When I got a text 3 days before Christmas from a dear soul sister, former Hall of Famer, saying that she’d hit bottom, I called right away.
What I heard on the other line was a woman, who I typically see light up a room, share in a shaky voice,
“My whole life I’ve just shape-shifted from one addiction to the next – men, sugar, money, work – I’m just realizing it now and I’m so scared.”
Have you ever felt the kind of fear where you don’t know what comes next – and even though you have a life with so much to be grateful for, you can’t see a way out of where you are right now?
Have you ever felt the kind of shame where you look back at your life, thinking of all the desperate, delusional or self-deprecating things you’ve done that you now wish you could take back?
Have you ever felt the kind of embarrassment where your face turns red and your stomach knots as you think of who saw you doing those things and what they think of you?
Have you ever felt the kind of loneliness where you feel like no one gets you and you’re on your own?
If you have, then you’ll resonate with Sylvia’s story.
The reason I got so inspired to share this video with you is because as ashamed, afraid and alone as Sylvia felt, she did the most courageous thing that she could possibly do that night.
She reached out and asked for help.
That one gesture was an alchemizing act that transformed her lowest moment of despair into a launching pad for freedom.
Watch her tell her story – about what brought her to her knees and how she went from “being in the muck” to now feeling lighter, playful and full of joy.
((make sure to select the “cc” icon on the video to get the closed caption as the audio has some choppy bits and she shares gems all all throughout).
| Freedom From Addiction | One Woman’s Story |
Here’s a time lapse of this interview:
At min 1:05 Sylvia shares her come to Jesus moment and what brought her to her knees
At min 3:27 Sylvia talks about her “socially acceptable addictions” that were running her and how denial kept her in the dark
At min 5:08 Sylvia talks about where she had to start and what’s allowed her to get a solid freedom foundation
At min 6:35 Deb talks about the power of letting yourself fully fall as the necessary first step in getting free
At min 7:35 Sylvia talks about what it’s like now that she has gone there and how now she genuinely feel propelled from the inside now.
At min 10:43 Sylvia talks about how addictions like caffeine and sugar just fell away
At min 12:48 Sylvia talks about really owning that she has dealt with stuff on the surface but never addressed the underlying thing and how
At min 13:30 Sylvia talks about what it looks like to now reach out, be in community and support others from a place of integrity
At min 14:43 Deb talks about what addiction is and why trying to get things under control doesn’t work
At min 17:47 Sylvia talks about how she has discovered what’s even greater than muscling your way through things
At min 22:05 Sylvia talks about what has weighed her down that she’s been carrying for all these years and what now has made her lighter, playful and joyful
At min 24:30 Sylvia talks about the difference between inspiration, motivation and transformation
At min 25:52 Deb talks about what it really takes to go further in every area of your life than you ever thought possible
At min 29:00 Deb shares how to have embodied confidence
At min 33:25 Deb asks Sylvia what she would tell someone who was where she was just before Christmas.
In dedication of all things raw, real and recovered,
xoDeb