Instagram: @katevitela

My name is Kate Vitela. I am in recovery from alcohol use disorder. My sobriety date is 2/10/18. I am proudly recovering out loud in hopes to dismantle the stigma. 

I live in Olympia, WA and I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life. Mostly in WA and OR. I have been a Registered Nurse since 2001. 

I am happily married with (3) step-sons, a dog and a cat. (To this day I am still not sure how I ended up with the damn cat)

Currently I am working in a leadership role in an in-patient psychiatric unit. I work with clients with severe and persistent mental illness and substance use issues. 

Around 2010 my relationship with alcohol (mostly wine) was becoming very unhealthy and I found myself frequently binge drinking. In 2014 I got a DUI and my life spiraled. The four years following I went to the ER multiple times with alcohol poisoning and I was essentially trying to end my own life. My career, relationships, finances, mental and physical health deteriorated completely. I was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit for suicidal ideation and grave disability. And at the end of my wits I began praying to God and seeking help. I read books and sought out counselors until I could find the right help. I walked into an AA meeting in 2018 and never looked back. Those people saved my life.

Since then I have discovered multiple avenues of recovery that have been helpful. I joined the Sober Mom Squad online group @sobermomsquad as well as The Luckiest Club @theluckiestclub  online meet-ups and learned everything I could about addiction. I became a certified addictions registered nurse. (CARN.) I also got board certified in psychiatric-mental health nursing.  I listened to every podcast, read every book and journal article I could get my hands on and I surrounded myself with the recovery community both online and in real life. I stay as connected as possible to my sober tribe. The work is never over. But the journey is beautiful. 

I am passionate about writing, reading, art, interior design, fashion and style. I got connected with the online magazine The Sober Curator @thesobercurator for sober creatives and have been a contributor for almost a year now. I write a fashion column called "Walk Your Talk" regarding fashion and style and the role it plays in my ever-changing sober self image. 

I have started traveling again and becoming a new-fashioned version of my authentic self. My life is very full and I am grateful every morning I wake up. I like to say "Sober people party in the morning" because we are free! Sobriety affords me the most beautiful gift which is time. I have the mental clarity and bandwidth to work in mental health as well as fulfill my creative endeavors in my free time. Time is a luxury item and I wasted too much of it being numbed out to the world. If you only live once, then why not be present for all of it? 

I lean into my higher power which is God and I stay very connected to the recovery community to stay sober and sane. The advice I give people new in recovery is to do the same. Find a power greater than you and ask for help. Then find some humans with similar stories and let them be your tribe. They will save your life over and over again. There is a way out of your own personal hell and its so f-ing worth it.  You just gotta lean in and hit your knees. 

Grace & Glam,

Kate