Alison Answers #MissionAwake

This Conversation Will Change How You See Your Childhood | April Garcia on Alison Answers Podcast

Alison Lager LCSW, CASAC Episode 198

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This conversation will change how you think about trauma, healing, and what it actually means to be brave.

🔥 In this episode, you'll hear:
📍 How childhood beliefs like "I'm a burden" quietly run your adult life
📍 The "rooms" method — going back to the places that broke you to finally heal
📍 Why talk therapy alone wasn't enough (and what actually worked)
📍 April's darkest night and the moment she realized she didn't want to die
📍 Why "the hero you're looking for is you" — even when you feel like the least heroic person alive
📍 How to find joy when everything around you feels impossible
📍 Journaling as "therapy without performance" — and why it unlocks what sessions can't

🎯 This episode is for you if:
→ You've survived something but never actually healed from it
→ You feel like you're functioning fine on the outside but falling apart inside
→ You've been told to "just go to therapy" but it doesn't feel like enough
→ You struggle with guilt, shame, or the feeling of being a burden
→ You love someone who drinks too much and don't know how to help
→ You're looking for real, honest conversation about what healing actually looks like

👤 ABOUT THE GUEST
April Garcia is the author of "The Room to Be Brave" — a raw memoir about going back into the rooms that shaped her to finally heal. She's a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, Reiki practitioner, and founder of the Find Your Joy project. After surviving childhood abuse, meningitis, alcoholism, and a suicidal spiral, she rebuilt her life around one belief: joy is something you choose, especially when things are hard.
🌐 Website: aprildaygarcia.com
📚 Book: "The Room to Be Brave" — Available on Amazon & Barnes and Noble
📱 Social: @theroomtobebrave

🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Alison Lager is a psychotherapist, drug and alcohol counselor, bestselling author, and the Founder/CEO of Lager Counseling Services. With 30+ years in psychology and addictions, her mission is to help people rewrite their story and build a life they actually love. She hosts the Alison Answers podcast.
🌐 Website: lagercounseling.com
📱 Instagram: @alisonanswers | @lagercounseling
📺 YouTube: Alison Answers

🎙️ ABOUT THIS PODCAST
Alison Answers is where real conversations about mental health, healing, and personal transformation happen — without the clinical jargon. The mission is simple: help you discover the patterns that have been quietly running your life, and give you the tools to rewrite your story. New episodes weekly.

Connect with Alison:

⚠️ Crisis Resources:
Lager Counseling Services
Call: 516-221-2123
Text: (914) 363-0381
Wantagh: 3408 Park Ave. Wantagh, NY 11793

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (24/7, free, confidential)
Call or text 988 | Visit 988lifeline.org