Episode #138: The Grey Drinking RESET, The Impact Of Your Social Circle On Drinking, How Yoga Helps With Addiction & A Talk On Midwifery, With Carrie Schell, Author + Midwife + Yoga Instructor

 INTRODUCTION: 

At a time in her life when she was wanting alcohol and alcoholism out of her personal life, Carrie found herself the Director of Health and Wellness of a residential addictions centre. The crazy thing is, she was good at it, really good, and her innovative program rooted in yoga, meditation and physical activity, was working. It was effective. Carrie developed an understanding that it was that gift she had as a midwife, helping women through their most intimate, challenging, life transforming experience of pregnancy and childbirth, was the same gift of helping others on the intimate, challenging and life transforming journey of recovery. Carrie's mind, body, spirit approach to wellness, along with her humour and wisdom, resonates with others on their desire to seek wellness.

 Three decades ago Carrie Schell began her career as a midwife. Over the years, her role in the health and wellness space has evolved with graduate school, becoming a yoga instructor, and as a Director of Health and Wellness, creating innovative programs at an addiction centre, and presently as a speaker and author. Carrie's latest book is full of warmth, humour and wisdom to help women who are grey drinkers, women who aren't alcoholics but have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, create wellness in their lives.

INCLUDED IN THIS EPISODE (But not limited to):

·      The Grey Drinking RESET

·      A Talk On Midwifery 

·      Yoga: Help For Alcoholism & Addiction

·      Evaluating Your Relationship With Alcohol And Other Vices

·      Getting The Most Out Of “Down Time”

·      The Neural Pathway Between The Hand And The Brain

·      The Implications Of Social The Social Circle On Drinking 

·      BE. THE. LIGHT.!!!

CONNECT WITH CARRIE:

Website: https://www.carrieschell.com

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meetcarrieschell/

LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/tuwyY

CONNECT WITH DE’VANNON:

Website: https://www.SexDrugsAndJesus.com

Website: https://www.DownUnderApparel.com   

Donate Via PayPal: https://shorturl.at/gq068

CashApp: $DeVannonHubert

Venmo: @DeVannon 

Patreon: https://patreon.com/SDJPodcast

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devannon

Transcript

Episode #138: The Grey Drinking RESET, The Impact Of Your Social Circle On Drinking, How Yoga Helps With Addiction & A Talk On Midwifery, With Carrie Schell, Author + Midwife + Yoga Instructor

Carrie Schell 

De'Vannon Seráphino: [00:00:00] My guest today is an incredibly caring woman, and her name is Carrie Schell. She has taken the pain and suffering that she's experienced and endured throughout her life, and she has given birth to a wealth of materials designed to help lift people up to their next level in life. Carrie is the author of the great drinking reset, a 30 day journey to wellness, is and also a book called yoga recovery, a mind, body, spirit journey to wellness. Here's some of what Carrie has to say. 

Carrie Schell: I really knew at that point that yoga, meditation and physical activity were actually more beneficial in Helping with addiction and alcohol recovery in most cases than traditional methods of talk therapy and and medications. Yeah, no, I was never an alcoholic. [00:01:00] However, people close to my life.

Carrie Schell: Certainly have were some have a couple of died. My dad and my brother. You know, partners have been alcoholics. What came to me was over Covid. I realized I was drinking too much. alcohol actually really is poison.

Carrie Schell: It's good tasting poison, but, you know, there are real no therapeutic benefits. In fact, it's very detrimental to our brain chemistry.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Carrie's website is CarrieSchell.Com.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Please listen with an open mind and an open heart, and share this with someone you care about.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Hello, all of you out there and welcome back to another installment of the Sex, Drugs, and Jesus podcast. Man, you all make me so [00:02:00] happy. So happy. Every time I get ready to press that record button, and I'm just. Beaming on the inside rays of sunlight because I get to talk to each and every last one of you in the world, the whole world, man.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Thank you all so much for listening, for supporting this show. Have with me today, Carrie Shell. She is an author. She is a beacon of light and hope to people in so many different ways. She will talk to you. She will walk with you through your journey. As you're going through things in this life. And then she's offered two books.

De'Vannon Seráphino: One is called the great drinking reset, but 30 day journey to wellness. And the other one is called yoga recovery, a mind body, spirit journey to wellness. Carrie, how are you? 

Carrie Schell: I am lovely. Thank you so much for having me. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Absolutely. You're looking beautiful and stunning today. Y'all. She's joining us from Costa Rica.

Carrie Schell: Thank you so much 

De'Vannon Seráphino: there. I'm gonna go down there and do me some go ayahuasca or some [00:03:00] plant medicine one of these days. Good idea. Yeah, I did some in In Puerto Vallarta a couple of weeks ago, you know, it was my first time it was this like five shamans up at the front of the room. It was a whole thing.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Mm hmm. So, have you had the pleasure? 

Carrie Schell: I haven't, but I, I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity because I do believe in plant medicine and I do think it has its place for healing and guiding and connecting us to God. And. You know, one of my son said, you know, it's like doing 10 years of therapy and went one shot.

Carrie Schell: So I do, I'm very in favor for that and, and using psilocybin appropriately for those kind of incredible, valuable trips. So yeah, looking forward to doing it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it. So y'all in this episode, we're going to be talking about her books. We're talking [00:04:00] about.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Drinking great drinking with great drinking is we talk about how yoga and meditation and things like that can help you in your journey to recovery and what that might look like for you. Is there anything you'd like to say, Carrie, about your own personal history? I definitely want to hear about you starting off as a midwife and going from there.

