S2 EP 14 : Alcohol Freedom in Midlife: The Science-Based Method That Changed Jacki’s Life

In today’s powerful episode of The Midlife Awakening, Odelia sits down with Alcohol Freedom Coach Jacki Fleniken, who went from drinking 12–13 beers a day to living completely alcohol-free — not through willpower, shame, or restriction, but through a science-based method that rewired her beliefs, neural pathways, and emotional patterns around drinking.

Jacki’s story is raw, honest, and deeply inspiring. After hitting emotional rock bottom, she realised that alcohol wasn’t helping her cope — it was controlling her life. A heartbreaking wake-up call at a celebration of life pushed her to ask the question:
 “Is this going to be my story too?”

What followed was a transformational journey of self-inquiry, neuroscience-based tools, subconscious reprogramming, and a commitment to understanding the root beliefs driving her drinking. Today, she helps others find freedom — not just sobriety — from alcohol, nicotine, gambling, and more.

If you’re sober-curious, struggling quietly, or simply wondering if your relationship with alcohol is still serving you, this episode will meet you exactly where you are.

⭐ What We Cover in This Episode

• Jacki’s journey from heavy drinking to total alcohol freedom
• The moment that changed everything — and why midlife is often the awakening point
• The science behind addiction: neural pathways, subconscious beliefs, dopamine & dinorphin
• Why traditional approaches like AA didn’t work for her
• How she rewired her brain to stop craving alcohol
• The physical and emotional symptoms of healing (including post-acute withdrawal)
• Why it’s not about quitting drinking — it’s about choosing freedom
• How to deal with anxiety, emotional triggers, and coping without alcohol
• The mindset work that creates lasting change
• The first step you can take today if you’re scared to start

⭐ Who This Episode Is For

• Women in midlife questioning their relationship with alcohol
• Anyone struggling with addictive patterns or emotional coping mechanisms
• Those curious about mindset-based or science-based approaches to habit change
• People who want freedom, not restriction, when it comes to alcohol
• Anyone seeking hope, validation, or a relatable story of transformation

⭐ Connect with Jacki Fleniken

Explore her work or book a free call: https://www.coachingbyjacki.com/index.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackifleniken/

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/jacki.fleniken.2025

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jacki-fleniken-89a751353

Exclusive for listeners:
 ✨ $400 off a 13-week coaching package (details inside the episode)

Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00.066)
Hey guys, and welcome back to Midlife Awakening. My name is Adelia and I'm your host. I'm so grateful that you're here. And if you're a regular listener, well, welcome back. I've missed you. And if you're joining me for the very first time, I'm really glad that you found your way here. This is a podcast about transformation for women who are waking up to who they really are while navigating everything that comes with midlife. Today on the Midlife Awakening, we're talking about a topic that affects so many women in midlife, often quietly, often in shame and often completely alone.

our relationship with alcohol. My guest, Jackie Flanagan, has lived that journey from the inside. For years, alcohol became a daily part of her life, not for fun, not for celebration, but as a way of coping, numbing and surviving. At her lowest point, she was drinking 12 to 13 beers a day. She found herself trapped in a cycle she couldn't break, telling herself each morning that today would be different, only to repeat the same pattern again by 5pm.

And then something shifted, a moment of clarity and a celebration of life for a man who had died from alcoholism, where she asked herself, is this going to be my story too? It was a moment that terrified her and saved her because it pushed her to make a change, not from shame, but from a desire to live, to be present, to be the woman she knew she still was beneath the layers of dependency and

Jackie went on to study a science-based methodology that helped her completely rewire her beliefs, emotional patterns and subconscious relationship with alcohol. She didn't just quit drinking, she found freedom from it and today she teaches others how to do the same. One thing I love about Jackie is how honest she is about both sides of healing. The beauty and the discomfort, the liberation and the very real physical withdrawal. She doesn't glamourize change, she doesn't pretend it's easy.

that she also shows what's possible when you decide that you deserve better. When you decide your life is worth saving and when you finally choose yourself. Her story is powerful, it's real and for so many women in midlife who are questioning their relationship with alcohol or simply ready for a different kind of life, her message will resonate deeply. It's not about quitting drinking, it's about finding freedom. So let's dive in.

