March 22, 2025 • 49 mins
What happens when you remove the veil that's been clouding your intuition? Tracy Bromley-Godwin, an ADHD and Mindset Coach, discovered the answer to this question when she embarked on her alcohol-free journey two years ago. Her story begins with a simple Reiki training recommendation to abstain from alcohol before sessions, which opened her eyes to how drinking was affecting her energetic channels and amplifying her anxiety.
For Tracy, removing alcohol wasn't just about better sleep or fewer hangovers, it was a spiritual awakening that allowed her to hear her inner guidance with unprecedented clarity. "I was following a little trail of breadcrumbs," she explains, "and since I stopped drinking, that path became so clear." This clarity ultimately led her to transform her career, shifting from working primarily with children with ADHD to coaching high-achieving adults who struggle with similar challenges.
The conversation delves deep into the relationship between ADHD, anxiety, and alcohol use. Tracy dispels common misconceptions about ADHD, explaining that it's not about an inability to focus but rather a surplus of focus — paying attention to everything simultaneously. For those with racing minds who drink to slow their thoughts, alcohol often achieves the opposite effect by disrupting executive functioning skills like emotional regulation and prioritization.
Whether you're questioning your relationship with alcohol, curious about ADHD, or simply seeking greater clarity and connection in your life, this conversation offers valuable insights about the unexpected gifts that emerge when we remove what's clouding our intuition and embrace our true selves.
You can connect with Tracey via her instagram lessentheoverwhelm or via her website traceybromleygoodwin.com
Thank you for being here and for being a part of The Sober Chapters Community.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Sober Chapters podcast.
I am your host, dee Dee Jordan,and I'm so excited to be
sharing with you all of theincredible ways that removing
alcohol for a chapter willreinvent you forever.
You see, removing alcohol isabout so much more than removing
alcohol.
It's about immense personal andspiritual growth.
(00:22):
It's about discovering who youtruly are and about stepping out
of your patterns and into yourpurpose and your power.
Wherever you are on youralcohol-free or sober curious
journey, this podcast is for you, so grab yourself your favorite
cuppa and come join me in asafe space to listen, to share
(00:46):
and to feel.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Sober Chapters podcast, and
(01:07):
today I'm joined by TracyBromley-Godwin, who is an ADHD
and mindset coach, and she'salso a very special connection
of mine, as we met during theEmpowered AF certification about
18 months ago now, when wecertified in Palm Springs, and
we had a really gorgeous chatand I just knew that one day she
(01:27):
was going to come on thepodcast and I knew we would stay
connected, and I have no ideawhere this conversation is going
to go, but I love it becausewe're both very much in touch
with our intuition and followingall the guidance and I can't
wait to hear all the thingsabout what you feel up to Tracy.
So welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you, didi.
I had the same feeling likesomeday we'll have a great
conversation again and I'm soglad that we're having it now.
And yeah, I just knew Iactually remember having this
feeling like sitting next to youhaving dinner and I was like I
just knew I actually rememberhaving this feeling like sitting
next to you having dinner and Iwas like I just knew there's
(02:08):
something so special about youand your spirituality and I'm
just so excited to be here.
So thank you for having methank you, tracy.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
yeah, it's so interesting, isn't it?
Like you just have thosespecial connections that just
stay in your heart and your mind, and I thought yeah, one day, I
know we've had a couple ofmessages and we've exchanged a
few things along the way andwe've both done a lot since.
I guess and I'd just love tohear about everything you're
doing and you know for you toexplain and introduce yourself
(02:41):
as well to the listeners,especially around the topic of
ADHD.
I'd love to hear more aboutthat because I know it's
something that I am very curiousabout and would love to learn
more about as well yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So, oh my gosh, there's, there's so much.
There's so there's so much toto think about when comes to
ADHD, when it comes to ADHDcoaching.
My journey in the field of ADHDreally started working with
children and families.
I was a teacher many, manyyears ago and my favorite part
(03:21):
about teaching was working withstudents that were just having a
hard time, whether it was peerrelationships, whether it was
getting homework done, whateverit was, they would show up in my
room after school and I wasteaching high school.
And when I had my own kids, Idecided to leave teaching and
(03:42):
this is going back, like youknow, 20, almost 25 years ago,
and I left teaching and justreally dove into the field of
ADHD.
I worked with aneuropsychologist, I co-owned a
business with an art therapist,and our specialty was ADHD.
(04:03):
And then, right around the timeI started on this alcohol-free
living journey, which is comingup on two years, I suddenly had
this feeling that I was meant todo something a little different
, that children and families hadinformed me so much, so many
(04:26):
wonderful, beautiful thingsabout ADHD, and I had more and
more parents saying wait, Ithink I need you to, and over
time, I ended up working moreand more with adults and then
left that partnership, thatco-owned business, to branch out
on my own and work, for themost part, working with adults
(04:50):
with ADHD.
High achievers most are lawyers, legal professionals and
entrepreneurs.
Those personalities and thedrive and creativity that these
particular people have is somuch fun to work with and work
on when it comes to adhd quitethe journey for you.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That's just unfolded by the sounds of things,
naturally.
Yeah, yeah.
And how?
How did you get to the point?
Where you decided to removealcohol from your life.
How did that fit into theequation for you?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, Well, it has to do with spirituality.
Actually, my dad had passedaway when I was 10, and
immediately I had this deep kindof spiritual connection with
him where he was just with meall the time, and so I kind of
followed that personaldevelopment spirituality thread
(05:53):
throughout my life and I hadalways been really curious about
energy work and Reiki.
And it was probably three yearsago where, locally, someone was
doing a Reiki training and Ithought I really want to do it.
I'm going to go see what thisis.
(06:14):
I had experienced Reiki myselfbut didn't really know what it
meant to do energy work forsomeone or with someone or share
it with someone.
So I went to this training and Iremember it vividly because the
night before we were meetingfriends out for dinner and I was
reading the little like here'show to prep before you go for
(06:36):
your Reiki training and it saidrefrain from drinking and I was
like that's weird, Like I didn'teven really understand.
And then I read a little bitmore and it talked about
clogging energetic channels andyou might want to consider not
drinking.
So I went to dinner that nightand I was the only person not
(06:58):
drinking and I was like, okay,this is interesting.
It just kind of gave me adifferent perspective.
Okay, this is interesting.
It just kind of gave me adifferent perspective.
Went and did the Reiki trainingwhich was life-changing, so
that suddenly life, just things,looked different to me.
(07:19):
I was just.
Everything was vibrant and Ihad this like deep feeling.
I don't want anything to bedull, I don't want to numb
anything, and I did keepdrinking.
I was like, really, at thatpoint in time was like I don't
really know how to not have aglass of wine, like I really did
(07:40):
not have.
There was no one in my socialcircle not drinking, so I didn't
really understand what it wouldlook like or what it would be
like.
So a couple of more months goby, I do another Reiki training.
Now I'm starting to feel likebig kind of energetic shifts.
(08:01):
And I'm listening to a podcast.
It's Carolina talking about themental drain decision-making
around alcohol was causing her,and it was like a massive light
bulb.
I was like, oh my gosh, that iswhat I do.
I spend half my week thinkingabout okay, so if we're going to
(08:22):
dinner Friday night and friendsare coming over first, that
means I can have one glass ofwine.
If I have more than one beforewe even go out, then I know I'm
going to have too much.
And then everything juststarted downloading for me.
Wait a second.
This is why I'm so anxious.
This is why my mind is racingso much so anxious.
(08:47):
This is why my mind is racing.
So much.
I had no idea until I heardsomeone really talking about it,
and I think the Reiki and thespiritual journey just had me.
My heart was in a place where Icould see it differently, I
could hear it differently, Istarted understanding my own
brain differently and that I hadbeen drinking to quiet my mind
and it was actually doing theopposite.
(09:09):
It was making things so muchworse because I would get really
, really anxious even after aglass of wine, not even being
out drinking.
It would be a glass of wine atnight cooking dinner and I would
be extremely anxious.
So that's that's how that partrolled right in.
(09:29):
And then from there, that'swhen everything else started
opening up in my life thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
There's so many of you to see me sitting here
nodding away like, yeah, I canrelate to that.
Yeah, yeah, it's um.
Yeah, I think the whole youknow, being guided from that
spiritual aspect is just sobeautiful, like I really do
believe, like we all are likeguided for a higher reason to
remove it, and it can be such ahuge spiritual journey and it
(10:02):
was, it was huge for me.
That was the biggest thing forme was, you know, similar to you
, riley.
So I think, by the sounds ofthings, you weren't like a big,
big drinker, and I thinksometimes that can sometimes be
harder not harder, but hard in away, because I would always
justify that I didn't need tokind of give up alcohol, but yet
(10:26):
when I did drink, it wascausing me such horrific anxiety
and when I did have like ahangover and for me, to be fair,
there was always a risk of abig night out as well, because
I'd been single for so long butlike those mental hangovers that
I had and I think like I justcouldn't handle those and that's
when I started taking breaksand I just started seeing like
(10:47):
all these signs andsynchronicities and numbers and
just vibrating at such a higherfrequency and it was just like
this veil was lifted and yeah,but it's.