De'Vannon Seráphino: But you can tell anyone you would tell people what you would like to about yourself or your works or your writings. 

Carrie Schell: Okay, I guess I'll start there. I mean, my background is I just kind of stumbled into midwifery. When I was in university, I met I had honor of attending a lecture by probably like the grandmother of modern day midwifery, Ida Mae Gaskin, who wrote a very incredible book called Spiritual Midwifery.

Carrie Schell: And she was doing a lecture and all of a sudden it clicked in my brain and heart that that's what I wanted to be a midwife. And so she really took me on and mentored me in acquiring my [00:05:00] midwifery education. I'm from Canada, and so there was nowhere really No schools of midwifery there yet. So I moved to Texas and I lived in El Paso and I went to midwifery school there.

Carrie Schell: And then for the next couple of decades, actively worked as a midwife and what an honor that is to help women and their families during one of the most intimate, vulnerable, life changing moments. So yeah, started as a midwife and then. So it's a long story, many chapters, but then somehow ended up through, you know, in my adult life after, you know, while I was raising kids and while I was practicing midwifery, I did graduate school, did a little stint at med school and found myself in a place where I was really questioning what my next path was.

Carrie Schell: And it just, I had the opportunity to become the director of a new residential addiction center that was [00:06:00] opening. And with all of my research from my graduate work, I really knew at that point that yoga, meditation and physical activity were actually more beneficial in Helping with addiction and alcohol recovery in most cases than traditional methods of talk therapy and and medications.

Carrie Schell: And so I developed a program that was really rooted in yoga, meditation and physical activity. Now, of course, we also on our team, we had. Psychologists and we did cognitive behavioral and we did other valuable components of therapy for our clients. But really the root was this whole other thing that I've carried forward with me.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Girl, I couldn't, I Every time you say midwifery, I just, I just want to break out with like the biggest smile. That is the coolest fucking word I've [00:07:00] heard in my life. Oh my gosh. Midwifery. It just, it just flows like silk off the tongue. And I, and I know it's a quite a process to be a midwife, but midwifery, Oh, this sounds so posh and chic.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I just love it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Go ahead. Sorry. Oh, no, you go ahead. It's all about you, baby. 

Carrie Schell: No, no. I mean, it's, it's definitely quite a trip being a midwife. It's such a privilege and an honor and. It's really, I always thought of midwifery as this very intimate dance as the midwife with the woman and really knowing when to lead and when to follow and how to guide and, and what steps to take to help ensure that She was in the moment and had that birthing journey that she wanted and also obviously a very healthy outcome.

Carrie Schell: So, [00:08:00] it, it was a very intimate thing and I, when I transitioned into working in addiction, I was, to be quite honest, I was really confused and I was praying because in my personal life, there was a lot of, I had family members who were suffering with addiction and alcoholism, and all I wanted was to have that out of my life, and yet then I was, you know, how God does, you might go through conflicts that bring you on the other side, a stronger person, and I realized that it was that intimate dance that I That was my gift or my calling.

Carrie Schell: It wasn't necessarily, of course, it was a midwife and I did wonderful, beautiful work there, but it was taking that ability to see the person in their most vulnerable, intimate, life changing moments and help guide them through that could be transitioned into the world of addiction and alcoholism. And [00:09:00] so it took me a while.

Carrie Schell: I was just like, God, like, seriously, like, is this, Are you kidding me? I'm just trying to run from alcoholism and addiction and smack. Now I'm in the midst of it. And I, I gained so much from that personally and professionally and It was just where I need needed to be at the time and that's really shaped my future path and understanding if you will what what my gift or my calling is not to be too hokey or anything like that.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Oh, I'm all for some hokey hokeyness some hokey pokey and all of that. It is, it is an honor to be with somebody at birth, and it is an honor to be with somebody at death. You know, those are life's two great transitions when we check into here, and when we check, it is, it is quite an honor. What I would like to know [00:10:00] is, do you, was there, is there anything that you can tell us about a time when you were performing the duties of the midwife?

De'Vannon Seráphino: Where things maybe didn't look like they were going to go so good, and you were able to step in and intervene and make something good come of it. 

Carrie Schell: Sure. I mean, in general, you have, I guess, two different types of things. You have like the clinical where definitely I had cases where after the baby's born, maybe the mom is hemorrhaging and the baby needs resuscitation.

Carrie Schell: So those kind of clinical things that your brain just clicks on and you kick into things and you know what to do. It's very matter of fact. You've been trained and you, you do ABC. The other thing that I think is equally [00:11:00] If not more, but a different challenge would be when a woman feels like she can't go on or you've met, you have a certain client and, you know, I'll give you an example.

Carrie Schell: I very. Vague, vast, general terms, but a type A personality woman, a woman who gets their shit done. They're very organized, you know, that kind of woman. And they've read all the books. They could probably write a PhD on childbirth and pregnancy because they've done so much reading and they feel they're very prepared.

Carrie Schell: Despite the long, lengthy, intimate prenatal visits that you have talking about every topic under the moon in great length, a lot of those type of women haven't really, they feel they've done that internal work to be able to let go. And let birth happen, but they get in the moment and [00:12:00] they realize, shit, this isn't something I can control how I'm used to controlling everything else in my life.

Carrie Schell: And when that happens and they're thrown for a loop. And they're, it's hard for them to cope and it's how do you reach that woman? How do you coach them? How do you let them know it's going to be okay? How do you be, you know, another mother reassuring mother figure to them in say, a woman birthing culture?

