Nicole’s Sobriety Story: Anxiety, Alcoholism, Rehab, and Rebuilding After Rock Bottom
Sober Motivation: Sharing Sobriety Stories
Brad McLeod
4.8 • 596 Ratings
🗓️ 27 January 2026
⏱️ 85 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast, Brad sits down with Nicole to share a powerful and honest sobriety story. Nicole grew up in California in a home affected by alcoholism, struggled with anxiety and a deep sense of not belonging, and discovered early that alcohol could instantly change the way she felt. What started as weekend drinking eventually became daily drinking, secrecy, relationship chaos, and escalating consequences.
Nicole opens up about how she used alcohol for energy, confidence, and relief—until it stopped working and her life hit a devastating turning point in July 2022. She shares what finally created true willingness, why her first rehab stay didn’t stick, and how treatment, sober living, meetings, sponsorship, and rebuilding trust helped her stay sober. Today, Nicole is approaching four years sober, has rebuilt her relationship with her family, and is focused on living a life rooted in connection, service, and self-respect.
If you’ve ever wondered how to get sober, how to stop secret drinking, or how to rebuild after relapse, this episode will hit home.
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Nicole on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cargonicole/
Sober Motivation Community: https://sobermotivation.mn.co/
Sober Motivation Website: https://www.sobermotivation.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to season five of the Sobermotivation podcast. |
| 0:03.2 | Join me, Brad, each week as my guest and I share incredible and powerful sobriety stories. |
| 0:08.6 | We're here to show sobriety as possible. |
| 0:11.2 | One story at a time. |
| 0:14.0 | Let's go. |
| 0:16.5 | Today I'm sitting down with Nicole from the Sacramento area. |
| 0:19.9 | Nicole shares what it was like growing up in a home impacted by a parent's alcoholism, |
| 0:24.4 | feeling on the outside from a young age, and how alcohol became her fast-track to relief until |
| 0:30.2 | it slowly took everything. |
| 0:31.9 | We talk about anxiety, validation, relationship addiction, secrecy. |
| 0:37.2 | In the moment, she hit a life or death turning |
| 0:39.6 | point that created real willingness. Nicole walks us through rehab, sober living, rebuilding |
| 0:45.7 | trust, getting her kids back, and what recovery looks like now, five teenagers in the house |
| 0:51.3 | and a life she's genuinely proud of. If you've ever thought, I'll grow out of it or I just need to control it, this one will land for you. And this is Nicole's story on the Sober Motivation Podcast. Welcome back to another episode of the Sober Motivation Podcast. Today we've got Nicole with us. Nicole, how are you? I'm doing good, Brad. How are you? |
| 1:12.3 | Yeah, I'm doing well. I'm glad we could connect. I feel like it's been a long time coming for you to jump on here and share your story with all of us. |
| 1:20.1 | Yeah, I've been listening to the podcast for quite a while now, probably two years, I guess, and joined your community recently. |
| 1:28.6 | But, yeah, it's nice to be a part of something. |
| 1:31.7 | Yeah. |
| 1:32.2 | So what was it like for you growing up? |
| 1:34.6 | So I grew up in California. |
| 1:36.5 | I've lived here my whole life. |
| 1:38.5 | I had one sister that I grew up with, and I had two parents in the home that were married until I was around 17. |
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