This is a placeholder for your sticky navigation bar. It should not be visible.

Featured Episode

Ep28 – Bar Zero: Great Food, Exotic Drinks, Fun People with No Alcohol

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:02 — 56.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSS | More

Next Time on Untoxicated

Alcoholic Destruction of Intimacy in Our Marriage

Subscribe with iTunesSubscribe Options

My name is Matt Salis, and I’m not satisfied with the stigma associated with addiction, nor outdated approaches to traditional recovery. I have lots of questions and a deep interest in the recovery strategies that are working for my fellow recovery warriors. If you share my curiosity, check out the topics I’ve been exploring…

  • Addiction

Ep27 – Accomplishment Black Hole

I'm supposed to feel rested coming off the holidays, right? So why do I feel so bad - worthless and sinking? Some people drink to avoid processing trauma, abuse or neglect. High-functioning alcoholics like me drink as a reprieve from the relentless pursuit of accomplishment. This episode isn't specifically about alcoholism or addiction in general. It is about dealing with the human condition in a society that pushes us into an endless loop of self-dissatisfaction.
January 8, 2020
  • Addiction
  • Relationship

Ep26 – Surviving the Holidays Sober

This is our third consecutive sober holiday season, and it is monumentally better for both my wife and me. In this episode, Sheri and I discuss the differences in Christmas number three on our quest for recovery. The stress and excitement are still there, but we've finally shed the pressure from both keeping up appearances, and the dreadful anticipation of alcoholic antics. It's really much, much better, but it didn't come easily nor quickly.
December 13, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Speech

Ep25 – My Alcoholism is Not a Spiritual Problem

In this episode, I share a speech I gave to a community of people recovering from alcoholism through the twelve steps. It was not an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, though many of the people in the audience were AA participants. In the speech I make the argument that alcoholism is not a spiritual problem for me, so a spiritual solution is no solution at all. The speech led to a lively, yet open-minded discussion. Now I want to know what you think. I hope you'll listen, share a comment or send me an email at matt@SoberAndUnashamed.com.
November 25, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Relationship

Ep24 – When Alcohol Stops Working with Jolene Park

Jolene Park and her friends were like the cast of Sex in the City with their nights on the town and affinity for classy wines while complaining about their relationship struggles. The dots where there, but Jolene couldn't connect them. Until she stopped drinking. Now Jolene is a leading voice talking about the benefits of going alcohol free, no matter where you are on the spectrum from casual drinker to falling-down drunk. Learn more about her nutrition and freedom from drinking coaching at grayareadrinkers.com and healthydiscoveries.com. Check out Jolene's interview on the Home Podcast with Laura McKowen and Holly Whitaker that really launched her work in this area. Then, check out her Tedx that went viral and has over 120,000 views. This is a great conversation with a health care professional and sobriety badass doing great work to destroy the stigma and help people become their best selves when they leave drinking behind.
November 11, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Relationship

Ep23 – Healthy Delay: The Pace of Recovery for an Alcoholic Spouse

When I was trying to gain my permanent sobriety, I needed my wife's support more than ever. I thought her cautions attitude and reserved enthusiasm was selfish on her part. I didn't understand that she needed to protect herself, and she had no control over my commitment to never drink again. I was the one who was selfish by crushing her soul, then expecting her to celebrate my recovery. We discuss this topic, and also our new ebook written from Sheri's perspective called: He's Sober. Now What? A Spouse's Guide to Alcoholism Recovery. We hope you download it now for free!
October 28, 2019
  • Addiction