Carrie Schell: How do you be that coach? How do you be that health practitioner? How do you be all of these things to help rally, to get them not to give up? And not to say, if they've been really clear, listen, I, I feel value, say in a birth center, home birth, in the hospital, having a natural childbirth. And when the first overwhelming sensations happen, they're just, give me the drugs, give me this, give me that.

Carrie Schell: And you know [00:13:00] that if you don't try to help them navigate through that. Then, on the other side, they'll feel a greater sense of loss and disappointment. And I just want to be clear, there are definitely many times when medications are indicated and they're a valuable tool. I'm not saying women should never have an epidural, women should never have A, B, C or D, but it's just learning how to really connect with people and help give them what they need.

Carrie Schell: In those moments to guide them through. I think those are probably the challenge most challenging times. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Well, kudos to you, girl. You, you, you, you're doing great work. You know, I was, I was with my mom, like, the other day, cleaning out, like, her, the house she grew up in, and, you know, where my grandmother and everyone lived.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And she was like, yeah, I was born here. I was like, you mean, like, you know, you know, in this house? I was like, She was like, yeah. And I was like, what did [00:14:00] the, did my grandmother not make it to the hospital? And she was like, no, back in those days, they just had kids at home. And so I was, I am, I've been physically on this earth 40 years, although I feel 17, 17, yes, barely legal.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And I did not know this about my mother until the other day. So I'm sensing that there was probably some midwifery going on, you know, back in the, you know, the 50s, you know, when she was born. So, so did you, do you prep, do you work with the expected mother during the months leading up to the birth? 

Carrie Schell: Yes, 100.

Carrie Schell: So think of it this way. A midwife, I like to say, a midwife, a family physician when they're going through medical school, they'll spend a clinical rotation 6 to 8 weeks in the obstetrical unit, learning how to care for prenatal, doing labor and delivery, that kind of thing. In Canada, [00:15:00] at least, it's a four year university program.

Carrie Schell: So you're spending four years concentrated on, Learning about prenatal care, pregnancy, labor delivery in those four weeks postpartum. You learn how you get hospital privileges, you, you know, you're basically, you have more, I hate to say this, physicians who are out there, more than a family physician. You have a greater skill set, a greater tool set because you've been studying this for four years.

Carrie Schell: That's been your main area of focus. So, Yeah, it's, it's a great 

De'Vannon Seráphino: profession. Hmm. And I know that it's as old as time, you know, so my mother being born in the fifties, you know, I think back to the Bible, you know, there was midwifery happening all over the place. So, before, before we get your personal story about your history with alcohol and then get into like the meat of this, we could have done a whole show on midwifery.

De'Vannon Seráphino: It's so fascinating to me. [00:16:00] You're on your arm, you keep twirling around that beautiful turquoise looking jewelry. I need you to talk to me about that. Yeah. 

Carrie Schell: So I was mentioning to you that these are recycled flip flops. They're from a charity. I can't remember the name right now, but if you go on Etsy, the recycled flip flops from Africa and all of the proceeds go to these charities for women.

Carrie Schell: So check it out. Just do a little Google research and they come in all colors. But this is This is my color. It's kind of like my chakra color and it's just always speaks to me. So yeah, thank you for mentioning that 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Absolutely. It almost looks like this. One of the Sagittarius birthstones. 

Carrie Schell: I'm a Sagittarian.

Carrie Schell: There we go. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: So am I. So am I. I keep my 

Carrie Schell: We could be in trouble here. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Look, it's five o'clock somewhere. Let's get started. I keep my lapis lazuli Beautiful. dangling around my neck. [00:17:00] Because as I've been processing through you know, the breakup and everything I've been covering on my show, I had a dream, and in this dream, the spirit was telling me, as I saw, I saw a piece of Lapis Lazuli in this dream, and then so I went to look up, I mean, I've researched Lapis Lazuli a thousand times, twice told, but sometimes, you know, you go and look up something you looked up before, yet you find new information.

Carrie Schell: Definitely, it speaks to you in a whole new way. Right. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: And I found that this stone has to do with, you know, you know, transitioning and smoothing, you know, emotions and things like that. I picked up on that same vibration on seashells when I was down in Puerto Vallarta doing the ayahuasca and I bought back a sack of like conch shells and things like that and I put them all around my house.

De'Vannon Seráphino: That helps move the emotions and seashells have spiritual properties to them as well around. So tell us about what, what got you onto this path of wanting to help people advocate for drinking that you go through alcoholism [00:18:00] yourself. What happened? 

Carrie Schell: Yeah, no, I was never an alcoholic. However, people close to my life.

Carrie Schell: Certainly have were some have a couple of died. My dad and my brother. You know, partners have been alcoholics. What came to me was over Covid. I realized I was drinking too much. I was. It's not that I was getting drunk every night, but I was just very comfortable, you know, opening a bottle of wine.

Carrie Schell: Wine's my vice. Having a Opening that cold bottle of white wine and pouring a glass while I was making dinner glass with dinner, maybe one after dinner, you know, and it, it would be over the course of numerous hours, so I wasn't intoxicated, but it was definitely becoming a daily thing. I was definitely really enjoying it.

Carrie Schell: It would be my reward [00:19:00] at the end of the day. I'm a bit of a type A personality also, and so it'd be like, okay, if I've done this, this, this, and this, my reward at the end of the day is a nice glass of wine or two or three. So then just coming into this whole awareness of gray drinking, and here I was someone, an addiction specialist, had written my first book.