It's so fascinating because Iwould always go back to it.
It took me a really long timeto actually justify giving up
for that chapter because of thefact that I wasn't you know, I
(11:08):
didn't really drink in the week,to be fair, and things like
this.
So it was a real journey, butit kept coming back to that
spiritual element and I keptjust being shown that that was
the way forwards.
And you know, I think when you,when you have those breaks and
you feel that and you experiencethat shift and that lift and
(11:28):
everything, it's like it'sreally hard to unsee and unfeel,
isn't it?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, yes, that's exactly what it was.
That's such a great way todescribe that it was kind of
that idea you don't know whatyou don't know, you know when
you to experience it.
Then it's all of these thingsjust start popping.
And I think you know I was.
(11:53):
I was paying attention to whatwas popping and I made a
decision that I was going totrust in God, in the universe,
in spirit guides.
I was just going to really leanin and just follow one little I
always call it like it's likeI'm following a little trail of
(12:15):
breadcrumbs.
And ever since I stoppeddrinking, that path became so
clear and that's not to say likeeasy and not scary.
And I mean I had co owned abusiness for 13 years.
(12:36):
It was like we were married.
It was a wonderful business anda wonderful experience and it
it was very scary for me to makea decision like, okay, I'm just
keep hearing this like voicethat I'm supposed to be doing
something else, not being 100%sure what it was going to look
(12:57):
like, but knowing that I had todo it and being alcohol free, I
know, was what opened my eyes tojust being able to see it
clearly, um, and to have theconfidence to to follow what my
intuition was telling me, youknow, and to to trust that it
was it was going to work yeah,it's gorgeous, I think.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I think that's it isn't it.
It's.
You know, it allows us goshwhen I think about I talk about
this all the time.
But you know, that ability totrust your intuition, to hear it
in the first place, to trust itto, I mean, faith is huge.
Faith's been like a huge, hugepart of my journey.
Like I wouldn't be here, Iwouldn't have followed all the
signs, I wouldn't have built somany chapters.
There's no way that I wouldhave done any of that like if I
(13:47):
hadn't kept seeing the time andhad that faith and it's led me
to this place and it's beenbeautiful.
But I didn't have the space forthat before, like I was so much
more in my head and controllingand you know, and it's just,
it's it, that's, it's bringing,it's brought us back to like our
hearts and that ability tobuild something from that place
(14:08):
and I know we just touched onthat a little bit before you
came on the podcast as well andI think it's just, it's such a
beautiful way to build something, isn't it?
Is that how you feel witheverything you've done?
Like it's looked that way foryou too?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, definitely.
And it's funny because I neverthought I was a controlling like
person and what I've realizedis my anxiety was so high and my
racing kind of brain was goingso fast that I did try and like
(14:48):
not trust, because I felt likeif I could like be one step
ahead of everything, that thatwould be the way to make
everything OK.
And now it's the opposite ofreally trying to step back from
that, of really trying to stepback from that.
(15:08):
But it's funny because I thinkabout it all the time, because
and I think people that know mewould be like oh, you're so laid
back and what do you mean?
You were that anxious.
In my mind it was like onconstantly and racing, and I was
(15:31):
not the I'm late for thingskind of person or disorganized,
but hyper-focusing on worry andanxiety in my brain were
definitely a huge issue, andtaking alcohol away just allowed
me to just experience things sodifferently.
It's amazing, really, and thatit happened when it did.
(15:52):
Why didn't that happen 20 yearsbefore?
I just feel the timing wasn'tright.
I was supposed to go throughthose experiences and figure
those things out along the way,and yeah, it's just so
interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Well, I mean, it's been a huge part of what you're
now able to help people with,right, like.
If you hadn't gone through allof that, then, yeah, it's your
own divine timing, absolutely,absolutely.
I mean, sometimes I'm the same,like I look, but I constantly
find journals from like the lastfew years because really, I
(16:32):
mean I yeah, it's probablyaround 30, like early 30s, and
specifically when I was 32 andkind of everything changed in my
life that I really got likeproperly sober, curious and I'm
like, oh, my goodness, what Icould have done in the last,
like what if I'd like stopped at32?
But I was like no, because Iknow that all that messiness and
(16:54):
all that sober curiosity andall the backwards and forwards
and learning about spiritualityand changing my patterns, you
know, particularly with theopposite sets, all of that kind
of stuff, like I know that'ssuch a huge part of what I'm
meant to be helping people withand it's all perfect and I'm
just grateful for every bit ofit, but it's it's so interesting
(17:14):
I think you know, we hear itover and over again, don't we,
with all the different peoplethat we've met along the way in
this, in this space, where it'sjust this, it's like this divine
intervention that comes in andyou just end up listening at the
perfect, the perfect time yes,yes, and it's such a beautiful
thing and I just feel sograteful that I heard Carolina
(17:41):
that day that I had pursued thatReiki training.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
You know all of the things that led to just learning
about myself and also learningand thinking about ADHD and what
happens in the subconsciousmind when we grow up, feeling
like something's wrong or whycan't I do it, why am I not
(18:08):
doing it the right way?
Or there must be something wrongwith me, or I just wish I could
do it like someone else.
By the time I'm working withsomeone as an adult, those
patterns are so deeply ingrainedthat it's so difficult for
someone to just try out a timemanagement technique and have it
(18:29):
work right away, because you'refighting against that self-talk
or things you don't even know,because you don't even remember
them.
They're buried so deep thatyou've carried along all the way
.
So I definitely feel like thiswhole experience has like really
brought that to light for me,as I've unpacked some of those
(18:51):
things and realized like, ohokay, that's why something that
I tried maybe didn't work in thepast, or that's why I was
trying to keep myself so busy.
I was like a very I was so busy, I was like a chronic busy
person and I thought it waswonderful, but it's because I
(19:13):
couldn't stop to like hearmyself think it was too scary is
what I know now.
I didn't know that then, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, I'd love to learn more about actually like
what you've been through in thelast couple of years and how
you've unpacked.
You know that, going throughthat change and recognizing all
the anxiety that you had and howalcohol was making that worse,
and then how you've got to thisplace now and I guess how that
links in with what you help yourclients with as well, and for
(19:44):
anyone listening that couldreally you know, I think benefit
from hearing about all of thosethings.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, um, and it still continues.
So I will say that it feelslike one little layer sheds and
then I'm like oh whoa, that's awhole other thing that I have to
deal with.
Um, so you know, it startedwhen I actually started
journaling and it was partiallycame out of Carolina's euphoric
(20:14):
program because part of it waslike you're going to journal
every day and I am definitely agive me like a directive and I'm
going to like do it, because Inow realize the people pleasing
tendencies that I've always hadlike go into high gear.
But it ended up being wonderfulbecause I had always wanted to
(20:38):
journal but I didn't really feellike I had patience to journal.
I said I was too busy tojournal, I don't have time.
Where it was really like.
Now I know, because it stillhappens, when I feel resistance
to journaling it's just becausethere's a whole bunch of
uncomfortable stuff that has toget out of me and part of me is
(21:01):
like, no, I don't want to feelwhatever the emotion is.
But that journaling processthat started everything for me,
really digging deep, it helpedme really recognize this sense
of belongingness, was really atthe core of drinking for me, not
(21:26):
wanting to be different.
And when I think back togrowing up in my own experience
in school, if I was reallyinterested in something like I
was on it and it was great, andif I wasn't, it was hard.
And I always remember that Ijust didn't like that feeling of
like why can't I do this, whycan't it be easier?
(21:49):
And I think as I went to ditchalcohol along the way I began to
understand where some of thosethings were coming from and it
led me to recognize like okay,there's a whole bunch of things
that I had no idea that werepacked so deep until I started
kind of uncovering them.
(22:11):
And I think there's power incommunity.
And that was another thing thatI never really did previous to,
before I gave up alcohol,meaning I could go to a group
kind of setting that was ameditation or maybe it was like
(22:32):
a personal development workshopand say very little, because I
love listening.
I love listening, but I wasalso afraid to say anything
really about myself.
So that was another big stepthe journaling, like unearthed
some of it, then deciding likeokay, I think I need to be in
(22:52):
situations that make meuncomfortable but that draw
things out of me.
So I started doing that andgoing to more and more
meditation classes.
I did coaching.
I got my own coach.
You know I really neededguidance and kind of helping
myself discover things that Ididn't know about myself and
(23:16):
start dealing with resistance tochange, resistance to things
that scared me, resistance tojust being myself, because
oftentimes I just would kind ofhave like a happy face and seem
like everything was great.
No one would know that inside Iwas like really anxious or just
(23:41):
not present, because on theoutside I would look like I was,
and so those things were allpart of the process, which now I
recognize that that's how Ihelp clients that I work with.
I've always been the optimistand a person who I think of it
(24:03):
as holding hope.
I've always done that forwhether it was kids I was
working with or adults that Ijust feel so strongly that
change is always possible andthat everyone is so worthy and
deserving of believing thatabout themselves that now I get
to bring that into my coachingreally outwardly.
