After Hours with Jimmy Thistle

Episode 42 - Lexie

Jimmy Thistle Season 2 Episode 17

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From a young age, Lexie was always a sensitive soul—an over-thinker who constantly felt misunderstood. As a child, the world often felt overwhelming, and as she grew older, those feelings only intensified. By the age of 16, she turned to alcohol and drugs—not for fun, but for relief. They gave her an escape, a way to silence the noise in her head and numb the pain of feeling different and socially awkward.


In her twenties, Lexie began to notice a clear difference between herself and her peers when it came to drinking. While others could have a drink or two and stop, she felt an uncontrollable, compulsive need to keep going. Still, when the thought of having a problem crept in, she pushed it aside. Denial was easier. It felt safer to normalize the behavior than to face the terrifying possibility that she might be dealing with addiction.


By November 2022, everything had come crashing down. Lexie had hit her breaking point. No longer making an effort to hide her drinking, she found herself completely dependent on alcohol—unable to function without it. Her life had become a performance played out behind a buzz, driven by fear of confronting what she had become. The irony was cruel and simple: she drank because she feared what her drinking had turned her into, and so, she drank even more.


Her behavior, at times belligerent and reckless, began to put her life at risk. Things had spiraled far beyond her control. The only consistency left was the toxic pattern that ruled her existence. The idea of going just 24 hours without a drink felt impossible.


The road to sobriety was excruciating and full of shame. Lexie didn’t attend meetings. She didn’t see a therapist. She did it on her own—a path she doesn’t recommend. The grief, guilt, and self-loathing were relentless. But even stronger than the pain was a deep, burning desire to live a life that was honest and joyful. That desire kept her going.


Taking a hard, honest look at who she had become allowed Lexie to finally see the potential of who she could be. The old version of herself was stripped away, and in that space, something new and resilient began to grow.


She learned to transform her inner dialogue from an enemy into a friend. What was once a source of self-sabotage became a voice of encouragement. By shifting her internal world, her external reality began to change in profound ways. It was proof of just how powerful the mind can be in reshaping a life.


There was a time when Lexie couldn’t imagine ever feeling free. But now, by embracing every single aspect of herself—the parts that made her proud, and even the parts that made her cringe—she found the space to stay sober. And today, she can say with complete honesty: she feels better than she ever has in her entire life.


Follow Lexie on Instagram:


https://www.instagram.com/thesoberexperience_withlexie


Lexie’s 5 concepts that helped Lexie thrive:


https://the-sober-experience-with-lexie.kit.com/5concepts?fbclid=PAVERFWAMlTzNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp6bAts6CAtYc8gSNvLD_GQuF6vBfwbxdko048THlY2Hx0Bh69a-t5wv1zVbj_aem_mi9FMNCoX85hTXZq_JBGjQ


Matthew Perry - Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing:


https://amzn.eu/d/hHaXF8X


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