Carrie Schell: book on addiction and alcoholism. And here I found I was in the position. I wasn't an alcoholic, but my relationship had become unhealthy. I was in this gray area and that's where we get the term gray drinking. So usually it looks different for everyone, but I think when that quiet inner voice starts telling you.

Carrie Schell: Maybe you should cut back or maybe you shouldn't have a drink tonight or you're getting these little cues of cutting back or stopping or you've tried or you say to yourself, when I go out tonight, I'm only going to have This much to drink, or those are little signals that you really [00:20:00] probably should take a break and really assess your relationship with alcohol, see what it's giving you, see what harm it's causing and, and once you've taken a break and you've broken the pattern, then you can really make an informed decision of what do I want my relationship with alcohol to be like?

Carrie Schell: Do I want it to be? Am I okay with how it was? Do I need to change? Do I need it at all anymore? So, that's the whole notion behind the Grey Drinking Reset. And, in the book, it's a 30 day reset, and it's pretty comprehensive, but I also have a 10 day reset that's available on the website for free for people and you just click on it.

Carrie Schell: And it's just a 10 days, just like putting the toe in the water. If you've been having these thoughts and you're thinking, man, maybe today's the day I missed, you know, dry January. Now there's February, March, April, where Almost through May but it doesn't matter the time of the year if you're having were [00:21:00] gifted with this Intuition with our inner God with the Holy Spirit.

Carrie Schell: That's the job They're here to to give us messages and to point us in the right direction so I just really recommend that people tune in to that guide and Maybe try something different if what they're doing presently may not be working the best for them 

De'Vannon Seráphino: See, all of that you're talking about right now sounds like mindful, intentional living and that is what it all boils down to, to me.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Having a relationship with alcohol, drugs, sex, travel, making money, work, anything that we do, it is a relationship because it's a give and take. There is nothing, right, there is nothing done in a vacuum. So everything we do imprints on our subconscious, it leaves. A spirit print upon us because we are not just a sack of flesh and bones, [00:22:00] whether some people want to believe that or not, you're actually a spiritual being, whether you believe in anything or not, you still got a soul in there.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so, because emotions cannot live. I know there's chemical processes that make us feel different ways, but. You know, when you, when somebody walked into the room and you say, you know, I feel eyes on me and things like that. It's not just pressure changes in the room. There is a connection between people because of our spiritual nature.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And this is why we must pay attention to why we do what we do. And what I'm also hearing Carrie say y'all is. Is that you can reevaluate this relationship throughout your life. It's not a one time, one and done, you know, it might be cool today, not great tomorrow. If something traumatic happens, you may need to pull back all together and give yourself a pause.

De'Vannon Seráphino: But this is all about recognizing when you're starting to slip. So great drinking is not full on alcoholism is what I'm hearing you say. It's like. Some shit's fucked [00:23:00] up, but it's not completely fucked up, but I don't want to let it become fucked up. Kind of like that and yeah 

Carrie Schell: Yeah, you're I think what you're touching on the whole mindful Component is I think in our world today.

Carrie Schell: We just are living such fast Lives, you know, and we're on our, if we're bored or have a moment of downtime, instead of just sitting with ourselves and maybe thinking or reading a book, how many of us pick up a phone and you're on social media and flipping through. And so what it also begs that you take time, that you are, you give yourself the gift of time to slow it down and to actually create space in your mind, in your heart and body.

Carrie Schell: To make decisions that are the right ones for you as opposed to being in these habitual patterns. Well, I, I go to work. I, [00:24:00] I have some wine while I'm making dinner. I do this and I relax and that's, that's it. It's creating the time to really assess what do I value? What are the most important things to me are how I'm behaving a true reflection on what I prioritize.

Carrie Schell: So. Let me, a great example or great little exercise to do is I like to tell people Think of the five most important things to you and write those down. So, okay my, my partner, my kids If you have them, I'm just throwing, you know my family being physically healthy and friendships or whatever your five are.

Carrie Schell: Okay. So now write down what are, how are you spending your day? Prioritize, like show me in time allotments, how you're spending. Well, most of my time's at work. I then I'm like hours on social media. I'll watch TV, pick up something at a drive [00:25:00] thru, and then I go to bed. So you haven't spent time with your, you know, your partner, your children.

Carrie Schell: You haven't taken care of your body. You know, you're not, what you're behaving like isn't a true reflection on what you value. So sometimes if we just put the brakes on and we really do a deep dive into that, we can start to figure out, well, how can I change how I am to really what I want to be or what I know I am spiritually, as you're saying, as a spiritual being, this is what I value and cherish.

Carrie Schell: So how do I get from here? To hear and we need to do a reset to really give ourselves the gift of time and mindfulness to get there.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Mmm. That sounds so delicious. So delicious. So nutritious. You know, it was Blaze Pascal. Who said that all of all of man's problems extend from, and I'm paraphrasing here, man's inability to sit [00:26:00] still quietly in a room alone 

Carrie Schell: and I believe that, you know, if you go one thing I love to do when I'm in a city.

Carrie Schell: And say I get on public transit is I like to get on a streetcar or subway or a bus and I love to engage in eye contact and smile to as many people as you can. And it's amazing because a it's hard to do that because most people are like this and not looking at you, but then you do and you smile a genuine smile.

Carrie Schell: And at first, it kind of weirded out. But then they'll smile back at you and I love just to see how many people I can make eye contact with Because you never know that smile that eye contact might be The best thing that happened to that person all day. They may be having the shittiest day and feeling life is horrible And there's not much value and then this random person just smiled at them and, and made them realize they are a value [00:27:00] that they, that people do see them, that they are present and they have meaning and contributed.

