Rebuilding the Bridge: Trust After the Break | Absolutely F…

Rebuilding the Bridge: Trust After the Break — a reflective, uplifting episode of Absolutely Focused Radio with Daniel “The Sobriety Buddy” Nelson and the full Sobriety Crew.This isn’t just about alcohol. It’s about awareness...

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October 30, 2025

Rebuilding the Bridge: Trust After the Break | Absolutely Focused Radio (S4E14)

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Rebuilding the Bridge: Trust After the Break — a reflective, uplifting episode of Absolutely Focused Radio with Daniel “The Sobriety Buddy” Nelson and the full Sobriety Crew.This isn’t just about alcohol. It’s about awareness—how false comfort can feel like peace while quietly taxing your spirit. Daniel shares the “Gina” story (gin as a stand-in for any numbing habit) and the Crew unpacks how to rebuild self-trust and relationship trust after the break.What you’ll learn:

Why quick “comfort” is an illusion—and how to spot it before it controls you.
The psychology of recovery: awareness + behavioral consistency = rebuilt trust.
Daily practices for staying steady when others still see the “old you.”
Light tech tools (Reframe, I Am Sober) to track progress and prevent relapse.

Affirmations from the Crew:
“Regret never offers refunds — but grace always gives change.” (Daniel)
“I update my peace daily — no bugs, no crashes.” (Chucky Chip)
“My discipline outlasts every detour.” (Marcus)
“Awareness is recovery’s best relapse prevention.” (Jane Marie)
“You’re not hard to love — you’re learning to love honestly.” (Beeyou)
“I’m learning to listen before I label.” (Curious Joe)Cast: Daniel “The Sobriety Buddy” Nelson, Anna Heryiwego (AFR Announcer), Jane Marie (Stats & Facts), Chucky Chip (Tech on Deck), Marcus the Motivator, Beeyou, and Curious Joe.Key themes: sobriety, emotional recovery, trust, accountability, mental health, personal growth, relapse prevention.Disclaimer: Absolutely Focused Radio is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not medical, therapeutic, or legal advice. If you or someone you love is struggling with mental-health or substance-use challenges, please seek professional help. In the United States, call or text 988 for free, confidential support. Outside the U.S., contact your local mental-health hotline.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/absolutely-focused-radio-podcast--6516641/support.

Transcript

WEBVTT

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A build a firewall around my heart because love and code.

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You tear pruse.

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Absolutely Focused Radio, Season four, Episode fourteen, Rebuilding the Bridge

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Trust after the Break. Welcome back to Absolutely Focused Radio,

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where every story holds a lesson and every struggle deserves

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a second chance. This episode isn't just about alcohol. It's

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about awareness how easy it is to get lost in

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something that promises peace but leaves you in pieces you smile.

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Life doesn't come with instructions. It gives us moments, choices, chances,

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and consequences. Some people never get to share their story.

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Some never make it to tell you. Some never get

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that chance. If you've ever thought about stopping, whatever your

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gina may be, your body will thank you, your mind

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will steady itself again, and the people who truly love

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you will still be there rooting for you. Like everything

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else in life, it takes steps. Think about a baby,

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first reach, first wobble, first fall, but still reaching. There

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will be days when you won't feel like you can

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make it. Trust me, we've been there. Healing isn't about speed,

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It's about showing up one more time than you fall.

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And before we dive in, let me introduce the family

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who keeps it real. Curious Joe who always wants to know,

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Chucky Chip Tech on deck, Marcus the motivator, motivation for

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the nation, be you, reminding you to be yourself because

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you matter. And of course Daniel, your sobriety buddy, and me,

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I'm Anna, Harry Wago, your AFR announcer, and I'm here

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because I care. Now let's step into today's story, rebuilding

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the bridge trust after the break.

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Different strokes for different folks, right, But one thing many

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of us share, no matter where we come from, is

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that brutal relationship with Gina Jin, the smooth talking therapist

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I once thought was saving me. One of my favorite

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lines used to be I'm running to the hospital to

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go see Gina.

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That was my therapy. Boy.

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I thought she was the best counselor in town. She

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always listened, or so I thought. Every night she'd whisper

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rough day, let's fix that. But every fix dug the

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hole a little deeper. It wasn't a mission, It was

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an illusion. She made me believe I was healing when

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I was only hiding.

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Science says alcohol tricks your brain's reward system. It mimics

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calm by releasing dopamine and gabba. Over time, your body

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stops making them naturally. That's why real recovery isn't just quitting.