Speaker 1 (02:40.686)
Welcome Jackie to the Midlife Awakening podcast. I'm so glad that you're here to join us today and to talk on the topic of alcohol. And you know, your story is one of courage and transformation. And I really think it's something that will resonate with a lot of listeners. I'm so glad you could join us. And maybe we can start off with you sharing what your life looked like a couple of years ago when alcohol was part of your daily routine.

Thank you so much for having me. three years ago, I knew I was just in a really bad place. Alcohol had always been a part of my life. Well, not always. In my 20s, when I was pregnant and I had kids, I had really backed down on my drinking, it was in probably about 15, 20 years ago, I went back into the restaurant business. And so I would drink alcohol at night after I get off work as my dinner.

And it just expounded, it just kept getting worse and worse and worse. But I fell into a really major depression in December of 21. And I was already drinking usually probably 10, 11 beers a day, but I started using alcohol just to deal and cope with life. And it got to the point I was definitely averaging 12, maybe 13 a day. And I just, got scared because it was this pattern I couldn't break. I would say, I'm not going to drink today. I'm not going to drink as much.

And just, would all start all again at five o'clock. And then it would get, then I started drinking earlier in the day because the hangovers were horrible. And I thought, well, if I just have a couple of the beers that I drank, you know, do that, bite the hair of the dog that bit you. Right. So I started drinking earlier in the day and I had gone to a celebration of life in 2022 and it was July. And the gentleman who passed away, he passed away from alcoholism. And from what his best friend said, it was very ugly death.

And this gentleman at one point had stopped drinking and he went back to drinking again. And that's a pattern I'd seen with a lot of different people out there that they had maybe sought the help of it. there, you know, some people do find success with AA or rehab, but it's a very, very low amount. And this gentleman had tried that route and ended up drinking again and it ended up taking his life. And we sat there at that celebration of life and people got up in front of the room and this gentleman had done a lot of things in his life besides just drink.

Speaker 2 (04:56.782)
But I would say 95 % of what they talked about was how stupid he was when he was drinking, the funny things he did, how at seven o'clock in the morning they were going to a PGA golf tournament and he had his drink in his hand already. And I thought, oh my God, is that me? Is this what I'm going to leave for my children? For them to look and go, oh, look at mom. You know, she was this major beer drinker. And I just remember thinking.

If I don't make a change, where am I going to be in five years from now? Am I going to be alive? At that point I was 53 and I thought, is this really what life is supposed to be about? My mother's been in heaven for 21 years, but I really thought about if my mom is shining, looking down on me right now, she's probably, is she ashamed of me for giving me this life that I'm allowing alcohol to just take control? So I went on a journey and I thought I've got to figure something out because

I did not want to end up like this gentleman. And then his best friend was found two months after he died. They found him deceased in his apartment with empty wine bottles and alcohol bottles in there. He had drank himself to death. So I just decided I wanted to find something to help me at least get control back, which would be, Hey, let me have one or two beers instead of this copious amounts of 12. Cause it got to a point where.

In my state in Pennsylvania, in the United States, we have to buy our beer from beer distributors. So I would rotate the beer distributors because I didn't want them to know how much I was drinking. And then I remember I thought, well, I'll get smarter. I'll buy two 30 packs at a time. I won't have to go as much. So I went through all of this shame and, and I was just so judgmental of myself, but until I found a science-based methodology to study under an April 23.

that that's when my life finally began to transform and change because I got the tools that I needed to put into my life. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. It was worth it.

Speaker 1 (07:01.644)
Yeah. Any addiction is really, really hard to get rid of, whether it's alcohol, drugs, food, whatever, whatever your pleasure. And so my question was going to be, what was it that actually finally helped you through to finally kick the addiction? I'll talk a little bit about that.