Carrie Schell: It's just, we don't appreciate the little gifts. That we can give freely by a smile, by eye contact, by engaging with people on that real connection level. So I love to just encourage you to try that. It's weird at first and you'll feel embarrassed, but even walking down the street or. Just smile to people, you know, get in an elevator, say good morning.

Carrie Schell: It's, it's a lovely little thing. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: I love that because what you're doing is, is shedding light. And that's working to pull people out of darkness. It's like you're saying how people are addicted to their cell phones and they are. Um, you know, that's a, it's a, that's, that's a, that is darkness. You know, the way people hover over their cell phones.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And darkness tricks you because it makes you have a false sense of validation and security and joy. So people take [00:28:00] Joy in grabbing that phone and going through the reels or the messages or trying to find a hookup or whatever the case may be. And as that phone is in your hand, you're developing a neural pathway between your brain and your hand so that every time that phone touches your hand, you associate joy with it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: That's not really real. And it has nothing, nothing to do with the people setting and standing right in front of you. And so, so yeah, fight the good fight, you know, keep shedding your light, you know, people do it, you know, talk to people, pick up the phone and actually call a bitch from time to time. Like they used to back in the day and hear people's voices right with a pencil from time to time.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah. 

Carrie Schell: You know, and I love what you said about lightness and darkness because I was listening to something the other day and you know, the moon itself. [00:29:00] Isn't luminescent. It only shines when the sun shines on it. So in its own state, it's, it's in darkness. So just think I love that we have the ability to be the sunshine for someone else.

Carrie Schell: And to someone who's feeling dark and not in the light and maybe not full of joy, not connecting. And, and we can just by our light within us, like the, the whole thing in yoga, namaste, may the light me light and honor the light in you. And we can be that for other people. And it doesn't always have to be grand gestures.

Carrie Schell: People might think, well, what can I do? You know, I'm struggling to get by on this. I'm that. But you are you, you're a wonderful divine spirit and you can smile at someone, you can say hello, you can hold a door open, you can do have eye contact, you can just validate another being's existence in any small gesture.

Carrie Schell: It doesn't have to be some big thing. [00:30:00] So I love that whole notion that we have within us the light that shines light onto other people. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Mm hmm. Amen. Amen. So I'm going to read, I'm going to read through the five five of the tips that you list in your book about what great drinking is, if you don't mind.

De'Vannon Seráphino: No, go, please. So number one is you silently worry, regret, and fret about your drinking. Number two is you drink between two extremes, all or nothing. Three, you have stopped drinking, and you have stopped drinking for periods of time, even weeks or months, but it's hard to stay stopped. Your drinking doesn't look problematic to those around you.

De'Vannon Seráphino: You're, you ricochet between ignoring that still small voice inside of you telling you to stop drinking and deciding that you're overthinking and you need to just live a little. We know, we know when we're starting to slip. We know, but [00:31:00] when we keep moving so damn fast like what we've been talking about it's hard to let your conscious mind catch up with what you're doing.

De'Vannon Seráphino: But in the back of your mind, that's still a small voice. You already know when you starting to fuck up. That is about slowing down and hearing the truth within you. Yeah, 

Carrie Schell: and I think it's very hard to gauge where you're at when, you know, my situation, we grew up in a very social family, so at family holidays and dinner parties, having wine and drinks is just part of it.

Carrie Schell: It wasn't, you know, and when you go out and you socialize with your friends and alcohol is always there, or You might even go out for like a nice hike, but then you go for lunch and have drinks or, you know what I mean? Whatever the case may be, if much of what you do involves alcohol, it's hard to get a good gauge on where you're at.

Carrie Schell: And so if you go to people in your family or social network [00:32:00] and you say, am I drinking too much? Like I'm, I'm starting to wonder. A reaction you, you may get is like, of course you don't, you don't drink any more than I do because, you know, they're not maybe in a place of awareness where they're gauging or starting to feel that it's an issue, or they don't want to acknowledge because in acknowledging, once you acknowledge something.

Carrie Schell: You kind of have to deal with it. You have to start, you might push it aside for a bit, but once you've become into the knowing, it's hard to, to ignore it for too long. So it may be hard for someone to, to find someone else to encourage them or say, yeah, you know what? I, I I'm thinking that too, or yeah, actually I've noticed that you're always, you know, drinking.

Carrie Schell: I can't remember last time I saw you without a drink, you know, not that you're the drunk or those things. And that's why it's hard to really. Get a gauge on where you're at with your drinking, but you know you're in this [00:33:00] murky place 

De'Vannon Seráphino: And child, down here, I live in Louisiana, honey, there's a whole lot of drinking going on.

De'Vannon Seráphino: From New Orleans to Lafayette to Baton Rouge to Bourbon Street and back. We drink down here. They start you off nice and young, you know, around here. And so it's damn difficult, like alcohol, a straight up alcoholic can be. Can easily interweave, you know, in certain parts of the world, like what you're saying in your community is not going to be your voice.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So in terms of trying to tell you when to stop, like a person has to decide that for themselves, or if they're in this gray area or whatever, because down here, everything is done over alcohol from eating eating crawfish. Baby showers, whatever the hell it is, going to a museum, there is libations that flow.

