Undimmed with Cecily MakUndimmed with Cecily Mak
SHE RECOVERS Podcast
Cecily Mak talks with Taryn Strong about dimmers, the habits we use to mute discomfort, and how alcohol-free living, compassion for her mother, and a breast cancer diagnosis changed her relationship with labels, busyness and self-trust. The conversation blends personal stories with practical ideas for hearing and honouring your inner voice while redefining what recovery can look like.
47:01•21 Oct 2026
Undimmed Habits and Honest Healing with Cecily Mak
Episode Overview
- Dimmers can be substances, behaviours, or mindsets we use to soften discomfort, from alcohol and drugs to perfectionism and toxic generosity.
- Recovery language and labels should be self-chosen; feeling forced into a diagnosis can block people from seeking support.
- Viewing a loved one’s struggles through a trauma-aware lens can replace blame with compassion and reduce personal shame.
- Busyness and overwork can function like any other dimmer, masking stress and pain while draining health and connection.
- Creating small pockets of space, such as quietly drinking a cup of tea, helps you hear and eventually honour your inner voice.
“Dimmers are anything that we reach for, do, consume, or engage with in some way to tune down discomfort, maybe feel a little bit less, escape for a moment.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol, busyness, or other habits that take the edge off? This conversation between author Cecily Mak and SHE RECOVERS co-founder Taryn Strong centres on "dimmers" – all the things we reach for to feel a little less. Cecily explains dimmers as anything we do, consume, or latch onto to soften discomfort. Yes, the obvious ones show up: alcohol, drugs, shopping, gambling, overwork.
But she goes further, naming perfectionism, toxic generosity, people-pleasing and relentless productivity as subtler ways you might be turning yourself down. You'll hear how removing alcohol wasn't the finish line for her, it was just taking away one buffer so she could finally look at what she was trying so hard not to feel. Language around recovery is a huge theme.
Cecily shares how her mother was urged to accept labels she simply could not live with, and how that blocked her from getting help. Years after her mother’s alcohol-related death, Cecily found a different way to relate to her story through compassion and a trauma-aware lens – shifting from "what's wrong with her" to "what happened to her". That shift softened Cecily’s own shame and changed how she talks to her sons about "breaking the chain" of family drinking patterns.
A breast cancer diagnosis then exposed another major dimmer: busyness. Cecily describes the jarring moment of thinking, "Now I can really justify this time off." From there, she moves from simply listening to her inner voice to actively honouring it, questioning the culture of constant productivity and what genuine rest might look like. You’ll also pick up a simple but challenging homework exercise: make a cup of tea, sit down, and do nothing but drink it.
It sounds tiny, but for many women in recovery from substances, burnout and overgiving, that quiet act can be huge. Where might dimmers be hiding in your own life, and what could open up if you gently set one of them down?
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