How to Trust Yourself Again in Sobriety with Whitney Combs

Welcome back to Sisters in Sobriety! Today, Sonia and Kathleen are here to help you navigate the journey of changing your relationship with alcohol, and we’ve got an incredible guest to guide us. Whitney Combs is a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach specializing in addiction and recovery. She began her career as a Physician Assistant before shifting her focus to holistic recovery coaching after getting sober in 2017. Whitney has since helped countless women build fulfilling lives that don’t require escape. With her extensive training and experience—both personal and professional—she brings a wealth of knowledge to today’s conversation.

In this episode, we explore what it truly takes to create lasting change. How do you transition from feeling stuck in a cycle of drinking to living a life that feels nourishing and whole? What role does coaching play in recovery, and how is it different from therapy? How can you begin to trust yourself again after years of self-doubt? Whitney shares insights from her work with women in recovery, breaking down the tools that empower real transformation.

Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of self-accountability, personal agency in recovery, and how to cultivate habits that support sobriety. Whitney shares practical strategies for identifying and dismantling triggers, building sustainable routines, and using self-reflection as a tool for growth. We also discuss the importance of mindset shifts—moving from deprivation to abundance—and how to stay committed to long-term change.

Whitney also shares her own personal story—how she made the difficult decision to quit drinking, the challenges she faced in early sobriety, and how her perspective on life has evolved since then. She opens up about what worked, what didn’t, and how she continues to stay grounded in her recovery today.

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.

Time-Stamped Highlights

• [00:03] Kicking off the episode and introducing today’s guest, Whitney Combs
• [05:12] How Whitney went from Physician Assistant to recovery coach
• [08:45] Why she stepped away from clinical medicine to take a holistic approach
• [12:30] Coaching vs. therapy—what’s the real difference in addiction recovery?
• [15:50] Why self-accountability is a game-changer in sobriety
• [18:20] Rebuilding self-trust after years of second-guessing yourself
• [21:45] Breaking free from shame and guilt—because we’ve all been there
• [25:10] The toughest struggles women face in early sobriety
• [28:05] How to create routines that support your long-term recovery
• [32:15] Why alcohol-free living is the ultimate act of self-care
• [35:40] The power of finding your community in sobriety
• [38:55] How Whitney helps women design lives they truly love
• [42:10] Spotting and managing triggers before they derail your progress
• [45:30] Using self-reflection to fuel growth and healing
• [48:05] Facing the fear of quitting drinking and embracing a new identity
• [51:20] Whitney’s personal experiences with socializing sober
• [54:40] From scarcity to abundance—rethinking what sobriety really means
• [57:15] How to handle setbacks with kindness (instead of self-criticism)
• [01:00:30] What Whitney wishes everyone understood about addiction recovery
• [01:03:50] Whitney’s final words of wisdom for those on the journey

Links

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