About Me
My Story
Hi, I'm Jim Shovlin. I'm a Registered Pharmacist with 45 years experience. I owned & operated my own community pharmacy for 32 years. For 40+ years, I was 'a normal drinker'. I rarely drank during the week, but almost always drank on weekends. (Doesn't everybody?) I worked a lot of hours, so drinking a lot wasn't an option. I decided to "retire from the bench" but continued to own my store, just doing administrative duties. Then, somewhere along my way through life, alcohol snuck in and took over.
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How and Why. Because alcohol is an addictive drug, addictive to all humans. For 8 or more years, I lost my control over alcohol. I tried "to moderate" & I tried to quit on my own. It took years to take my control back. I studied alcohol (I had to: know alcohol). It wasn't easy!
I watched/listened to podcasts & online presentations. I read several books: 1) Alcohol Lied To Me (by Craig Beck); 2) Alcohol Explained (by William Porter); 3) This Naked Mind & The Alcohol Experiment (both by Annie Grace). I read several other books, but these 4 books were the "game changers". I kept drinking, but always remained sober while I was reading. I also took an online stop drinking program. I kept working to get myself free of this carcinogenic addictive poison called alcohol. It worked-slowely at first-then, IDK-all of a sudden-I didn't want to drink!! I couldn't see a reason to drink.
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I stopped drinking in June 2018!! After being on my 'Alcohol-Free' journey for about 1 ½ years, I decided to help others ("give back"). I didn't want anyone else to suffer or feel like I once did or have it take years to quit as it took me. I wanted to help others find their way to this Awesome AF Life.
Thankfully, an opportunity opened for me to train with the This Naked Mind Institute and in 2020 I became a Certified Coach.
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I also completed the Gray Area Drinker Recovery Coaches Program, written and taught by Jolene Park. (See Jolene Park's TED Talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvCMZBA7RiA )
I now use my personal experiences & the contents/teachings of both these amazing programs to help others find their way to making alcohol small & irrelevant in their lives. I've been where they are. I've been where you are. I know the way.
At Know Alcohol Coaching, there is No Shame, No Guilt, No Judgement, No Labels - Ever. Know Alcohol coaching comes from a place of compassion & empowerment.
Your freedom from alcohol, It's inside you !! Sometimes you can't "see your way free" to your freedom. Would you like to: Know Alcohol? Would you like to make alcohol small & irrelevant in your life?
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Book a free Discovery Call today!
Do You Know Alcohol ?
Does One Big Thing Keep Getting In Your Way? Do you feel like–somewhere along your way through life–you may have lost control to alcohol? YOU’RE NOT ALONE!! So–Cut Yourself Some Slack, Give Yourself A Break.
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We live in a time where the most dangerous drug(1) on the planet is socially accepted. Alcohol is the only drug that you have to justify Not taking. While the global health burden of alcohol is immense, it is nothing compared to the personal pain & suffering it causes.
15.1 million adults ages 18 and older drink enough to be classified as having an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD).
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Only 6.7% of those who have been diagnosed with an AUD in the last year have received treatment.
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In 2010, the estimated total cost of alcohol misuse in the US alone was $249.0 billion
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World wide, 5.9% of all global deaths were attributable to alcohol consumption. Globally, alcohol was the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability in 2010. Among people between the ages 15 and 49, it is number one.
Alcohol kills more people every year than all other illegal & prescription drugs combined.
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Do you ever ask yourself: “Am I An Alcoholic?” Take my confidential survey
Am I an Alcoholic ?
THE ANSWER IS NO. AND, NO ONE ELSE IS EITHER.
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Here’s why: medical and scientific organizations around the world have stopped using this label (more on that later). Instead we talk about someone having an Alcohol use Disorder (AUD). What does this mean?
You see, over time and through research, we’ve realized that alcohol isn’t an in or out, black or white problem. There are many, many shades of grey between that black and white.
Here’s a thought experiment: What if we set a strict limit for “alcoholism” and you drank just a half drink below the limit for 20 years? Does that mean you aren’t an alcoholic? Does that mean that none of the negative consequences that come from drinking too much won’t happen to you?
Of course not. And this is why AUDs are defined along a spectrum. You can have a mild AUD, a moderate AUD or a severe AUD – it’s individualized to you and your situation.