De'Vannon Seráphino: The South is, in my opinion, a terrible place to live. I don't particularly care for the United States, apart from California. And a couple, and like [00:34:00] some place in New York, a place on the East Coast. The South is, is, is, is, is like super racist and super like Republican, but honey, one thing that brings everybody together down here is them libations.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And so, and so, and it's just so tricky because alcohol is one of those things that once was illegal and now it's legal. And so that I think in some people's minds, since it's not like an illegal substance, it's hard for some people to believe that it's problematic. 

Carrie Schell: Yeah. And people come into, you know, the awareness.

Carrie Schell: That may be for different reasons, you know, maybe You are trying to lose weight. Maybe you got a health scare. Maybe you're like, oh man, I'm spending way too much money on this. Maybe, whatever it is, the reason, maybe you've, you know, seen something and you're realizing that alcohol actually really is poison.

Carrie Schell: It's good tasting poison, but, [00:35:00] you know, there are real no therapeutic benefits. In fact, it's very detrimental to our brain chemistry. So whatever reason you come into, as you said, it's so hard. And I don't think the South is alone. I mean, our whole culture, look at what media, what ads are and movies and, and television shows, you know, all the cool, beautiful people.

Carrie Schell: Always have drinks and one thing I notice is that strong women now in media and entertainment are portrayed as always drinking like bourbon and scotch. Like they're not, no longer just having a cocktail, like they're drinking it straight up and they're drinking, you know. Three ounces and so it's just all around us there the messages being that if you want to be fun If you want if you're sexy if you're smart if you're ballsy like you're gonna have a drink in your hand So it is hard.

Carrie Schell: It's tricky to like so, how do I be the outlier? How do [00:36:00] I still be? The fun person. I mean, I love, it's like alcohol is the only drug where people ask you why you're not doing it, you know, it's like, you have to explain why. You know, it's not like, Hey, listen, I stopped crack. Well, why? You know, it's like, well, I'm not drinking tonight.

Carrie Schell: Well, why don't be stupid? Have a drink. It's not going to hurt. And people encourage you. So it's, it is an uphill battle. If you find that you're questioning that relationship and that's why You need to go inward and it has to be a very personal journey where you feel really strongly that you are going to do something for you that, you know, will benefit you on some level, 

De'Vannon Seráphino: right?

De'Vannon Seráphino: I concur 100%. So, and I want to say to people out there who may subconsciously probably find themselves being that person going, Oh, girl, just have one drink. You know, when your friend [00:37:00] tells you no, your significant other, child, parent, whatever, you know, as we say in the, in the kink community, you know, no is a sentence, period.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So, if somebody tells you no, we are not permitted or allowed in the kink community to press them not even a second further for whatever the idea was, whatever, no, period, done. And so I need people to incorporate that into your mind. You know, when we're talking about alcohol here, we're not talking about trying to, you know, someone's trying to go kill themselves or jump off of a ledge and they're like, no, don't bother me.

De'Vannon Seráphino: That's not what we're saying. We're saying, you know, in this sort of situation here, somebody's saying they don't want an intoxicant in their system. They don't have to explain themselves. They're not uncool. They're not lame. This is their body. It is their choice. And that's all there is to it. So we need to stop because it's a low key bullying and low key manipulating coercion of people.[00:38:00]

De'Vannon Seráphino: And no, period, done, move on and let them be and don't think any less of them because they're not drinking and doing what everyone else is doing. It's, I just look at it. Like meanness and bullying, so 

Carrie Schell: well, and for me, it really, another thing was that just in my spiritual life, just getting to the point where I'd rather lean on my faith to, you know, to celebrate, to go when I'm sad, conflicted questioning, I'd rather go there first than to a glass of wine.

Carrie Schell: And I really thought if that's one of the most, if that's the most important thing, in my faith life. Of course, my family, my children, but then I need to live that out. I can't. I need to be true to that and it takes work and effort. Anything that's worthwhile does. And so that was really the last catalyst for me to really want to [00:39:00] change my behavior and change and live.

Carrie Schell: True to who I believe I am. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Amen to that, too. So, you know, on Carrie's website, the website is CarrieShell. com, all that will go in the showy notes there's ways you can go on there and reach out to her to book, like, a talk session. So, I'm curious. So so on her website, she has the free 10 day reset.

De'Vannon Seráphino: You can get the 30 day journey to wellness on there too. It's also on Amazon. The links to all of this will be in the show. He knows for the talk sessions. How long are the sessions? Is there a price range? You can give us. Yeah. 

Carrie Schell: So if there's also a free great great drinking reset quiz that if you're questioning where you're at on the spectrum, there's a quiz link and you can do that.

Carrie Schell: So if you just want to chat and see where things are at, just message me and it's no charge and we'll have a conversation. If we're going to get into [00:40:00] something more lengthy, it's around 350 for a whole session of one hour conversations over. A period of time. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Okay. And it sounds like the period of time will vary depending on the goals and everything.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah. 

Carrie Schell: Like it's a minimum one one month of four calls. That's the minimum. So it's actually breaking it down. It's, it's pretty reasonable. And certainly if you're interested, give me a call and we can, we can have a conversation. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah, it is. I, I, I talk and consult with some people who are like. You know, over, you know, 300 350 bucks for one hour.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah. So 

Carrie Schell: yeah, I tried to make it so people would feel it was accessible and something that they could do a value that might not impinge on their finances. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: I love it. I love it. I love it. And so the yoga and meditation [00:41:00] book, tell us how does yoga tie in to healing, you know, dealing with, you know, alcoholism or potential alcoholism or or recovering any way that you care to speak.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Yeah. 

