From Darkness to Light, Addiction to Recovery with Deborah Yager

I started using alcohol at age 15 and it felt like the perfect solution to my childhood trauma and dysfunctional home life. My values changed almost immediately, and I went from having LDS background to the other end of the spectrum. I got a DUI when I was 16 and many underage alcohol misdemeanors. I was kicked out of high school and was ashamed that I had a GED and not a high school diploma. I was pregnant at age 18 and was able to stop drinking but started again shortly after my daughter was born. I didn’t have any more legal consequences after that first DUI, mostly because of luck. My biggest consequence from drinking was that it stunted my growth as a human being.

My recovery from alcohol has really been about recovering from the reasons why I drank, which I can address now that I am not drinking. My threshold for being unhappy was fairly low, in comparison to others’ stories. This is not to undermine or deny what I went through. I had withdrawal symptoms from alcohol, shitty relationships, and no sense of self. When people in AA say, “If I drink, I will die,” I don’t entirely relate. If I drink, I may die eventually and my disease will continue to progress, but more likely, I will be miserable in my existence. I won’t achieve my purpose, be connected to a higher power, or have fulfilling relationships. I have learned that my addiction to alcohol is a symptom of trauma, and drinking was merely a coping skill. Alcohol worked very well to numb my pain and it helped me disassociate. I didn’t even know I was disassociating until I started my recovery journey. It becomes more and more apparent that I didn’t know how to cope with my feelings or know how to be comfortable in my skin.

My personal work and successes have been on self-forgiveness and love, forgiving others, learning healthy boundaries, and being the best mother possible. I am in recovery from alcohol and co-dependency. I am learning how to feel my feelings, cope with life, and stand up for myself and my worth. I live in Idaho, and I am a single mom to 3 amazing, beautiful daughters. I am so proud of myself for breaking the intergenerational patterns in my family.

My curiosity about sobriety started about 3 years ago. I started listening to podcasts in the beginning of my recovery and found The SHAIR Podcast with Omar Pinto. I loved his voice and his energy. I have found his interviews to have a profound impact on my ability to see my addiction as an opportunity and not a dirty secret. I eventually became a member of his FB group and then joined the SRC where I have connected with so many amazing people in recovery. I feel the SRC group has kept me sober.

I can access meetings via Zoom which has been crucial to me since I am at home with my kids and haven’t found an AA group in my community where I feel connected. The connection with others in the group has saved me from loneliness and isolation. I have found a sponsor in one of these groups who was willing to complete the 12 steps with me which has been transformational! I am almost 5 months in my recovery from alcohol and 95% of the time, I don’t even think about drinking. I am so grateful for the SRC, the SHAIR podcast, my sponsor, the step work, and online recovery.

What’s preventing you from reaching your full potential and stepping into who you were meant to become?

Often, we try to figure out what’s holding us back before we dare to push the boundaries of our comfort zone. It’s seems like the logical way, but this not only makes growth take longer, it can also be used as a tool for procrastination. It can take years to unpack all the baggage and analyze where our fears and blocks hide. But if you jump before you’re ready, your places of resistance will jump out, allowing you to identify them and challenge them at the same time.

“Leap and the net will appear.” — John Burroughs

Today’s guest is Deborah Yager. She went from being a stripper and meth addict to successful NLP practitioner and business coach. Today she talks about her journey from darkness to light, from addiction to recovery and beyond!

Deborah Yager

Deborah Yager is an inspirational success story, changing her life from everything she didn’t want. Unhappy relationships, food & drug addiction, feeling out of control with no way out. She was continually plagued by an unhealthy mindset, working in an industry that was keeping her trapped in a prison of her own making, sabotaging her growth to breaking through to a life she had only imagined others could have.

Once Deb committed fully to herself, she was able to accomplish quick change using these strategies and profound methods of transformation. If any of these challenges resonate with you or someone you know, we are excited for you to join us in one of our live training so you will discover your own success story.

Deborah started escorting and stripping at the age of seventeen and started using drugs and alcohol when she was in her early teens. She was on a mission to kill herself, though she never had the guts to go all the way. Deborah was punishing herself for not being worthy. She was labelled with a learning disability and thought she wasn’t going to amount to anything. She suffered from phobias and anxiety. Alcohol and drugs made her feel powerful.

Working as a stripper and escort, Deborah connected beauty with value, and that was the only thing that gave her validation. This transformed her into a perfectionist who had constant body issues.

She knew there was something more, but every time she tried to get clean and start a normal life, the inner voices in the back of her mind would tell her that she would relapse and fail. This became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Deborah knew that if she didn’t changer her lifestyle, she would end up in jail or dead. She had many rock bottoms and prayed constantly for help to come her way. Then her mentor appeared and changed the trajectory of her life forever.

Deb is now a Master Coach and Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Certified Trainer of Timeline Therapy®, Trainer of Hypnosis, Thought Leader, Author, and Speaker.

Deb works with individuals and groups across multiple geographies and industry verticals in the field of NLP and it’s supporting modalities. As a Professional Coach and Trainer of master-level NLP students, Deb uses her knowledge and personal experience to move her clients to action – to create lasting change in their lives by acknowledging and removing self-limiting beliefs, replacing “problems” with desired results, and understanding, owning and executing the power to drive results in sales and their personal lives through authenticity and empowerment. She is most passionate about working with women to help them identify false limitations and move towards full potential in their desired life and/or business.