WE TALK Networks: Part 1

“And you know in the process of recovery from substance abuse routines are huge — the way I have to live.”

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for WE TALK FIVE — a series where WE TAKE FIVE founder Roza Saveleva asks professionals from across the industries 5 questions about the ups and downs of finding the optimal structure for their day-to-day routine.

This week WE TALK networks in their various forms, whether networks of routines, family, or even social media, and how those networks sustain our bodies and spirits.

We have Part 1 of a two-part interview with Christina Kimbrough (She/Hers) from Cleveland Ohio, who now lives with her husband in Chesapeake, Virginia. She began her career in public affairs and communications working for the government and later independently managing political campaigns. Meanwhile she has been dealing with bipolar, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders. At 25 she hospitalized herself because of a severe panic attack that resembled a heart attack. Her recovery journey has been long and, as Christina says herself, is “still a work in progress,” but it led her to becoming a mental health and recovery advocate. She is now a blogger and social media micro-influencer working with wellness-minded brands.

Question 1: Could you start by walking me through your day?

Christina: It’s funny, when you are sober and not hungover, it is amazing, you can do a lot of different things. I wake up and on a good day I don’t look at my phone. I am trying. It is a forever battle. I have actually been working with a confidence coach and she helped me implement something. I take a sip of water and I MAKE my bed, and then, if I want, I look at my phone, and that actually works for me. Then I go downstairs. Big coffee drinker. It has always been my staple. I have gotten it down to just one cup a day though, because I have anxiety so if I do.. More than one it is not good. I meditate for about 10 minutes. I try to. I use Calm or Inside Timer. I go back and forth between the two. And then I read. Hmm… what am I reading right now? I read something happy in the morning. Something from ‘The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World’ by the Dalai Lama. Then I journal for 5 minutes.

Then I go on my phone, and you know, it’s a lot about engagement. Answering DMs, commenting on other people’s stuff, asking people questions about the previous posts. Then I schedule all my posts ahead of time, and it’s funny you have to take a LOT of pictures. I have a list of content ideas and I have to match those with pictures. And you know, I am still learning, and it’s just me and my silly tripod.

After that it’s a lot of emails. You make money as an influencer by working with brands. I do research on that brand and then I would pitch to that brand. So it is a constant trying to figure out who to partner with. And then I blog. That is a longer process. I take 30 minutes a day to draft a blog.

I have been doing a lot of podcasting. Not myself, but I’ll do podcast interviews, about one or two a month. And you know the nice thing about working from home is that you can do errands every now and then (laughs), so I’ll do research, listen to podcasts throughout the day and If I think there is a good connect I’ll pitch myself to the podcast. Surprisingly because I was able to identify the overlap between their audiences and mine, I was able to go on every podcast I pitched. And then… I am trying to think…

Then I chase my cats around a bit (laughs). And then if I can, I try to… I am a runner so… I have been going through some depression which makes it harder sometimes to run but I try and try and run 3–4 times a week for 20–30 minutes or so. And then… I cook dinner. I try to learn to cook a little better. I just moved so I have this nice big kitchen (sighs), it’s a work in progress, as is everything.

And then my husband and I are winding down. We’ve been trying not to watch as much TV, just because I am on a screen all day, and he’s on a computer all day. So we read. We both got Kindles and we read together. We are reading a book called ‘Walden’ by Henry Thoreau. So we read and then talk about it. We are trying to implement healthy things, but don’t let me fool you … that does not happen every night. Like last night we were both on our phones until 9 and we both looked at each other and we were like oh… we’re not supposed to do that. But it is SO easy to do, you know. We went through a whole thing of whether or not we should have a TV in our bedroom. I am okay with screens and technology. I think you just have to find a balance that works for you. We are not perfect. It is all a work in progress. To finish the day I just read. Like right now I am reading… I am one of those who reads 5 books at once… I don’t know if it’s weird. I just get in different moods for different things, so like at night for some reason I like to read intense stuff. I’ll go to bed an hour before, so right now I am reading ‘Caste’ by Isabel Wilkerson, so that’s a little heavier, but I like it. And then I play another sleep story or … meditation.

Yeah, implementation of the routines came in last year with getting sober and taking care of my mental health. For the last 3 years I didn’t really have that. When you work for yourself you have the time and what happened is when I didn’t have a routine was when I would drink or get depressed I wouldn’t have these commitments scheduled out. My life was awful. And you know in the process of recovery from substance abuse routines are huge — the way I have to live.

My mental health was at my worst when I didn’t have my routine. I was always running late. Drinking way too much coffee, not eating breakfast… I forgot to add earlier, I do eat breakfast now. But you know, it’s just that my life was chaotic and I was always anxious, depressed and when those feelings would kick in was usually when I would drink.

Question 2: What were the things that helped you stick to your new routines?

Christina: The first thing is, interestingly enough, just how I feel when I follow through. Getting sober was huge. I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and as a part of that you get a sponsor who is someone who helps you stay sober. I had to call my sponsor every day. Just a one hour zoom meeting every day — easy. But you know, scheduling my life around that was huge. And that is something I should add. I do these meetings weekly. Something that she would say was “you need to get up, you need to read something, you need to pray” and I am just a spiritual person, so that was a huge thing. And of course, my husband. You know, he is a morning person (rolls her eyes). I am not. I don’t recommend to get married to someone who is a morning person (laughs). He wakes up at 5 am (snaps) on the dot. So like wanting to be a good partner, because I am very blessed and I love him, so knowing that I need to follow these routines and take care of myself to be there for him. And he’s in the military, so talk about structure. His life is very regimented. He comes home and has his structures in place, which helps me implement them as well.

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