Is Recovery Without AA Possible? | Jenny's Naked Life | E792

This Naked Mind Podcast

Annie Grace

Mental Health, Education, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.7 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is traditional AA the only way to find lasting change? Jenny experienced bullying, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect that left her seeking comfort in alcohol from an early age. Despite trying traditional treatment methods for decades and being told repeatedly that learning how to recover without 12-step programs was impossible, Jenny continued to struggle until discovering This Naked Mind and The Path. After 15 failed treatment attempts and countless hours of therapy, she finally found peace through its science-based approach that addressed the root causes of her drinking. In this moving conversation, Jenny opens up about loss, grief, and ultimately finding joy in sobriety. Trigger Warning: This episode contains sensitive content related to sexual abuse and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. In this episode, Annie and Jenny will discuss: Surviving childhood trauma, bullying, and sexual abuse How emotional neglect can lead to seeking comfort in alcohol The devastating cycle of relapse despite multiple treatment attempts Why traditional AA meetings caused additional trauma How to recover without 12-step programs using science-based approaches Rebuilding life after experiencing devastating loss The power of connection in The Path program Finding self-forgiveness for decades of drinking Why cognitive dissonance makes early sobriety challenging Making a “burn the boats” decision for lasting change Creating boundaries with difficult family members How joy and peace replace anxiety after quitting alcohol And other topics… Related Episodes: EP 550: Reader’s Question – Is there hope for long-time drinkers who keep relapsing? https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-550-reader-question-is-there-hope-for-long-time-drinkers-who-keep-relapsing/ EP 324: Reader Question – Is AA Wrong? https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-324-reader-question-does-annie-grace-think-aa-is-wrong/ EP 485: Happy Days with Gabby Bernstein – https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-485-happy-days-with-gabby-bernstein/ Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to This Naked Mind with Annie Grace.
0:13.2	Hi, this is Annie Grace and welcome to This Naked Mind podcast. I'm here with Jenny. Hi, Jenny. How are you?
0:18.7	Hi, Annie. I'm doing just great. How are you this morning?
0:22.0	I'm doing really good. It's nice to be here with you. Nice to be here. So why don't you take us back
0:27.5	to the beginning in your relationship with alcohol? Where did it all start for you? My story, Annie,
0:33.3	starts young as it does with a lot of people. I want to preface it by talking a little bit about
0:41.1	my childhood because that has a big, that's a big reason why I chose alcohol. Growing up,
0:49.4	my dad was transferred all the time. So I was always the new kid in school. And I had four siblings. So all of us,
0:57.3	all of us share the same childhood kind of in that way. And interestingly, all five of us
1:03.3	became addicted and have mental health problems. So our childhood really impacted us in a, not in a good way. So we were, we moved all the time.
1:16.2	And I was a very sweet child, innocent, loving, accepting of everyone. And I was the victim of
1:26.1	bullying, brutal.
1:29.0	Kids can be so mean.
1:31.0	And being the new kid all the time, I was picked on mercilessly, pushed down on the playground,
1:40.2	really beat up, kicked, punched.
1:42.6	And I didn't understand that.
1:44.7	Because in my heart, I was a good person
1:47.3	and I knew that.
1:48.2	But eight, nine years old,
1:49.3	you don't understand what's going on.
1:51.9	So that was very difficult.
1:54.2	And then we moved to a town
	...

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