Ep22 – Gray Area Drinking with Christy Wynne

Christy Wynne didn't have a spectacular, catastrophic, up-in-flames relationship with alcohol. Sure, she partied for many years, but she decided to leave the booze behind because she just didn't feel right, and she could deny the cause of her health just being off no longer. Now she has taken her sobriety to new levels by coaching other gray area drinkers and speaking out about the damage caused to women by the mommy wine culture. In this episode, we debate the use of the label, "alcoholic," and talk about Christy's one-day-at-a-time approach to sobriety versus Matt's commitment to permanent sobriety. The bottom line is that there is a wide spectrum of people who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, and Christy shares what she has learned about treating each person individually to help them feel better and reach full potential. Christy is @danceyourselfcleancoaching on facebook and Instagram, and you can check out her website and email below: danceyourselfcleancoaching.com christywynne@yahoo.com Here's an article published in Urban Life Wash Park in January of 2019 where Christy discusses gray area drinking: Alcohol and Women: The Unsexy Truth
October 14, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Relationship

Ep21 – Sheri’s Social Drinking: Alcohol Remains Toxic to Our Marriage

The damage done to our marriage by my active alcoholism was massive. We are still trying to deal with the resentment, and repair trust and our intimate relationship. But now, we face an unexpected challenge. Sheri's occasional, social drinking is having a toxic effect on our marriage. I'm not proud of the impact, but I do think it is important that we talk about it. Please let us know what you think. Comment on the episode, or contact us directly: matt@SoberAndUnashamed.com sheri@theStigma.com
September 30, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Speech

Ep20 – Alcoholism is More Prolific than Cancer, and We Are the Cure

Almost 15 million Americans have cancer, but there are more than 15 million American alcoholics. Addiction to alcoholism touches all of our lives. In this speech designed to inform and destigmatize, I talk about how victims of cancer are treated with love and care while victim of alcoholism are treated with scorn and shame. The cure for alcoholism is available to us in changed attitudes and in the voices of those of us willing to tell our stories - willing to wear the label alcoholic without fear. It is a speech about misperception and bravery. It is about societal influence and rejecting the stigma. Most of all, it is about the cure. For more information about speaking opportunites, please visit the Outspoken page of my SoberAndUnashamed.com website, or contact me at matt@SoberAndUnashamed.com.
September 19, 2019
  • Speech
  • Teens

Ep19 – Fearless Teen Drinking: Make Alcohol a Choice

Listen to this speech I wrote for the students at a large, racially and economically diverse high school after they experienced a series of brazen and dangerous incidents of alcohol abuse. We can't convince all adolescents to abstain from alcohol, but we can convince them to make drinking a choice with two acceptable answers. Let's reduce peer pressure and increase mutual respect. Maybe we should give our teens the chance to make the right choice when drinking alcohol isn't an expectation. If you would like to talk about speaking opportunites, please contact me at matt@SoberAndUnashamed.com, or visit my Outspoken website.
September 6, 2019
  • Addiction
  • Relationship

Ep18 – Getting Our Marriage Unstuck with Jason & Lana

Sheri and I are stuck. We have made tremendous progress in the recovery of our relationship, now in the third year of my sobriety, but resentments from the past continue to haunt us. We have unpacked, dealt with, explored, rehashed, discussed and worked through all of the issues. We have apologized - me for my drunken behavior, and Sheri for her angry responses - sincerely and endlessly. But it isn't enough to free Sheri of the burdens of resentment. Good news - Jason is back. Untoxicated Podcast co-founder and licensed addiction counselor and couples therapist Jason Polk is our guest, and he is joined by his friend Lana Isaacson, also a licenced couples therapist and addiction counselor. They offer suggestions about releasing resentments and getting unstuck, as well as tips on a host of other topics faced by relationships in recovery. Lana Isaacson, Jason Polk and Sheri & Matt Salis We are proud to recommend the workshop Lana and Jason are hosting for couples in recovery. They call it, "Have Each Other's Backs Again," and it will be held November 10th in suburban Denver. What a great way to get your marriage back on track after dealing with trauma from alcoholism or anything else that has you stuck. For more information, or to register, go to Lana's website or Jason's website.
August 12, 2019
Full Podcast Menu
Untoxicated © 2018