EPISODE 067 | I’m a Sober Mom: Exploring Life and Relationships Before and After Recovery

Feb 23

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On the surface, this episode is about getting clean and sober. Underneath, it’s about the impacts of addiction on relationships, romantic, platonic, familial. More importantly, even, it’s about how your relationship with yourself and your ability to deal with a toxic past can lead you to addiction and codependency and how healing yourself can lead to a different, better life.

Guest Katrina Lelli takes us through her downward spiral into alcoholism, being arrested twice, and testing relationships. Then, she got to her turning point - her mother in law got her to an AA meeting under the promise of going out for a hamburger. She gained hope, and started her journey to recovery.

Now, Katrina has been sober for 10 years and counting. That is such an amazing accomplishment.

Not only do we talk about before recovery, getting help, and what Katrina does in recovery now, but we explore how her relationships have improved with her kids, husband, and even her step daughter’s bio mom.

Katrina tells us why her path evolved the way it did and how she climbed out of what seemed like a never ending cycle she didn’t know how to break. Her self awareness and willingness to go back to the past to feel and heal wounds has been part of her success and now she helps other moms in sobriety do the same.

Episode Highlights

Getting to know Katrina
What life was like for Katrina growing up in an alcoholic home
- The development of codependency early in life
- Going through her parents’ divorce as a teenager
- The surfacing of anger
Katrina’s relationship with her parents now and the role of boundaries
An example of codependency
The complex layers of recovery - not only do you have to fix drinking or drugging, but you may have codependency issues due to growing up in a toxic environment
Emotional sobriety
When Katrina had her first drink and when it became a problem
The evolution of addiction from marijuana to drinking until the tipping point occurred
- Drinking affecting work
- Arrests
- Impact on Katrina’s relationship with her husband and how he noticed a problem
- An intervention and delayed wedding
- The thought that having a baby will fix alcoholism
- Drinking during pregnancy
- Driving drunk
- Mother in law’s approach to helping Katrina
The beginning of Katrina’s sobriety journey
What it was like being arrested (twice)
Why Katrina and her husband stayed together
Katrina describes what recovery is like
- Marriage separation
- Anger and recovery for family
- Inpatient treatment details
Being a step mom, complicated by alcoholism and recovery
Growing up and mending a relationship with Katrina’s step daughter’s bio mom
Being a present mom - “They’ve never known drunk mom”
Addressing the common belief that we’re not worthy
What it feels like when you start to love yourself
Why are you escaping?
Having a strong marriage now
How to deal with cravings
Healthy coping mechanisms

About Katrina

Katrina Lelli is a Sober Mom guide. She helps moms who are sober identify and remove what is blocking them from discovering their true purpose and happiness. She’s also the host of the Just As We are Podcast where she empowers women through inspiring stories, life experiences, and simple tools to elevate your self love, live life on your own terms, and be confident in who you are.

Katrina wants women to know that you are already equipped with everything you need and that you are not alone. She’s been in the personal growth space for over 10 years. She walked into a sober life 10 years ago and has been in recovery from addiction, codependency, and learning what it really means to love herself.

She’s a mom to 3, stepmom to 1, and is busy breaking toxic generational ties and uplifting her kids to live life to the fullest. She’s also busy teaching other women how to break free from struggling and to not only live an empowered life, but thrive.

In addition to coaching, Katrina is currently working on a new podcast and is helping women with one or more years of sobriety in her Facebook group, Sober Mom…NOW WHAT.