Guest Post By: Amanda Silvas “I love drunk Amanda,” is what my college friends used to tell me. “Drunk Amanda” even used to have a name, aka “Claudia,” my alter ego. Almost every weekend in college she’d make an appearance and if she was out, then in my mind I had a pass on owning up to anything that happened … Read More
What It Really Took To Get Sober
When I got sober on August 17, 2008, after yet another happy hour turned sunrise, something inside of me had snapped. I remember standing on the balcony earlier that morning, just as I had run out of cocaine, chain smoking as the sun started to remind me what a degenerate person I had become, or at least that’s how it … Read More
The Moment You Know You Have To Begin Again
On August 17, 2008 I dropped to my knees in a prayer born out of desperation as a result of my cocaine and alcohol addiction coupled with Anxiety & Panic Disorder. It had all become too heavy to carry. In that moment I knew everything had to change; that I had to start over and try something new. After that … Read More
4 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Got Addicted
No one begins their drinking or drugging career thinking they’d like to develop an addiction. You don’t start out boozing, snorting lines of coke or taking pills with the notion that you would like to make this your daily routine. It’s not something you aspire to work towards or some glorious thing you set out to do. “They” tell you … Read More
Dear Alcohol, This Is Goodbye.
Oh dear “friend” Alcohol, what a long, weary road we have traveled together… When I first met you at the ripe age of 15, I had no idea what an impact you would make on my life – and not the good kind, unfortunately. I hate to tell you, but no one starts out their relationship to you with the … Read More
Sobriety Is A Wake Up Call
When I got sober almost 9 years ago, I had no idea what was coming next. My initial goal was to stop using cocaine and in order to do so I knew I also had to quit drinking. What I didn’t realize is that I was answering a much bigger call. My sobriety hasn’t just been a call to clean up … Read More
I Don’t Drink Because It Doesn’t Make Me Feel Good
As I approach almost 9 years of sobriety, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be sober: to live a life without alcohol or drugs. I can’t tell you how many of my coaching clients come to me saying they wish they could just be “normal,” with drinking. Or that they didn’t think they had a … Read More
8.5 Years Sober Today Reminds Me Of What’s Possible
Exactly 8.5 years ago today I made a decision to quit drinking and using cocaine. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I didn’t want to experience the anxiety, panic, shame, guilt, exhaustion, defeat or self loathing for one minute longer. I prayed for a miracle that day – not knowing what I was doing and not … Read More
5 Guiding Principles That Transformed My Sobriety
Walking the path of sobriety and living in recovery takes bravery and a great deal of willingness. I work with a lot of people now in my sobriety coaching practice and so many of my clients have similar fears and questions. How do I get sober? Where do I start? How do I explain it to friends and family? Does me not … Read More
Celebrate Your Wins: 101 Months Sober
The photo on the left is from February 2008 – six months before I got sober. I was on a trip to Amsterdam and there wasn’t one minute of that week that I wasn’t completely lit. I binge drank everyday. Red Bull Vodka in hand at all times while simultaneously pumping my body with weed, cocaine, molly, sleepless nights and … Read More