The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast Podcast Por Ashley Loeb Blassingame arte de portada

The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast

De: Ashley Loeb Blassingame
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Welcome to The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast. We are a community of recovering people who have overcome the odds and made monumental life changes. We don't shy away from the nitty gritty - we like to laugh give inspiration and remind you there is hope. Come join us no matter where you are on your recovery journey. Together, we have the courage to change! Subscribe and join our podcast community to hear amazing stories of courage and transformation!The Courage to Change: A Recovery Podcast Copyright 2021 Desarrollo Personal Higiene y Vida Saludable Psicología Psicología y Salud Mental Éxito Personal
Episodios
  • 249. Five More Minutes: Kaela Demerjian on Why Recovery Sometimes Means Just Staying

    249. Five More Minutes: Kaela Demerjian on Why Recovery Sometimes Means Just Staying
    Mar 9 2026
    Summary: Kaela Demerjian’s story begins with chaos. Growing up in Orange County, she never felt like she belonged anywhere. By middle school she was struggling with self harm, depression, and drugs, eventually landing in psych wards and even being tased by police during a suicide crisis. She got sober young, but sobriety alone didn’t fix the pain. For years she searched for belonging everywhere: punk houses in Oakland, activism, yoga, marriage, and even a new life in France. But the emptiness followed her until she finally discovered the one thing she had been missing all along. In this conversation, Kaela shares how real recovery began when she stopped trying to do it alone and found community in AA and Al-Anon. Through guidance, spirituality, and the support of people who understood her struggle, she slowly learned that recovery isn’t about fixing everything overnight. Sometimes it’s about staying when you want to run. Sometimes it’s about surviving the next five minutes. Today, 14 years sober, Kaela reflects on the long road from self destruction to self acceptance and the power of community, humility, and faith in building a life she never thought was possible. What listeners will learn: Why sobriety alone doesn’t always solve the deeper pain behind addiction The difference between abstinence and real recovery How community and guidance can change the trajectory of recovery Why many people feel lost even after they stop drinking or using How codependency and the need to belong can shape addiction and relationships The role AA and Al-Anon can play in building healthy support systems How to survive overwhelming emotional pain one small step at a time Why recovery sometimes means simply staying for the next five minutes How spiritual growth and humility can become powerful tools for healing What it looks like to build a meaningful life after years of chaos Kaela's Instagram: @KaelaDemerjian Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaelasaez/
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    1 h y 25 m
  • 248. Postpartum OCD and Growing Up With Alcohol Use Disorder: Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, and Recovery

    248. Postpartum OCD and Growing Up With Alcohol Use Disorder: Intrusive Thoughts, Anxiety, and Recovery
    Dec 19 2025
    In this episode of The Courage to Change, Ashley Loeb Blassingame speaks with author and illustrator Amanda Davis about two deeply connected experiences: growing up in a home impacted by alcohol use disorder and later navigating postpartum OCD as a new mother. Amanda shares what it was like to lose her father to alcohol-related illness at a young age and how growing up in an unpredictable, high-stress environment shaped her nervous system, anxiety, and sense of responsibility. She explains how those early experiences laid the groundwork for postpartum OCD years later, when multiple major life changes collided at once. The conversation takes an honest, clear-eyed look at postpartum OCD, including intrusive thoughts, “sticky” thinking, reassurance-seeking cycles, and the fear many mothers feel about admitting what’s happening in their minds. Amanda walks through how her symptoms showed up, why they were so frightening, and how an intensive outpatient program specifically for postpartum OCD helped her recover. Together, Ashley and Amanda also discuss how we talk to children about hard things, including addiction, loss, anxiety, and recovery, and why silence often does more harm than age-appropriate honesty. Amanda shares how these experiences led her to write Sometimes Stormy, a children’s book that gives families language for talking about emotional storms without shame. This episode is for mothers, clinicians, educators, and caregivers who want to better understand postpartum OCD, intrusive thoughts, and how recovery can look when the struggle is internal, invisible, and deeply misunderstood. www.AmandaDavisArt.com "Sometimes Stormy: A Story About Finding Calm and Staying Safe When Someone You Love Drinks Too Much" by Amanda Davis #LocalBookStore #AmandaDavisArt #PostPartumOCD #ParentalLoss
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    53 m
  • 247. The Myth of Rock Bottom: Why “Normal” Drinking Can Be Heavy Enough

    247. The Myth of Rock Bottom: Why “Normal” Drinking Can Be Heavy Enough
    Nov 13 2025
    Lesley Jones never had the dramatic “rock bottom” people expect. No arrests, no lost job, no catastrophic implosion. Instead, she lived with the quiet, relentless hum of anxiety and the mental gymnastics of someone who intuitively knew alcohol worked a little too well. As a high-achieving oldest daughter, state-champion athlete, and lifelong perfectionist, she learned early how to drink with precision to silence the internal buzz of fear and pressure. In this conversation, Lesley shares what most people never talk about: the early-stage progression of alcohol use, the mental toll of constantly negotiating with yourself, and the moment she realized she didn’t need to lose everything to decide she was done rolling the dice. She breaks down how she got sober in her late twenties, what actually shifted, how motherhood reshaped her awareness, and the internal “fan noise” that finally pushed her toward change. We also dig into the difference between abstinence and recovery, parenting with a program, why “mommy wine culture” is a trap, the slow creep from control to obsession, and how she built a sober life she’s proud of — including a beautiful company, Traveling Pendants, dedicated to passing on strength through shared stories. This episode is a lifeline for anyone who’s ever quietly wondered, “Is this getting a little too loud?” You do not need a spectacular bottom to choose a better life. What The Listener Will Learn • How early-stage alcohol use disorder shows up long before obvious consequences • Why anxiety, perfectionism, and “oldest daughter energy” often drive early drinking patterns • How mommy-wine culture quietly normalizes dependency • How the mental load of drinking becomes its own problem • The difference between simply not drinking and actually being in recovery • Why intuition is often the first, most accurate warning sign • How to recognize the internal “fan noise” that signals addiction creeping in • What it looks like to get sober without hitting a dramatic bottom • Practical tools for staying sober in social and family environments • How working a recovery program can shift the way you parent • Why community and accountability are critical in early sobriety • How Lesley’s Traveling Pendants project uses shared storytelling to give people strength • High-functioning alcoholism and its invisible progression • Anxiety, control, and self-medication • The myth of the rock bottom • Early intervention and choosing sobriety before major loss • Motherhood, drinking culture, and social normalization • The psychological burden of planning drinking • Why people quit long before the big consequences • Emotional and spiritual transformation through recovery • Community, sponsorship, and accountability • Repair, amends, and healthier family dynamics • Storytelling as connection • Passing strength forward through shared experience
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    1 h
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