(24:25):
Before I would kind of slide itin, and now I'm like, hey, we
need to talk about this, we needto talk about what's happening
underneath, we need to celebrateall the wonderful things and we
need to help you figure out howyou're going to move forward,
because those old tapes, if wecan't let go of them, then they
keep us stuck.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Thank you, tracey.
Thank you Very well explained.
Thank you for taking throughyour own process and then what
you've learned and then whatyou're able to help others with
because you've gone rightthrough it and you've
experienced it.
And that's the power of havinggone right through what we go
through as coaches.
Right is to be able to reallybecause there's that whole
expression you can only think so, you can only connect as deeply
(25:11):
with others as you haveconnected deeply with yourself,
essentially, and it's like whyit's so important for us to
continue to do that work.
Like you said, it's an ongoingthing and it really really is,
isn't it?
it doesn't stop.
Oh my goodness, add anotherlayer, add another layer.
But the beauty, yeah, right,but the beauty is when you've
(25:35):
got alcohol out the way and thisis just such a big part of what
I love talking about is, youknow, removing alcohol to do
that deep inner work?
It's just such an acceleration,isn't it?
You know you're able to justget so much.
But like more clarity, get toknow who you truly are, have the
confidence to even talk abouteverything that you're
discovering.
Like it's so liberating andit's.
(25:58):
You know, I didn't realize thatI wasn't vulnerable, you know,
before and I used to have.
I said that, you know, oh yes,I used to hide all these like
parts of myself and they it just.
I mean, for me, it was alwaysthese patterns that I was stuck
in, like I talk about a lot,particularly with the opposite
(26:19):
sex, but it was like, you know,I came across.
I resonate so much with whatyou're saying about.
Like you know, on the outsideno one would really necessarily
know.
I mean, I'm definitely, um, I'mnot optimistic, and you know
people wouldn't?
You know bubbly character, allof that, but inside I was like
slowly dying really when it cameto like my corporate job and
how I would feel like at thebeginning of the week and things
(26:40):
like that, but no one, no onewould have known and it's it's
like I just hid all this stuffand I have this fear.
I thought like insecuritieswere a weakness, like I had this
big thing in my mind about that, and now what I've learned is
that owning our insecurities andbeing secure about our
insecurities is just like themost liberating, most courageous
(27:01):
, most powerful and actually themost attractive quality as well
, like I now absolutely lovethat in myself and in my new
partner, obviously.
But in that whole thing thatI've learned, it's changed
everything.
It's just so freeing right itis.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh, I love that, didi , yeah, I think, yeah, you're.
You're so right when you can beauthentic with that and not see
it as it's this weakness,because it's not.
It's just who we are as people,it's just what makes us us, and
(27:42):
with ADHD, there's so muchshame and guilt around it.
I mean, every client that I'veworked with just feels this
tremendous like why can't I getit together?
You know, it seems likeeveryone else around me can and
you know I do usually share like.
(28:02):
Everyone has things thatthey're challenged by and that
they're feeling, and you mightnot know, looking at them on the
outside, because I definitelywas a walking example of that,
for sure, and, like you said,shedding layers and learning
(28:23):
about yourself.
It just goes on and on.
I mean, if coaching call I justhad last week where I was like
what?
I just figured out a wholeother thing about myself I
didn't even realize that this issomething I was doing I'm like,
oh, okay, yep, that makes sense, that makes sense.
Yeah, so it's never ending.
(28:45):
It's not like we are just thesehuman beings walking around and
like, okay, I've solved all thethings and now I'm free to do
all these things.
It's like we have to do themnow, like in the moment.
Yeah, and I didn't want myselfto be vulnerable either, and
sometimes I still don't I catchmyself where I'm like okay, hold
(29:08):
on, you're kind of revertingback to something that you used
to do, and that's all part of itall part of it.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
And it's like again because you're not being clouded
in any way by alcohol, likeyou're so aware of that, like
you can catch yourself with that, right, that's the beauty of it
.
It's like oh, that's an oldpattern, I know what I'm doing,
right?
Yes, the compound effect isjust so real, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
it definitely is.
Yeah, yeah, that's one of myfavorite things about being
alcohol free and all the thingsthat I didn't even know, like I
never thought I had mental foguntil I wasn't drinking and I
was like, oh, that's what thatis Like.
I didn't even know what it wasbecause I just had never
(29:57):
experienced it.
I'm like, oh, I did, my headfeels different.
I have a client who they made adecision to experiment with
taking alcohol out of their lifefor a bit with ADHD, and
they're just blown away by theclarity they feel like they have
(30:20):
in their mind, are really justshocked of like I had no idea
that it was contributing thatmuch to just what was happening
in my brain.
So it's just such an excitingthought to think about something
(30:41):
that we have we can remove ifwe are curious about it and we
can just think about it that way, like, oh, what you know what
it might feel like.
And for me the support was soimportant, Like I had just
gotten into the program that Iwas in with you, the
certification program.
You know I had only given upalcohol maybe a month prior and
(31:06):
it was really really helpful forme to have everyone in that
group as peer support, rolemodels, helpful tips, Because I
definitely, you know, I stockedmy refrigerator with fun
alcohol-free drinks, Like I wasready to go.
(31:28):
I knew I would miss my wineglass, so I just thought ahead
and I needed to do that and youknow I share that with people
all the time Like not everyoneneeds to have that, but that
community piece is such such abig piece to just like-minded
(31:51):
people experiencing what you aredefinitely, community is
absolutely huge, especially, youknow it's I mean, it's on the
rise.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
obviously there's a lot of people now that are
really questioning theirrelationship with alcohol and
changing.
You know, maybe, how muchthey're drinking and going on
these breaks.
But it can still be quite alonely process at times, can't
it?
And I think it's not justremoving alcohol, it's also,
when you're doing it and you'reembarking on any kind of like
transformation journey ingeneral, it can be really,
(32:22):
really lonely, especially whenyou're kind of like one foot in
your new life and one foot inyour old one and you're just a
little bit in the middle and youknow you need you definitely
need people that can make youfeel seen and heard and going
through that same experience.
So it's, it's, it's so, yeah,it's so, so important.
Um, and for anyone that'slistening, tracy, that feels
(32:45):
they may be curious aboutwhether they might have ADHD, I
mean I've spoken to you justbefore we came on here.
I feel like I have tendenciestowards that, like I suffer with
procrastination quite a lot,and I was even talking to a
friend of mine who like yeah,the whole busy thing, the whole
busy thing, and then likestarting projects not
(33:06):
necessarily finishing them,getting a little bit overwhelmed
, that's like things that Iperhaps think that maybe I could
go and get looked at for that.
Like what would be the process,and what would people do if they
felt that they may have ADHD?
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yeah, and I think you know it depends on where you're
living in the world.
I'm in the United States andhere, you know, the first step
is to always have a conversationwith your doctor, your primary
doctor, that you see.
That being said, some doctorsare more well-versed in ADHD
(33:43):
than others and you definitelywant to have a conversation with
someone that you number onefeel really comfortable with.
So, whatever professional thatis if it's a mental health
counselor, it's your doctor.
It's a nurse, it's someone whois aware of ADHD and has some
(34:05):
knowledge behind it is really,really important, because the
diagnosis for adults, you know,comes mainly from a deep, rich
conversation about the historyof what your life has been like
and some of the challenges.
So, just like you're mentioning, you know someone that is
(34:27):
well-versed in ADHD and educated.
You know someone that is wellversed in ADHD and educated.
You know they are listening tothat story.
For patterns, for challenges,to quality of life.
It can look really different inmen and in women.
Hormone changes make everythinglook different for women with
ADHD, make everything lookdifferent for women with ADHD.
(34:53):
So my suggestion is to betalking with someone that you
trust, a professional that youtrust, that you feel comfortable
with and that you know, if theydon't have the answers or know
how to help you, they're goingto be able to get you to a
person who's going to be able tohelp.
That's a really, reallyimportant part, because there's
(35:16):
a whole bunch of differentthings that can happen, like
anxiety and ADHD look really,really similar and sometimes
it's hard to pull apart.
And, depending on someone'seducation around ADHD which not
all doctors are educated on ADHDyou want to make sure that who
you're talking to you know knowshow to help and is going to
listen, because the listeningpart is a huge part of how
(35:39):
someone would be diagnosed.
Yeah, thank you, and you knowthere's been this huge rise,
(36:07):
hasn't there?
You know, going really fast,being five steps ahead.
Not everyone with ADHD isimpulsive.
Adhd is.
There's a range, it's aspectrum.
You can have mild symptoms, youcan have extreme symptoms.
But if you're thinking aboutthe other part of what happens
(36:28):
with ADHD our executivefunctioning skills and we all
have executive functioningskills they're the things that
help us slow our mind down andorganize our thoughts.
They're things like our conceptof time, they're our emotions
and how we regulate them.
You know they have to do withprioritizing and planning
(36:50):
flexibility and shifting fromone thing to another.