Yeah. Yes, absolutely. When you look at the science behind how our neural pathways are formed, it's based upon repetition. We wire ourselves to do so many different things in life. Like the other day, this is a weird, this is a weird sidebar, but this song came on the radio. probably have not heard for 25 years and I'm singing right away to the music because the repetition was created. So when I studied this science-based methodology, what I learned was.

All I did was just wire my subconscious mind to react to the way my day wanted to be, which was, it's five o'clock, go get that drink that you like because I get that synthetic dopamine hit. And one of the things too is alcohol is extremely addictive. But what I'm talking about too though is you can work with all sorts of different addictions with it. I have clients that I'm working with right now. One is for smoking and one is for gambling.

what I was able to look at was the emotion. How did I want to feel about my relationship with alcohol? How did I want my life to really look if I were able to take control of it? And I started to learn why, why I was turning to alcohol because sometimes I'll say it's just a ginormous highway or it's a ginormous skyscraper I built. On all these beliefs I had, I need alcohol to have fun. I need alcohol to deal with my stress. I need alcohol to deal with anxiety.

all these different reasonings or I drink alcohol because everybody else does. And that was one of the things that I looked at when I was trying to make this decision on, all right, what is it about alcohol? Why am I so afraid not to drink? Or why am I afraid to cut it back? As I'm asking myself all these questions, one of the things that popped in that I wrote down on this notebook that I have is, are people gonna think I'm crazy because I don't wanna drink alcohol? So I put a lot of...

Speaker 2 (09:08.472)
pressure on myself as to what other people were going to think. So as I started to, to like peel these layers off of me, like an onion, just going, wait a minute, let's start really peeling back to who Jackie really is. What does Jackie really want? Because one thing I recognized was there's only going to be one person with me my entire life. And that's myself. Everybody else might jump on my train for a while and might ride with me for a little while, but they might, they might get off my train by death or

They move or we just don't have the same interest anymore, but I have to live with myself for every single day of my life. And I thought, this is, this is my time. This is my time to honor my mother for giving me life and transform and learn who it is that I really want to be with my relationship with alcohol. So I dug in really deep and I worked really hard to start peeling back all those beliefs and going, wait a minute, is it really true? need alcohol to have fun.

And so I started to, then when I went on the experiment and I decided to take a break from alcohol, I started to really see who it is that I am. That Jackie that I let all those other people throughout my life throw goo on me, and then I would use alcohol to cope with it. So that is a part of my journey that I'm so proud and so thankful of that I feel like.

I do believe my mother was aligning me with all the things I needed to find because she could see the pain I was feeling. And so I needed to get out of that. I was suffering so horribly. And I just was so desperate that I thought, all right, let's just, let's just study this and see what happens. Let's see what happens. And it worked.

Amazing. And that it's still, you know, it doesn't surprise me. I've been doing a lot of research myself on beliefs and how, where our beliefs stem from and how they create these patterns, these recurring patterns. And until we decide to break those patterns, we're just going to keep, you know, we stay in the same loop. So it's interesting that you say that that's eventually what helped you break the addiction is getting down to the core of what those beliefs are. You say, for example,

Speaker 1 (11:21.302)
You know, can't have fun without alcohol. When you started this journey of not having alcohol, what was the most the thing that surprised you the most about that belief not being true?

still had fun. mean, what I found was I connect. I've always been a very outgoing individual and I fell into this horrible cocoon where I was depression and anxiety were just through the roof. Like I literally could not leave my house without drinking two or three beers because the anxiety was so big. But as I learned, when you are, when you do drink in excess, it does cause anxiety because your body is trying to, to heal from the, the damage you're doing that even though alcohol people understand this,

You might not drink one day, but if you drank the day before that alcohol is still in your body for several days and your body's still trying to get it out of there. So it creates all these different things that go on within your system, your system of your body that you don't realize is going on. So one of the things I realized, number one was when I went out that I didn't care that people that I put a non-alcoholic beer in front of me or I drank water. I didn't care because I was doing it for me.