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It's retraining your brain to feel peace again. No shortcuts,

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no chemicals. Awareness is recovery's best relapse prevention.

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Until I understood. But she'll change your spirit.

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She'll have you saying things you shouldn't say, doing things

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you shouldn't do, believing things that were never true. Gina

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will have you thinking you're the smartest scholar alive. But

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have you ever listened to yourself while with her? I did,

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and it wasn't as cute as I thought. That became

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one of my biggest fears, hearing how.

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I really sounded.

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You sip a little more to polish your English and

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end up speaking a new kind of old English. Nobody

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understand stands. What sounds smooth in the moment can sound

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broken in the replay.

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Hold up, So you mean she made you feel confident,

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but just long enough to lose control?

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Exactly, Joe.

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She gave courage with the catch, confidence without clarity. That's

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how illusion works. It flatters your weakness and taxes your peace.

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One time I was talking with my little big bro

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and a friend. They said, Man, everything started great, but

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by the end you were a different person. They saw it,

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they heard it, and for the first time I did too.

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That's when I realized Gina wasn't helping me heal. She

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was helping me hide physically, spiritually, emotionally.

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And the wildest part.

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She never stood me up, always there waiting on the

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shelf after work. At that time, I didn't care. I

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thought loyalty meant comfort. But that wasn't loyalty. That was

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captivity dressed up as companionship. Sometimes you can't tell if

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people really care or if they're just tolerating you. I

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liked Gena Bess when she was chilled with an ice cue.

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If she wasn't chilled, she'd chill me anyway, a different

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kind of cold.

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At first it felt like peace.

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Later I learned it was just pause, the long pause

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between who I was and who I could have been.

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That's like plugging your life into a bad charger. You're

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not charging your burning out the port. Try tools like

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reframe or I Am Sober. Track your moods, note your triggers,

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celebrate your streaks. That data is your truth. When you

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see your growth, you don't need genus fake comfort anymore.

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I update my peace daily. No bugs, no crashes.

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Must Some won't understand your healing. They'll miss the old

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you because the old you made them comfortable, but the

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healed you. You're not meant to fit that mold again.

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You're not hard to love, You're learning to love. Honestly.

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Let me say this plane regret never offers refunds. Yesterday's

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peace is gone. Today's effort is the down payment on

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tomorrow's freedom. Three moves. Own your choices, Stay consistent, Celebrate

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every small win, louder than doubts, whisper My discipline outlasts

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every detour.

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But what if people still don't believe you've changed, they

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keep treating you like the old you.

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Then you stay the course. Forgiveness is the choice. Account

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Ability is yours.

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Your job is to rebuild the bridge, not drag anyone

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across it. Healing isn't about proving you've changed, it's staying

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changed when nobody's watching. I rebuild trust with consistency, not conversation.

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Science calls that behavioral consistency. It's the quiet evidence of

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recovery actions that match your words day after day.

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Every bridge starts with one plank, one choice, one breath,

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one truth that says I'm still here and I'm still trying.

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I forgive myself for mistaking comfort for care.

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I update my piece daily, no bugs, no crashes.

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My discipline outlasts every detool.

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Awareness is recovery's best relapse prevention.

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I'm learning to listen before or our labels.

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Regret never offers refunds, but grace always gives change. What

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you've heard isn't a story about drinking. It's a story

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about awakening. Gina was never just a bottle. She was

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every false comfort that said I've got you, while quietly

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taking what made you hold rebuilding trust with yourself, your people.

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Your purpose.

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Starts when you stop asking comfort to heal you. You

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can't rebuild peace on a foundation that lied to you.

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Take the lesson and leave the bottle. Keep what made

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you honest, Let go of what made you hollow.

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This is absolutely focused radio. Absolutely focused radio is for

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informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and experiences shared

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by the Sobriety crew are personal perspectives, not professional, medical, therapeutic,

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or legal advice. If you or someone you love is

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struggling with mental health or substance use challenges. Please reach

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out for help. In the United States, call or text

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nine to eight eight for free confidential support. Outside the US,

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contact your local mental health hotline or emergency service. You're

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not alone. Help is always available. No whin I wake, I.

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Feel the sn.

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I count my wins, what I've done. It's not perfect,

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but it's free. Every single day.

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I choose me.

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Shows me, not the pay, not the past.

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I found free on the building.

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Last, if you're listening, no, it's true.

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You can choose you