Podcast Interview: Ali Press, Neurodivergent, Addiction Recovery Advocate & Future Counselor

Hello, Loving Without Boundaries (LWB) community!

I am thrilled and honored to share my latest podcast interview with Ali Press, queer and neurodivergent-identified addiction recovery advocate, and counselor in training. When I say I was deeply moved by my conversation with Ali, I am not exaggerating. I had no idea that this conversation would be a game changer in my own recovery and healing from being the daughter of someone who struggled with alcohol abuse: my mother. So many of us in the LGBTQ+ community struggle with our identities in a world that often ridicules and stigmatizes us. Many may employ unhealthy coping mechanisms of numbing out in such ways as drinking too much alcohol, smoking weed, taking other drugs, all as a form of escape from the “real world” which may seem quite cruel at times. Believe me, I get it, and I have been there. There were moments in my own life where I went through a mid-life crisis, suffered through depression, and definitely was drinking too much as a way to deal with the emotional pain I was feeling inside. I honor Ali for their vulnerability, candor, and courage in sharing their story of suppressing who they were, numbing out for years with excessive alcohol, and then their lightbulb moment and breakdown realizing “enough is enough.” Ali, what an incredible conversation we had! Your big light and even bigger heart shined bright on our call! I deeply admire your mission of paying it forward to serve the broader community at large, many of whom may struggle with their own identities and sexuality, and not know where to turn for help. You are a SUPERHERO in my humble opinion, and I am so proud of your achievements – now and in the future with your important work. Keep going!

Here is their Bio:

Trapped in a repeating daily nightmare of their own making, Ali quit drinking for good in April 2017.

Drinking away their needs, desires, and wants to be whatever people around them expected, had been their “go to” for far too long. Quitting meant embracing “not being like the others” and addressing a lifetime’s boundary-less people-pleasing.

7 years on, and through numerous deep dives into their core wounds, Ali has changed how they show up in the world, what they do, and how they date and relate.

Ali now supports others through therapeutic coaching to make changes for themselves, and build lives they no longer want to numb out.

Some topics we discuss in this highly interesting, informative, and entertaining interview:

• Embracing their true self and addressing people-pleasing tendencies.
• Therapeutic coaching.
• Drinking as a way to numb needs, desires, and expectations.
• Sexuality and gender identity.
• Importance of community in recovery.
• Life without alcohol can be fulfilling and exciting.
• Tune in to listen to this fantastic podcast episode!

Thank you, Ali, for being so wonderfully generous with your time, and for sharing your work and life with us via the podcast interview! It was enlightening, interesting, and so fun! You can learn more about Ali Press at their website and by email.

To hear the podcast, go to the Podcast link here and subscribe to the Loving Without Boundaries podcast, then check out Episode 256 with Ali Press. Also, please help spread awareness of alternative lifestyles and create more tolerance for consensual non-monogamy in the world at large by Rating and Reviewing the LWB podcast in iTunes. It only takes a few minutes.

If you would like to be interviewed either in written form or via audio on the podcast, please feel free to contact me and we will set something up. Thank you!

ANNOUNCEMENT — GUEST PODCAST APPEARANCES