27. Christian Healing and Sobriety with The Catholic Sobriety Coach, Christie Walker

Keywords
Catholic sobriety, alcohol addiction, faith, recovery, coaching, spirituality, mental health, personal growth, support, community, sobriety, addiction, faith, recovery, alcohol, parenting, support systems, marketing, youth awareness, prayer

Summary: Part 1 of Sheila's conversation with Christie Walker, The Catholic Sobriety Coach

In this conversation, Sheila Nonato speaks with Christie Walker, who is known as The Catholic Sobriety Coach. They explore the intersection of faith and recovery from alcohol addiction. Christie shares her personal journey from her struggles during childhood, her teenage years and early adulthood, which led to the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism. Christie discusses the pivotal moments in her life that led her to recognize the need for change and how her faith played a crucial role in her recovery. As a Catholic sobriety coach, Christie emphasizes the importance of our identity in Christ and the power of community support in overcoming addiction.

Join us for next week's episode, Part 2 of the conversation where Christie will give us a glimpse into marketing strategies for glamorizing alcohol, and offers some tips on how to talk to our kids about sobriety. Christie will also discuss the development of her Sacred Sobriety Lab, a program she designed to help individuals navigate their relationship with alcohol through a faith-based approach.

Takeaways

• Alcohol was initially a way to fit in and cope.
• Childhood experiences significantly impact adult behavior.
• A spiritual awakening can lead to recovery.
• Identity in Christ is crucial for healing.
• Community support is vital in overcoming addiction.
• Faith provides tools for managing addiction.
• God's grace is essential for sustained change. Sobriety allows for deeper spiritual connection.

Chapters

00:00
Introduction and Setting the Stage

02:01
The Journey of Faith and Alcoholism

06:00
The Impact of Childhood Experiences

12:12
Turning Point: A Spiritual Awakening

18:14
Becoming a Catholic Sobriety Coach

23:49
The Role of Faith in Recovery

To find out more about Christie Walker's work, please visit:
https://catholicrecoverycoach.com/

To join Christie's Sacred Sobriety Lab which kicks off on January 1, 2025, you can visit: https://courses.drinklessornotatall.com/courses/SacredSobrietyLab

Chapters

• 0:00 Battle With Alcohol and the role of faith in the journey towards sobriety
• 2:01 Introduction and Setting the Stage
• 6:00 The Journey of Faith in the midst of alcohol addiction
• 6:56 Discovering Sobriety and Faith
• 12:12 The Impact of Chidlhood Experiences
• 18:14 Christie Becoming a Catholic Sobriety Coach
• 23:49 The Role of Faith in Recovery
• 24:07 Spiritual Sobriety and Catholic Faith

Transcript

Christie Walker: 0:00

I just kept seeing what was going to happen. The amount that I was drinking was increasing, the amount and frequency. My friends were starting to say Christi3, you have a problem with alcohol. And when your drinking buddies tell you that you have a problem with alcohol, you probably have a problem with alcohol because they want to keep you drinking and partying and doing the same things that they're doing, especially if you're drinking more than them and making a fool of yourself, because that makes them not feel so bad about what they're doing.

Christie Walker: 0:33

But I had this encounter with I was passed out again. I had drank so much and I passed out. I was by myself in my apartment and I remember waking up, I just like jolted out of bed and I felt like there were two hands like gripping my throat I mean, I can literally still feel it now like gripping my throat and choking me. And I looked up and I could see like this dark figure over me, or just sense this dark figure over me and it was like strangling me and I was so scared I thought I was going to die. And then all of a sudden, like this lighter figure came over the darker figure and I just sensed it say not yet. And then the hands were released and they were both gone and I just remember taking this gasping breath and looking around like what the heck just happened. That was the moment that I'm like, "kay, this is a problem, I need to do something. But it was also the moment that I realized like God is for me.

Sheila Nonato: 1:54

We all have our struggles with temperance and self-control, whether we are bothered by our nonstop scrolling on our phones, resorting to shopping therapy, or something even more serious like an addiction to alcohol or other interior struggles. Jesus' example shows us that the battles of the flesh can also be a battle of the soul. In Ephesians, Chapter 6, Verses 10 to 13, St. Paul says Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil, for we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rules of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and, having done all to stand.

Sheila Nonato: 2:55

Let's hear Christie Walker, "The Catholic Sobriety Coach, talk about how she struggled with alcohol addiction and how she gained freedom and faith in her journey of sobriety. Hello and welcome to the Veil and Armor podcast. This is your host, sheila Nonato. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a freelance Catholic journalist Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of Our Lady. I strive to tell stories that inspire, illuminate and enrich the lives of Catholic women, to help them in living out our vocation of raising the next generation of leaders and saints.