I wasn't doing it for every, I would go to bingo on Sundays at one of my local clubs. And I was like, I was like, I don't care what people think because this is for me, because I have to take care of me because nobody else will. So I think the biggest thing was that was one of the major, major positives. One of the negatives, and I will share this because I didn't realize how much damage I was doing to my body because they don't really talk about it. They don't really tell us the long-term side effects.

You know, short-term, might get drunk, you might fall down, you know, stupid, you might get a hangover, but there's a lot of long-term side effects that I was not aware of. So as I was those first couple of weeks and first couple of months, well, actually a lot longer, I had headaches every day because my brain and my brain was healing. My liver was regenerating. My stomach was regenerating. My skin was changing. I was tired. My body was working on overdrive now to say, yay, you're getting rid of this.

Speaker 2 (13:25.326)
Now we have to really, we're going to work harder to get it out of your system. Is that, if that makes sense. So it was like, so there was so many wonderful, amazing things that I was able to recognize both positive and negative. But when I look at, so I'm going to say, yeah, the headaches might've been negative, but then I turned it into a positive of. This is just the body healing you and you just have to deal with it because you allowed yourself to fall victim to to a substance.

that is addictive that you didn't know. we just, you just going to have to take a nap if you're tired, take ibuprofen or whatever you need to help you with these headaches. And I will say, you know, it all went away. It did take some time, but as I ventured in life, best thing that I was able to recognize too is that I didn't need alcohol to have fun because I was able to be my true authentic self. And I wasn't, I didn't have to have a substance to make me feel like I could fit in.

because I started to love myself. And when you start to love yourself, it creates this, this euphoria for yourself. And I want to share just real quickly. I remember probably about six or seven months after I was alcohol free, that the song by Whitney Houston came on greatest level. And I'm in my kitchen and this is where all my healing happened. This is where, this is where I sat here. I did all my studies and everything here, but this is also the place I used to drink a lot.

So I like to be in my kitchen because it reminds me of how I was able to transform my life right here. And when that song by Whitney Houston came on with the love of all, I sat here and I cried because I was like, I finally love myself again. And so when you love yourself again, it's just this beautiful gift you give yourself. I'm still a work in progress, but I love the fact that

by getting alcohol out of my life and really pulling away all these layers that I had put on me that I'm able to reconnect with the Jackie that I was meant to be. And that's what I'm just so thankful for.

Speaker 1 (15:33.422)
I that. I love that. A big theme on this show that seems to be coming up is self-love and like the liberation and the freedom that comes with that. There's this big misconception that self-love is, you know, getting your nails done or having a manicure or a pedicure or, you know, all these external things. But it's really, it's, you know, showing up for yourself and doing things for yourself that are for your benefit and for your health, for example.

And I love that you talked about the, the, the negative side of giving up drinking because if you're not aware of that, that can sort of catch you off guard. And so if you go into that journey aware, knowing that, okay, there's going to be some side effects. There are going to be, you know, you're more likely to stick with it. Don't you think.

Yeah, like there's a saying I say, you get to choose your heart. So if I would have stayed with drinking, it would have been hard because my body would have broke, you know, who knows what my life would have been like. But I chose to take a break from alcohol. So yeah, it was hard, but I'd much rather, I got to choose which heart I wanted. And to me, healing my body was so worth it. And yes, I was thankful that I had some ideas of what was going to happen because there's a thing called post-acute withdrawal symptoms.

It's not the initial withdrawal symptoms, which could cause seizures and shaking and stuff like that. did not experience any of that because I was able to wean my drinking down. But so the post acute withdrawal symptoms can take up to two years for your body to get back to what they call homeostasis. So it's anywhere from six months to two years. And I remember at six months, I was like, I don't have a headache today. Maybe I'm finally at homeostasis. And now I wasn't. It still took some time, but

I gave myself a lot of grace and compassion because I said, listen Jackie, just remember something. You were abusing your body. You were way abusing your body and now you're going to have to heal from it. So just suck it up buttercup because you're going to be fine. So I would just really talk to myself a lot and say, you're going to be okay. You're going to be fine. You've got this.

