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Why does one addiction often become another—even after we believe we have finally broken free?
Rose Ann Forte spent years appearing successful on the outside while privately struggling with cigarettes, alcohol, shame, and the feeling that she should have enough self-control to stop. When she finally overcame one dependency, she discovered that the same pattern could quietly migrate to processed sugar, gaming, spending, or another “life-interfering behaviour.”
In this episode of The SwagAbility Show, Rose Ann joins Stephen Wagstaff for an honest, faith-centred conversation about addiction, shame, brain science, spiritual renewal, and lasting freedom. **⬇️
Rose Ann explains why addiction is not simply evidence of weak character or insufficient willpower. She describes how substances and repetitive behaviours create deeply established neurological pathways—and why breaking free requires preparation, accountability, renewed thinking, and support.
Stephen and Rose Ann discuss:
• Beginning to smoke, drink, and experiment with drugs as a teenager
• How children learn coping patterns by watching their parents
• The normalization of alcohol in celebrations, sadness, anxiety, vacations, and business
• Why holidays can be especially difficult for someone considering change
• Rose Ann’s decades-long dependence on cigarettes
• Why stopping one addiction may lead to another
• Moving from cigarettes to alcohol, sugar, gaming, and spending
• What makes a behaviour “life-interfering”
• How shame keeps people from asking for help
• Why achievement and professional success do not prevent addiction
• The relationship between dopamine, tolerance, panic, and cravings
• Why Rose Ann initially sought help outside the church
• Taking a 90-day break instead of imagining “forever”
• Shifting attention from personal shame to what a substance is doing
• How faith and neuroscience can work together
• Renewing the mind and changing neurological pathways
• The difference between willpower and lasting transformation
• The 12 core concepts of the Choose Freedom Program
• Why the brain remembers old addictive patterns
• Avoiding the confidence that can lead back to an old substance
• Recognizing the cost of a habit before reaching rock bottom
• Practising change instead of expecting overnight perfection
• Preparing to quit before attempting to stop
• Why accountability is essential to sustained freedom
• The dangers associated with alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawal
Chapters
00:00 Why stopping can create panic
00:27 You are not weak or broken
00:58 Welcome to The SwagAbility Show
01:15 Meet Rose Ann Forte
01:42 Successful outside, struggling inside
02:09 Removing the stigma from addiction
02:45 We are all fighting something
03:02 Growing up as a latchkey child
03:47 What children learn from their parents
04:22 Should parents discuss addiction openly?
05:13 Recovering while substances remain in the home
05:42 Starting cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs young
06:20 When partying becomes a lifestyle
06:41 Alcohol in the corporate world
07:01 Navigating alcohol during the holidays
07:53 Quitting cigarettes on New Year’s Day
08:18 Decades of cigarette dependence
09:08 When one addiction becomes another
10:04 Discovering the possibility of self-control
10:33 The shame of being unable to stop
11:02 Why shame keeps addiction hidden
11:47 When traditional recovery language does not connect
12:52 What happens inside the brain when we stop
13:18 Dopamine, tolerance, and the body’s alarm system
13:34 Transferring addiction from one behaviour to another
13:52 Cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, and gaming
14:14 When five minutes becomes four hours
15:09 Using a behaviour to escape stress
15:16 What is a life-interfering behaviour?
15:38 When a habit steals peace and joy
15:43 Where faith and neuroscience meet
16:08 Why Rose Ann initially sought help outside the church
16:37 The 90-day challenge that changed her life
17:07 Why imagining “forever” can feel impossible
17:35 Learning how neurological pathways can change
18:05 “Be transformed by renewing your mind”
18:35 Practising new ways of thinking every day
18:57 What makes Choose Freedom different?
19:16 The program’s 12 core concepts
20:01 Preventing a return to old patterns
20:30 Why the brain remembers addiction
21:38 Your body remembers good and harmful patterns
22:00 The realization that change is possible
22:26 Don’t wait until your life falls apart
23:19 Count the cost without adding shame
24:10 What does day one look like?
24:20 Practise these things and show your progress
24:50 You are not stuck for life
25:01 When an old desire briefly returns
25:25 Learning to see a substance differently
25:56 Preparing to quit
26:46 Helping people become ready for change
27:05 What does lasting freedom look like?
27:28 Trust the voices on the other side
28:04 Freedom through Christ
28:45 Why accountability matters
29:28 Rose Ann’s books, podcast, and programs
30:03 ChooseFreedom.today
30:11 Say Goodbye and Imagine
30:31 The Choose Freedom coaching program
31:05 An important question about withdrawal
31:35 When withdrawal requires medical supervision
32:36 Closing encouragement from Stephen
33:16 Stay encouraged, faithful, and thriving
Rose Ann Forte is an award-winning author, speaker, faith-based recovery coach, and creator of the Choose Freedom Program. Her work combines biblical truth, practical recovery tools, and neuroscience-informed strategies to help people find freedom from alcohol, substances, and other life-interfering behaviours.
Connect with Rose Ann and explore her books, programs, coaching, podcast, and free resources:
https://choosefreedom.today
Rose Ann’s books include:
• Prepare to Quit
• The Plans He Has for Me
• Transformed by His Promises
Listen to the Say Goodbye and Imagine podcast through Rose Ann’s website and major podcast platforms.
**👉Important safety note: Suddenly stopping alcohol or benzodiazepine medication can cause serious or potentially life-threatening withdrawal reactions. Do not discontinue alcohol after prolonged heavy use or stop prescribed benzodiazepines abruptly without speaking with a qualified healthcare professional. Seek immediate medical assistance for seizures, hallucinations, severe confusion, breathing problems, or other dangerous symptoms.
This conversation is provided for general educational and spiritual encouragement. It is not a substitute for medical diagnosis, addiction treatment, counselling, detoxification support, or emergency care.
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