Co-Host: 3:40

Please join us every week on the Veil and Armour podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist's lens and mother's heart. Welcome to.

Sheila Nonato: 3:48

Christy Walker, the Catholic Sobriety Coach. Welcome, Christie. May we start off with the Hail Mary.

Christie Walker: 3:54

Sure

Sheila Nonato: 3:54

.

Christie Walker: 3:59

In the name of the Father, son, holy Spirit. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Sheila Nonato: 4:12

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Christie Walker: 4:19

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Sheila Nonato: 4:20

Amen. Thank you, Christie, and I'd just like to introduce you to our listeners. Christie is a life and sob like to introduce you to our listeners. Christie is a life and sobriety coach, specializing in supporting Catholics who desire to reduce their alcohol consumption or abstain completely. As a devoted Catholic mom, wife, life coach, speaker and podcast host in the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, she is passionate about guiding women and men toward a healthier relationship with alcohol so they can have clarity and peace. Her goal is to help women prayerfully change their mindset and break the shame, guilt and regret cycle that keeps so many of us stuck. Christie provides tools and resources that aid in navigating social situations and discovering healthier ways to relax, connect with other moms and set boundaries. Welcome, Christie.

Christie Walker: 5:11

Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much for having me, Sheila.

Sheila Nonato: 5:18

So we're going to have to go to a place of pain. I hope that's okay with you. Can you tell us? How did it start the addiction to alcohol?

Christie Walker: 5:31

Yeah, so my addiction started very innocently. It started as a way for me to fit into a crowd. It started as a way to have friends to be part of something, to be invited, to be liked, and so it began in high school. But, you know, I always had this pain point because my parents divorced when I was very young, and so I would turn to a lot of different things. I would I turned to God, you know, praying that he would get them back together. But I would also turn to other things like innocent things like penny wishing, you know, like throwing a penny in a well and wishing or wishing on a star. So I was always trying to do things and control things and make things happen for myself in any way that I could, and so I feel like alcohol was definitely one of those ways where, if I use this magic elixir, alcohol that I found in high school, it will get me everything that my teenage mind thought that I wanted so from that point um,

Sheila Nonato: 6:53

How did it progress in?

Sheila Nonato: 6:54

adulthood.

Christie Walker: 6:56

Well, after I turned 21, obviously I didn't get better because I didn't have to rely on other people to get me alcohol. I could buy it myself myself. I just kept drinking more and more. I never actually consumed alcohol, quote unquote, normally, from the very first time I consumed alcohol I was hooked and I would drink as much as I could, as fast as I could, until we ran out or I passed out, and I did that pretty much until I stopped drinking.

Christie Walker: 7:30

I made the decision that I had to stop drinking or I was going to die or kill myself in a car accident or someone else or end up in jail. Like, my prospects were not looking amazing. So I just knew. I mean, I just kept seeing what was going to happen. I the in the amount that I was drinking was increasing the amount and frequency. My friends were starting to say Christy, you have a problem with alcohol and you know when your drinking buddies tell you you have a problem with alcohol. And you know, when your drinking buddies tell you that you have a problem with alcohol, you probably have a problem with alcohol because they want to keep you drinking and partying and doing the same things that they're doing, especially if you're drinking more than them and making a fool of yourself, because that makes them not feel so bad about what they're doing.

Christie Walker: 8:23

But I had this encounter with I was passed out again. I had drank so much and I passed out. I was by myself in my apartment and I remember waking up, I just like jolted out of bed and I felt like there were two hands like gripping my throat I mean, I can literally still feel it now like gripping my throat and choking me. And I looked up and I could see like this dark figure over me, or just sense this dark figure over me and it was like strangling me and I was so scared I thought I was going to die. And then all of a sudden, like this lighter figure came over the darker figure and I just sensed it say not yet. And then the hands were released and they were both gone and I just remember taking this gasping breath and looking around like what the heck just happened.

Christie Walker: 9:29

That was the moment that I'm like, okay, this is a problem, I need to do something. But it was also the moment that I realized God is for me. I had felt so much like he didn't really listen to my prayers. Maybe he was too busy, maybe I was too insignificant, I don't know that my drinking didn't really affect him or he didn't really care what I was doing or how much I drank. But in that moment I knew like God is fighting for my eternal soul. So I wish I could say that in that moment I knew like God is fighting for my eternal soul. So I wish I could say that in that moment everything changed and in a way it did, but I still was drinking and I was still was not, I didn't go running back to church like I should have done, but you know, it definitely was this pivotal moment that helped facilitate my recovery.