Speaker 1 (17:36.936)
I heard someone say, I think it was someone on the Mel Robbins podcast. I forget who the gentleman was. But he said something, suddenly he was like, you've had this pattern for years and it's been this negative thing in your life and it's been destroying your life basically, slowly wearing away at you. But then we try to heal that and we expect it to be overnight. We need to apply the same logic that it's going to take time and it's going to.

It's a process and we have to give ourselves grace and compassion as you say, you know, to write it out.

Society has changed so much where it's like instantaneous, right? Like you go to fast food restaurants to get food quick. Everybody's mindset has changed of, I want it now, I want it now, I want it now. And when you go to plant a garden, when you put the seed in the ground, the flowers don't come out the next day, the vegetables don't come out the next day, the tree is not 60 feet tall. So we have to, that's what I would remind myself of, you're planting the seed.

And as you're watering it and it's growing and you're growing into this flourishing and this new being of yourself, don't forget to pull the weeds because weeds are gonna come in. You're gonna have these negative thoughts. You've got to pull those weeds and it becomes awareness. So that's one of the things that why this methodology that I used and that I teach others is so important. It's all change happens on the other side of awareness. So once we become aware of maybe we have a problem or we want to

a change in our life, we start being aware of those thoughts, patterns and beliefs that are coming in that then we can address.

Speaker 1 (19:12.472)
So for someone who's listening now and who is scared of even the thought of life without alcohol, what would you say to them right now?

It's not about life without alcohol. It's not about becoming sober. It's about becoming free. It's about the freedom to choose what you want to do. See, I have the choice to drink or not drink. I just have not had the desire since June 8th, 2023, because I rewired my brain and I started understanding what it was that alcohol was doing to me and was it benefiting me. when I chose to take a break from alcohol,

I went into it with just the, let's just see how it goes for about 30 days. And I felt so good. And I thought, well, let's just keep going because the knowledge is what is the power here. Because first it's the knowledge that we, we, I give, and then I got, and then it becomes the emotion and feeling around the life that you want. So I love the fact that I have no, it's, it's not like, I don't want people to live in fear that, my gosh, my gosh, I'm never going to drink again.

because I don't work in that mindset. It's more of like, let's get you in this, get you the knowledge. Let's talk about how you're emotional, how you want to emotionally feel around it. Then you get to make the decision. I tell people, I can drink if I want to. I honestly can. Who's not to say that maybe one day I might have something. I just choose not to, because I just, know how I play it forward.

And I just go to the stock, something I want to do. So I let people know it's not about white knuckling it. It's not about just dropping the bottle, the bottle of wine, the bottle of liquor, the bottle of beer, whatever it might be. It's about really diving deep and finding out what kind of life do you want and how do you want to live it and have fun doing it? Because we'd start to dive into really what is the core reason why you're drinking so much or whatever it might be, even with gambling, you know, why my one client like

Speaker 2 (21:10.924)
Why are you gambling so much? It's stress. She's using it to cope with stress. So we're working through that. I want people to know it's not about giving up alcohol. It's about creating life that you want to live. On your terms where you're not handcuffed to a substance that they don't tell us is extremely addictive. Extremely addictive. And it doesn't discriminate either. It doesn't care.

where you come from, what you do, it just says, hey, let's drink this. And for some of us who, just, we drink one and next thing you know, you're at 10 and you just, you just can't stop. And it's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's the way the whole brain mechanism works. There's a whole science behind how alcohol creates this dopamine hits and that a dopamine hit, but then the depressant comes in, which is called dynorphin.

which then you start to crash from it, you get tired, so you get another drink to create that. It's this whole little game you play because you'll get tired, so you drink another one and try to get another dopamine hit. So when you start to understand, you go, man, that makes sense. So I helped them break down why they feel that they need it.

listening to what you're saying. All of these addictions, gambling, drinking, food, whatever it is, they're all like coping mechanisms at the end of the day. So with your method, do you teach new coping mechanisms or is it just around your beliefs and your mindset?