So when we think alcohol and wethink, you know, are we picking
up a drink and there's nothought within it?
Are we five steps ahead in ourminds?
So we're not like even reallythinking about what's happening
later.
Sometimes with ADHD that thingslike what's your threshold for
(37:18):
drinking water, someone mightforget.
They're hyper focused onsomething that they might forget
that they're or not notice thatthey're thirsty or that they're
hungry or that it's time towrap something up.
So when alcohol gets mixed inthere it can make all of it
(37:39):
messier.
Impact of the lingering effectsin the brain, you know, can
certainly exasperate symptomsand you know there's different
reasons why people are usingalcohol, Is it?
I want to slow my mind down,you know I'm tired of feeling
this way.
There's lots of different waysand perspectives to think about
(38:00):
that.
But, as we know, like whenwe're using any kind of drug or
alcohol to self-medicatesomething like ADHD, you know,
the result is certainly it'sharder to grasp how you are
going to use strategies whenyour mind isn't clear and in a
(38:23):
place to learn Right and itlooks different person to person
.
You know there's people I workwith with ADHD, who I rarely
have them talk to me aboutalcohol use.
There's others who want to betalking about it because they're
feeling more of an impact ormore aware of it.
(38:47):
So it's certainly something tolook at carefully and it's, as
you said, because ADHD diagnosesare on the rise.
Alcohol use or anything elsethat can exasperate it, you know
, we know, is not helping.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, thank you, tracy.
Like I said to you before youcame on, you know it's a topic
that interests me, that I'mcurious about and I haven't
really kind of had anyoneexplain too much about it to me
before.
So, thank you, and I know aswell like one of the things that
stood out for me, particularlywhen we were doing the
certification and learning moreabout the impact of alcohol on
our brains and our brainchemistry and the hormones and
(39:30):
all of that.
That.
That really stood out for mebecause I had never given up,
really for health reasonsinitially.
It was much more around thatspiritual stuff and you know, a
little bit of like.
I know, even with myinsecurities around my
appearance, it was more aboutthat kind of thing that I was
giving up for initially, andthen I started to learn about
all of these implications and Ifound the effect on the brain
(39:52):
hormones like fascinating andhow, you know, our brain is
working so hard to regulateitself with its hormones.
Already, and I think about, youknow, I've I've got a lot of
friends over the years who havetaken medication for various
different things, um,particularly like anti-anxiety.
You know I've always worked inlike a kind of high functioning
(40:14):
sales environment and a lot ofmy friends did take those kind
of medications, but they werealso drinking a lot and I think,
gosh, like the the mix, thatthere's already chaos going on.
The brains are already workingreally, really hard to keep
themselves regulated.
Then there's medication that'sgoing in and then the alcohol on
top and I just think, oh mygoodness, like people aren't
(40:34):
made aware of just how, how Iguess catastrophizing that could
could be right absolutely yeah,and I mean my own drinking with
feeling anxious, you know itwas.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
It came to a point where it was so beyond like I
wake up the next day and I'mlike, oh, what did I do?
Or did I do anythingembarrassing To a point of where
it literally felt chemical.
It felt like I had half a glassof wine and I'm feeling like
I'm sweating in the middle ofthe night and it's not hot
(41:12):
flashes, it's alcohol induced.
And then in the morning I'mstill anxious.
It was so clearly chemical tome that it was like screaming at
me like, okay, are you going tostop now?
Are you going to keep going?
Thankfully, I stopped, but noone talks about any of these
(41:33):
things, so you just think it's.
You.
Just think it's you, you know.
I just thought like, oh, thisis just happening to me that we
(41:53):
thought was funny the nightbefore or whatever.
But it really started to feellike a chemical interaction,
like something was not right inhow it was manifesting in my
body.
And I do think when I startedwith the Reiki training, I was
so much more in tune with mybody that I think I also felt my
(42:13):
body differently than I hadbefore, and I think there's so
much to be said about that, thecues what our bodies are telling
us, and the connection to ourbrain and brain health.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think that it's so important.
It's not a case of justremoving the alcohol, it's a
case of removing it and reallygetting in touch with all those
beautiful practices you know,like the journaling, like the
stillness, you know, whatever itlooks like for anyone.
But I think, really, because weget it's such a gift in sobriety
that we get, you know, moretime and more focus and
(42:47):
discipline to be able to pourinto those beautiful things that
can just ground us, bring usback to our bodies, bring us
back to our hearts, like, helpus to really get to know who we
truly are and to stay in thatbeautiful, grounded, connected
state instead, and, like youknow, the compound effect of
that it's just huge, isn't it?
you know two years later I betyou just feel like completely
(43:09):
different woman in so many waysand yeah, yes, so different.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
It's so different and I you know, sometimes people
ask well, are you, are you bored?
Like, what do you do?
I'm like no, there's like thiswhole new world like opens up.
And I think, especially withADHD, like the brain is is you
know?
People talk about it like it'sa like people can't focus.
(43:34):
When they have ADHD, it'sactually a surplus of focus.
You're paying attention to everysingle thing around you and
it's usually a very sensitiveperson to the environment and to
their world and their heart isbig and soaks everything in.
And that person's brain ishardwired for like excitement
(43:58):
and it has to be stimulating.
So this is not something I'veread research about or beyond my
own thoughts, but I thinkthere's that that kind of brain
may be resistant or even moreafraid of being bored.
And if I'm taking alcohol outof my life and it's providing me
(44:21):
stimulation and fun andexcitement, what happens when
it's gone?
It's like that's how ADHD works.
It's like these massiveextremes of really awesome and
then really really challengingon the other end.
So I think there's lots ofopportunities for people to
(44:42):
think about.
Well, if I wasn't drinking, howwould I spend my time?
What would I do?
Speaker 1 (44:47):
And then realize, like, realize, like, oh, there's
actually all these cool thingsI could be doing that I didn't
think I had time for, but Iactually do yeah, yeah, I love
that, and I feel like there wasa bit of you then describing
what I feel like is me a littlebit, and I think I know and I
can't speak for you know like Idon't have the knowledge around
ADHD, so I can't speak for that,but I do know, for me
(45:10):
personally, there was anavoidance of feeling and feeling
pain and all of that and beingstuck in my head rather than
really going through things, andI think that's definitely
something that I now know, Ipicked up from conditioning,
from childhood, you know, and soI think, yeah, perhaps there's
a link there too, but it's, yeah, really feeling, being getting
comfortable, feeling all of ouremotions, feeling all the
(45:31):
sensations and everything in ourbody, and you know, that might
sound really scary at first andbut it leads to freedom, right,
it really does, when you canlean into that discomfort and
feel all the things.
Yeah, another beautiful part ofit yes, it really does, it
really does, it really does.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
And yeah, I feel the same way and that same same kind
of experience, and you knowthose emotions that feel scary.
I also think they come out inall different kinds of ways.
I found myself I'd be crying ina yoga class.
(46:09):
No one would know I was crying,it wasn't like I was
hyperventilating, but I justmight.
I'd be crying in a yoga class,no one would know I was crying,
it wasn't like I washyperventilating, but I'd have
tears running down my face.
I'm like what is going on?
And it was just this release ofemotion and actually feeling,
which I think I wasn't doing forquite a bit.
(46:30):
And yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
Tears are great.
Emotions are great.
Yeah, I've always told myclients when they get emotional
and they've got you knoweverything's going I'm like, yes
, this is really good.
Not that I want to see upset,it's great.
Feel it, feel all of it.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
Yeah, you have to feel it.
You have to feel it, feel allof it.
Yeah, you have to feel.
You have to feel it.
You have to feel it and knowlike it does it.
It leaves you and you mighthave another feeling again 20
minutes later, the next day, thenext, whatever it is.
But it also, when youacknowledge that it's there,
(47:07):
there is a, a release.
That happens because you're notkeeping it all bottled up deep
inside thank you, tracy.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Talk about I know and I it's.
It's been beautiful catching upand having you on and thank you
for sharing all your, yourknowledge and your experience
and your wisdom and everything.
Thank you, and where can peoplefind you as well, tracy?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
yes, so they can find me on instagram at lesson.
The overwhelm um tracy bromley,goodwin, and tracy has an e in
it on linkedin um and my website, tracy bromleygoodwincom, and I
would love to hear from anyone,adhd or otherwise, um, please
(47:58):
reach out.
I.
This is what I feel sopassionate about and helping
people you know enjoy theirbrain now and not feel like it's
an arm's length away.
Thank you, jaycee amazing.
Thank you so much.
(48:18):
This has been so much fun.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Thank you thank you for listening to today's episode
of the sober chapters podcast.
I hope you enjoyed it and gotlots of good information from it
.
I'm really keen to share thesemessages as far and wide as
possible, and I know howimportant it is to receive
reviews to do so.
If you're feeling called, Iwould love you to leave a review
(48:44):
from whatever platform it isthat you're listening on, and if
you send me a screenshot ofthat review to dd at
soberchapterscom, I will put youinto the mix of winning a free
one-on-one coaching session withme.
