Sisters In Sobriety

Addiction can gradually disconnect people from the ordinary pleasures, relationships and experiences that once made life meaningful. In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen help make the science of addiction recovery practical and accessible with Dr. Eric Garland, a clinical researcher, psychotherapist and leading expert in mind-body therapies for addiction and chronic pain. Dr. Garland is the developer of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement, or MORE, an evidence-based treatment that combines mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy and positive psychology.

Why do alcohol and other addictive substances begin to feel more rewarding than everyday life? How are addiction, chronic pain, depression, anxiety and trauma connected? Dr. Garland explains how substance use changes the brain’s dopamine and reward systems, why cravings can become automatic, and how mindfulness can create a pause between an urge and an action. He also discusses relapse prevention, emotional pain, moderation, harm reduction and the role of meditation in 12-step recovery.

The conversation breaks down the three pillars of MORE: mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and savoring. Dr. Garland explains how mindfulness strengthens attention and awareness, how reappraisal helps people examine the consequences of their choices, and how savoring retrains the brain to experience pleasure from ordinary moments. He also shares techniques for observing cravings, “playing the tape forward,” rebuilding natural reward and using the STOP practice before engaging in an addictive behaviour.

Sonia reflects on how rediscovering simple pleasures and developing new hobbies contributed to a profound identity shift in her own sobriety. Dr. Garland shares how his personal mindfulness practice shaped his career, why recovery can involve transcending an addiction-based identity, and how people can reconnect with meaning, joy and a version of themselves that is larger than any craving, painful feeling or past behaviour.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Highlights

00:00 Dr. Eric Garland and the MORE approach
02:00 How mindfulness shaped Dr. Garland’s career
04:10 Addiction, chronic pain and the loss of natural reward
07:00 Clinical research and the effectiveness of MORE
08:00 Reducing relapse, cravings, pain and emotional distress
10:00 Why people use substances to escape pain
12:00 Mindfulness, reappraisal and savoring
15:00 How addiction hijacks the dopamine reward system
18:20 Practical ways to relearn pleasure in recovery
20:00 The mindfulness loop and strengthening attention
23:00 Recognizing triggers and automatic cravings
25:00 Zooming into the physical experience of a craving
28:00 Playing the tape forward through cognitive reappraisal
30:20 Mindfulness, pain and emotional bypassing
32:00 What traditional addiction treatments may be missing
34:00 Finding reward in coffee, birdsong and everyday moments
40:00 Sobriety, identity change and self-transcendence
43:00 MORE, the 12 steps and responding to a lapse
46:00 Harm reduction, moderation and opioid treatment
49:00 The STOP practice for interrupting automatic behaviour
53:00 Expanding MORE through training, community and technology

Dr. Garland's Links

www.moretherapy.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/more-therapy/id6761741739
 
SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

📸 Kathleen’s Instagram

What if the parts of you that feel stuck, afraid, or hard to explain are connected to something deeper than this lifetime? In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Kathleen explore hypnosis, identity, past lives, intergenerational trauma, and spiritual healing with Boris Walter, a Psychotherapeutic Consultant specializing in parallel metaphysical phenomena, commonly referred to as past lives, and founder of the Consciousness Integration Collective. Boris helps people locate their inner authority by remembering who they are beneath fear, protection, and conditioning.

Boris shares how his path moved from offshore oil and gas work into psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, altered states of consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Together, Sonia and Kathleen ask: What is the difference between personality, identity, and the true self? Can hypnosis help people access parts of themselves that ordinary talk therapy cannot reach? Are past life memories literal, symbolic, or both? And how do fear, shame, family trauma, and old protective patterns keep people disconnected from their own inner knowing?

This conversation opens up a grounded but expansive discussion of the ego, the unconscious mind, hypnosis, higher consciousness, and the ways trauma can live in the body. Boris explains how hypnosis can soften the grip of the ego, move people beyond the social mask, and allow them to access imagery, emotion, memory, and meaning that may not be available through conscious thought alone. He also explores the idea that healing is not always about proving whether an experience is “real,” but about understanding the themes, emotions, and false beliefs that are asking to be transformed.

In the personal story portion of the episode, Boris reflects on the childhood experiences, family dynamics, spiritual encounters, and early client sessions that shaped his work. Kathleen also shares her own powerful experience in Egypt and the unexpected emotions that surfaced during the conversation. The episode moves into a deeper discussion of ancestral memory, intergenerational trauma, Indigenous history, and the possibility that healing may involve not only this lifetime, but the wider field of family, body, spirit, and consciousness.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

[00:01:00] Boris shares the unexpected path that took him from offshore oil and gas work into psychotherapy.

[00:02:00] Why money, success, and a “good job” still left Boris feeling unfulfilled.

