HOLIDAY MOCKTAIL EDITION!!!

Understand how to heal YOU while loving those suffering from addiction. 

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Welcome to the holiday mocktail edition of the Heal YOU newsletter!

First, I want to honor the truth that holidays can be hard when living in or around addiction. This season has a way of stirring up feelings we usually keep tucked away. It can illuminate the void that loss creates, sometimes a void we’ve learned to sidestep, and other times one that rises up without warning. When grief suddenly surfaces, even the magic of the season can feel diminished.

Other times, “the hard” shows up as familiar dysfunction, cycles tipping into chaos and frustration. Holiday parties centered around the normalized “social alcohol lubricant,” financial pressure, endless gifting expectations, family dynamics rooted in old patterns… it’s a lot. It can leave a wake of overwhelm in a season meant for joy.

It has taken years to hold space for the void, the loss, and the recurring cycles. And if you love someone who struggles with addiction, you already know: the pain doesn’t simply vanish with time. Even when the chaos softens, the ache remains. Healing doesn’t erase it.....no, it just makes room for more.

Because now the pain exists alongside joy. Joy and beauty live right beside the sorrow, heartache, and frustration. They coexist. And that coexistence is one of the truest signs of healing YOU.

Today, I’m sharing my top five holiday mocktails, the ones we’ll be celebrating with this season!!! Not as a way to gloss over the struggle or pretend addiction’s impact disappears with a nonalcoholic drink, but as an intentional way to invite joy into the room, even when heartache sits there too.

I’ve created The Modern Mocktail, a beautiful book dedicated to those living in and around addiction. It’s an offering, a way to bring fun, flavor, and moments of lightness back into spaces shaped by disconnection and fragmentation. No mocktail can take away the pain of addiction, but they can brighten spirits, open hearts, and spark a little joy.

If you’re receiving this newsletter, you’ll be among the first to know when the book is released! Stay tuned!!! 

Sending so much light + love, 

Heidi 

Piney Pom 

2 oz pine syrup 

1 oz fresh limejuice

8 drops moringa tincture*

lime sparkling water

pomegranate pearls

rosemary sprig

Fill a glass with ice and add pine syrup, moringa tincture* (optional) and fresh lime juice. Top with lime sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with large handful of pomegranate pearls and a sprig of rosemary.

Sparkly Pearls 

4 oz apple juice

2 oz pomegranate juice

2 oz cranberry juice

4 drops lemon balm glycerin

1 oz orange oleo saccharum

8 drops lemon balm tincture*

sparkling water

20 pomegranate pearls

edible glitter

orange oleo saccharum:

peel of 3 oranges

1 cup sugar

½ cup boiling water

Start by making the orange oleo saccharum Peel 4 large orange and place peelings in a jar. Cover peels with sugar and let sit anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Boil water and pour ½ cup boiling water over the sugar and peels. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Strain the liquid through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Use the remaining liquid for the mocktail.  Next, fill a glass with ice, then combine apple, pomegranate, and cranberry juices. Add orange oleo saccharum and lemon balm tincture* (optional). Top with sparkling water and finish with pomegranate pearls and a touch of edible glitter. Garnish with an orange peel. Option to substitute apple juice and sparkling water for sparkling apple cider.

Pumpkin Pie

¼ cup oat milk

1 oz maple syrup

½ oz sweetened

condensed milk

2 tbsp pumpkin puree

½ tsp vanilla

sweetened condensed milk

biscoff cookies

pinch of cinnamon

Crush Biscoff cookies and set aside. Dip the rim of a glass in sweetened condensed milk, then dip it into the crushed cookies. In a shaker with ice, combine oat milk, maple syrup, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Shake well, strain the drink into the prepared glass. Sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon.

Bert & Ernie

batter mixture:

3 eggs separated

⅛ tsp cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

½ tsp ground cinnamon

⅛ tsp ground allspice

1 pinch ground cloves

base mixture:

2 cups water

2 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp allspice

½ tsp vanilla

Batter mixture: whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until firm peaks. In a separate bowl, blend egg yolks, sugar and spices until mixture is pale and airy. Gently fold the two mixtures together until combined.

Base mixture: combine all ingredients in saucepan, boil and simmer for 5 minutes. For drink: mix ½ cup batter and ½ cup base mixture, stir gently. Add hot water to taste, garnish with a pinch of cinnamon.

Pom Punch

3 oz pomegranate juice

2 oz cranberry juice

1 oz rose simple syrup

8 drops maca tincture*

sparkling water

extra rose simple syrup

fresh cranberries

rose powder

sugar

Combine pomegranate and cranberry juices, then add rose simple syrup (recipe page 35) and maca tincture* (optional). Pour over ice and top with sparkling water. Optional, for the garnish, dip fresh cranberries in rose simple syrup, then coat them in a mixture of rose powder and sugar. Let them dry on a rack before using to garnish the drink.

For the rose simple syrup: mix 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 tablespoons rose powder in a saucepan. Bring to boil. Let simmer until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. 

SOMATIC + BREATHWORK:

Somatic flow guided by Heidi Potton and breathwork by Sarah Stepans. Offered monthly at The Collective in Laramie! Check out link here to get the dates and sign up! Sliding scale payment options, all are welcome! Click  here!

RETREAT: 

SUBMERGE 2025 was a total success!!!!!

Stay tuned for our next retreat details coming soon!!!!

ONLINE: 

1) The Heart of Recovery -

A weekly meeting that joins Buddhist meditation and spiritual step work, in order to connect to and engage in a commitment to recovery from addiction, and the everyday addictive behaviors and patterns in our lives. Anyone is invited to participate. Learn more here. 

2) Al-Anon Meetings - 

Al-Anon is a mutual support group for those that live around addiction. Anyone who's lives have been affected by another person’s addiction is welcome. Online electronic meeting information found here. 

Local Laramie Events: 

1) Al-Anon Meetings -

This link has all recovery meetings for the area, scroll down to see the Al-Anon meeting times and locations. Click here. 

2) The Healing Summit - 

Calling all healing professionals, teachers, space holders, providers, healers, and facilitators....a weekend to expereince workshops, healing sessions and networking. June 21-23, 2025. Learn more here. 

Additional Resources: 

1) Podcast: HOPESTREAM - Hopestream Community™ is the not-for-profit destination for support, education and resources for parents of teens and young adults struggling with substance misuse and mental health challenges.

2) Website: SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administraion -Resource for Families coping with mental health and substance abuse disorders.

3) Website: RECOVERY RESEARCH INSTITUTE - A Guide for family members.

4) Books: Titles that might help you understand addiction and various forms of healing modalities: 

         Codependent No More - Melody Beattie 

         In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts - Gabor Mate, M.D.

        You Can Heal Your Life - Louise Hay

        The Untethered Soul - Micheal Singer

        The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

        What Happened to You - Bruce D, Perry , M.D. Ph.D.

        The Dance of Anger - Harriet G. Lerner, Ph.D.

        A Monks Guide to Happiness - Gelong Thubten