433 Long-Term Sobriety, Relapse, and the Cosmic Joke of Recovery With Katie Hingle433 Long-Term Sobriety, Relapse, and the Cosmic Joke of Recovery With Katie Hingle
The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast
Arlina talks with Katie Hingle about long-term sobriety, relapse, and how childhood survival skills like perfectionism and people pleasing can derail recovery. They share practical spiritual tools, family stories, and business lessons that show growth as messy, non-linear, and still full of hope.
58:43•4 Jun 2026
Long-Term Sobriety, Relapse, and Why You Were Always Okay with Katie Hingle
Episode Overview
- Childhood coping strategies like over-achieving and self-reliance can quietly become major obstacles in adult recovery and relationships.
- Resentment and pride, especially when unspoken, can build over years and are powerful precursors to relapse.
- Daily self-care practices such as readings, written inventory, and quiet time help catch dishonesty, self-abandonment, and emotional overload early.
- Learning to say "I need help" and releasing the belief that you must do everything alone are crucial skills for both sobriety and work.
- Recovery is not linear; growth often comes through missteps, paradoxes, and what Katie’s family calls "collateral growth" as everyone adjusts.
“The cosmic joke is you were always okay.”
What emotional and inspiring tales of recovery are out there? This conversation between long-time friends Arlina and Katie gives a funny, honest, and sometimes painful look at what long-term sobriety really looks like – including relapse, resentment, and starting over yet again. Katie, founder and CEO of Lavish and a woman in long-term recovery, talks frankly about growing up as the high-achieving "good girl" whose childhood survival skills of self-reliance and over-achieving later became liabilities.
She traces how untreated perfectionism, people pleasing, and codependency nearly cost her marriage and sobriety, even after years without a drink. As she puts it, learning that "the cosmic joke is you were always okay" changed how she sees recovery and life.
You’ll hear how a slow build-up of unspoken resentment, workaholism, and pride led to a relapse after long-term sobriety, and why she now sees resentment as "the root of unraveling your recovery and relationships." Katie shares the physical signal that tells her she’s back in self-will – that "boiling water" feeling inside – and how a daily spiritual practice, honest inventory, and actually asking for help keep her grounded.
The chat also shows how recovery tools spill into other parts of life: moving across the US, becoming empty nesters, and running a business that designs meaningful experiences based on how people want their loved ones to feel.
Katie and Arlina joke about slow "lightning rounds," but they keep returning to simple, relatable ideas: start the day over any time, stop trying to do it all alone, and remember that growth is messy, non-linear, and full of what Katie’s sister calls "collateral growth." If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re doing recovery "right" or feared that relapse erases all your progress, this candid chat might leave you asking: where could you stop abandoning yourself today?
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