[00:03:00] Boris explains how wanting to understand himself and his mother’s mental health led him toward psychology.

[00:04:00] Kathleen relates to Boris’s career change and the feeling of being called into therapy work.

[00:06:00] Boris discusses childhood wounding, ego compensation, and finding work that is no longer driven by the wounded self.

[00:07:00] Why traditional talk therapy felt incomplete to Boris, and what he believed was missing.

[00:09:00] Boris explains why he became interested in altered states of consciousness and experiences that transcend the mind.

[00:10:00] The first client experience that introduced Boris to past life material and higher-self perspectives.

[00:12:00] Kathleen asks whether Boris was spiritual before these experiences began appearing in his work.

[00:13:00] Boris describes his early fascination with paranormal activity and parapsychology.

[00:14:00] Boris shares a profound DMT experience that changed his understanding of divinity, purpose, and love.

[00:17:00] How client sessions began shifting Boris’s personal spiritual practices and relationship with his body.

[00:18:00] Kathleen asks whether there is such a thing as a “true self.”

[00:20:00] Boris explains personality as a social mask and identity as a structure that creates stability.

[00:24:00] Kathleen asks what hypnosis is and what happens in the brain during a hypnotic state.

[00:26:00] Boris breaks down beta, alpha, and theta brainwave states and how hypnosis creates openness.

[00:29:00] Boris explains how hypnosis can help people access higher-self perspectives, guides, past lives, and deeper emotional material.

[00:34:00] Kathleen asks whether past life experiences should be understood as literal, symbolic, or something else.

[00:41:00] Kathleen shares her own powerful experience in Egypt and the theme of feminine power that emerged.

[00:49:00] Kathleen asks about intergenerational trauma, Indigenous clients, residential schools, and inherited memory.

 

Boris' Links

Website: https://www.boriswalter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boriswalterofficial

 

SIS Links

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack – where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s Website Kathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

📸 Kathleen’s Instagram

In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia explores the hidden patterns behind addiction, emotional dysregulation, self-sabotage, and high-functioning survival mode. She is joined by Dr. Blair Steel, a licensed clinical psychologist whose career has focused on resilience, substance abuse treatment, and helping people understand how they either transcend adversity or become trapped in negative cycles. Dr. Steel’s background includes training at Beit T’Shuvah, working as a primary therapist at Cliffside Malibu, serving as Program Director at Passages Malibu, and maintaining a private practice. She is currently a clinical supervisor at pH Wellness and part of the clinical team at Carrara Wellness Treatment & Spa, with writing featured in outlets including The Huffington Post, CNBC, and Well + Good.

Together, Sonia and Dr. Steel unpack why addiction is often more complicated than a simple bad habit or lack of willpower. They discuss what it means to view emotional and behavioral patterns as protective rather than defective, and why alcohol or substances can become a way to regulate depression, anxiety, social discomfort, trauma, identity loss, or overwhelm. The conversation looks at the progression from drinking as something that feels magical, to something medicinal, to something miserable — and how to recognize when substance use has become a private coping mechanism instead of a shared ritual or choice.

Dr. Steel brings a compassionate, clinically grounded perspective to high-functioning addiction, perfectionism, shame, cultural programming, and emotional avoidance. She explains why shame rarely creates lasting change, why internal motivation matters in long-term sobriety, and how “pattern solving” can be more useful than problem solving. Sonia and Dr. Steel also explore AA, community, social media, therapy, psychedelics, ketamine, antidepressants, labels, self-regulation, and the difference between being alcohol-free and identifying as sober.

In the personal story segment, Sonia shares her experience of being a high-functioning alcoholic while working as an orthodontist, running a large practice, and holding a professional license. She reflects on selling her business, the identity loss that followed, her fear of having too much unstructured time, and the realization that sobriety was not just about removing alcohol — it was about building a new life. Sonia and Dr. Steel also discuss the grief of letting go of old identities, the pressure to appear put together, and the moment when the “party” has often been over long before someone finally stops drinking.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Highlights

[00:01:00] Dr. Blair Steel introduces her work as a clinical psychologist and how she entered the addiction treatment field.

[00:02:00] Blair explains why she sees patterns as protective rather than defective.

[00:03:00] Sonia reflects on how alcohol once helped her survive severe depression and anxiety.

[00:04:00] Blair discusses why substances can work temporarily before they begin taking more than they give.

[00:05:00] Sonia and Blair talk about shame, blame, fear, and why shame is not motivating.

[00:06:00] Blair introduces the idea of pattern solving instead of problem solving.

[00:07:00] Sonia connects cultural expectations, self-care, and the pressure to push through pain.

[00:08:00] Blair explains how alcohol can maintain a disconnect between the head and the heart.

[00:09:00] Blair discusses the disease model of addiction and why she does not approach people as “sick.”