Carrie Schell: So the one thing that, you know, on the very basic level when working in a clinical setting, and obviously this works, you know, for the individual at home. Was yoga is something that's very accessible. Anyone could do it. So I'd have, you know, the 19 year old opiate addict and the 65 year old wealthy corporate alcoholic all together doing yoga.

Carrie Schell: A lot of people have never done it before. You get the odd person who has. So it was a great leveler when you're in that group setting, everyone is in the same space, but it's very accessible because [00:42:00] yoga meets you where you're at. And what it does is it starts to reconnect you with your physical self.

Carrie Schell: And if you've known someone in the depths of alcoholism and addiction, taking care of their physical self is now gone. Like, that's no longer part of the equation or it's, it's really been subdued to such a minimal state. Usually, you know, it's not like people are exercising and watching what they're eating while they're in the throes of alcohol, like deep alcoholism and addiction.

Carrie Schell: So what it starts to do is it starts to reconnect you with your physical being. And when you start to reconnect with your physical being. ignites a spark with that light within you. There's a connection as we're saying, those physical synapses to the brain and to the spirit and the heart and everything, they all [00:43:00] start to refire.

Carrie Schell: And so yoga, it really, as people move along in the journey, it really teaches it. It's not about that. If you practice yoga, you're not going to have strife or trials or hardship. But what it will do is it will help you navigate those waters and keep a foundation of peace throughout and the meditations. I work, I have on my YouTube channel, there are, there's a series of seven guided meditations that please feel free to listen to.

Carrie Schell: So from a guided meditation point of view, if I was working with someone individually or in a group setting, it allows you to really get to know the individuals and craft a meditation that will help them go deeper to where they are at on that recovery journey. And meditation allows you to go there emotionally.

Carrie Schell: In a protected safe [00:44:00] state so you can visit those hard, dark places, you can visit them and people will always have breakthrough where you're just emotionally overwhelmed in tears through a meditation, and it allows you to go there to those places. It allows you then to bring you to a place where you're self soothing, where you're come in, you're allowed to, you're doing it all on your own.

Carrie Schell: You're, you're comforting yourself, you're, you're caring and loving for yourself and you get to the other side. So it teaches you so many things. It teaches you that you can face those, those demons, those traumas. Those abuses, those you can deal with some mental health issues in terms of anxiety and stress and learn how to cope with them and how to face them and self soothe and come out of it so that you have a tool that you can always rely on and [00:45:00] physical, the physical activity part tied in with the physical asana practice of yoga is definitely, you know, you're releasing all those endorphins, right?

Carrie Schell: You're, you're. You're eliminating the negative hormones that cause stress, anxiety, cortisol, and what have you, and you're increasing the dopamine, the endorphins, and that sort of thing. So it's all a positive situation, that's been used around for hundreds of years, for centuries, and I think we've become very Affixed to quick pill medication solutions, and we need to really go to that whole body, that mind, body, spirit healing again.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Your voice carries with it, a certain depth and quality of just like, kind of like a bespoke healing energy and vibration to it. [00:46:00] It's very, very deep. It's very, very rich. And so I believe that, I believe that you can provide like good quality counseling to people because your, your voice, it sounds so experienced and it sounds so full of, full of just the essence of the spirit, which is in the spirit of life.

De'Vannon Seráphino: You know, I hear that in your voice. Thank you. Oh, of course. Of course. Of course. Yin yoga. There's many different yoga modalities out there. Yin yoga is my favorite one. For those of you who don't know, you're nodding your head yes. I just, 

Carrie Schell: it's so funny because last night after dinner, I went outside. I was looking at the stars and I wanted to do some yoga.

Carrie Schell: I'm like, I need some yin yoga tonight. I just did like a long in session. So yes, go ahead with the end. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Absolutely. So I [00:47:00] discovered this on YouTube through that one hot guy with the tattoos and can't remember his name. And then Travis Elliott was also on there as well. Good old Travis. Good old Travis. And he runs Interdimensions.

De'Vannon Seráphino: He has an app and everything, and I have that app on my phone, and it's fucking phenomenal. So y'all, yin yoga is unlike any other yoga that I've ever done. They all are good for your mind, body, and spirit. In yin yoga, you're only going to do a hand, three to five, maybe seven poses for the whole time, the whole hour, and you hold each of those poses for like three to five minutes or more.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Each in yin yoga is not about constant moving. It is about sitting still. And very often people sit still in yin yoga and they have emotional breakthroughs and things like that. And they'll start crying. Why? Because you're slowing down and allowing your conscious mind to catch up with your fast ass. And now you can't run anywhere and it's actually quite peaceful when it's all done, like my mind [00:48:00] could be reeling and spinning and I'll just do this, do these poses and sit still.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And it's like I take that stillness out of the, out of the practice, and now I'm in control of my thoughts. It's quite interesting the way that works. 

Carrie Schell: It's amazing. And that's, you know, the same principle with that Asana or the moving yoga. You're doing the yoga, the physical practice to get you to the meditation part, right?

Carrie Schell: It's to help you then sit still you've done, you know, the work and now you can sit still in prayerful meditation and be still and, and connect. So, yeah, I'm so excited to hear you love Yin Yoga. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: As Travis Elliott says, yin it to win it. 

Carrie Schell: Yeah. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: So, um, so we've covered the meat of what I wanted to talk about, [00:49:00]today.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Um, hmm. Unless we've covered some heavy stuff. I was so sorry to hear about, you know, that you lost family members and things like that, you know, and things. But I am thankful that it guided you to your past. The beautiful things come out of the ugliest of situations as long as we keep pressing forward.