If you would like to learn moreabout Sober Chapters and to
follow along on Instagram it'ssober underscore chapters You'll
(49:05):
find lots of differentresources on there and a free
guide, 69 tips, tricks andresources for anyone that is
embarking on a sober chapter.
If you'd like to learn moreabout my one-on-one coaching,
group coaching programs andmasterminds, then please go to
wwwsoberchapterscom.
I'd also love to hear from you.
(49:28):
If you have any feedback or youneed any guidance or you have
anything at all you'd like toreach out to me about, then
please do email me at dd atsoberchapterscom.
I would love to hear from youand support you in any way that
I can.
Hello and welcome to the Sober Chapters podcast.
I am your host, dee Dee Jordan,and I'm so excited to be
sharing with you all of theincredible ways that removing
alcohol for a chapter willreinvent you forever.
You see, removing alcohol isabout so much more than removing
alcohol.
It's about immense personal andspiritual growth.
(00:22):
It's about discovering who youtruly are and about stepping out
of your patterns and into yourpurpose and your power.
Wherever you are on youralcohol-free or sober curious
journey, this podcast is for you, so grab yourself your favorite
cuppa and come join me in asafe space to listen, to share
(00:46):
and to feel.
I'm so grateful that you'rehere.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Sober Chapters podcast, and
(01:07):
today I'm joined by TracyBromley-Godwin, who is an ADHD
and mindset coach, and she'salso a very special connection
of mine, as we met during theEmpowered AF certification about
18 months ago now, when wecertified in Palm Springs, and
we had a really gorgeous chatand I just knew that one day she
(01:27):
was going to come on thepodcast and I knew we would stay
connected, and I have no ideawhere this conversation is going
to go, but I love it becausewe're both very much in touch
with our intuition and followingall the guidance and I can't
wait to hear all the thingsabout what you feel up to Tracy.
So welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Thank you, didi.
I had the same feeling likesomeday we'll have a great
conversation again and I'm soglad that we're having it now.
And yeah, I just knew Iactually remember having this
feeling like sitting next to youhaving dinner and I was like I
just knew I actually rememberhaving this feeling like sitting
next to you having dinner and Iwas like I just knew there's
(02:08):
something so special about youand your spirituality and I'm
just so excited to be here.
So thank you for having methank you, tracy.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
yeah, it's so interesting, isn't it?
Like you just have thosespecial connections that just
stay in your heart and your mind, and I thought yeah, one day, I
know we've had a couple ofmessages and we've exchanged a
few things along the way andwe've both done a lot since.
I guess and I'd just love tohear about everything you're
doing and you know for you toexplain and introduce yourself
(02:41):
as well to the listeners,especially around the topic of
ADHD.
I'd love to hear more aboutthat because I know it's
something that I am very curiousabout and would love to learn
more about as well yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
So, oh my gosh, there's, there's so much.
There's so there's so much toto think about when comes to
ADHD, when it comes to ADHDcoaching.
My journey in the field of ADHDreally started working with
children and families.
I was a teacher many, manyyears ago and my favorite part
(03:21):
about teaching was working withstudents that were just having a
hard time, whether it was peerrelationships, whether it was
getting homework done, whateverit was, they would show up in my
room after school and I wasteaching high school.
And when I had my own kids, Idecided to leave teaching and
(03:42):
this is going back, like youknow, 20, almost 25 years ago,
and I left teaching and justreally dove into the field of
ADHD.
I worked with aneuropsychologist, I co-owned a
business with an art therapist,and our specialty was ADHD.
(04:03):
And then, right around the timeI started on this alcohol-free
living journey, which is comingup on two years, I suddenly had
this feeling that I was meant todo something a little different
, that children and families hadinformed me so much, so many
(04:26):
wonderful, beautiful thingsabout ADHD, and I had more and
more parents saying wait, Ithink I need you to, and over
time, I ended up working moreand more with adults and then
left that partnership, thatco-owned business, to branch out
on my own and work, for themost part, working with adults
(04:50):
with ADHD.
High achievers most are lawyers, legal professionals and
entrepreneurs.
Those personalities and thedrive and creativity that these
particular people have is somuch fun to work with and work
on when it comes to adhd quitethe journey for you.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
That's just unfolded by the sounds of things,
naturally.
Yeah, yeah.
And how?
How did you get to the point?
Where you decided to removealcohol from your life.
How did that fit into theequation for you?
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, Well, it has to do with spirituality.
Actually, my dad had passedaway when I was 10, and
immediately I had this deep kindof spiritual connection with
him where he was just with meall the time, and so I kind of
followed that personaldevelopment spirituality thread
(05:53):
throughout my life and I hadalways been really curious about
energy work and Reiki.
And it was probably three yearsago where, locally, someone was
doing a Reiki training and Ithought I really want to do it.
I'm going to go see what thisis.
(06:14):
I had experienced Reiki myselfbut didn't really know what it
meant to do energy work forsomeone or with someone or share
it with someone.
So I went to this training and Iremember it vividly because the
night before we were meetingfriends out for dinner and I was
reading the little like here'show to prep before you go for
(06:36):
your Reiki training and it saidrefrain from drinking and I was
like that's weird, Like I didn'teven really understand.
And then I read a little bitmore and it talked about
clogging energetic channels andyou might want to consider not
drinking.
So I went to dinner that nightand I was the only person not
(06:58):
drinking and I was like, okay,this is interesting.
It just kind of gave me adifferent perspective.
Okay, this is interesting.
It just kind of gave me adifferent perspective.
Went and did the Reiki trainingwhich was life-changing, so
that suddenly life, just things,looked different to me.
(07:19):
I was just.
Everything was vibrant and Ihad this like deep feeling.
I don't want anything to bedull, I don't want to numb
anything, and I did keepdrinking.
I was like, really, at thatpoint in time was like I don't
really know how to not have aglass of wine, like I really did
(07:40):
not have.
There was no one in my socialcircle not drinking, so I didn't
really understand what it wouldlook like or what it would be
like.
So a couple of more months goby, I do another Reiki training.
Now I'm starting to feel likebig kind of energetic shifts.
(08:01):
And I'm listening to a podcast.
It's Carolina talking about themental drain decision-making
around alcohol was causing her,and it was like a massive light
bulb.
I was like, oh my gosh, that iswhat I do.
I spend half my week thinkingabout okay, so if we're going to
(08:22):
dinner Friday night and friendsare coming over first, that
means I can have one glass ofwine.
If I have more than one beforewe even go out, then I know I'm
going to have too much.
And then everything juststarted downloading for me.
Wait a second.
This is why I'm so anxious.
This is why my mind is racingso much so anxious.
(08:47):
This is why my mind is racing.
So much.
I had no idea until I heardsomeone really talking about it,
and I think the Reiki and thespiritual journey just had me.
My heart was in a place where Icould see it differently, I
could hear it differently, Istarted understanding my own
brain differently and that I hadbeen drinking to quiet my mind
and it was actually doing theopposite.
(09:09):
It was making things so muchworse because I would get really
, really anxious even after aglass of wine, not even being
out drinking.
It would be a glass of wine atnight cooking dinner and I would
be extremely anxious.
So that's that's how that partrolled right in.
(09:29):
And then from there, that'swhen everything else started
opening up in my life thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
There's so many of you to see me sitting here
nodding away like, yeah, I canrelate to that.
Yeah, yeah, it's um.
Yeah, I think the whole youknow, being guided from that
spiritual aspect is just sobeautiful, like I really do
believe, like we all are likeguided for a higher reason to
remove it, and it can be such ahuge spiritual journey and it
(10:02):
was, it was huge for me.
That was the biggest thing forme was, you know, similar to you
, riley.
So I think, by the sounds ofthings, you weren't like a big,
big drinker, and I thinksometimes that can sometimes be
harder not harder, but hard in away, because I would always
justify that I didn't need tokind of give up alcohol, but yet
(10:26):
when I did drink, it wascausing me such horrific anxiety
and when I did have like ahangover and for me, to be fair,
there was always a risk of abig night out as well, because
I'd been single for so long butlike those mental hangovers that
I had and I think like I justcouldn't handle those and that's
when I started taking breaksand I just started seeing like
(10:47):
all these signs andsynchronicities and numbers and
just vibrating at such a higherfrequency and it was just like
this veil was lifted and yeah,but it's.
It's so fascinating because Iwould always go back to it.
It took me a really long timeto actually justify giving up
for that chapter because of thefact that I wasn't you know, I
(11:08):
didn't really drink in the week,to be fair, and things like
this.
So it was a real journey, butit kept coming back to that
spiritual element and I keptjust being shown that that was
the way forwards.
And you know, I think when you,when you have those breaks and
you feel that and you experiencethat shift and that lift and
(11:28):
everything, it's like it'sreally hard to unsee and unfeel,
isn't it?
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yes, yes, that's exactly what it was.
That's such a great way todescribe that it was kind of
that idea you don't know whatyou don't know, you know when
you to experience it.
Then it's all of these thingsjust start popping.
And I think you know I was.
