High Functioning: 3 Self-Esteem HACKS That Will Change Your LifeHigh Functioning: 3 Self-Esteem HACKS That Will Change Your Life
Chasing Heroine: Addiction Recovery Podcast
Jeannine Coulter Lindgren shares three practical, free strategies aimed at rebuilding self-esteem after addiction and other life setbacks. The conversation focuses on recognising inherent strengths, keeping small daily promises, and becoming a positive force in one’s environment.
17:46•11 May 2026
High Functioning Sobriety: Three Self-Esteem Hacks That Actually Stick
Episode Overview
- Focus on character traits that are unrelated to appearance, roles, or achievements, and track how they show up in your life for 21 days.
- Train your brain’s reticular activating system to notice your strengths instead of your shortcomings.
- Write down one small promise to yourself each night and keep it the next day to rebuild self-trust.
- Adopt the “coffee bean” mindset by energising and improving your environment rather than hardening or collapsing under pressure.
- Look for everyday opportunities, especially in annoying or difficult settings, to be helpful and create positive change for others.
“"The traits that we are looking at and examining and acknowledging are unrelated to your appearance, your roles in life, or your achievements."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This High Functioning instalment of Chasing Heroine zooms in on one of the trickiest parts of recovery: rebuilding self-esteem when life feels like it’s been levelled. Host Jeannine Coulter Lindgren, a recovering addict and alcoholic who once lost everything, shares three straight-talking, zero-cost strategies aimed at helping people in sobriety start feeling solid about themselves again. She makes it clear this isn’t about ice baths or 5 a.m.
miracle routines, but about practical steps you can actually stick to. First up, Jeannine walks through a powerful exercise using a list of positive character traits. She encourages you to highlight qualities that describe you – and stresses they must be unrelated to looks, roles, or achievements.
As she puts it, you’re taking stock of "the things that are inherently a part of you that you did not lose because they cannot be lost." She explains how this links to the brain’s reticular activating system, training your mind to spot your strengths instead of your failures. Next, she talks about rebuilding trust with yourself through tiny daily promises.
After years of saying “this is it, I’m done” and then using again, many people feel they can’t rely on themselves. Writing down one small promise each night and keeping it the next day starts to repair that broken feedback loop. Finally, Jeannine shares the “carrot, egg, coffee bean” story to illustrate a mindset shift: rather than hardening or collapsing when life heats up, you can "be the coffee bean" and energise your environment.
From defrosting a grim sober-living freezer to lightening the mood at work, she shows how small acts of contribution can quietly lift self-worth. If your confidence feels wiped out by addiction, divorce, job loss or just life, this episode offers simple steps to start feeling like someone you can count on again. Which of these three self-esteem hacks could you start today?
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