Everyday that I am blessed to wake up, I try to stay in a constant state of gratitude.
Instagram: @elevebyam
Website: elevecoachingbyam.com
Email: angela@elevecoachingbyam.com
My name is Angela Morris and have been unapologetically sober for one year as of June 6/2021
I have abused alcohol and other substances for 30 years.
I live in Edmonton, AB and have lived here most of my life. I am officially a Certified Life and Mindset Coach. My passion and purpose is to act as a guide to help women transform their lives by shifting their mindset, speaking their truth and embracing their limitless potential.
My experience as an addict (to sum up) has been a roller coaster of emotions. I had my first drink at 12 and my first experience with drugs was acid. I was 14. I was the kid who started with all of the hard drugs, I never took a liking to smoking weed. As I got older and became a mom, I decided that prescription drugs were a smarter choice and they were always washed down with some tequila and water.
I had left a trail of sadness and destruction wherever I went. I was unintentionally intent on constant self destructive behavior and the only thing I was consistent at was being inconsistent. I hated myself because I drank and I drank because I hated myself. Such a vicious cycle to be in. I was falling deep into depression and drowning my sorrows in alcohol. I have known for the past 10 years that my life was spiraling out of control; however, I couldn’t have changed a thing until I was actually ready to acknowledge the hot mess I had become. I was overweight with life threatening ailments, I was broke and I had run out of excuses. Most importantly though, seeing my son go through his addiction took me to my rock bottom. What was I thinking? It took me a minute to realize that I needed to be stronger than my addiction and be the role model my son (my kids) need. Because of him (them), my desire and will power to change once and for all is unshakable.
Starting my recovery journey was incredibly difficult. As a woman who is 43 years young, not only was I changing a 3 decade high risk lifestyle, I am also going through the “change of life” so my hormones were not on my side. The substances I was using had been masking those feelings and I was not prepared for the multitude of new feelings that were about to hit me. The anxiety was crippling, oh my God it was crippling. My body was going through so much all at once and I was terrified. I literally thought I was dying. Several trips to emerg later, I now know that my body was resetting itself. It was healing from the beating I had been putting on it. My recovery process started and continues today totally free from prescription drugs and meetings. I started this process with the deliberate intention of doing this the hard way. I was going to feel every feeling, good and bad, totally and completely of sound mind and body. This is a recovery journey of discipline and determination which means I had to be accountable for my actions and own my toxic behavior. This was a complete shift in mindset. I had to elevate and level up. I had to change the way I eat and sacrifice temporary comfort for long term satisfaction. I had to choose my health over everything and make a commitment to an entire lifestyle change.
The benefits of these changes are compounding each day! I am grateful to share that I am 45 pounds lighter, off of all blood pressure meds and my clarity towards my life’s purpose is crystal clear. Please know that I am only talking about my journey and my journey alone. In no way am I trying to say that this is what recovery should look like. I am only speaking about my story and how I chose to conquer my demons.
Everyday that I am blessed to wake up, I try to stay in a constant state of gratitude. I have learned to only look back to see how far I’ve come and although I am not exactly where I want to be yet, I thank God that I am not where I used to be. I am healthy and genuinely happy, mind, body and soul. I look at each day as a new beginning. I mean, who knew that I would be a Life Coach! I would have never thought I would have been able to overcome a 30 year battle during a pandemic! It blows my mind to even think about it. I remind myself constantly of the reasons why I am doing this...my family, myself and my clients. The reasons are priceless and I will not allow myself to falter. If I can offer any advice or words of encouragement and empowerment it would be to never give up. You are worth it. You are enough. You are worth getting sober for. Recovery is an everyday thing, if that makes sense. I am still an addict BUT, I am now completely and unapologetically addicted to my recovery. I am 1000% addicted to healing.