[00:10:00] Sonia asks why addiction and mood disorders so often go hand in hand.

[00:11:00] Blair shares the phrase “magical, medicinal, then miserable” to describe the progression of alcohol use.

[00:12:00] Blair explains why she prefers “problematic” and “non-problematic” substance use over “healthy” alcohol use.

[00:13:00] Sonia and Blair discuss psychedelics, ketamine, and the risks for people who tend to reach for substances.

[00:16:00] Blair validates Sonia’s self-awareness around knowing what is risky for her sobriety.

[00:17:00] Blair shares her view of AA, community, interpretation, and why connection matters.

[00:18:00] Sonia asks how addiction shows up differently in high-functioning people.

[00:20:00] Sonia shares her experience as a high-functioning alcoholic with a professional license.

[00:23:00] Sonia reflects on losing her identities as wife, orthodontist, and business owner.

[00:29:00] Blair explains the difference between external motivation and internal motivation in long-term sobriety.

[00:43:00] Blair offers a first step for anyone feeling stuck: set a small, short-term, attainable goal and get honest about what happens.

 

Dr. Blair's Links

Instagram

 

SIS LINKS

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack– where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s WebsiteKathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

Feeling flat, burned out, or disconnected after doing everything “right” can be confusing—especially for high-achieving women who are used to setting goals, checking boxes, and pushing through. In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia speaks with Danielle McGeough, a professor, speaker, transformation strategist, host of the Plan Goal Plan podcast, and creator of the RISE Ritual Method. Danielle helps high-performing women and teams reconnect with their core identities, navigate transitions, and create intentional plans that support sustainable growth.

Sonia and Danielle explore what happens when ambition starts to feel empty, why burnout and demoralization are not the same thing, and how women can begin redefining success after a major life shift. They look at the difference between productivity and purpose, how planning can become a tool for self-discovery, and why so many people turn rest, wellness, sobriety, or even creativity into another pressure-filled checklist. The conversation also asks: How do goals change when identity changes? How can ritual help with habit change? And what does it mean to build a life that feels aligned instead of simply impressive?

Danielle breaks down the difference between habits, routines, and rituals, explaining why habits are meant to become automatic while rituals are designed to bring people back into presence and meaning. She shares how rituals can help shift someone from one state to another, whether that is from work mode into home mode, from reactive parenting into calm connection, or from “gap thinking” into recognizing the gains already made. The episode also touches on consistency, flexibility, all-or-nothing thinking, moderation, replacement rituals, early sobriety, and the power of adding a little “ish” to the places where perfectionism has taken over.

In the personal story segment, Sonia opens up about redefining success after selling her orthodontic practice, writing her book, and noticing how easily her own ambition can turn hobbies, healing, and self-growth into another metric to master. Danielle shares how her own experience of burnout, motherhood, demoralization, and identity loss led her to rethink planning as something deeper than time management. Together, they explore how alcohol can function as a transition ritual, why letting go of that ritual can involve grief, and how new rituals can help support identity change in sobriety and beyond.

Highlights

[00:01:00] Danielle introduces herself as a mom, professor, and “ritual nerd.”

[00:02:00] Danielle shares how achievement, habits, and hard work helped her earn a PhD and tenure—but left her feeling flat.

[00:03:00] The conversation turns to burnout, anxiety, rumination, and realizing something needed to shift.

[00:05:00] Danielle explains how decorative planning and stickers unexpectedly helped her slow down and reflect.

[00:07:00] Danielle defines the difference between burnout and demoralization.

[00:08:00] Sonia asks how demoralization changed Danielle’s relationship with goals and ambition.

[00:09:00] Danielle describes bitterness, numbness, resentment, and the desire to disconnect.

[00:11:00] Danielle reflects on using novels, Netflix, and over-exercising as ways to avoid her own feelings.

[00:12:00] Sonia asks how Danielle’s identity had to evolve beyond career, wife, and mother roles.

[00:14:00] Danielle reframes planning as a way to collect data about values, priorities, and self-connection.

[00:15:00] Danielle explains the difference between habits and rituals.

[00:16:00] Danielle shares why rituals are powerful tools for identity change.

[00:17:00] Danielle explains the RISE Ritual Method through the story of “Safe Place Sarah.”

[00:20:00] Danielle describes how her research on collective rituals helped shape her personal ritual framework.

[00:22:00] Danielle explains why traditional goal-setting can feel too abrupt for women who are disconnected from their desires.

[00:24:00] Sonia opens up about redefining success after selling her orthodontic practice.

[00:29:00] Sonia and Danielle discuss turning sobriety, wellness, rest, and hobbies into productivity projects.

[00:32:00] Danielle introduces the idea that change may begin with intensity but is maintained by consistency.

[00:36:00] Danielle reframes consistency as shortening the gap between “oops” and starting again.

