Women In Wellness: Stephanie Hazard Of A Path Toward Recovery On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Wanda Malhotra

I wish someone had told me about recovery coaching sooner! I could have helped even more people by now. As a result of our work together, several of my clients have gotten their coaching training and are now helping others.

Today, more than ever, wellness is at the forefront of societal discussions. From mental health to physical well-being, women are making significant strides in bringing about change, introducing innovative solutions, and setting new standards. Despite facing unique challenges, they break barriers, inspire communities, and are reshaping the very definition of health and wellness. In this series called women in wellness we are talking to women doctors, nurses, nutritionists, therapists, fitness trainers, researchers, health experts, coaches, and other wellness professionals to share their stories and insights. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Stephanie Hazard.

Stephanie Hazard is a sought-after professional Recovery Coach who works with individuals and families across the country. In recovery for twenty-four years, her lived experience is her greatest strength and asset. In addition to her credentials and training, her experiential knowledge and expertise empower her to help others achieve and sustain recovery and wellness.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I grew up in NYC. My mother was a model, and my dad was a banker. My dad was also an alcoholic and his distorted behavior had a severe impact on all of us. Alcoholism runs on both sides of my family. I developed an eating disorder at an early age which intensified at boarding school. I went to Tulane and after college, I worked in advertising and TV commercial production for several years. I met and married a TV commercial director, and we moved to LA where our son, Jack, was born. We moved back to the East Coast to raise him. We were very social, and my drinking was still manageable until we got a divorce when Jack was five years old. As a result of the undertow of this disease, before I knew it I was out at sea without a buoy in sight. I started seeing a therapist who recommended I take a break from drinking, and that I attend AA meetings for support. The responsibility of being a single mom tugged at my heart the most. I had to stay steady and stable for my son. Now, 24 years later, I’m a sought-after recovery coach helping individuals and families who struggle with substance use disorder and eating disorders. I am currently writing a book about recovery coaching to let the world know about my journey, and how coaching helps people grow wellness and achieve sustainable recovery outcomes. Working with a recovery coach can be a game changer.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I’ll never forget the moment. On August 11, 2020, I was sitting on Madaket Beach with my family absorbing the love and warmth of our being together after being on lockdown from Covid. My son, a writer, had been encouraging me to write a book about my recovery coaching experiences and we were bouncing around ideas for chapters. Out of the blue a complete stranger walked over to us apologizing for eavesdropping and said please, whatever you do, write this book. My son Zachary died of a heroin overdose last summer and if he had had a recovery coach he might have made it. That felt like a spiritual two by four. My book is dedicated to his son, Zachary Morse.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was alone with a woman who was in black out when she pulled a knife out of the top drawer of her bedside table and attempted to slit her wrists. I pushed the knife out of her hand and when she bent over to pick it up — she turned the knife on me. I was not harmed, but I lost my voice for four days.

I learned I should never be alone in a crisis situation. There is safety in numbers.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

There are currently 45 million who suffer from SUD. For each individual there are 3–5 loved ones in their orbit. That equates to almost 200 million people being negatively impacted. As a trained and certified recovery coach, I work with women, men and their families. While addiction and alcoholism affect the family, so does recovery. Helping people grow wellness and find their true north, the best version of themselves, has a cascade effect in their family, community, and the world at large.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing?

1 . Practicing mindfulness and/or meditation

2 . Practicing self-care

3 . Learning about your nervous system

4 . Tackle health and wellness across the 8 dimensions of well-being: 1) Connection to a recovery / wellness support group 2) Physical health 3) Emotional Health 4) Spiritual Health, 5) Environment / Home 6) Job / Education 7) Daily living management 8) Hobbies/What brings you joy

5 . Spending time in nature

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

A movement of kindness, safety, and connection. Instead of measuring success by how much we achieve, let’s measure success by how safe others feel in our presence.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

1. I wish someone had told me that my own personal recovery would broaden and deepen. I have grown so much as a result of working with my clients and other clinicians. In the beginning, my recovery consisted of going to AA and AlAnon meetings, working with a sponsor and being of service. My recovery now looks more like a recovery stew! It has all kinds of ingredients thanks to all the different pathways and modalities my clients have used on their recovery journeys. Over the last 5+ years, I have become DBT informed, and trauma informed, I have a regular yoga and meditation practice, and am well versed in EFT.

2. I wish someone had told me about recovery coaching sooner! I could have helped even more people by now. As a result of our work together, several of my clients have gotten their coaching training and are now helping others.

3. I wish someone had told me that I would be the happiest I have ever been. I would have started coaching much earlier! There is no better “job” than helping people step up and into their highest selves. their True North.

4. I wish someone had told me before I started how important self-care is. Coaching and working as a companion can be very draining so it is extremely important to practice self care and guard against getting depleted or even experiencing burnout. People in the helping profession need to actively be helping themselves as well.

I learned very quickly how important it is to safeguard my own health and well-being.

5. I wish someone had told me about the importance of having supervision. As coaches, we can become dysregulated by our clients and their circumstances, and it is extremely important that as a coach I have a supervisor who I can talk to about how I am doing. I have a therapist and I have a sponsor for my own personal stuff, but if I am in a situation where say I experience vicarious trauma or am in a high stakes situation where someone may have suicidal ideation, it is extremely important for me to have someone help coregulate my nervous system, provide guidance and in general just have my back.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is the cause that is dearest to me. I think there are a lot of people who suffer in silence. I think we could open up the aperture on supporting mental health we would see heathier and happier families, workplaces, and communities. Gabor Mate, one of the leading trauma experts who says, “We shouldn’t be asking what’s wrong with them, we should be asking people what happened to them?” Those who struggle with mental health often turn to substances to alleviate their pain and suffering which leads to substance misuse and abuse. The more support and compassion we can have the better.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

They can go to my Instagram page — @a_path_toward_recovery or my website, www.apathtowardrecovery.com for updates and posts. I am also going to be contributing a monthly column to the NC Sentinel and the Greenwich Sentinel

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com .