Episode 631 The Power of Solo Travel for Self Discovery | How Traveling Alone Can Transform Your EmotionsEpisode 631 The Power of Solo Travel for Self Discovery | How Traveling Alone Can Transform Your Emotions
Busy Living Sober with Host Elizabeth Chance
Elizabeth "Bizzy" Chance talks about travelling alone to Amsterdam, using recovery tools to face loneliness, shame and change without alcohol. She reflects on self‑care, gratitude and learning to see herself as worthy while relationships and routines shift.
19:06•14 Apr 2026
Solo Trips, Sobriety Tools and Learning to Be Your Own Best Friend
Episode Overview
- Solo travel can feel strange and lonely at first, but sitting with those feelings instead of numbing them helps them pass.
- Feeling like the "common thread" in strained relationships does not automatically mean you are the problem; you still get to choose your response.
- Moving from shame to emotions like joy, peace and acceptance is possible by practising gratitude and daily writing.
- Long‑forgotten tools from recovery, such as mindfulness and box breathing, are especially helpful when routines change.
- You do not need external validation to be worthy; self‑care and changing your own emotional patterns are powerful acts of growth.
“"You don't need a group of people to tell you you're worthy. I'm going to tell you you're worthy, you're loved, and you're not alone."”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Elizabeth “Bizzy” Chance shares how a solo trip to Amsterdam became a fresh test of the tools she’s built in 19 years of sobriety. Recorded from a borrowed office with a freshly cracked laptop screen, this conversation has the feel of a candid catch‑up with a friend who’s doing something brave and slightly scary.
Bizzy talks about landing in a foreign city alone, feeling jet‑lagged, teary and untethered, and choosing to sit with those emotions instead of numbing them. As she puts it, "They taught me a long time ago, this too shall pass... and they were right." The focus is on how travelling solo strips away noise and caretaking roles, forcing a look at the relationship you have with yourself.
Bizzy reflects on being a lifelong caretaker and how strange it is to suddenly ask, *What do I want?* From choosing where to eat to deciding which country to visit next, she frames this trip as a chance to practise self‑care in real time: "What a gift on this trip...
I get to take care of me." She also tackles heavy emotional themes familiar to many in recovery: shame, remorse, and the feeling of being the "common thread" in failing relationships. Instead of turning that into self‑blame, she talks about changing the emotional fabric: moving from shame to joy, peace and gratitude. "Gratitude is always the best attitude," she says, backed by daily writing, breathwork and mindfulness.
For anyone sober or sober‑curious who feels stuck in old routines or relationships, this is a gentle nudge toward trying something new, even if it’s just a day alone in a different town. You’ll be reminded that "you don't need a group of people to tell you you're worthy" and that, wherever you are in your journey, you truly are not alone. What small step could you take to be a better friend to yourself today?
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