Episode 633 From Regret to Resilience: Elizabeth “Bizzy” Chance’s Journey of Self Forgiveness

Episode 633 From Regret to Resilience: Elizabeth “Bizzy” Chance’s Journey of Self Forgiveness

How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober? Episode 633 of *Busy Living Sober* follows Elizabeth “Bizzy” Chance as she reflects from a hotel room in Porto, Portugal, looking over the Douro River and looking just as closely at her past. Solo in a foreign city, writing her book and clocking up serious walking miles, Bizzy talks about what twenty years of recovery have taught her about shame, regret and self-forgiveness.

She revisits a familiar 12-step promise – “no longer regretting the past nor wishing to shut the door on it” – and admits that for years she carried old stories like heavy luggage.

As she puts it, “Forgiving ourselves is where this all starts.” You’ll hear her describe the low, heavy “frequency” of shame and remorse, and how they once made her want to “walk into the ocean and just keep swimming.” From failed businesses to painful relationships, she’s brutally honest about how long she punished herself instead of noticing her courage, her sobriety and the podcast she’s kept going for over a decade.

The episode speaks directly to anyone stuck replaying old mistakes, especially those in or considering recovery. Bizzy talks about pivoting – choosing new thoughts, asking for help, and accepting that others may never forgive you, even when you’ve apologised. She stresses that you can’t control other people, but you can choose not to drag your past around like a suitcase with a broken wheel.

Her tone is warm, chatty and a bit cheeky, with stories of carpaccio and chocolate mousse sitting right alongside reflections on AA, fear, and learning to see yourself as “quite impressive” instead of broken. If you’re tired of beating yourself up and wondering whether you’re allowed to move on, this gentle, honest monologue might be exactly the nudge you need to start putting that old baggage down.