[00:44:00] Sonia and Danielle explore how alcohol can become a transition ritual, and how replacement rituals can support early sobriety.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Danielle's Links

Website
Instagram
 
SIS LINKS

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack– where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s WebsiteKathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

📸

In this episode of Sisters in Sobriety, Sonia and Riana Malia explore how old relationship patterns, identity shifts, and unconscious beliefs can keep women stuck in cycles that no longer match the lives they are trying to build. Riana is a board-certified neuro-somatic practitioner whose work helps women break long-standing relational patterns and create deeper, more authentic connection. They look at what happens when women have done the inner work, moved through sobriety, divorce, reinvention, or major life transitions, and are ready for relationships that reflect who they are now — not who they used to be.

The conversation opens up big questions about why high-achieving women can be so successful, strategic, and clear in their careers, yet still feel confused or stuck in love, dating, friendships, family dynamics, or partnership. Why do the same patterns keep repeating? What is the difference between knowing a pattern intellectually and actually releasing it from the body? How do childhood beliefs, unconscious programming, and old identities shape the way women choose, attach, perform, shrink, over-function, or settle in relationships?

Riana explains how neuroscience, somatic awareness, identity work, and emotional release come together in her Clear to Create method. She talks about clearing old stories, cycles, resentment, loss, limiting beliefs, and emotional charge so that women can create confidence, partnership, love, and a life that feels aligned. The episode also explores why “I don’t want this anymore” can still keep attention fixed on the very thing someone is trying to avoid, how the unconscious mind drives so many relationship patterns, and why replacing old neurology matters just as much as understanding it. Riana also shares practical tools, including her “Magnet for Miracles” exercise and a 72-hour rubber-band practice designed to interrupt negative thought loops and redirect attention toward what is actually desired.

Riana shares the life experiences that shaped her work — growing up with a distant father, being forced to become resourceful at 18, entering a lonely young marriage, navigating a painful divorce, moving across the country, losing financial security, and eventually finding herself in a relationship that became her line-in-the-sand moment. Her story traces the path from survival and self-abandonment to clarity, self-trust, and becoming available for a different kind of love. She also shares how doing this work changed her own life and helped her become ready for the healthy partnership she once thought would never happen for her.

This is Sisters in Sobriety, the support community that helps women change their relationship with alcohol. Check out our substack for extra tips, tricks and resources.

Highlights

[00:01:00] Riana Malia is introduced as a board-certified neuro-somatic practitioner helping women break old relationship patterns.

[00:02:00] Riana shares the early experience of being left without college housing support and learning how to become resourceful.

[00:03:00] She describes getting three jobs, renting a house, and staying in school despite having no clear path forward.

[00:04:00] Riana talks about marrying young, feeling lonely in marriage, and becoming a mother.

[00:05:00] She opens up about the fear, anger, and volatility that followed her divorce.

[00:06:00] Riana explains the decision to move to California despite every instinct telling her not to.

[00:08:00] She recounts the DEA investigation that upended her life and froze the assets she was relying on.

[00:09:00] Riana describes choosing to stay in California to keep her promise to her daughter.

[00:10:00] She shares the “never again” moment that led her to stop shrinking, performing, and abandoning herself in relationships.

[00:11:00] Riana introduces her Clear to Create method and explains why people have to clear old stories before creating a new life.

[00:12:00] She explains how unconscious patterns keep people repeating the same relationships, jobs, money patterns, or family dynamics.

[00:14:00] Riana talks about becoming ready to receive healthy love after clearing old toxic patterns.

[00:16:00] She uses a dinner order metaphor to explain why clarity, specificity, values, desires, and non-negotiables matter.

[00:18:00] Riana explains why high-achieving women can feel confident at work but stuck in relationships.

[00:19:00] She breaks down the conscious and unconscious mind using the 10% and 90% framework.

[00:22:00] Riana compares old identities and beliefs to expired pantry items that need to be cleared out.

[00:24:00] She explains the difference between becoming aware of a pattern and actually replacing the neurology behind it.

[00:31:00] Riana shares the bridge metaphor for stepping into a new identity that matches who someone is becoming.

[00:39:00] Sonia asks about manifestation, and Riana reframes it through neuroscience, frequency, and attention.

[00:43:00] Riana walks through the “Magnet for Miracles” exercise using the away wall, toward wall, and 72-hour rubber band practice.

Riana's Links

🌐 Website https://rianamalia.com/

SIS LINKS

💌 Sisters In Sobriety Substack– where the magic (and the mocktail recipes) happen

📬 Sisters In Sobriety Email

📸 Sisters In Sobriety Instagram

🌐 Kathleen’s WebsiteKathleen does not endorse any products mentioned in this podcast

📸 Kathleen’s Instagram