We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie Brislin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?
As a little girl, my grandmother would often say I had “groß herz,” meaning a “big heart” in German. She spoke of my caring for others with such pride, as though it was the most beautiful thing about me. I wore that compliment like a badge of honor, cherishing it as part of my very identity. But there’s another side to this big heart: it feels emotions deeply—sometimes too deeply. And when those emotions felt too overwhelming to bear, I didn’t always know how to cope.
I remember the weight of those emotions at a young age, and how, in the face of them, I turned to substances to numb the pain. Alcohol and cannabis became my crutches, my way to navigate a world that often felt too raw, too much. For years, I leaned on them, as one does on a familiar but ultimately toxic friend.
Then, everything changed when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. The moment that little life began to grow inside of me, something shifted. Pregnancy, with all its discomforts—morning sickness, swollen feet, and exhaustion—felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the heavy haze of alcohol. For the first time in years, I could see a future where I felt peace. But wine had become part of my identity. Who would I be without it?
Part of me thought I was ready to leave behind wine, but there were still deeply seeded beliefs that alcohol was benefiting me in some way, like navigating challenging emotions. So, when life threw its next wave of challenges at me—returning to a toxic workplace when my daughter was just three months old, and my mother being diagnosed with breast cancer, the same disease that took my grandmother—I didn’t have the tools to cope. I fell back into old habits, retreating to what I knew to survive.
It wasn’t until my daughter turned two that I realized I couldn’t keep on the same trajectory. I couldn’t keep numbing. In 2020, I decided to try Dry January, through This Naked Mind’s Alcohol Experiment. I didn’t succeed at first, but each attempt, each glass of wine I poured, became a learning experience. I began to uncover the deep roots of my habits, learning how to show myself kindness, and how to embrace the hard emotions without retreating.
That year, as the world spiraled into chaos, I had a moment of clarity: I took my last sip of wine and my last drag from a cigarette. It was a turning point. That was the moment I started reconnecting with the woman I had always been beneath the layers of numbing. I gave myself the gift of feeling fully alive again.
A year later, I found myself training to become a certified coach through This Naked Mind Institute, helping others find freedom from alcohol just as I had.
Now, as a Certified Alcohol Freedom Coach, I see transformation every day. In the artist who rediscovers her passion and has her work displayed in a prestigious gallery. In the teacher who reignites her love for teaching. It’s in the mother who regains the strength to care for herself, so she can care for her children more deeply. In the woman who earns her Master’s Degree after years of putting her dreams on hold. In the friend who can listen with presence, and the husband who, after years of neglect, rediscovers the beauty of his marriage.
None of this happens overnight. It’s a journey—twists, turns, setbacks, and breakthroughs. And in this journey, many find it invaluable to have a guide, someone to walk with them as they rediscover their purpose, their true selves.
Now that I’ve learned to embrace my emotions instead of running from them, I create a safe space for my clients to do the same. Together, we explore the raw, beautiful depths of what it means to be human. Because when we allow ourselves to feel, to be authentically who we are, we finally step into our purpose—this is why we are here, right?
Stephanie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
As a Certified Alcohol Freedom Coach, I have the honor of guiding others toward freedom from alcohol, a path that begins with deep, transformative work. Through my training through This Naked Mind’s methodology in Affective Liminal Psychology, I’ve learned that true change goes far beyond just altering behaviors. It’s about understanding the why behind our actions, and, more importantly, the emotions that drive them. Every choice we make is an attempt to feel a certain way—to escape pain, to numb fear, to find comfort.
At the heart of this work lies a simple yet powerful truth: our thoughts and beliefs shape our emotions, and our emotions shape our actions. So, to make lasting change, we must go deeper, uncovering the roots of the beliefs that have guided us—and, often, held us captive for so long.
Instead of meeting ourselves or our behaviors with judgment and shame, we lead this journey with compassion and curiosity. We give ourselves permission to slow down, to quiet the noise in our heads, so we can truly listen to ourselves. In the stillness, we ask questions, we learn, and we begin to see ourselves more clearly, free from the haze of guilt and regret.
It is in this space that healing begins. We begin to understand that we didn’t turn to alcohol out of weakness or failure, but as a tool to protect ourselves from the weight of life’s challenges—the pain, the loneliness, the overwhelm of being human. And in this understanding, we find hope. Hope that the life we desire is possible. Hope that we can live fully, with clarity and joy, without needing a crutch to get through the day.