Christie Walker: 10:28

And so I just kept drinking and partying, but it was different. I felt guilty about it. I felt like this isn't right and I can't keep doing this. And that's when those thoughts that I mentioned before of like if I keep doing this, it's going to be super bad. And so one night I just decided, like this is it, I cannot do this anymore.

Christie Walker: 10:53

And so I went out and I bought like whatever I wanted to drink, as much as I wanted to drink. I drank until I passed out and I woke up the next morning and I never drank again, with God's grace, and I told God like I prayed to God. I'm like, I just have to make this happen. And then I told other people, I told my mom about it and then she told her friend who was in AA and she helped me go to like get to my first meeting. And I participated in AA for a couple of years but really the thing that has kept me sober this long, the thing that has kept me on track with my recovery, is God and just knowing and realizing my identity in him. Like my identity isn't that I'm a daughter of divorced parents. My identity isn't that I am an alcoholic. My identity isn't that I'm all these things that I told myself I was. My identity is a beloved daughter of God.

Sheila Nonato: 12:00

That's powerful.

Sheila Nonato: 12:06

Yeah, I'm almost going to cry. That's beautiful. I'm just wondering so. When you were a little girl, when all of these emotions were going through you, where was God? Where was God for you at that point?

Christie Walker: 12:28

Um, where was God? Where was God for you at that point? That's a good question. I know God was with me all the time and I never, ever doubted that there was a God. I never doubted that. You know, I had open heart surgery and I was very young.

Christie Walker: 12:45

So I grew up being told that I'm a miracle and that God has big plans for my life. But I just felt like I had screwed it up so much that maybe he was mad at me. So I think that I kind of thought of him that way. Or you know, like my dad was, my dad loved me, but he wasn't around that much. He was not around and I mean I would see him, but just not very often. So I think that was my thought about God. Like I know he loves me, Like I knew my earthly father loved me, but he just wasn't interested enough in spending much time with me or being interested in the things that I was interested, or even coming to, like my dance recitals or my high school graduation, and so I think that that's what I thought about God. But looking back I can see how he was with me, protecting me. I mean, really, there were days I really should not be here. I should not be here, but by the grace of God, I am.

Sheila Nonato: 13:56

I don't even know what to say. I'm just absorbing your story and I'm just so amazed about how wonderful God is, even when he is silent or when he is hidden, and then when he reveals himself. It's like a plan that you never even imagined for yourself, Would you have?

Sheila Nonato: 14:23

ever thought that you would become a Catholic sobriety coach?

Christie Walker: 14:25

No, not at all. I mean, when I got, when I was first in recovery, I definitely had thoughts Well, I always wanted to be like a psychologist or go into psychology. I did take some classes to do that, but I just I had a job. I worked in the jewelry industry. I made good money, and so I just never continued with it because I didn't feel like I needed to. But there was always kind of this inkling of like, well, maybe you should get training to work in recovery or addiction houses, homes and things like that, and it just never was something that I just didn't feel called to really do that. So I worked.

Christie Walker: 15:10

I was blessed to be able to stay home with my children and I really wanted to contribute to the family income. I had to work part-time outside the home for a little bit when the recession hit, when my twins were very little and I hated being out of the home and missing things and not being there to help my husband and you know do the things that we would always do together, and so I was like I need to figure out a way that I can be home with my kids, and so I started. Well, I started blogging because that was big and I got paid to blog for jewelers. I blogged for different parenting websites and things. Since I had twins, people liked to hear my story and my tips and things like that and then that evolved into digital marketing. I had clients that would say, hey, will you manage this new thing called Facebook and will you do this type of these ads and all of that. So it just evolved as marketing and as social media evolved. But I just kept feeling this pull, like God pulling on my heart, like "I have something that I need you to do for me. I have something that um is, you're going to use all these tools, but I'm going to need you to use them to. You know, help my daughters, help my sons, and I didn't know what that would be. I had no idea. So it was extremely frustrating for about four years of feeling like, well, should I start this blog? Like for Catholic parents, should I do this? Should I do that? I just tried all these things like throwing spaghetti at a wall. Nothing was really panning out.