(11:53):
I was paying attention to whatwas popping and I made a
decision that I was going totrust in God, in the universe,
in spirit guides.
I was just going to really leanin and just follow one little I
always call it like it's likeI'm following a little trail of
(12:15):
breadcrumbs.
And ever since I stoppeddrinking, that path became so
clear and that's not to say likeeasy and not scary.
And I mean I had co owned abusiness for 13 years.
(12:36):
It was like we were married.
It was a wonderful business anda wonderful experience and it
it was very scary for me to makea decision like, okay, I'm just
keep hearing this like voicethat I'm supposed to be doing
something else, not being 100%sure what it was going to look
(12:57):
like, but knowing that I had todo it and being alcohol free, I
know, was what opened my eyes tojust being able to see it
clearly, um, and to have theconfidence to to follow what my
intuition was telling me, youknow, and to to trust that it
was it was going to work yeah,it's gorgeous, I think.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I think that's it isn't it.
It's.
You know, it allows us goshwhen I think about I talk about
this all the time.
But you know, that ability totrust your intuition, to hear it
in the first place, to trust itto, I mean, faith is huge.
Faith's been like a huge, hugepart of my journey.
Like I wouldn't be here, Iwouldn't have followed all the
signs, I wouldn't have built somany chapters.
There's no way that I wouldhave done any of that like if I
(13:47):
hadn't kept seeing the time andhad that faith and it's led me
to this place and it's beenbeautiful.
But I didn't have the space forthat before, like I was so much
more in my head and controllingand you know, and it's just,
it's it, that's, it's bringing,it's brought us back to like our
hearts and that ability tobuild something from that place
(14:08):
and I know we just touched onthat a little bit before you
came on the podcast as well andI think it's just, it's such a
beautiful way to build something, isn't it?
Is that how you feel witheverything you've done?
Like it's looked that way foryou too?
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, definitely.
And it's funny because I neverthought I was a controlling like
person and what I've realizedis my anxiety was so high and my
racing kind of brain was goingso fast that I did try and like
(14:48):
not trust, because I felt likeif I could like be one step
ahead of everything, that thatwould be the way to make
everything OK.
And now it's the opposite ofreally trying to step back from
that, of really trying to stepback from that.
(15:08):
But it's funny because I thinkabout it all the time, because
and I think people that know mewould be like oh, you're so laid
back and what do you mean?
You were that anxious.
In my mind it was like onconstantly and racing, and I was
(15:31):
not the I'm late for thingskind of person or disorganized,
but hyper-focusing on worry andanxiety in my brain were
definitely a huge issue, andtaking alcohol away just allowed
me to just experience things sodifferently.
It's amazing, really, and thatit happened when it did.
(15:52):
Why didn't that happen 20 yearsbefore?
I just feel the timing wasn'tright.
I was supposed to go throughthose experiences and figure
those things out along the way,and yeah, it's just so
interesting.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Well, I mean, it's been a huge part of what you're
now able to help people with,right, like.
If you hadn't gone through allof that, then, yeah, it's your
own divine timing, absolutely,absolutely.
I mean, sometimes I'm the same,like I look, but I constantly
find journals from like the lastfew years because really, I
(16:32):
mean I yeah, it's probablyaround 30, like early 30s, and
specifically when I was 32 andkind of everything changed in my
life that I really got likeproperly sober, curious and I'm
like, oh, my goodness, what Icould have done in the last,
like what if I'd like stopped at32?
But I was like no, because Iknow that all that messiness and
(16:54):
all that sober curiosity andall the backwards and forwards
and learning about spiritualityand changing my patterns, you
know, particularly with theopposite sets, all of that kind
of stuff, like I know that'ssuch a huge part of what I'm
meant to be helping people withand it's all perfect and I'm
just grateful for every bit ofit, but it's it's so interesting
(17:14):
I think you know, we hear itover and over again, don't we,
with all the different peoplethat we've met along the way in
this, in this space, where it'sjust this, it's like this divine
intervention that comes in andyou just end up listening at the
perfect, the perfect time yes,yes, and it's such a beautiful
thing and I just feel sograteful that I heard Carolina
(17:41):
that day that I had pursued thatReiki training.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
You know all of the things that led to just learning
about myself and also learningand thinking about ADHD and what
happens in the subconsciousmind when we grow up, feeling
like something's wrong or whycan't I do it, why am I not
(18:08):
doing it the right way?
Or there must be something wrongwith me, or I just wish I could
do it like someone else.
By the time I'm working withsomeone as an adult, those
patterns are so deeply ingrainedthat it's so difficult for
someone to just try out a timemanagement technique and have it
(18:29):
work right away, because you'refighting against that self-talk
or things you don't even know,because you don't even remember
them.
They're buried so deep thatyou've carried along all the way
.
So I definitely feel like thiswhole experience has like really
brought that to light for me,as I've unpacked some of those
(18:51):
things and realized like, ohokay, that's why something that
I tried maybe didn't work in thepast, or that's why I was
trying to keep myself so busy.
I was like a very I was so busy, I was like a chronic busy
person and I thought it waswonderful, but it's because I
(19:13):
couldn't stop to like hearmyself think it was too scary is
what I know now.
I didn't know that then, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
Yeah, I'd love to learn more about actually like
what you've been through in thelast couple of years and how
you've unpacked.
You know that, going throughthat change and recognizing all
the anxiety that you had and howalcohol was making that worse,
and then how you've got to thisplace now and I guess how that
links in with what you help yourclients with as well, and for
(19:44):
anyone listening that couldreally you know, I think benefit
from hearing about all of thosethings.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, um, and it still continues.
So I will say that it feelslike one little layer sheds and
then I'm like oh whoa, that's awhole other thing that I have to
deal with.
Um, so you know, it startedwhen I actually started
journaling and it was partiallycame out of Carolina's euphoric
(20:14):
program because part of it waslike you're going to journal
every day and I am definitely agive me like a directive and I'm
going to like do it, because Inow realize the people pleasing
tendencies that I've always hadlike go into high gear.
But it ended up being wonderfulbecause I had always wanted to
(20:38):
journal but I didn't really feellike I had patience to journal.
I said I was too busy tojournal, I don't have time.
Where it was really like.
Now I know, because it stillhappens, when I feel resistance
to journaling it's just becausethere's a whole bunch of
uncomfortable stuff that has toget out of me and part of me is
(21:01):
like, no, I don't want to feelwhatever the emotion is.
But that journaling processthat started everything for me,
really digging deep, it helpedme really recognize this sense
of belongingness, was really atthe core of drinking for me, not
(21:26):
wanting to be different.
And when I think back togrowing up in my own experience
in school, if I was reallyinterested in something like I
was on it and it was great, andif I wasn't, it was hard.
And I always remember that Ijust didn't like that feeling of
like why can't I do this, whycan't it be easier?
(21:49):
And I think as I went to ditchalcohol along the way I began to
understand where some of thosethings were coming from and it
led me to recognize like okay,there's a whole bunch of things
that I had no idea that werepacked so deep until I started
kind of uncovering them.
(22:11):
And I think there's power incommunity.
And that was another thing thatI never really did previous to,
before I gave up alcohol,meaning I could go to a group
kind of setting that was ameditation or maybe it was like
(22:32):
a personal development workshopand say very little, because I
love listening.
I love listening, but I wasalso afraid to say anything
really about myself.
So that was another big stepthe journaling, like unearthed
some of it, then deciding likeokay, I think I need to be in
(22:52):
situations that make meuncomfortable but that draw
things out of me.
So I started doing that andgoing to more and more
meditation classes.
I did coaching.
I got my own coach.
You know I really neededguidance and kind of helping
myself discover things that Ididn't know about myself and
(23:16):
start dealing with resistance tochange, resistance to things
that scared me, resistance tojust being myself, because
oftentimes I just would kind ofhave like a happy face and seem
like everything was great.
No one would know that inside Iwas like really anxious or just
(23:41):
not present, because on theoutside I would look like I was,
and so those things were allpart of the process, which now I
recognize that that's how Ihelp clients that I work with.
I've always been the optimistand a person who I think of it
(24:03):
as holding hope.
I've always done that forwhether it was kids I was
working with or adults that Ijust feel so strongly that
change is always possible andthat everyone is so worthy and
deserving of believing thatabout themselves that now I get
to bring that into my coachingreally outwardly.
(24:25):
Before I would kind of slide itin, and now I'm like, hey, we
need to talk about this, we needto talk about what's happening
underneath, we need to celebrateall the wonderful things and we
need to help you figure out howyou're going to move forward,
because those old tapes, if wecan't let go of them, then they
keep us stuck.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Thank you, tracey.
Thank you Very well explained.
Thank you for taking throughyour own process and then what
you've learned and then whatyou're able to help others with
because you've gone rightthrough it and you've
experienced it.
And that's the power of havinggone right through what we go
through as coaches.
Right is to be able to reallybecause there's that whole
expression you can only think so, you can only connect as deeply
(25:11):
with others as you haveconnected deeply with yourself,
essentially, and it's like whyit's so important for us to
continue to do that work.