No, absolutely, because you have to find new ways to cope. Because I mean, I have had a couple things since I have gone alcohol free that have taken me to my knees, like taken me to my knees. So it wasn't just about changing the mindset because I had to learn how to cope with that situation. You know, one of the things that a lot of people do and I did was suppress the emotion because we don't want to feel it. Don't feel the feel, let's just numb it out. So

Speaker 2 (23:08.97)
I have had to just feel the feel and it's you just feel that anxiety go through you or you feel what the sadness or whatever it might be and you let it and so I've been able to learn a lot of different tools on how to work through that and realize you're going to be okay. I'm going to be okay. You're going to go through these different emotions and there's different things that I can do. I can go outside. can scream. can there's the vagus nerve. I can go into the vagal nerve and just really just, you know, relax myself.

I did a thing with a gentleman called Shozhad Shamin about positive intelligence. And he talks about different sage steps that we can do once we feel like something is, we're not in the right mindset, let's say. So there's a lot of different tools that I've been able to bring into my, what I like to call my toolbox. Cause it's, I've been building my toolbox for two and a half years.

That's amazing. One of the most valuable things just, you know, going on what you said, one of the most valuable things that I learned when I was going through postpartum depression was an anxiety was, you know, this fear of the anxiety hitting and this fear of the, know, you almost feel like you're going to die or something bad's going to happen to you. But learning going through that process and healing from that learning to, like you say, just let it, just let it wash over you. Let it just let it come.

I had listened to a podcast recently too with Mel Robbins as well, one of her beginning ones, and it's a beautiful podcast. She had a gentleman, Dr. Kennedy on there. I think it was Kennedy. But he was talking about anxiety and he said anxiety equals alarm. It just means there's something that is triggering that anxiety, which typically comes from childhood. Something that is stored where? In our subconscious mind, because our subconscious, what I like to tell people is,

Our subconscious is like Google. It stores all the information in there. And sometimes we allow information or it's like an app on the phone. How many apps do you have on your phone? How many apps have you stored in your brain that might not be good for you? Or could be memories that are stored back in there. So as soon as this certain thing might happen, your body gets triggered because your brain doesn't know how old you are. Your brain has no idea.

Speaker 2 (25:19.458)
So as it stores that, goes, wait, this is the affect, wait, wait, this is that smell, let's say. There's a smell, that smell reminds me of this, and it'll bring that memory back up. It'll try to help solve it for you because it thinks that's what it needs to do. The brain loves to do that, tries to solve your problems for you because of all this information that's stored in there. So as we become aware of that, we can go, wait a minute, no, no, no, no, no, no. This is not the same. And I'll go, hey, little Jackie, no, that smell does not mean that, doesn't mean it's bad.

or whatever it might be, that's a really weird analogy, but I was trying to close up really quick. It's so many different things that can create that stored in our subconscious mind, because like I said, 95 % of what we do is run by our subconscious. How many times have you driven your car somewhere and got there and went, how the hell did I get here? Because you had done it so many times, your brain, could be putting makeup on, changing the channel and gotten there and not even really been.

what we call in a fully conscious state because your consciousness was somewhere else, but your subconscious made sure you got where you needed to be. And that's why it can be so difficult because as you're consciously trying to make a change, your subconscious is going, no, you don't want to do that. Come on, you know, you really like that cigarette right now. You know, you really like to grab your phone and gamble. You really know you want that beer because your subconscious is controlling a lot of what we do. So what I was able to do was all those

neural, that neural pathway that I had that I believed I needed alcohol, that I believed that I, it's my friend. I broke it down. I crumbled it. If I looked at it like a skyscraper, I demolished it. Not only have I demolished it, I have cleaned it up. I have built a new foundation and I have built a new building, but it took time. We have to break it down and build another one. Unfortunately, like we talked about earlier, it's just not like a flip of a switch. If it were, that'd be fantastic, but unfortunately it's not.

