“If I’m numbing the lows, I’m numbing the highs. And then I’m just in this nothingness.”

Here's the thing about alcohol: So many of us use it to numb the lows, but alcohol isn't a precision numbing agent. What does that mean? That while it can be useful to deal with the valleys, it also keeps you from enjoying the peaks.

That’s exactly how Sarah Zanotti describes the trap alcohol created in her life. Sarah is an actress, filmmaker, songwriter, and content creator you’ve probably seen in sketches with John Crist. But beneath the laughs is a story of drunk driving, OCD, eating disorders, and a desperate search for control that nearly cost her everything.

In this conversation, Sarah gets brutally honest about the night she drove drunk with her niece, why that wasn’t even her rock bottom, and the voice of God that told her: “The person you want to be can’t take alcohol with her.” She talks about why grace became more addicting than alcohol, how creativity was reborn in recovery, and what it means to live in peace instead of constant performance.

We explore:

—Sarah’s creative journey from Berklee to Nashville to filmmaking
—How OCD, religious scrupulosity, and eating disorders shaped her story
—Driving drunk with her niece in the backseat and why that wasn’t rock bottom
—Why addiction often grows out of perfectionism and control
—How alcohol felt like instant relief but robbed her of real peace
—The moment she realized, “the person I want to be can’t take alcohol with her”
—Learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions instead of running from them
—How sobriety rebirthed her creativity and music career
—What her relationship with God looks like now—less careful, more honest
—Why the biggest lie is believing we’re separate from God

Instagram: @sarahzanotti

Film: The Unraveling (available on Amazon)

Music: Sobering

Follow Jon: @jonseidl

Order the new book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic: www.christianalcoholic.com.

Watch this episode and get daily motivation: www.theveritasdaily.com

&ldquo;If I&rsquo;m numbing the lows, I&rsquo;m numbing the highs. And then I&rsquo;m just in this nothingness.&rdquo;
Here's the thing about alcohol: So many of us use it to numb the lows, but alcohol isn't a precision numbing agent. What does that mean? That while it can be useful to deal with the valleys, it also keeps you from enjoying the peaks.
That&rsquo;s exactly how Sarah Zanotti describes the trap alcohol created in her life.&nbsp;Sarah is an actress, filmmaker, songwriter, and content creator you&rsquo;ve probably seen in sketches with John Crist. But beneath the laughs is a story of drunk driving, OCD, eating disorders, and a desperate search for control that nearly cost her everything.
In this conversation, Sarah gets brutally honest about the night she drove drunk with her niece, why that wasn&rsquo;t even her rock bottom, and the voice of God that told her: &ldquo;The person you want to be can&rsquo;t take alcohol with her.&rdquo; She talks about why grace became more addicting than alcohol, how creativity was reborn in recovery, and what it means to live in peace instead of constant performance.
We explore:
&mdash;Sarah&rsquo;s creative journey from Berklee to Nashville to filmmaking &mdash;How OCD, religious scrupulosity, and eating disorders shaped her story &mdash;Driving drunk with her niece in the backseat and why that wasn&rsquo;t rock bottom &mdash;Why addiction often grows out of perfectionism and control &mdash;How alcohol felt like instant relief but robbed her of real peace &mdash;The moment she realized, &ldquo;the person I want to be can&rsquo;t take alcohol with her&rdquo; &mdash;Learning to sit with uncomfortable emotions instead of running from them &mdash;How sobriety rebirthed her creativity and music career &mdash;What her relationship with God looks like now&mdash;less careful, more honest &mdash;Why the biggest lie is believing we&rsquo;re separate from God
Instagram: <a href="https://instagram.com/sarahzanotti" data-start="2654" data-end="2705">@sarahzanotti</a>
Film: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DD4HFHS9/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r">The Unraveling</a> (available on Amazon)
Music: <a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/49MDobVcJ2jNBddAnr74CQ?si=5PBuCiUhT1uyZhB-Sl87ow">Sobering</a>
Follow Jon: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jonseidl/">@jonseidl</a>
Order the new book,&nbsp;Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.christianalcoholic.com">www.christianalcoholic.com</a>.
Watch this episode and get daily motivation: <a href="https://www.theveritasdaily.com/">www.theveritasdaily.com</a>

Jon Seidl is the bestselling Christian author who became an alcoholic, not the other way around. It's usually the other way around. Or is it? "Confessions of a Christian alcoholic" (based on the book by the same title) is all about real stories, radical vulnerability, and remarkable comebacks of people who have struggled with alcoholism and addictions of all sorts. The show features interviews with fellow addicts and alcoholics as well as professionals in the fields of trauma, faith, and addiction recovery. Because let's be honest, we're all addicted to something. "Confessions" is a place for the desperate, the downtrodden, the destitute, and especially, the drunk. But it's also a place of hope and healing. Jon found sobriety after decades of struggling, but more importantly than finding sobriety, he found Jesus. In every episode, he gets radically vulnerable as he explores what it looks like to be on this journey of messy sanctification. Visit christianalcoholic.com for more resources.

Jon Seidl is the bestselling Christian author who became an alcoholic, not the other way around. It's usually the other way around. Or is it? "Confessions of a Christian alcoholic" (based on the book by the same title) is all about real stories, radical vulnerability, and remarkable comebacks of people who have struggled with alcoholism and addictions of all sorts. The show features interviews with fellow addicts and alcoholics as well as professionals in the fields of trauma, faith, and addiction recovery. Because let's be honest, we're all addicted to something. "Confessions" is a place for the desperate, the downtrodden, the destitute, and especially, the drunk. But it's also a place of hope and healing. Jon found sobriety after decades of struggling, but more importantly than finding sobriety, he found Jesus. In every episode, he gets radically vulnerable as he explores what it looks like to be on this journey of messy sanctification. Visit <a href="http://christianalcoholic.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://christianalcoholic.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1747239325727000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1G-752Q-1dyjq6GN5gt7xw">christianalcoholic.com</a> for more resources.

Jon Seidl is the bestselling Christian author who became an alcoholic, not the other way around. It's usually the other way around. Or is it? "Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic" is all about real stories, radical vulnerability, and remarkable comebacks of people who have struggled with alcoholism and addictions of all sorts.

Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic with Jon Seidl

'Sobering': Actress Sarah Zanotti on Drunk Driving with Her Niece, OCD, and God's Radical Grace (Episode 19)

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/edbd2294-ee76-42c1-8f92-b35b0027d83d/transcript