#128 – Episode 128 – Sobriety and Women’s Hormones With Nurse Practitioner Mimi Devine-Touhey

VeronicaValli

Men and women get sober differently. The same methods won’t work for women that work for men because women also have to battle hormonal changes that can dramatically affect their sobriety. In this episode, Veronica discusses women’s issues and sobriety with new Soberful Life practitioner and nurse practitioner Mimi Devine-Touhey.

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What This Episode Is About

Sobriety is very different for women than for men.

A lot of women reach out to me, sharing that they want to stop drinking, but they’re struggling with managing menopause, perimenopause, or PMT at the same time.

These aspects have a big impact on women’s sobriety, yet you hardly hear anyone talking about them. I want to get it out in the open.

Today we’re going to be talking today about women, sobriety, and hormones, and how all of that affects our sobriety.

I’m very excited to have Mimi Devine-Touhey on the show today to share her expertise on a deep dive into this topic. Mimi is one of our newest sobriety coaches in Soberful Life and a Certified Professional Life and Recovery coach, who is passionate about helping women rediscover their life path and recover from substance use disorders and other addictive behaviors. Mimi has also been in recovery from alcohol addiction for 15 years.

Mimi’s story looks a bit different from most of the guests we’ve had on the show so far as her addiction really took hold in her 40s, alongside perimenopause. She was self-medicating for her anxiety and insomnia while she filled her plate to overflowing between work, three kids, a husband that traveled often, and a lot of volunteering.

Sobriety wasn’t straightforward for Mimi. As her drinking got worse, her husband kept voicing his concerns but she kept going down the same path for years. Eventually, she decided to do something about it but then went through a year of continually alternating between a few weeks of sobriety and relapses.

She first found sobriety after she took a friend’s suggestion to try doing 90 in 90 – the AA term for 90 days of 90 meetings. But six and a half years later she relapsed, badly. That’s when she realized she needed a completely different environment and decided to go to rehab and she’s been sober ever since.

One thing I learned the first time around is I had to continue to work on myself. – Mimi Devine-Touhey

What made the difference? Mimi completely changed her lifestyle and stopped thinking of sobriety as a one-time event. By continuing to go to meetings, do service, and connect with the recovery community, she’s been able to remain sober for over seven years.

In Mimi’s work as a nurse practitioner, she saw how the period between perimenopause and menopause was such a difficult time for women, regardless of an addiction problem.

A lot of the messaging that women have had around their menstrual cycles, and all of the stages of life that they go through is: That’s just how it is, suck it up.

When you’re going through the irregular symptoms caused by perimenopause and menopause and you’re trying to get sober, it can be doubly confusing. That’s why any kind of sobriety support has to incorporate something around women’s cycles to maximize their potential to get sober.

Thankfully, there’s so much you can do to take care of your body and make this time much more manageable and that awareness is crucial.
Mimi shares what happens to your hormones during perimenopause and menopause, how alcohol makes your symptoms worse, what you can do to improve your symptoms, the simple lifestyle changes you can make to empower yourself, and so much more!

About Mimi Devine-Touhey

Mimi Devine-Touhey MSN, FNP, CPC, SRCD is a Certified Professional Life and Recovery coach, who is passionate about helping women rediscover their life path and recover from substance use disorders and other addictive behaviours. She is knowledgeable about all avenues of recovery and believes that every individual needs to put together their own patchwork of support. She leverages her 25 years as a Family Nurse Practitioner, supporting and counselling her patients with Substance Use Disorders, food challenges and chronic disease management. She has particular interest in treating women during perimenopause and menopause, and spent six years focusing on and treating women with sexual health concerns. She is an EFT (emotional freedom technique) practitioner. Mimi has been in recovery from alcohol addiction for 15 years.

Connect with Mimi Devine-Touhey and Rise and Thrive Recovery LLC

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