The Downward Spiral of Addiction with Ashleigh Ethridge | The Hopeaholics Podcast

The Downward Spiral of Addiction with Ashleigh Ethridge | The Hopeaholics Podcast #304

In this powerful and deeply vulnerable episode of the Hopeaholics Podcast, Ashleigh Ethridge shares her full story of addiction, recovery, and spiritual awakening, offering an unfiltered look at how alcoholism can quietly take over a life that once appeared stable and successful. She walks through her early years, the influence of the LA nightlife and service industry, and how drinking slowly evolved from social fun into daily survival, leading to blackout episodes, escalating drug use, and a complete loss of control. Ashleigh recounts terrifying experiences with withdrawal seizures, alcohol-induced psychosis, and the physical deterioration that came with drinking around the clock, including moments where she knew she was dying yet still resisted help. She opens up about the role of shame, denial, and toxic relationships in keeping her trapped, as well as the emotional toll addiction took on her family—especially the moment she called her mother from the floor of her apartment, unable to save herself. The episode also explores her journey into treatment, the fear of starting over in her thirties, and the difficult but necessary inner work that followed, including therapy, rebuilding her faith, and confronting the deeper wounds beneath the drinking. Through honesty, humility, and reflection, Ashleigh shares how recovery restored her sense of purpose, healed fractured relationships, and gave her a life she never thought possible, making this episode a raw, hopeful testament to what can happen when someone finally surrenders and chooses to live.

#thehopeaholics #redemption #recovery #AlcoholAddiction #AddictionRecovery #wedorecover #SobrietyJourney #MyStory #Hope #wedorecover #treatmentcenter #natalieevamarie

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Timestamps:
00:03:42 - First Time Drinking and the Anxiety That Followed
00:05:38 - Parents’ Divorce and the Beginning of the Spiral
00:08:33 - Falling in Love With the LA Party Scene
00:10:06 - First Time Cocaine and Molly in the Hollywood Hills
00:11:03 - Life Becomes One Long Party Cycle
00:12:25 - Reporting Her Own Car Stolen While Blacked Out
00:15:14 - Realizing the Car Was Never Stolen
00:19:42 - Selling Everything to Move to Mexico
00:22:18 - Drinking Half the Inventory as a Manager
00:25:14 - Looking in the Mirror and Not Recognizing Herself
00:26:01 - Living Next to the Cecil Hotel
00:27:21 - Drinking Just to Function and Get to Work
00:28:45 - Two Bottles of Liquor a Night
00:31:18 - First Withdrawal Seizure Behind the Bar
00:33:23 - Second Seizure and Waking Up on the Floor
00:35:21 - DTs and Seeing Demons in Her Apartment
00:37:46 - Finding Peace Sitting Outside a Church
00:38:34 - Thirty Days Sober and Deciding to Drink Again
00:39:04 - Final Seizure and Calling Her Mom for Help
00:40:30 - Realizing She Never Wants to Feel This Way Again
00:40:54 - Entering Treatment on Medi-Cal
00:42:51 - Choosing to Stay for 60 Days
00:43:10 - Feeling Her Grandparents’ Presence in Recovery
00:46:07 - Finding Faith Again in Sobriety
00:47:18 - Starting Over at 32
00:49:15 - Healing the Relationship With Her Father