Like you said, it's an ongoingthing and it really really is,
isn't it?
it doesn't stop.
Oh my goodness, add anotherlayer, add another layer.
But the beauty, yeah, right,but the beauty is when you've
(25:35):
got alcohol out the way and thisis just such a big part of what
I love talking about is, youknow, removing alcohol to do
that deep inner work?
It's just such an acceleration,isn't it?
You know you're able to justget so much.
But like more clarity, get toknow who you truly are, have the
confidence to even talk abouteverything that you're
discovering.
Like it's so liberating andit's.
(25:58):
You know, I didn't realize thatI wasn't vulnerable, you know,
before and I used to have.
I said that, you know, oh yes,I used to hide all these like
parts of myself and they it just.
I mean, for me, it was alwaysthese patterns that I was stuck
in, like I talk about a lot,particularly with the opposite
(26:19):
sex, but it was like, you know,I came across.
I resonate so much with whatyou're saying about.
Like you know, on the outsideno one would really necessarily
know.
I mean, I'm definitely, um, I'mnot optimistic, and you know
people wouldn't?
You know bubbly character, allof that, but inside I was like
slowly dying really when it cameto like my corporate job and
how I would feel like at thebeginning of the week and things
(26:40):
like that, but no one, no onewould have known and it's it's
like I just hid all this stuffand I have this fear.
I thought like insecuritieswere a weakness, like I had this
big thing in my mind about that, and now what I've learned is
that owning our insecurities andbeing secure about our
insecurities is just like themost liberating, most courageous
(27:01):
, most powerful and actually themost attractive quality as well
, like I now absolutely lovethat in myself and in my new
partner, obviously.
But in that whole thing thatI've learned, it's changed
everything.
It's just so freeing right itis.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Oh, I love that, didi , yeah, I think, yeah, you're.
You're so right when you can beauthentic with that and not see
it as it's this weakness,because it's not.
It's just who we are as people,it's just what makes us us, and
(27:42):
with ADHD, there's so muchshame and guilt around it.
I mean, every client that I'veworked with just feels this
tremendous like why can't I getit together?
You know, it seems likeeveryone else around me can and
you know I do usually share like.
(28:02):
Everyone has things thatthey're challenged by and that
they're feeling, and you mightnot know, looking at them on the
outside, because I definitelywas a walking example of that,
for sure, and, like you said,shedding layers and learning
(28:23):
about yourself.
It just goes on and on.
I mean, if coaching call I justhad last week where I was like
what?
I just figured out a wholeother thing about myself I
didn't even realize that this issomething I was doing I'm like,
oh, okay, yep, that makes sense, that makes sense.
Yeah, so it's never ending.
(28:45):
It's not like we are just thesehuman beings walking around and
like, okay, I've solved all thethings and now I'm free to do
all these things.
It's like we have to do themnow, like in the moment.
Yeah, and I didn't want myselfto be vulnerable either, and
sometimes I still don't I catchmyself where I'm like okay, hold
(29:08):
on, you're kind of revertingback to something that you used
to do, and that's all part of itall part of it.
Speaker 1 (29:17):
And it's like again because you're not being clouded
in any way by alcohol, likeyou're so aware of that, like
you can catch yourself with that, right, that's the beauty of it
.
It's like oh, that's an oldpattern, I know what I'm doing,
right?
Yes, the compound effect isjust so real, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (29:36):
it definitely is.
Yeah, yeah, that's one of myfavorite things about being
alcohol free and all the thingsthat I didn't even know, like I
never thought I had mental foguntil I wasn't drinking and I
was like, oh, that's what thatis Like.
I didn't even know what it wasbecause I just had never
(29:57):
experienced it.
I'm like, oh, I did, my headfeels different.
I have a client who they made adecision to experiment with
taking alcohol out of their lifefor a bit with ADHD, and
they're just blown away by theclarity they feel like they have
(30:20):
in their mind, are really justshocked of like I had no idea
that it was contributing thatmuch to just what was happening
in my brain.
So it's just such an excitingthought to think about something
(30:41):
that we have we can remove ifwe are curious about it and we
can just think about it that way, like, oh, what you know what
it might feel like.
And for me the support was soimportant, Like I had just
gotten into the program that Iwas in with you, the
certification program.
You know I had only given upalcohol maybe a month prior and
(31:06):
it was really really helpful forme to have everyone in that
group as peer support, rolemodels, helpful tips, Because I
definitely, you know, I stockedmy refrigerator with fun
alcohol-free drinks, Like I wasready to go.
(31:28):
I knew I would miss my wineglass, so I just thought ahead
and I needed to do that and youknow I share that with people
all the time Like not everyoneneeds to have that, but that
community piece is such such abig piece to just like-minded
(31:51):
people experiencing what you aredefinitely, community is
absolutely huge, especially, youknow it's I mean, it's on the
rise.
Speaker 1 (32:01):
obviously there's a lot of people now that are
really questioning theirrelationship with alcohol and
changing.
You know, maybe, how muchthey're drinking and going on
these breaks.
But it can still be quite alonely process at times, can't
it?
And I think it's not justremoving alcohol, it's also,
when you're doing it and you'reembarking on any kind of like
transformation journey ingeneral, it can be really,
(32:22):
really lonely, especially whenyou're kind of like one foot in
your new life and one foot inyour old one and you're just a
little bit in the middle and youknow you need you definitely
need people that can make youfeel seen and heard and going
through that same experience.
So it's, it's, it's so, yeah,it's so, so important.
Um, and for anyone that'slistening, tracy, that feels
(32:45):
they may be curious aboutwhether they might have ADHD, I
mean I've spoken to you justbefore we came on here.
I feel like I have tendenciestowards that, like I suffer with
procrastination quite a lot,and I was even talking to a
friend of mine who like yeah,the whole busy thing, the whole
busy thing, and then likestarting projects not
(33:06):
necessarily finishing them,getting a little bit overwhelmed
, that's like things that Iperhaps think that maybe I could
go and get looked at for that.
Like what would be the process,and what would people do if they
felt that they may have ADHD?
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Yeah, and I think you know it depends on where you're
living in the world.
I'm in the United States andhere, you know, the first step
is to always have a conversationwith your doctor, your primary
doctor, that you see.
That being said, some doctorsare more well-versed in ADHD
(33:43):
than others and you definitelywant to have a conversation with
someone that you number onefeel really comfortable with.
So, whatever professional thatis if it's a mental health
counselor, it's your doctor.
It's a nurse, it's someone whois aware of ADHD and has some
(34:05):
knowledge behind it is really,really important, because the
diagnosis for adults, you know,comes mainly from a deep, rich
conversation about the historyof what your life has been like
and some of the challenges.
So, just like you're mentioning, you know someone that is
(34:27):
well-versed in ADHD and educated.
You know someone that is wellversed in ADHD and educated.
You know they are listening tothat story.
For patterns, for challenges,to quality of life.
It can look really different inmen and in women.
Hormone changes make everythinglook different for women with
ADHD, make everything lookdifferent for women with ADHD.
(34:53):
So my suggestion is to betalking with someone that you
trust, a professional that youtrust, that you feel comfortable
with and that you know, if theydon't have the answers or know
how to help you, they're goingto be able to get you to a
person who's going to be able tohelp.
That's a really, reallyimportant part, because there's
(35:16):
a whole bunch of differentthings that can happen, like
anxiety and ADHD look really,really similar and sometimes
it's hard to pull apart.
And, depending on someone'seducation around ADHD which not
all doctors are educated on ADHDyou want to make sure that who
you're talking to you know knowshow to help and is going to
listen, because the listeningpart is a huge part of how
(35:39):
someone would be diagnosed.
Yeah, thank you, and you knowthere's been this huge rise,
(36:07):
hasn't there?
You know, going really fast,being five steps ahead.
Not everyone with ADHD isimpulsive.
Adhd is.
There's a range, it's aspectrum.
You can have mild symptoms, youcan have extreme symptoms.
But if you're thinking aboutthe other part of what happens
(36:28):
with ADHD our executivefunctioning skills and we all
have executive functioningskills they're the things that
help us slow our mind down andorganize our thoughts.
They're things like our conceptof time, they're our emotions
and how we regulate them.
You know they have to do withprioritizing and planning
(36:50):
flexibility and shifting fromone thing to another.
So when we think alcohol and wethink, you know, are we picking
up a drink and there's nothought within it?
Are we five steps ahead in ourminds?
So we're not like even reallythinking about what's happening
later.
Sometimes with ADHD that thingslike what's your threshold for
(37:18):
drinking water, someone mightforget.
They're hyper focused onsomething that they might forget
that they're or not notice thatthey're thirsty or that they're
hungry or that it's time towrap something up.
So when alcohol gets mixed inthere it can make all of it
(37:39):
messier.
Impact of the lingering effectsin the brain, you know, can
certainly exasperate symptomsand you know there's different
reasons why people are usingalcohol, Is it?
I want to slow my mind down,you know I'm tired of feeling
this way.
There's lots of different waysand perspectives to think about
(38:00):
that.
