{"podcast":{"title":"Rewired Sober","slug":"rewired-sober-7110186","podcast_index_feed_id":7110186,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/rewiredsober/","website_url":"https://rewiredsober.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/d80d3dd9-542a-4703-8bb3-d1a805b0d894/Rewired-Sober-3.jpg","author":"Kate Vitela","episode_count":80,"summary":"Rewired Sober is a sobriety and recovery podcast for women who are tired of surface-level self-help and ready for real change. Hosted by psychiatric nurse, addiction specialist, and recovery coach Kate Vitela, RN, this podcast explores the neuroscience of addiction, emotional sobriety, mindset change, and the messy, honest reality of rebuilding your life after quitting drinking. This is not a preachy recovery podcast full of toxic positivity or shame. It’s real conversations about: women and alcohol gray area drinking anxiety and emotional regulation perfectionism and people pleasing cravings and habit loops neuroplasticity and brain rewiring identity in midlife anger, grief, and healing creativity, fashion, and self-expression in recovery relationships, boundaries, and self-trust learning how to feel your feelings without numbing them Kate combines clinical insight, lived experience, humor, and a feminist lens to help women understand why they drink, not just how to stop. Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, or years into recovery and wondering “now what?” — this podcast is designed to help you build a life that actually feels good to live. If you’re looking for a so…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-09T18:18:31.848618+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rewired-sober-7110186"},"episode":{"title":"EP: 70: Playing Follow The Leader: Red Flags of Cult Mentality in Sobriety, Friendships & Business","slug":"ep-70-playing-follow-the-leader-red-flags-of-cult-mentality-in-sobriety-friendships-business","published_at":"2026-04-21T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rewired-sober-7110186/ep-70-playing-follow-the-leader-red-flags-of-cult-mentality-in-sobriety-friendships-business","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rewired-sober-7110186","url":"https://rewiredsober.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/7608743b-621b-40de-b3ec-3ab0be221294.mp3","summary":"What if the problem wasn’t just alcohol… but the way you were taught to stop thinking for yourself? In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on something bigger than recovery culture. Deprogramming from AA dogma forced me to confront a deeper pattern— cult mentality —and how it shows up everywhere: sobriety spaces, religion, spiritual healing circles, coaching communities, friendships, and even romantic relationships. We’re not talking about extreme, fringe groups. We’re talking about everyday environments that: reward obedience punish questioning use fear, shame, or belonging to keep you in line slowly disconnect you from your own voice I break down the actual psychological characteristics of cult-like systems , including: thought reform and control dynamics loaded language and black-and-white thinking why questioning gets labeled as “resistance” or “ego” how doctrine can override your lived experience and how self-trust quietly erodes over time We also go deep into something that doesn’t get talked about enough: spiritualized gaslighting. You know the vibe: “you’re not manifesting hard enough” “your energy is off” “you’re low vibe” “you’re blocked” When everything becomes your fault, even your pain. I share honestly about why I was vulnerable to this—early sobriety, early business, high school (yikes), and relationships where I needed validation because underneath it all, I didn’t trust myself. This is not about blaming groups or shaming people. It’s about understanding how smart, capable women lose themselves in systems that promise healing, certainty, and belonging. And more importantly—how we get ourselves back. If you’ve ever: felt afraid to question something you were told was “the answer” noticed your mental health decline in a space that was supposed to h…","meta_description":"What if the problem wasn’t just alcohol… but the way you were taught to stop thinking for yourself? In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on somet…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2341,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rewired-sober-7110186/episodes/ep-70-playing-follow-the-leader-red-flags-of-cult-mentality-in-sobriety-friendships-business/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rewired-sober-7110186/ep-70-playing-follow-the-leader-red-flags-of-cult-mentality-in-sobriety-friendships-business.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}