Host: Drifter

Guest: Julie

Julie's Journey: From Addiction to Sobriety

In this episode of the Sobertown podcast, Drifter welcomes Julie, a guest from the UK, who shares her compelling story of addiction, recovery, and the myriad of ways she has turned her life around. Julie discusses her initial encounters with alcohol during her teenage years, her time working in the high-pressure environment of the London trading floor, and the subsequent breakdowns that led her to reassess her life choices. Julie delves into her journey through therapy, the gradual buildup of her sobriety toolkit, and her experience with supportive communities like Smart Recovery. Now thriving five years sober, Julie explains how she maintains her mental and physical well-being today.

Julie is business psychologist, breathwork facilitator, and emotional aromatherapist who helps people to find purpose, connection and vitality. Whether that is breaking free from addictions to alcohol and medication, or the repeated cycles and patterns of behaviours that keep us stuck, she is passionate about empowering people to feel better. Like so many, she spent years in a world where drinking was completely normalised and expected, and at times, even celebrated. From high-pressure corporate environments to social settings, alcohol was woven into everyday life, making it difficult to recognise when it was no longer serving her.

In her early twenties, after enduring extreme emotional stress and workplace abuse whilst working on the trading floor in London, she experienced a brief episode of psychosis and hospitalisation. Julie was prescribed medication that she remained on for over a decade, and was also using alcohol to self medicate, which led to a slow process of disconnection, sedation, and losing touch with herself.

Her story is ultimately one of healing, courage, self-discovery, and finding true freedom. Now, over five years sober, she is on a mission to help others step into clarity, vitality, and empowerment through holistic healing, breathwork, and deep inner work. Julie is the founder of Little Brown Bottles and Consciously Collaborative and blends Eastern and Western approaches to wellbeing, in and out of the workplace. Her latest project, The Freedom Challenge: 30 Days to an Alcohol-Free Life, offers a supportive and structured path for those questioning their relationship with alcohol and looking for a new way forward.

Julie shares her raw, honest journey, speaking about the challenges of unlearning what we’ve been taught about alcohol, the unexpected emotions that come with early sobriety, and the powerful transformation that happens when we finally surrender and step into freedom.