Hi, I’m Lori…
Welcome to the journey of emotional sobriety. I didn’t start this journey because my life fell apart. I started it because my life looked good—but still didn’t feel right because I wasn’t happy on the inside.
I was capable. Responsible. Productive. I showed up. I fixed things. I anticipated needs. I called it strength. From the outside, I looked like I had it all together. Inside, I was exhausted, resentful, anxious, and quietly afraid that if I stopped trying so hard, everything would fall apart. I couldn’t be happy unless I could make other people happy. But guess what? I was powerless to make anyone happy other than myself.
That’s what high-functioning codependence looks like.
My emotional sobriety began the moment I stopped asking, “Why aren’t they changing?” and started asking, “Why do I need them to change to be happy?”
That question changed everything.
Emotional sobriety is not about blaming your past, cutting people off, or becoming emotionally detached. It’s about learning to live from the inside out—where your peace, worth, and direction are no longer dependent on other people’s moods, approval, or behavior.
Through years of personal work, deep conversations with people in recovery, spiritual exploration, and honest self-examination, I discovered what I now call the 10 Guiding Principles of Emotional Sobriety. These principles are not theory. They are lived, tested, and practiced daily—especially by people who appear “fine” while quietly drowning.
Place responsibility where it truly belongs.
Tell the difference between intuition and trauma.
Learn emotional honesty without self-attack.
Learn connection without losing yourself.
Learn boundaries without guilt.
Learn integrity instead of image management.
Learn compassion without self-betrayal.
Learn faith and service without control.
Learn true belonging without performing.
Learn that your worth is inherent—not earned.
Emotional sobriety teaches how to stop managing everyone else’s feelings so you can finally tend to your own. It’s what happens when you stop arguing with reality and start listening to yourself. It’s the freedom that comes when you realize that no person, relationship, or achievement was ever meant to be responsible for your happiness.
If you’re tired of being the strong one. If you’re successful but depleted. If you love deeply but disappear in the process. If you sense there must be another way to live—and you’re ready to find it—You’re not broken. You’re waking up.
This space is for those ready to live emotionally sober, grounded, and free—one honest step at a time.
I’ve written a book called, The Happiness Hangover - How to stop high functioning codependency for good. I am sharing an excerpt below so you can see that my kind of drunk may have been from a different kind of margarita, but it was a drunk just the same. If you’d like to know more, please sign up to be a part of our email list so you can begin the journey yourself and make happiness hangovers a thing of the past..
Peace,
Lori
See the Guiding Principles ➝
Real Life Recovery Stories
Real Life Recovery Stories
What is emotional sobriety, anyway?
Letting Go of the “If Only” Trap
Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “If only they’d change… if only I had this… then I’d be happy”? That’s the cycle of looking for something out there to fix what’s happening inside — a way to escape or numb emotional pain. But happiness is an inside job.
I know this struggle. My search for peace took me on a journey through life’s biggest question: What is standing in the way of my happiness?
Learn how to beat high functioning codependency for good.
Learn more on emotional sobriety ➝
See the Guiding Principles ➝
