I hit seven years of sobriety on February 10, 2025. When I got sober, one…
Rewired Sober with Kate Vitela
Welcome to Rewired Sober, the podcast where science meets soul on the journey of women’s recovery and empowerment. Hosted by Kate Vitela, RN, a certified addiction and psychiatric-mental-health nurse coach, sober since 2018, this show dives deep into the neuroscience of addiction, healing, and habit change—and the spiritual awakening that follows.
Each episode blends real talk, humor, and motivation to help you understand how your brain rewires, how your body heals, and how your soul remembers who she is. From neuroplasticity and emotional regulation to intuition, self-trust, and radical self-love, you’ll learn practical tools and mindset shifts to stay sober, inspired, and grounded.
Because recovery isn’t just about not drinking—it’s about rewiring how you think, feel, and live. This is where science meets soul, and where women come to remember their power, their purpose, and their truth.
Rewired Sober
Rewired Sober is a feminist sobriety podcast for women in midlife and early recovery who are done being talked down to.
If you’ve quit drinking — or are thinking about it — and traditional recovery models left you feeling small, ashamed, or powerless, you’re not alone. And you’re not broken.
This podcast explores sobriety through neuroscience, nervous system regulation, and feminist self-trust, not moral failure or lifelong labels.
Hosted by Kate, a board-certified addiction and mental health registered nurse with over two decades of experience, a nurse coach, and a SHE RECOVERS® coach, Rewired Sober bridges clinical science with lived experience.
Kate brings a trauma-aware, no-shame lens to recovery — combining brain science, nervous system education, and soul-level inquiry to help women rebuild trust in themselves after alcohol.
This podcast is for women asking:
– Why does early sobriety feel so intense in my body and brain?
– What’s actually happening neurologically when I stop drinking?
– How do I rebuild self-trust after years of coping with alcohol?
– Is there a way to recover without shame, obedience, or surrendering my intuition?
Episodes blend science and soul — from how alcohol affects the female brain, to midlife nervous system shifts, to unlearning the cultural and patriarchal conditioning that taught women to numb, cope, and self-abandon.
This is not a 12-step podcast.
This is not a powerlessness model.
And it’s not about fixing what was never broken.
Rewired Sober is for women who want sobriety that makes them stronger, clearer, and more themselves — not smaller.
If you’re sober and wondering now what?
You’re in the right place.
EP 61: Performative Wellness: Burnout, Self-Care, and Coming Back to the Basics with Dr. Jen Costanza
Burnout isn’t just a personal problem—it’s a cultural one.
In this episode, Kate sits down with former Sociology Professor turned Burnout Coach Dr. Jen Costanza for a refreshingly honest conversation about what it actually means to live in today’s world as a woman, a professional, and a human being with a nervous system.
Together, they unpack how modern culture pressures women to perform wellness instead of experience it, why “having it all together” is often a lie, and how burnout is frequently a rational response to unrealistic expectations—not a personal failure.
Dr. Jen shares openly about navigating imposter syndrome despite holding a PhD from Ivy League institution Brown University, and how even highly educated, accomplished women still struggle with self-doubt—especially when showing up online as coaches, educators, and thought leaders.
This conversation is grounding, intelligent, funny, and deeply validating—especially for high-functioning women who are tired of trying to optimize themselves into worthiness.
In this episode, we explore:
- Why burnout is both a nervous system issue and a societal issue
- The cultural pressure for women to perform wellness instead of practicing it
- How “wine culture” became a socially acceptable coping mechanism for overwhelmed women
- The invisible emotional labor women carry—and its impact on the body
- Imposter syndrome, even with elite credentials and years of experience
- What it’s really like to show up on social media as a coach, educator, or professional
- Owning your voice and expertise without needing to over-prove yourself
- Why sustainable healing doesn’t require a complex or expensive wellness strategy
- The overlooked power of foundational practices:
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Purposeful movement
- Nervous system regulation
- How breathwork supports emotional regulation, safety in the body, and burnout recovery
- Remembering joy, play, and pleasure as essential—not optional—parts of healing
The takeaway:
You don’t need a perfect morning routine.
You don’t need to buy your way into healing.
And you’re not behind—you’re likely just burned out.
Sometimes the most powerful path forward is the simplest one:
tending to your body, telling the truth, resting without guilt, and remembering that you are already enough.
Rewired Sober Group Coaching Space Is Now Open: Start anytime and get 3 months of guidance designed for women in sobriety. You’ll get instant access to the full program, plus weekly live coaching sessions to help you rewire your brain, heal old patterns, and stay consistent. Enroll here: https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/rewired-sober-coaching-program
Connect with Kate @rewiredsober on all social media platforms:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rewiredsober/
About Dr. Jen Costanza
Dr. Jen Costanza is a former sociology professor turned burnout coach, and breathwork facilitator who studies the intersection of identity, culture, performance, and wellbeing. Her work centers around helping people move out of survival mode and reconnect with sustainable ways of living—without the pressure to constantly self-optimize.
Connect with Guest Jennifer Costanza: @rooted.life
Website: https://www.rooted.life
Free Burnout Recovery Guide: https://rootedlife.myflodesk.com/map
January 13, 2026
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Kate has been an RN in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years. After getting sober she shifted her nursing career towards mental health and dug in hard into the recovery space. She is board certified in psychiatric, mental-health nursing and pursuing her board certification in addiction nursing. Kate works countless hours as the Director of Nursing of an inpatient behavioral health recovery facility. However, she never steps foot inside the locked hallways of her workplace without walking the talk.