Absolutely. I love that. I loved all of that because I'm a big fan of the subconscious right now. And something I've started doing and maybe, I don't know if it's something you would recommend to the listeners if they wanted to start the journey, just becoming conscious of their thoughts. Would you say that that would be a first good step?

Speaker 2 (27:37.186)
Yeah, absolutely. Like, are you beating yourself up? Because it's like, when you go to grab, when you wake up in the morning, and I did this all the time, I'd wake up and I'd look at myself in the mirror and I would be so disgusted with myself and I would beat myself up. Then I would be angry at myself. Damn it, Jackie, you weren't gonna drink that much last night. What's wrong with you? You suck. know, all these negative things I would say to myself, I'm like, I'm not drinking today. I'm not gonna drink.

and I, five o'clock would roll around, I'd go in that cabinet, I'd get my beer koozie, I'd go to my beer fridge and I'd start drinking, because my other boys would say, it's okay, you're good, it's okay for you to have one now. So as you start to be aware of the thoughts that you're starting to see, that's where it's important, because all change happens on the other side of awareness. And what I like to tell people, what I was told is, if you start to recognize that it's a problem,

then it is your responsibility to fix it. So that's when I went, all right, I've got to try something. And if this doesn't work, then I'll try something else or whatever it might be. And I'm just so thankful that it worked because my life is so much better the way I'm living it now. It's incredible.

Amazing. And you also help others now. You teach them what you've learned on your healing journey. And so what inspired you to turn your own healing into a mission to help others?

Wow. That same summer of July of 22, I knew after that funeral I had gone to, celebration of life, I had a girlfriend of mine who I knew had stopped drinking and she was a pretty heavy drinker like me. And I called her and left a voicemail and she called me back. went to voicemail and I called her back and it went to voicemail and I never heard from her. And it's okay. But I remember sitting on my front porch that day when I called her.

Speaker 2 (29:31.296)
and said, I think I have a problem. I didn't need to know how you did it. And I don't anyone, I don't want anyone to feel like there's not somebody out there that understands. So when I decided to become a coach, it was because of that Jackie sitting outside scared, just so desperate, so desperate to find somebody to help me that I wanted, I'm extremely vulnerable. I tell my story. don't, I've had my, I've been published in our newspaper that I'm an alcohol freedom and transformation coach because I want people to know.

I want people to know they're not alone, but the biggest thing about me before I did this, excuse me, years ago, my career was a bartender. I spent 12 years behind the bar and I saw the good, the bad and the ugly about alcohol. So I feel like that is a powerful transition, transformation for me to go from that. If people want to drink that's on that's their choice, but once, you recognize that you might have a problem.

I understand and that's why I decided let's go all in. Let's do what I gotta do and get out there and spread my story and get certified and learn what I need to learn so I can guide others to helping them find freedom from alcohol. Their freedom to choose and not be handcuffed.

And that's an amazing story of transformation. For those that are listening and who might be sober curious or you know, maybe they're quietly struggling. What's the one small step that they can take today to start moving towards freedom?

Well, the one small step is go to my website, which is coachingbyjackie.com and that's Jackie with an I. So on that website, I go into a lot of my stories. I go and explain who I am. And then there's a little button on there. says book a free coaching call with me. And all it is, is just a time to sit with me and talk. There's no judgment. If you want to, I do everything via zoom or we can talk on the phone. I have people who've gotten on zoom calls with me that their cameras off and their name just says zoom user. That's fine. It's okay.

