Oliver Hojas shares his story of being the big brother, growing up in a home where his mom was an active alcoholic. Challenges at home resulted in a life lacking structure and security for the children. Sent off to boarding school by the state, Oliver discovered art. After leaving school to  build his life and independence, he starting working in Zurich, where he explored different jobs which ultimately led him on a healing journey. This is a story of forgiveness, self-love, compassion and finding the courage to be the one to break the generational cycle of alcoholism in the family.  Today, Oliver is living his dream life as an inspirational artist.

Do we only get one big love?  When we hold space for a very special person a love so deep that we hold on to them tight, even through the addiction, and when they are suddenly gone, its excruciating. In the months or years that follow you begin to question will I ever love again?  In this episode I’ll reveal how to unleash the hope that you will find big love again. For a moment today, there was honestly a part of me that didn't feel hopeful at all about finding love again. and that’s a really big thing to voice.  This is a super personal episode where i reveal the whole truth about 

Trauma. When you love an addict or an alcoholic, you can experience many, many circumstances, which really can be quite traumatic. Whether it's a big trauma or a series of small traumas, which can take place over years, it has an impact on us mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Trauma can get stuck in your body and to really recover, we need to unwind and release all of that trauma.So how do we do this? Christine is going tell us how.  If there is one word that I would use to describe Christine, there's actually so many I could use, but the one that's at the top of the list is resilient.  Christine is an author.  She has written the book called Blinded by an Angel, which is her story. Christine has been a keynote speaker at mental health conferences, hospitals, addiction facilities, yoga studios, and universities, where she's openly has shared her story of resilience. Her story reached thousands of people in 2018. When she was featured in Canadian living magazine. She's also been a mentor to many in the field of addiction and recovery. She specializes in trauma informed yoga and is also the coauthor of clinical research gathered on residential treatment programs. If you have been traumatised or have held trauma in your body for a very long time, you haven't connected physically with your body. And so there's some neglect there. And the reason you probably haven't is because you don't want to feel. You have to feel the heal. Listen to the full episode to find out how. Links mentioned in this episode:Join the Blossome CommunityYou can connect with Christine on social media:Instagram- Christine YankeFacebook- Christine YankeVisit her website Blinded by an Angel: One woman's inspiring true story of resilience through grief, addiction, and trauma. (Available on Amazon Worldwide)Amazon.co.ukAmazon.com

Just let the whole thing go. To release the past. We must be willing to forgive, but it's easier said than done. Welcome to season two of Smiling Again, where we'll be exploring the 12 areas of self care. And today it's all about forgiveness. I will be speaking with Chad Mierau, who is the author of a novel called Surviving the crash. I have to say that I believe this is going to be a challenging conversation for many reasons, and all the more reason for us to have this talk because of the positive impact that it can have on so many. Just over six years ago, Chad lost his sister, her husband, and their two children in a car accident. They were hit by a drunk driver and in Chad's book called surviving the crash. He shares his story of forgiveness and personal personal journey of growth through that, through that experience.

Creating space is a practice that opens up your physical space as well as your time and energy to allow more room to live, to create and to enjoy life.But how do we create space beyond physical space? Creating space can be challenging, mostly because it requires us to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. It requires us to let go of things we’ve become comfortable with, the  familiar.  It’s in the layers we shed that we find space to heal. Shedding or letting go may even feel like a loss, but remember that the space created opens us up to something new, something healthier and more joyous.Listen to this episode to discover how to create space to heal.  This is the first episode of Season 2 which is all about self-care. 

If there is addiction or alcoholism in your family, you can still be in the moment and enjoy the Christmas holidays.  Don't let another holiday pass by because addiction is there.  This message rings loud and clear in this episode of Smiling Again and Ann and Mitchell talk through how to make this possible. Anna is the wife of a recovering addict and she herself is in recovery from codependency. Mitchell is a very grateful recovering addict. Together they are the Founders of We Are Recovery. Whether on the inside facing addiction head on or on the outside  loving the one who's in it, recovery is possible for all.  As they both walk their own healing journey, together they share their experience with wholehearted honesty. Most of what they share comes from really messing things up and growing through it. If you have ever wondered what your loved one thought and you were too afraid to ask, this episode is a much to listen or watch. Anna shares her thoughts on codependency and why it is so important to heal on her own journey, so she can live her live according to her own values.  Figuring our who we are and what we love is integral to recovery. Mitchell shares his experience of recovery and how important it was for people to say what was wrong, he shares what he stays clear of and the importance of having a plan to know what to do if something arises, if he is triggered  at Christmas. We talk about stepping on egg shells,  the non linear path of healing, the sling shoot, how silence reinforces the addict's behaviour, the need to say what is wrong and the nitty gritty of how to show love, owning your actions, getting stuck trying to be perfect,  how to have fun again, making a plan for Christmas, deciding to be present and enjoying the holidays. There is soooooooo much in here. It's a must. 

What comes first, thoughts or feelings? In this episode of Smiling Again I speak with Dawn Stemmer, Psychotherapist, BWRT practitioner and creator of BiiTS. Thoughts are ways of dealing with feelings – ways of thinking our way out of feelings – ways of finding solutions that meets the needs that lie behind the feelings. So if it's that simple and we can think our way out of our feelings, how do we do it and end the negative spirals that can send our day s into a tizzy? Dawn teaches us some practical exercises that we can use to collect our lovely thoughts, like pearls, stringing them together throughout our day to create someting beautiful. 

Moving through grief after losing her brother Joseph to addiction, a very brave Megan shares her story of healing from the addiction that plagued her family for 20 years. This raw, emotional episode,  was recorded only two weeks after Joseph passed away.  He was only 32 years young.Nothing prepares you for the roller coaster ride that you experience when a loved one battles alcoholism or addiction.Megan, a mom of two young children, a teacher, a sister,  a daughter, shares her perspective on being a big sister, bearing witness to her brother's struggle with addiction. She shares her families experience, the difficult choices, the love, the peace, the happy memories, the anger, the pain and the roller coaster she has been riding for 20 years.I applaud Megan for her bravery, sharing her story  so that Joseph did not die in vain,  helping others families heal from losing a loved one to addiction.

When you are consumed by a loved one's addiction or alcoholism, its hard to see a way out of a repetitive cycle of chaos and trauma. In this episode we discuss how to make your life count, with boundaries. Suna Spry, RSPH and author of Addicted to an Addict shares some helpful in formation that can help anyone consumed by a loved ones addiction or alcoholism to start working on their own recovery. She shares three realisations that you need to come to before you can start putting healthy boundaries in place - and stick to them.