In today's episode I am speaking with a former coaching client and dementia specialist Tammy Pozerycki. With 551 days of sobriety under her belt, Tammy opens up about her long history of addiction—from food and smoking to alcohol—and the emotional roots that kept her stuck for years. She shares how body image issues, disordered eating, and generational trauma shaped her coping mechanisms.

Tammy reflects on the internal pain that motivated her to change, the chronic health conditions that reinforced her decision, and the role of coaching in helping her face the truth, shed the victim mindset, and commit to growth. Her honest and relatable story is a reminder that recovery isn’t linear, but it is absolutely possible—even later in life.

Key Takeaways:

• Addiction doesn’t discriminate—being in healthcare doesn’t automatically mean you understand recovery.
• Tammy’s addiction shifted forms throughout her life: from food to smoking to alcohol, always as a way to escape emotional pain.
• Emotional wounds from childhood, including body shaming and generational trauma, can fuel disordered coping habits.
• Long-term sobriety required Tammy to build accountability, especially through women's recovery groups and coaching.
• Her turning point came from emotional exhaustion and a heartbreaking comment from her husband—not a public fallout or external crisis.
• Chronic health issues like pancreatitis and liver damage later reinforced the need to stay sober, but she had already made the internal shift before diagnoses.
• Coaching, especially with someone who has lived experience, helped her unpack denial, build healthier narratives, and stop seeing herself as a victim.
• Reclaiming her life included confronting past stories, healing family wounds, and learning to finally put herself first.
• Sobriety isn’t just about not drinking—it's a commitment to becoming your authentic self, even if that means rediscovering who you are in your 50s.

Connect with Tammy:

https://www.facebook.com/tammy.pozerycki

Work with Kate: https://linktr.ee/KateVitela

Email Podcast: team@katevitelacoaching.com

The Gut Check: A Private Course for Self-Inquiry

Register here to gain immediate access to Gut Check—your space for clarity, relief, and next steps.

https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/offers/2et4yoCH

Mentioned in this episode:

“You’ve Been Selected!” Free Journal https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/pl/2148666353

Welcome to the first official episode of Rewired Sober — formerly You’ve Been Selected.

In this episode I pull back the curtain on the real reasons for the name change, what I've learned about ego, identity, and Instagram, and how getting lost in vanity metrics nearly derailed the heart of my mission — to help women recover through neuroscience, storytelling, and soul-deep honesty.

If you’re craving a sober space that’s about rewiring your brain — not reposting filtered versions of your rock bottom — you’re in the right place.

Why the Name Change Matters

• The origin story of You’ve Been Selected and why it will always matter
• The shift toward a more grounded, neuroscience-rooted message with Rewired Sober
• Creating a safe space for women in recovery, not a public catwalk
• “Making soup”: building personalized sobriety recipes based on who you are, not what works for someone else
• Honouring neurodiversity, upbringing, trauma, and identity in recovery work

Why Rewiring Is the Work

• Addiction as a well-worn neural groove — and how we form new pathways
• Recovery through verbal processing, compassion, and community
• The role of laughter, creativity, and storytelling in healing the brain
• Why neuroscience and spirituality don’t have to be at odds

Links:

You can find Kate on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katevitela/

Explore Kate’s blog: https://thesobercurator.com/category/sober-lifestyle/youve-been-selected/

Work with Kate: https://linktr.ee/KateVitela

Email Podcast: team@katevitelacoaching.com

Mentioned in this episode:

“You’ve Been Selected!” Free Journal https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/pl/2148666353

In today's episode, I sit down with Beate Pilgreen — a professional organizer, sober powerhouse, and all-around life declutterer — to talk about the connection between getting sober and clearing the damn clutter — both emotionally and physically.

Beate shares her journey from growing up in Germany to making a "geographic" move to the U.S., thinking a new zip code could fix her heartbreak (and her drinking). Spoiler: it didn’t. But the story didn’t end there. After years of struggle, a 20-year marriage, and a full life reset, Beate found her way into sobriety — and, unexpectedly, into a whole new career helping other women find freedom through simplicity.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Beate discovered professional organizing after getting sober (and realized it was more emotional work than she expected).
• The link between addiction, clutter, and self-worth — and why sober women often feel stuck in their homes post-recovery.
• Reclaiming your space as a sober woman and redefining comfort and safety.
• Living intentionally, consuming consciously, and learning to say “no thanks” to a bag of random hand-me-downs.
• Beate’s transition from in-home organizing to digital offers and coaching — and her dream of building an army of sober, clutter-free women.

Whether you’re clearing out your closet or cleaning up your past, this episode is a heartfelt, hilarious, and grounding reminder that letting go — of stuff, of stories, of self-doubt — is powerful as hell.

Follow her journey on Instagram @noworganizing

Links:

You can find Kate on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/katevitela/

Explore Kate’s blog: https://thesobercurator.com/category/sober-lifestyle/youve-been-selected/

Work with Kate: https://linktr.ee/KateVitela

Email Podcast: team@katevitelacoaching.com

Mentioned in this episode:

“You’ve Been Selected!” Free Journal https://kate-vitela.mykajabi.com/pl/2148666353