My guest this week is Suzi Raleigh, a recovery advocate and budding author who is now 32 years sober. Suzi started drinking at 13, was misdiagnosed for years with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and survived multiple psychiatric hospitalisations and several near death experiences before her father encouraged her to try 12 Step Recovery in 1993. She has not had a drink since.
In this conversation, Suzi shares what it was like to live with a loneliness she calls the ache, the moment her drinking finally stopped being explained away by mental illness, and how discovering codependency twelve years into sobriety changed the entire trajectory of her recovery. She and Ash explore what it really means to be a recovering rescuer, the boundaries work that continues decades in, and the unique approach Suzi now teaches through her upcoming book, naming, taming and nurturing the different inner personalities that drive addiction and codependency. It is a warm, funny and wise conversation about what it looks like to keep growing long after the drinking stops.
Episode chapters:
00:00 Introducing Suzi Raleigh
06:09 The Photo: Hiding Behind the Smile
07:25 Growing Up in a Pub and the First Drink at Thirteen
10:19 The Ache: Naming the Loneliness Underneath
12:04 The First Hospitalisation and Years of Misdiagnosis
23:04 Her Father's Suggestion and the First AA Meeting
25:01 What the First Twelve Months of Sobriety Looked Like
27:06 Becoming a Recovering Rescuer
28:48 Discovering Codependency at Twelve Years Sober
30:11 High Functioning Codependency and the Auto-Fix Reflex
37:21 Marrying a Man Twenty Years Sober and Growing Together
42:57 Naming the Inner Characters: Suzy the Floozy and Beyond
01:00:39 Reclaiming Little Tootie and Becoming Her Own Best Friend
01:05:25 Three Non-Negotiables for a Happy, Authentic Life
You can connect with Suzi on her Tik Tok or reach out via email - suzilr6@gmail.com
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Support Services
If this conversation has brought anything up for you, please know you don’t have to go through it alone. Support is always available. You can reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 for mental health support and guidance, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 for free counselling.
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