De'Vannon Seráphino: And you have done that to overcome. Is there anything else that you would like to say about your books, your offerings, your website? It's a beautiful website. It's very poshly done. Not surprising for a very classy lady setting, you know, here in front of me. 

Carrie Schell: Yeah, I think, you know, you're touching on it that for me now, it's funny.

Carrie Schell: The book came out and my website actually went down the day my book got published the second book. And it was down for two weeks and I was shitting, I'm like, Oh, this is great. They're going to book [00:50:00] sales and people being able to connect with me. And it went back up and things are fine. And I've really been struggling and I had been doing lots of podcasts and actually I stopped doing podcasts.

Carrie Schell: I think the beginning of February, and this is the first one I've done again, because I was really struggling with. It's wanting to make sure that the work I do, I'm just at a place in my life that everything I want to do is like God driven, like is my faith focus, that it's, it's true to that. And I've been really.

Carrie Schell: Gosh, I'm going to cry, wanting to take time back and of course it's the wrong time. You just have a book out. You should be promoting and I just couldn't. I just, I haven't been promoting very much because I felt I need to be really certain and I need to take time to pray [00:51:00] and really make sure what I'm going to do is the work.

Carrie Schell: I don't want to waste any more time doing work that's not going to help people connect with. So it was so funny. I can't, I can't believe I'm crying. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: So 

Carrie Schell: when I saw the calendar, this is my only podcast and I just thought, holy shit, what a great thing that this is. So I just. I want to encourage people, I think, why we're all struggling and looking for externals and why alcohol helps fill us and our Instagram full of stupid curated pictures and poses that aren't even real.

Carrie Schell: I just want to do an Instagram site that's a, you know, me looking like people as they are, you know, not. That perfect Photoshop and so I'm, I feel blessed and I'm encouraging people to take time, slow [00:52:00] down and yes, we need a reset from drinking and those things, but also think of what you truly value. What do you really believe in?

Carrie Schell: What is your spiritual foundation? You know, if you're practicing yoga and you have a little altar set up, do you really? Really think of each item you have there. What does Ganesh mean to you? What does a Buddha mean to you? What and only give praise. and glory to things that you truly believe in, not cause they look frigging cool and don't wear the mala unless you want to use those beads to pray or, you know, or appreciate what it's for.

Carrie Schell: It's more about look and get to the substance because if we don't, we're always going to be searching. There's always going to be that hole and we need to come together and just let, have a spirit led life. And sorry, I'm on a rant there, but yeah. So thank you. I appreciate. That you, I was [00:53:00] today thinking, okay, thank you.

Carrie Schell: This is a sign that like, get back at it. You know, what you're doing is a value and, and you're on the right path. So thank you. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: No, thank you. I'm really humbled and totally honored that after your, your siesta that you, that this would be like, you know, your breakout podcast to come back on it, that, that means everything.

De'Vannon Seráphino: I mean, we always have. We always have our choice of where we're going to be, who we're going to be with and what we're going to do. And you could have been anywhere doing anything and you're here and you know, I appreciate the fuck out of you for that. And I 

Carrie Schell: appreciate you. Yeah. So thank 

De'Vannon Seráphino: you. Oh, absolutely.

De'Vannon Seráphino: So it's everyone's favorite time of the show where I asked my three dad jokes. Because I like to be goofy and silly and God knows, as I get deeper into ministry and deeper into this life, things look and feel and seem more intense, so I've got to find a way to [00:54:00] balance this shit out. And for me, dad jokes are it.

De'Vannon Seráphino: This is a litmus test, as I always say, to be sure that you're not taking life too seriously. You can't laugh at a good dad joke. You need to do some re evaluating. Exactly. 

Carrie Schell: Lamb on me. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Today's dad jokes are courtesy of southernliving. com. Dad joke number one. Why is it bad to iron your four leaf clover? Why is it 

Carrie Schell: bad?

De'Vannon Seráphino: Because you shouldn't press your luck. All right, dad joke number dos. Why can't your hand be 12 inches long? Why can't it? Because then it would be a foot.

Carrie Schell: Oh, I should have seen that one coming. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Every time I ask these to anybody, I always get that [00:55:00] response. I should have seen that one coming. Okay, dad joke numero tres. What does a pampered cow give? What does it give? Spoiled milk.

Carrie Schell: Thank you. You definitely got me laughing. All right. 

De'Vannon Seráphino: Y'all her name is Carrie shell. Her website is a carrie shell. com. You will find her on Facebook, YouTube. LinkedIn, Instagram, all of this will go in the showy notes as it always does. My website is sexdrugsandjesus. com. Don't forget to go on there, check out my blogs, my videos, my docu series my lessons, the free, I have free courses on there that you can go and learn from.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Not just myself, but other people I've had on the show have written some courses about spiritual life. [00:56:00] And then don't forget that beautiful big donate button up at the top right hand corner. And I love you all for all that you give and all the ways you support the show. Thank you so much, Carrie, for coming on here and shining your light.

De'Vannon Seráphino: Thank 

Carrie Schell: you. 

De'Vannon: thank you all so much for joining us today and for taking some time to invest into yourself and into the lives of your loved ones. Please visit us at sex drugs in jesus dot com and check out our resource page, our spiritual service offerings, my blog, my books, and other writings that has partnered with me to create. Find us on any social media platform. Stay strong, my people, And just remember that everything is gonna be alright. [00:57:00]