Podcast: Off the Stool

Episode: Dom 

Welcome to the Off the Stool Podcast, where we share our experience, strength and hope to help listeners navigate their next chapter after recovery. Our guest today is Dom, an addict and alcoholic in recovery. July 7th will mark Dom’s 7 year sobriety. She reveals that she was a meth addict for 10 years and dealt with alcoholism prior. Though she struggled in life growing up, she didn’t begin using drugs until her mid 20s when she felt her life falling apart. 

Dom refers to her family as “the modern day dysfunctional Brady Bunch”. Her biological mother is a drug addict who used during pregnancy, and her stepmom is an alcoholic who was abusive. Though she swore to never be like her mother, Dom unfortunately ended up going down the same path. Alcoholics Anonymous, she shares, offered her a healthy coping mechanism for life’s traumas. She spent much of her life doing things for other people without really knowing what she wanted for herself. After her second divorce, Dom found herself partying when she wasn’t caring for her two young daughters. This quickly escalated into other addictions, like cocaine, men and meth. The first time she tried meth she was addicted. Her addiction started out as something she would do morning and night just to manage, then progressed to every six hours, then every 2 hours. Eventually, Dom’s house was taken away and she and her daughters went to live in a friend’s RV. After being arrested for unpaid traffic tickets directly related to her addiction and hitting rock bottom with her kids, Dom went to her first AA meeting. 

The minute she walked into AA, Dom felt that she had finally found the place she had been searching for. She continued going to meetings, putting one foot in front of the other and found a sponsor. Finally, she found herself in an environment with other people who understood the chaos going on in her brain. At her 3 month sober mark, Dom got a job after not having worked consistently for ten years. Now, she finds herself prepared to take on the hard things which non-addicts never have to face. She reiterates that recovery is possible, life is possible, and relationships can be restored. Then, she shares how she managed during her first year sober. She changed nearly everything about her life as an addict and put 110% of her energy into herself. The first year of sobriety contains some of the hardest things addicts have to do in their entire lives. While AA can help equip people with the skills they need, she encourages addicts to seek extra help if they need to. The relationships she has formed through AA have been the most rewarding aspect of Dom’s journey. She shares the closest moment she came to a relapse and how she overcame the urge to drink. 

As the episode draws to a close, Dom offers advice for addicts listening. A life outside of drugs and alcohol is possible and you don’t have to pick up. The key to not picking up is finding someone who is like minded and submerging yourself in the strength and wisdom they have to share. At the beginning, all you have to do is show up and listen. There is a chance that your life can be greater than you ever imagined. 

Thanks to Dom for sharing her story with us today!