When we choose healing, when we choose to shed the weight of old habits and beliefs, we open ourselves to something far greater: a life that is brighter, more vibrant, and filled with a sense of peace we never thought possible. We discover that true freedom isn’t just about giving something up; it’s about gaining everything we’ve always deserved.
This transformation ripples outward. As individuals heal, families heal. Communities heal. Even cities, nations, and the world itself can heal when we make the conscious decision to align with our truest, most authentic selves. It all starts with one simple choice: to step into our own light, to live free of the chains that once held us back, and to walk the path of self-love and empowerment.
The choice to heal, to love, to live authentically—it’s the most powerful choice we can make. And when we make it, we don’t just change our own lives. We change the world.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I was pregnant with my second child, I found myself in a season of deep change. It was a time of transformation not only physically but emotionally, and I knew that bringing a new life into the world would require me to dig deeper into my Alcohol-Free life. I knew I needed new tools—tools to support me through the inevitable challenges of motherhood and the unpredictable journey that lay ahead. I reached out for support, joining a group that helped me stay grounded, and I reconnected with my incredible psychiatrist. I poured myself into books, into learning, and into authentic communication with my husband.
Above all, I continued to care for myself first, which was the foundation for caring for my family.
But nothing could have prepared me for the storm that hit when my second daughter was born. It was one of the most difficult times in my life. On top of the overwhelming tidal waves that come with having a newborn, I was facing heartbreak within my family. It felt as though the world was shaking beneath my feet, and yet, never once did I think that alcohol could offer me solace. I had learned enough to know that I was strong enough to face the challenges without turning to old coping mechanisms.
Because I had aligned myself with who I truly was, I was able to listen to my heart when it told me that returning to my full-time job wasn’t the right path. I knew that my family, and my passion to help other mothers, was the direction I needed to take. With trust—trust in myself and in God—I made the leap to resign from my role as a property controller. I didn’t have a plan, but I had faith in the journey that was unfolding.
Staying at home with a baby, completely dependent on me, while also trying to build a business as an entrepreneur, was far from easy. Some days, the weight of it all felt unbearable, but my passion for what I was doing, and the hope that I was on the right path, kept me going. I look back now at the beginning of my journey when I was just starting to change my relationship with alcohol. Every time I stumbled, I got back up. I kept going because I knew that each fall was a lesson, each setback was an opportunity to learn and grow.
This journey has taught me so much about myself—mostly that I need to get out of my own way. Letting go of my fears and self-doubt has been one of the greatest lessons, and every step forward has felt like a victory.
But even in my growth, I know there’s always more to learn. Life is a journey and every step forward—no matter how small—is its own destination. I’ve surrounded myself with like-minded entrepreneurs who inspire me, and who keep me motivated on the tough days. I never imagined I would enjoy networking and collaborating so much—especially since I spent most of my life believing I needed alcohol to socialize and connect with others.
What has been most profound for me is realizing that I am okay with not knowing the future. I’m still a planner at heart, but I’ve learned to release my need for control and be more flexible. Trusting that living in alignment with my values and purpose will guide me to where I need to go has been the greatest gift.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
There is no amount of money that can bring you lasting comfort or peace. Yes, money is necessary—it has its place, and it can help in so many ways. But when you tie your self-worth to how much you earn, how many clients you serve, or the size of your bank balance, you will find yourself forever chasing something that will never satisfy you.
I know this all too well. With an education and a background in accounting, I spent years viewing the world through the lens of numbers. To an analytical mind, numbers are everything—they represent success, progress, and achievement. But what I’ve come to realize is that if you measure your value based on the numbers alone, you are missing the deeper meaning of the journey.
Success as a business owner isn’t just about the bottom line. It’s about how you feel along the way. How do you feel when you’ve made a difference in someone’s life? When you’ve helped a client see a new possibility? What about when you had to refer someone to someone else because it was what was best for them? How do you process the disappointment of a missed sale or a failed opportunity? And after a setback, what does it feel like to pick yourself up, reflect, and grow stronger?
These are all external factors—things you cannot always control. But what you can control is how you choose to respond. You have the power to decide how much weight you give to these circumstances. And, most importantly, you have the ability to protect your inner sense of worth—the deep knowing that you matter, that your value is not determined by the numbers, the deals, or the outcomes.
True fulfillment doesn’t come from external achievements, but from knowing, deep within, that you are offering something real, something authentic—no matter what the numbers say. It’s about trusting yourself and the value you bring to the world, regardless of how the outside world may measure it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thelifewithincoaching.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachstephaniebrislin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.brislin.3/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-brislin-780b6226
Image Credits
Marc Brislin
Charlie Curzon