Hi, I’m Yohnnie
Founder of Anything is Possible Coaching
My journey to freedom started with ditching alcohol.
Don’t wait. Start Now on your path to becoming your best self!
My Story
Hi I’m Yohnnie, I am a certified This Naked Mind (TNM) coach, certified hot yoga instructor, certified running coach and professional figure competitor.
I was raised in a small town in Iowa. My mother’s decent into alcohol addiction went deeper and darker as I proceeded from 4th through 12th grade. Alcohol addiction to me looked chaotic and severe and my drinking was never close to my mother’s. I never worried about my own drinking. I was confident that I was a “normal” social drinker. I admittedly had occasions when I over-did it, had horrible hangovers and even blacked out, but I never lost a job, got a DUI or had any bad “rock bottom” event. I was sure that alcohol was only a problem if it looked like my mother’s addiction.
I appeared successful in most areas of my life. I had a corporate job that I loved, I traveled the world, I accomplished many crazy athletic goals and had amazing friends. The problem was, I was unhappy internally. I could never figure out why I was never satisfied, and why I always wanted to be “over there” or somewhere else. After my mom died from alcohol and drug abuse at the age of 64, I started researching and re-thinking the role I wanted alcohol to play in my own life. The more I read and learned, the more I understood that my thoughts, beliefs and survival mechanisms I learned growing up in an alcoholic home were no longer serving me in my adult years.
I also learned that my drinking habits were not as harmless as society tells us. I came to the realization that alcohol is an elevator that only goes down and I wanted to get off before I hit bottom, like my mother did. I had a child at the age of 48 and it horrified me to think of my son going through what I went through as a child. I was determined to end the cycle of addiction and dysfunction in my family. I decided that it stops with me.
I started off experimenting with time away from drinking. 2 weeks, 30 days, 100 days, 7 months. And I failed. A LOT. I had hundreds of Day 1’s. I tried different apps to track my drinking, I read all the books and scientific literature, and I joined communities. They all helped some, but I couldn’t seem to give up alcohol 100%. Then I found Annie Grace and This Naked Mind Institute. I knew immediately that this was the next step on my journey and became a Certified TNMI coach. Not only has alcohol finally become small and irrelevant in my life, but I have been able to apply this methodology to examine other areas of my life where I am holding myself back from what I really want. I can help you do this too.
Don’t wait. Start Now on your path to becoming your best self!
Integrity Statement
Because I grew up with a wild, unpredictable, alcoholic mother, I assumed I knew what severe alcohol abuse (“alcoholism”) looked like.
One of the lessons I learned growing up was that adults drink, so I started drinking at the age of 16. Since my drinking never mirrored my mother’s, I continued drinking for 34 years – even after cheating on my boyfriend while black out drunk when I was 24 years-old. After suffering much shame and regret and trying to decide if I had an alcohol problem, I eventually concluded that it was a 1-time event. Irresponsible, twenty something behavior, and told myself I’d just have to be more careful.
Stopping drinking for FOREVER seemed too extreme at the time. Besides, I would NOT allow my brain to entertain the possibility that I was becoming my mother. Just..NO..Never. That would NEVER, COULD NEVER, HAPPEN TO ME. I wouldn’t allow it.
It would take me decades to recognize that my journey with alcohol was uniquely my own, and that I was in no way safe from alcohol’s powerful grip.
When my mother died from necrotizing pancreatitis at the age of 64 due to her alcohol abuse, I dedicated my life to learning everything I could about addiction, and in doing so I also felt that it would serve me to look at my own drinking habits. It would take me 5 years of attempting to moderate my alcohol consumption on my own, before I “threw in the proverbial towel”, found a community of like-minded individuals, and gave it up for good.
My entire life has been soaked in all things “alcohol”. I know what it is like to grow up with alcohol abuse in the family and, looking back, I see that my own relationship with alcohol was not particularly healthy. Although my drinking was not nearly as dramatic as my mother’s, I realized that somewhere along the line, I had developed an unhealthy level of mental dependence on it. Alcohol was my go-to coping mechanism for everything.
I understand the social, emotional, and personal challenges of drinking less and ultimately giving up alcohol and I want to help you overcome those challenges so you can find freedom from alcohol much faster than I did.
It doesn’t matter where you are on your journey. I provide a supportive, positive approach whether you are just beginning to question your drinking or are ready to get off the merry-go-round already.
Through a science-based approach along with my own life experience, I am dedicated to helping my clients find freedom from the trap that is alcohol. I know how much better life is on the other side of alcohol and I want you to experience this joy and freedom too.
I personally challenge some of the basic ideas around alcohol abuse”
I don’t believe in the concept of “Relapse” as failure but rather learning opportunities to see where we are stuck or struggling.
I don’t buy into the concept that alcohol is strictly a disease or that only those who label themselves “alcoholics” are the only ones who are in trouble.
I believe we, as a society, would all benefit from questioning the role alcohol plays in our lives.
I believe that everyone should approach alcohol with caution and treat it as the highly addictive neurotoxin that it is.
I believe it is necessary to re-educate the public about the real dangers of alcohol and challenge the myth that it’s essential for socializing or living well. By raising awareness, we can empower healthier choices and foster a culture that values true well-being.
I’m passionate about supporting a cultural shift in how we view alcohol and helping others find lasting freedom and joy.
Plus, alcohol-related deaths are preventable. No one should lose a loved one to alcohol abuse.