SHAIR 199: From Recovery to Discovery with Jeanne FootSHAIR 199: From Recovery to Discovery with Jeanne Foot
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Host Omar Pinto speaks with recovery specialist Jeanne Foot about her history of trauma, repeated relapse, and eventual shift into somatic and spiritual healing. The conversation highlights self-forgiveness, daily practice, and flexible recovery paths as key elements in building a life beyond substances.
1:15:29•4 Dec 2018
From Trauma to Somatic Healing: Jeanne Foot’s Tenacious Path to Recovery
Episode Overview
- Relapse does not erase years of growth; viewing the whole recovery span can be less demoralising than focusing on a clean-date number.
- Daily spiritual and somatic practices such as prayer, breath work, movement, and meditation can stabilise emotions and reduce the risk of returning to substances.
- The body stores unresolved trauma, so integrating body-based work with mental and spiritual approaches can unlock deeper healing than thinking alone.
- Self-forgiveness and dropping the belief of being “terminally unique” are crucial to reducing shame and connecting with others in recovery.
- Recovery pathways work best when they are flexible and person-centred, combining different modalities rather than relying on a single approach.
“Be tenacious about your recovery as you would be your addiction.”
What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation between host Omar Pinto and guest Jeanne Foot offers a raw, honest look at just how messy, painful, and beautifully possible long-term recovery can be. Jeanne, a mental health advocate, certified addiction counsellor, and recovery specialist, talks openly about three generations of family trauma, childhood sexual abuse, and early substance use that started in grade seven.
She explains how she once believed she was “terminally unique” and justified in her behaviour, and how that thinking kept her stuck for years. You’ll hear how she got clean in 1993 through 12-step treatment, stayed abstinent for years without really doing the deeper work, and then cycled through multiple relapses. Jeanne shares how alcohol only became a real problem in her 40s, and how shame, perfectionism, and overachievement sat underneath the substances all along.
A big part of the chat centres on somatic healing and spiritual practice. Jeanne describes her “non-negotiable” daily routine of prayer, meditation, breath work, and movement, explaining why “the issues are in the tissues” and why the body has to be involved in recovery, not just the mind. She and Omar talk about how willpower can only go so far, and why integrating mind, body, and spirit finally allowed her to feel genuine change.
Jeanne also talks about supporting her son through severe mental health struggles, co-founding a hospital-based navigation programme, and eventually launching The Recovery Concierge to help others find treatment and aftercare that actually fit their needs. Her message to anyone struggling is simple: you’re far from alone, relapse doesn’t erase your progress, and self-forgiveness is essential.
As Jeanne puts it, “Be tenacious about your recovery as you would be your addiction.” Could it be time to show yourself that same level of commitment?
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