energy we need to overcome adversity, but they can become destructive energy when the wrong choices are made. In this episode of Back Porch Chats, Vince and Jeanna...
Wild Thing In Recovery: Rob Wilds’ Story Pt. 2
A conversation with Rob Wilds, wrestler, recovering addict, and podcaster. Listen in to part two of this two-part series as Rob continues his story of grace, hope, and recovery. Other highlights in this episode include: · His feelings and beliefs about...
Wild Thing In Recovery: Rob Wilds’ Story Pt. 1
Vince and Jeanna talk with Rob Wilds, wrestler, a recovering addict, and podcaster. Listen in to part one of this two-part series and hear Rob tell his story of grace, hope, and recovery. Other highlights in this episode include: · His life as a pro...
Randy’s Stormy Path to Recovery
In this episode: Randy's story about his path to recovery Vince: All right, Gina, here we go. Another podcast and I am so excited about our guest today. Jeanna: You want to tell me about him? Vince: This is a longtime friend of mine. We go back years. [00:00:51]...
Gail Breaks Free with Boundaries
Co-dependency and the need for boundaries. Last week we met Randy who told us what was like to grow up in an extremely violent environment. This week we meet his wife, Gail, as she tells her own story growing up and how her childhood led to co-dependency....
Vince’s Alcohol Story: Podcast Transcript
Jeanna: In today's episode, we have something really special. [00:01:00] I've heard it before, and in fact, when I first heard your story, all I wanted to do was come up and talk to you and have a conversation and share [00:01:15] how I connected. Can you tell the...
Struggling with Alcohol Recovery after Detox?
When I first started attending a 12-step program, I kept hearing people mentioning the word "pause" or in some cases "PAWS." Both words are important to know about with regards to alcohol recovery after detox. The first refers to the act of stopping for a second...
Am I an Alcoholic? Podcast Episode & Worksheet
Drugs, alcohol, food—any of these may be causing havoc in your life, but does that mean you’re addicted? If your life isn’t going the way you would like and you think an addiction may be the problem, listen along as Vince and Jeanna explore five signs that may identify you as an alcoholic and how those same five signs could also identify other potential addictions.
Alcohol, Perfectionism and Trauma: Connecting the Dots
Alcoholism, perfectionism and trauma. Okay, I get the alcoholism and trauma. Both of those I could clearly identify. But perfectionism? No way? My life was a mess. I had neglected so many bills that my credit score was in the “very poor” range. Bill...
What the Alcoholic Needs to Know about Perfectionism
Perfectionism and its Role in Addiction Are you a perfectionist? If so, your need to excel could lead to relapse. In this episode, Vince and Jeanna talk with Dr. Camila Williams, a mindset expert, board-certified psychologist, and cognitive-behavioral...
Easy Meditation for Trauma Survivors and Recovery
As a recovering alcoholic, meditation can bring peace and acceptance. It's an opportunity to breathe into calmness while offering a back door for anxiety and anger to slip out of. In fact, it is one of the most powerful tools I have to overcome the stress that may...
How Our Interest in the Addiction/Trauma Connection Began
The Addiction & Trauma Connection Vince and Jeanna talk about the inspiration for the project that launched their collaboration: a book about childhood sexual abuse and addiction recovery to help 12-Step sponsors who discover their sponsee is a child abuse...
Water Helps Addiction Recovery: 8 Ways to Help You Drink Up
When I quit drinking, I thought all I had to do was survive the hangover and then my body would be back to normal. I was wrong. I had no idea how much water helps addiction recovery. Alcohol takes a huge toll on the body. Not only do we lose nutrients because we...
The Purpose of Back Porch Chats
Meet Vince and Jeanna as they talk about the purpose of this podcast. Discover Jeanna's passion behind the project. Other highlights in this episode include discussion on: How we hide the shame of abuse. Detailing as an effect of shame. The benefit of having a...
7 Motivational Tips for Sobriety Success
Congratulations! You have decided you want sobriety success! You've suffered through the withdrawals, and now you have to face the trials of daily life. You're scared, uncertain that you will succeed, and obsessed with the fact that you can no longer drink. In...
6 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Manage Depression
For years I suffered from bouts of depression. It wasn’t continual, but it did affect my life. My son, on the other hand, had to manage depression on a daily basis. Unfortunately, after years of fighting against it, he ended his life. As you can imagine, following...
Struggling for Sober Holidays? Try These Tips Instead
I’m going to be honest. Sometimes my family drives me crazy. Unfortunately, the stress of the season only seems to enhance the frustration making it difficult to have sober holidays. My mother, bent on giving her children (now adults) the Christmas she never had,...
Midlife Wake-up Call: 7 Ways Midlife Crisis Can Help You Grow
Maybe your midlife crisis fears are right. Maybe the best years of your life are over, and you feel you have nothing left to look forward to. That nothing exciting is in store for you. But maybe you’re wrong. In fact, midlife is named as such because you are only...