But, as we know, like whenwe're using any kind of drug or
alcohol to self-medicatesomething like ADHD, you know,
the result is certainly it'sharder to grasp how you are
going to use strategies whenyour mind isn't clear and in a
(38:23):
place to learn Right and itlooks different person to person
.
You know there's people I workwith with ADHD, who I rarely
have them talk to me aboutalcohol use.
There's others who want to betalking about it because they're
feeling more of an impact ormore aware of it.
(38:47):
So it's certainly something tolook at carefully and it's, as
you said, because ADHD diagnosesare on the rise.
Alcohol use or anything elsethat can exasperate it, you know
, we know, is not helping.
Speaker 1 (39:08):
Yeah, thank you, tracy.
Like I said to you before youcame on, you know it's a topic
that interests me, that I'mcurious about and I haven't
really kind of had anyoneexplain too much about it to me
before.
So, thank you, and I know aswell like one of the things that
stood out for me, particularlywhen we were doing the
certification and learning moreabout the impact of alcohol on
our brains and our brainchemistry and the hormones and
(39:30):
all of that.
That.
That really stood out for mebecause I had never given up,
really for health reasonsinitially.
It was much more around thatspiritual stuff and you know, a
little bit of like.
I know, even with myinsecurities around my
appearance, it was more aboutthat kind of thing that I was
giving up for initially, andthen I started to learn about
all of these implications and Ifound the effect on the brain
(39:52):
hormones like fascinating andhow, you know, our brain is
working so hard to regulateitself with its hormones.
Already, and I think about, youknow, I've I've got a lot of
friends over the years who havetaken medication for various
different things, um,particularly like anti-anxiety.
You know I've always worked inlike a kind of high functioning
(40:14):
sales environment and a lot ofmy friends did take those kind
of medications, but they werealso drinking a lot and I think,
gosh, like the the mix, thatthere's already chaos going on.
The brains are already workingreally, really hard to keep
themselves regulated.
Then there's medication that'sgoing in and then the alcohol on
top and I just think, oh mygoodness, like people aren't
(40:34):
made aware of just how, how Iguess catastrophizing that could
could be right absolutely yeah,and I mean my own drinking with
feeling anxious, you know itwas.
Speaker 2 (40:50):
It came to a point where it was so beyond like I
wake up the next day and I'mlike, oh, what did I do?
Or did I do anythingembarrassing To a point of where
it literally felt chemical.
It felt like I had half a glassof wine and I'm feeling like
I'm sweating in the middle ofthe night and it's not hot
(41:12):
flashes, it's alcohol induced.
And then in the morning I'mstill anxious.
It was so clearly chemical tome that it was like screaming at
me like, okay, are you going tostop now?
Are you going to keep going?
Thankfully, I stopped, but noone talks about any of these
(41:33):
things, so you just think it's.
You.
Just think it's you, you know.
I just thought like, oh, thisis just happening to me that we
(41:53):
thought was funny the nightbefore or whatever.
But it really started to feellike a chemical interaction,
like something was not right inhow it was manifesting in my
body.
And I do think when I startedwith the Reiki training, I was
so much more in tune with mybody that I think I also felt my
(42:13):
body differently than I hadbefore, and I think there's so
much to be said about that, thecues what our bodies are telling
us, and the connection to ourbrain and brain health.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think that it's so important.
It's not a case of justremoving the alcohol, it's a
case of removing it and reallygetting in touch with all those
beautiful practices you know,like the journaling, like the
stillness, you know, whatever itlooks like for anyone.
But I think, really, because weget it's such a gift in sobriety
that we get, you know, moretime and more focus and
(42:47):
discipline to be able to pourinto those beautiful things that
can just ground us, bring usback to our bodies, bring us
back to our hearts, like, helpus to really get to know who we
truly are and to stay in thatbeautiful, grounded, connected
state instead, and, like youknow, the compound effect of
that it's just huge, isn't it?
you know two years later I betyou just feel like completely
(43:09):
different woman in so many waysand yeah, yes, so different.
Speaker 2 (43:14):
It's so different and I you know, sometimes people
ask well, are you, are you bored?
Like, what do you do?
I'm like no, there's like thiswhole new world like opens up.
And I think, especially withADHD, like the brain is is you
know?
People talk about it like it'sa like people can't focus.
(43:34):
When they have ADHD, it'sactually a surplus of focus.
You're paying attention to everysingle thing around you and
it's usually a very sensitiveperson to the environment and to
their world and their heart isbig and soaks everything in.
And that person's brain ishardwired for like excitement
(43:58):
and it has to be stimulating.
So this is not something I'veread research about or beyond my
own thoughts, but I thinkthere's that that kind of brain
may be resistant or even moreafraid of being bored.
And if I'm taking alcohol outof my life and it's providing me
(44:21):
stimulation and fun andexcitement, what happens when
it's gone?
It's like that's how ADHD works.
It's like these massiveextremes of really awesome and
then really really challengingon the other end.
So I think there's lots ofopportunities for people to
(44:42):
think about.
Well, if I wasn't drinking, howwould I spend my time?
What would I do?
Speaker 1 (44:47):
And then realize, like, realize, like, oh, there's
actually all these cool thingsI could be doing that I didn't
think I had time for, but Iactually do yeah, yeah, I love
that, and I feel like there wasa bit of you then describing
what I feel like is me a littlebit, and I think I know and I
can't speak for you know like Idon't have the knowledge around
ADHD, so I can't speak for that,but I do know, for me
(45:10):
personally, there was anavoidance of feeling and feeling
pain and all of that and beingstuck in my head rather than
really going through things, andI think that's definitely
something that I now know, Ipicked up from conditioning,
from childhood, you know, and soI think, yeah, perhaps there's
a link there too, but it's, yeah, really feeling, being getting
comfortable, feeling all of ouremotions, feeling all the
(45:31):
sensations and everything in ourbody, and you know, that might
sound really scary at first andbut it leads to freedom, right,
it really does, when you canlean into that discomfort and
feel all the things.
Yeah, another beautiful part ofit yes, it really does, it
really does, it really does.
Speaker 2 (45:49):
And yeah, I feel the same way and that same same kind
of experience, and you knowthose emotions that feel scary.
I also think they come out inall different kinds of ways.
I found myself I'd be crying ina yoga class.
(46:09):
No one would know I was crying,it wasn't like I was
hyperventilating, but I justmight.
I'd be crying in a yoga class,no one would know I was crying,
it wasn't like I washyperventilating, but I'd have
tears running down my face.
I'm like what is going on?
And it was just this release ofemotion and actually feeling,
which I think I wasn't doing forquite a bit.
(46:30):
And yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:35):
Tears are great.
Emotions are great.
Yeah, I've always told myclients when they get emotional
and they've got you knoweverything's going I'm like, yes
, this is really good.
Not that I want to see upset,it's great.
Feel it, feel all of it.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
Yeah, you have to feel it.
You have to feel it, feel allof it.
Yeah, you have to feel.
You have to feel it.
You have to feel it and knowlike it does it.
It leaves you and you mighthave another feeling again 20
minutes later, the next day, thenext, whatever it is.
But it also, when youacknowledge that it's there,
(47:07):
there is a, a release.
That happens because you're notkeeping it all bottled up deep
inside thank you, tracy.
Speaker 1 (47:20):
Talk about I know and I it's.
It's been beautiful catching upand having you on and thank you
for sharing all your, yourknowledge and your experience
and your wisdom and everything.
Thank you, and where can peoplefind you as well, tracy?
Speaker 2 (47:36):
yes, so they can find me on instagram at lesson.
The overwhelm um tracy bromley,goodwin, and tracy has an e in
it on linkedin um and my website, tracy bromleygoodwincom, and I
would love to hear from anyone,adhd or otherwise, um, please
(47:58):
reach out.
I.
This is what I feel sopassionate about and helping
people you know enjoy theirbrain now and not feel like it's
an arm's length away.
Thank you, jaycee amazing.
Thank you so much.
(48:18):
This has been so much fun.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Thank you thank you for listening to today's episode
of the sober chapters podcast.
I hope you enjoyed it and gotlots of good information from it
.
I'm really keen to share thesemessages as far and wide as
possible, and I know howimportant it is to receive
reviews to do so.
If you're feeling called, Iwould love you to leave a review
(48:44):
from whatever platform it isthat you're listening on, and if
you send me a screenshot ofthat review to dd at
soberchapterscom, I will put youinto the mix of winning a free
one-on-one coaching session withme.
If you would like to learn moreabout Sober Chapters and to
follow along on Instagram it'ssober underscore chapters You'll
(49:05):
find lots of differentresources on there and a free
guide, 69 tips, tricks andresources for anyone that is
embarking on a sober chapter.
If you'd like to learn moreabout my one-on-one coaching,
group coaching programs andmasterminds, then please go to
wwwsoberchapterscom.
I'd also love to hear from you.
(49:28):
If you have any feedback or youneed any guidance or you have
anything at all you'd like toreach out to me about, then
please do email me at dd atsoberchapterscom.
I would love to hear from youand support you in any way that
I can.
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