Speaker 2 (31:28.566)
if you just need someone to talk to, to see where it is you are and where you want to be. And then we would make a decision if we wanted to work together. Because the one thing is, know, are you, are you that person out there that was like me that's going, am I an alcoholic? Are you Googling things like, I drinking too much? What, I did this one too. The other one of what vitamin or what mineral can I take to help me help my liver heal? All these different things. Is there something I can do to help?

cut back my desire for alcohol, the cravings and all these things. So if you're that person, I totally understand. So I offer you a safe space with absolutely no judgment. have a lot of compassion for people who are struggling with addiction, whether it be in cigarettes too. I did use the same methodology to quit smoking cigarettes as well. just the first step would be go to my website and then book a free call with me.

Amazing. And just in wrapping up, this is one question I like to ask all my guests at the end. What would you tell your younger version of yourself if you had the opportunity?

mean, it depends on where, how young would I want to go? I think maybe I think I would go back to maybe high school age. Let's say that young and say, you know, Jackie, you're going to go through some things in your life that. That are really going to take you to your knees and you're going to think that you're broken and you're going to think that you, you can't fix yourself in that you're just stuck in this rut that you're in. And I would tell her you're, you're going to break through it bigger and bolder than you ever thought you could be. Cause you're going to reconnect with really the person you were meant to be.

and just keep your head up and keep going. Don't ever give up. Don't ever give up. I love

Speaker 1 (33:07.81)
that message. That's a great message. Okay, so you've told everyone where they can find you. you have any anything you'd like to offer to the listeners or anything else in closing?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'd love to offer you guys if you come and come and decide to work with me, I would give you $400 off of one of my packages would be at least a minimum of 13 weeks. I do feel like with addiction like this, there typically it's not a one or two session type thing. It is definitely going to take a little bit of time. And I would love to, you know, offer that to your client or to your listeners to say, Hey, thank you for listening. And I'd be because I, my whole passion is to help you.

Yeah, this is my career now, so I mean, I have spent a lot of money and a lot of time. It's like getting a master's degree to be able to be where I am now. But I would love to offer them a discount on a package with me if they'd love to work with me.

That's amazing. That's very generous. Thank you so much. And thank you for coming onto the show. I really, yeah, I think it's really impactful and I think it will resonate with a lot of listeners.

Well, that's what I'm hoping because you know, as I said, called the midlife awakening. That is the thing that really got me to was like, I'm 57, 53 years old and I don't know how much life I have left, but it's time to live the remainder of my life with just being present alive and being my true authentic self. So I just want to be able to give people that hope that they can see that you can change your relationship with alcohol without having to do it the traditional way.

Speaker 1 (34:39.614)
And that's a wonderful midlife perspective. Thank you so much for sharing that. And thank you for coming on today. A powerful and deeply honest conversation. I want to take a moment to thank Jackie for her vulnerability, her courage, and for sharing a story that so many people quietly live with, but really speak about out loud. Her journey is such a reminder that midlife isn't an ending. It's an invitation. An invitation to look at the parts of our lives that no longer serve us.

your well.

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (35:09.326)
to peel back old beliefs and to decide that we deserve a different kind of life. If Jackie's story resonated with you, if you're sober curious, if you're struggling in silence, or if you simply want to understand your relationship with alcohol differently, please know that you're not alone. There is support, there is hope. And as Jackie said so beautifully, it's not about quitting drinking, it's about finding freedom. You can learn more about Jackie's work or book a free call with her by visiting coaching.

by Jackie.com and that's Jackie with an I. She also generously has offered all the listeners of The Midlife Awakening a special discount on her coaching package. So if you feel called to take the first step, this might be the moment to do it. Please also note that the show is educational and not medical advice. Please speak to your healthcare provider for personalized care. As always, thank you for spending this time with me. If today's episode moved you, inspired you or opened something up inside you,

I would love for you to share it with someone who might need to hear it too. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any future episodes. Also, if you'd like to hear more from me, why not head over to my sub stack and sign up to my free newsletter, or you could join my community and join me on our journey through midlife. Until next week, be kind to yourself, take care of your heart, and remember, it's never too late to begin again. Bye for now.