Christie Walker: 16:55

So finally I hired a Catholic business coach and she I with the intention of really honing in on my digital marketing business, building that up and just going full into that. And through her coaching and through that process, I was like I think God's calling me to life coaching. She's like great, who are you going to coach? And I'm like I don't know, I have no idea. She's like why don't you take that to coach? And I'm like I don't know, I have no idea. She's like why don't you take that to the Lord, why don't you pray about it? And I was like okay, so I prayed about it and I got all these ideas. And then one night God was just like I need you to coach Catholic women who are in recovery.

Christie Walker: 17:47

And it kind of it was simultaneous with me celebrating my 25th sobriety anniversary. My mom had given me a coin for that. So I remember kind of looking at that and I think that's what prompted that conversation with God, like that's not just for you anymore, like you need to share that. And it just you know how God just lays out all those holy breadcrumbs and as long as you're paying attention and picking them up, it'll lead you to where you want to go or where he wants you to go. And that's exactly what happened. It just, instead of feeling like I was fighting for everything and doing all this stuff, it just became so clear and so easy to be able to talk about what I wanted to do and who I wanted to help, and so it did start with people in recovery like me.

Christie Walker: 18:44

But then and I do have a lot of those clients, because once we quit drinking, everything doesn't get magically better Like once you quit drinking. There's still a lot of things that have to get cleared up Relationships, finances, how do I go to a party when I'm not drinking? And all of these things. But pretty soon God was just placing these beautiful women in front of me, who were great moms, great wives. They actually have really amazing lives.

Christie Walker: 19:16

But they're struggling with something that they feel like they can't tell anybody about, and it's their alcohol consumption. They feel so alone and they feel like they're broken and they almost feel like why am I not grateful? Why am I not just so happy all the time? But it's because they have that weight, they have that stronghold of alcohol that's just kind of gripping their hearts and causing a lot of chaos in their lives and it's creating shame, shame that really shouldn't even be there. They don't need that, but they have it, you know. And God just said like I want. I want them free. I want them free to be able to know that in those situations they don't need to turn to this, this bandaid fix on a gashing wound right, if you have a gashing wound and you stick a bandaid on it, that is not going to do anything Like you have to treat the root cause. You have to get to the root of the why and the issue so that it can be fixed, and we can't do that with alcohol.

Christie Walker: 20:28

Alcohol doesn't have the answers. Alcohol just compounds the problem. It compounds the misery. Yes, for moments it is an escape. It's that feeling of like I have control over something, like you have control over what goes in your mouth. It does provide that relaxing sensation. It affects our neurotransmitters in that way. But as soon as that buzz wears off, you're left with all that mess plus.

Christie Walker: 21:03

Now you feel terrible about yourself. Maybe your kids saw you acting, not like you want them to see you act. Maybe you missed something that you were supposed to go to. Maybe you're hiding bottles of wine because you don't want your husband or your friends to know how much you're actually drinking. And so there's like this, this sense of just like I am not a good person or I am a fraud, and that is so not the case.

Christie Walker: 21:35

So God just placed these women in front of me and I just fell in love with them and want them free, because that's what God wants for them. I think God just gave me his heart for them so that I could look at them and be like daughter, you are beloved. You are not what you have done. You are not what you do. You are who God says you are and you're beloved. And I think that that is like the key message that he wants me to hammer home to everybody is just like no judgment, don't look at it (like) judgment. Don't be condemn yourselves. The Lord is there to help you, walk with you, love you, guide you. He's merciful, and yeah. So I just think, and that's why that's why I needed to be a Catholic sobriety coach and not just a sobriety coach, cause I could just be a sobriety coach and help all kinds of people, but that's not what God wanted me to do. He's like bring my daughters, bring my daughters home, cause I want to heal them, I want them free.

Sheila Nonato: 22:47

Wow, the freedom from alcohol addiction that is such invaluable I guess it's a ministry almost invaluable work, I was going to say or a mission. Do you feel called to to be doing this for other women, and are you also helping men in the process?

Christie Walker: 23:11

Yeah, yeah, I feel so called to help everyone, all Catholics that are struggling, because essentially, what that is is that's really just the enemy keeping you distracted, keeping them distracted from doing the work God wants them to do, keeping them from turning to him, them from turning to Him. They're turning to and I do this too. I do it with other things, but instead of turning to God, sometimes we turn to comfort, the comfort that the world offers us, and so that's what is easy, that's the quick fix, but that's not what God wants, like, he wants us to turn to him, he wants us to rely on him, and that is where we're going to get the sustained change. So, yes, I feel so called to this and I know that this is what God was equipping me for and prepping me for for all those years.

