Episode 21 - Public or Private?

Aidan was public with her decision to not drink in 2012 with her Year Without Wine blog posts , but Jolene stayed quieter and more private in the early months of quitting drinking for good. Jolene shares how she wrote a blog post when she was 60-days alcohol-free but she didn't publish it. Through the evolution of not drinking though, they both developed and claimed more of their voice, which Jolene demonstrated in her recent TEDx talk . It's a very personal decision that depends on many factors, but if you feel called to speak out, Aidan recommends speaking publicly because the connection to others that it brings can be profound. Waiting for others to give us permission to go alcohol-free will never happen, so there is a leap we must take. As time goes on family and friends do tend to step up and are supportive of our decision. Ask yourself what is your purpose in being public? For Aidan, she believes it's a conversation that needs to happen. For Jolene, she feels there is a missing piece regarding the physiological neurotransmitter, and brain chemistry side of things. She is also passionate about shaking out-dated paradigms and breaking stigmas surrounding alcohol. If you're private about giving up drinking the decision still benefits and is reflected in all areas of your life. Find what serves you - being public or staying more private - the benefits need to be for you, not someone else.

You can listen to Episode 21 - Public or Private? online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 21 - Public or Private? is an episode from Editing Our Drinking and Our Lives by Jolene Park.

This episode is 30:02 long.

This episode was published on Jan 6, 2018.

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