Why Listen?
Welcome to the Confident Sober Women podcast, your go-to source for real-life talk on healing trauma, building confidence, and thriving beyond recovery. Hosted by a witty middle-aged woman balancing the chaos of parenting young adults, marriage, and business, each episode feels like a coffee chat with your best friend who’s also a therapist and coach. Since July 1, 2002, our host has been on a journey of sobriety, dedicating her life to helping other sober women.
Tune in for personal stories, teenage mishaps, and professional insights into natural wellness and clinical practices. Join us as we share practical tools for managing emotions and living a life you no longer want to escape from, inspired by the spirit of Stevie Nicks, Carrie Underwood, and Sheryl Crow. Let’s thrive in long-term recovery together!
Confident Sober Women
Join Shelby John, sober since July 1, 2002, for empowering conversations on the Confident Sober Women podcast with women who’ve found joy and confidence in their alcohol and drug-free lives.
This show is a rally cry for empathetic, resilient, and wisdom-seeking women dedicated to building a life you don’t want to escape from after that crucial first year of a sober lifestyle.
Discover how to:
· Build unshakable confidence in your sober life
· Break free from societal drinking norms
· Overcome the shame cycle and emotional numbing
· Resist the glamorized, over-hyped social influences around alcohol
· Create a pure and joyful life beyond recovery
Hear inspiring stories and practical advice on:
· Healing trauma
· Mindful parenting in recovery
· Optimizing physical and mental health
· Building a new, empowered identity
· Transforming your life beyond substance abuse recovery
We dive deep into questions like “Who am I now?” and “How do I pursue my heart’s desires?”, taking the intimidation out of sobriety and showcasing how to thrive in long-term recovery. This is truly a space for women supporting women in this modern recovery era.
New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe now for weekly inspiration on your journey to becoming one of the happiest sober women, free from the cool crowd’s pressure to drink.
Please leave a review if you love the show, it helps us on the mission to make the Confident Sober Women community a household name.
When Healing Gets Honest: Trauma, Boundaries, and Finding Real Freedom
This conversation with Dr. Dawnmarie Risley-Childs stays with you. Not because it’s easy to hear, but because it’s real.
Dawnmarie shares her story of growing up in severe abuse and how that shaped her path into psychiatry, and eventually into a much deeper kind of healing. What stands out isn’t just what she’s been through, it’s how she talks about responsibility, boundaries, and what it actually takes to move forward when your past feels overwhelming.
There’s an honest look at things many women in recovery quietly wrestle with. The difference between coping and healing. The weight we carry in our bodies. The complicated truth about family, especially when safety and love don’t exist in the same place.
You’ll also hear a grounded perspective on newer approaches to trauma recovery, including psychedelic-assisted therapy, and why some people turn to it after trying everything else.
A few things we get into:
• What long-term trauma can do to your sense of self
• Why boundaries can feel so uncomfortable, especially with family
• The connection between trauma recovery and the body
• Letting go of what you’ve been carrying for years
• What real emotional healing can look like over time
This episode speaks directly to sober women and women in recovery who are doing the deeper work. The kind that goes beyond just removing alcohol and into rebuilding a life that actually feels steady and honest.
If you’ve ever felt stuck in your sobriety journey, or like you’ve done a lot of work but something still feels heavy, this conversation might land in a meaningful way.
About the Host
Shelby John is a licensed therapist and founder of Wholistic Living. Through the Confident Sober Women podcast, she explores sobriety, mental health, nervous system regulation, and emotional healing for women building a life after alcohol.
Connect with Shelby
Website: https://shelbyjohn.com
Podcast: Confident Sober Women
Don’t forget to subscribe, rate & share this episode with a sober woman or someone suffering from anxiety, depression, ADHD, sleep problems and negative thought patterns who needs to hear she is not alone.
Oh, and by the way, if you didn’t know, my remote Neurofeedback Therapy program is up and running. Learn more here!Learn more about EMDR therapy, EMDR Intensives and Remote Neurofeedback.
And if you haven't read my memoir, grab a copy of Recovering in Recovery: The Life-Changing Joy of Sobriety wherever books are sold.
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Meet Your Host - Shelby John
Shelby is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice where she specializes in trauma, addiction, and anxiety. With years of experience in the field, she founded Shelby John Coaching and is the happy host of the Confident Sober Women podcast. After getting sober she became a fresh, authentic voice in the sobriety space, showing women how to build confidence and love their lives beyond recovery. Shelby is the mother to three, the wife to one loving man, and has been sober since July 1, 2002.
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