Christie Walker: 24:07

And the thing is, Sheila, a lot of the women that I work with, they are not addicted yet, like, they have this attachment, this disordered attachment, to the alcohol and they are freaking out a little bit inside or kind of beating themselves up, especially if they grew up in a family where alcoholism was a thing, where it was modeled for them, and they are scared of, like, could this happen to me and the answer is alcohol, any addiction. But alcohol addiction can happen to anybody. You don't have to have a predisposition, you don't have to have it running in your family. It can happen to anyone because alcohol, the substance itself, is an addictive substance. It is a psychoactive drug, so it can happen to anybody. But here's the good news when women start thinking like this is causing an issue, this is causing chaos.

Christie Walker: 25:09

I need to figure out how to get a handle on this and if they can do it before it gets to the point of addiction, it is so much easier to be able to figure out can I moderate, how much can I moderate, or do I need to eliminate it completely? And that's a lot of the work that I do. And then to answer your question about men Now, I just have a heart for women and I am a woman. Answer your question about men Now, I just have a heart for women and I am a woman, and so I really just work mainly with women, but I do have male clients as well. So I always do inquiry calls and if we're a good fit, then, whether it's a man or a woman, catholic man or woman, then I do work with them, and I do have some male clients who are great, but yeah, so a lot of my messaging, though, is directed towards women, just because that's who God has given me a heart for, for this season at least. We'll see where it goes in the future.

Sheila Nonato: 26:12

And what is the Catholic aspect of your program? Can you let our listeners know?

Christie Walker: 26:21

Well, the Catholic aspect of it is, first of all, we have a shared faith, right, so we speak the same language. If I say, maybe you should go to adoration, spend some time in adoration and think about X, y, z, whatever action steps they came up with, so if I tell them that they're, most of the clients that I work with aren't going to be adverse to that, if they are, they can do something else. But you know, we can talk that. We can talk about the Rosary, we could talk about novenas, we could talk about, you know, the Lectio Divina. We could talk, you know all of those things. So it's not foreign to them when I start speaking in that way.

Christie Walker: 27:02

And then you know, and if you work with a sobriety coach, different sobriety coaches have different things that they integrate. Some of them it's manifesting, some of them it's like the different, I don't know whatever new agey stuff that they're putting in there. Some of them are very adverse to God and so they, within what they're doing, they'll call it like inner knowing. Or you, you know like you're doing this and it's all self, self, self, self self. You, you know like you're doing this and it's all self, self, self, self self.

Christie Walker: 27:36

But as Catholics we know we are not on our own, that we do have our helper, the Holy Spirit. We do have spiritual gifts and God's grace and mercy and love is there for us. We just have to ask and rely on him. Have to ask and rely on him, right. So that's definitely a big component. And then I've developed a lab it's called the Sacred Sobriety Lab and that is just a place it's very much about. Like, identity is a big component of it. Managing our minds is a big component of it. Managing our minds is a big component of it. But it all our faith is threaded through that very heavily because it's, it's part of our lives, it's how we live. It's not just a. I go to church on Sunday Like it's it should be.

Christie Walker: 28:29

And as we start to detach from things should be, and as we start to detach from things we rely more on or we integrate more of that relationship with Jesus, right, it's easier for us because we aren't like numbing our brain or tuning out from God. We actually can figure out ways that we can speak to Him and hear His voice at the same time. So I find in my own life as I detach from things, for example, I rooted out different sitcoms and different TV shows. I rarely watch TV anymore and that just gave me more time for Jesus. That just gave me more time to hear God's voice, and I think the same is true. I know the same is true with alcohol, because a lot of times women will pour themselves a glass of wine, sit in front of the TV and just veg, which sometimes we just need to turn our brains off. But I think that there are other, better ways to do that that can be healthier and allow God to be in those places and build those places.

Sheila Nonato: 29:44

In Part Two, Christie Walker gives us a glimpse into the marketing strategy for alcohol and offers us tips on how we can teach our children about sobriety. She also discusses the Sacred Sobriety Lab, where she helps others to achieve freedom from alcohol addiction. I think it's appropriate to close with a Hail Mary, as we began the episode with Christie describing a spiritual attack. Join me in learning the Hail Mary in Latin. In nomine Patri et Filii et Spiritus Sancti, Amen. Ave Maria, Gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis, peccatoribus, Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. Thank you and God bless. May you have a blessed New Year and may you have a wonderful continuation of the Christmas season until Jesus' baptism and the Feast of the Three Kings. Blessings to you and your families. Thank you for listening to the Veil and Armour podcast.

Co-Host: 31:05

I invite you to share this with another Catholic mom today. Please subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel and please spread the word. Let's be brave, let's be bold and be blessed together.