Ginelle Testa is a digital marketing expert with a master’s degree in marketing, currently thriving in the ed tech startup sector. As the author of the memoir “Make a Home Out of You,” she shares her personal journey through addiction, trauma, and self-acceptance. A seasoned writer, she has penned over 300 articles and participated in National Novel Writing Month. Testa also leverages AI for content ideation and is actively engaged on Instagram and TikTok at @janeltesta.
Embracing Recovery: A Journey Through Addiction and Self-Discovery
Understanding the Journey of Addiction
Addiction affects many individuals across the globe. It often stems from a combination of factors, including relationships, substance use, and personal struggles.
In this context, recognizing the signs of addiction is vital. Many people may not realize they are developing unhealthy patterns until it’s too late.
The road to recovery can be challenging but rewarding. It involves facing uncomfortable truths and making significant changes in one’s life.
Support systems play a crucial role in overcoming addiction. Friends, family, and professional help can provide the necessary encouragement during tough times.
Ultimately, understanding one’s journey is the first step toward healing. By acknowledging past experiences, individuals can begin to reclaim their lives.
The Role of Relationships in Addiction
Relationships often influence addictive behaviors significantly. Toxic relationships can lead to codependency, where individuals rely on each other for emotional support.
In many cases, unhealthy relationships exacerbate the cycle of addiction. Partners may encourage substance use or ignore the signs of a problem.
Through recovery, the focus should shift to building healthier connections. Establishing boundaries and fostering independence are essential components of this process.
Reflection on past relationships can provide valuable insights. Individuals can learn from their experiences and avoid similar patterns in the future.
Ultimately, nurturing healthy relationships can pave the way for lasting recovery. Positive connections will support an individual’s growth and well-being.
Body Image Issues and Their Impact
Body image plays a significant role in mental health and self-esteem. Many individuals struggle with their perception of themselves, which can lead to unhealthy behaviors.
Eating disorders often develop from body image concerns. These disorders can coexist with substance abuse issues, complicating recovery efforts.
Addressing body image requires a multifaceted approach. Support from dietitians and therapists can help individuals navigate their feelings about food and self-worth.
The Health at Every Size movement encourages self-acceptance. It promotes the idea that health is not solely defined by weight or appearance but by overall well-being.
Ultimately, fostering a positive body image is crucial for recovery. It allows individuals to focus on self-care rather than harmful comparisons.
The Importance of Professional Support
Seeking professional help is essential for those struggling with addiction. Therapists and counselors provide guidance and support throughout the recovery journey.
Read more: Addiction and the Workplace: Navigating Career in Recovery
Participating in support groups can also be beneficial. Sharing experiences with others who understand similar struggles fosters a sense of community.
Various treatment options are available to address addiction and related issues. Programs like Alcoholics Anonymous or other support groups can offer valuable resources.
Personalized approaches to recovery are vital. Each individual’s journey is unique, and treatment should reflect their specific needs and experiences.
Ultimately, professional support can facilitate healing. It empowers individuals to embrace their journey and work towards a healthier future.
Overcoming Codependency
Codependency is a common issue among individuals with addiction. This pattern often involves relying on others for emotional stability and validation.
Recognizing codependent behaviors is the first step toward change. Individuals must learn to establish boundaries and prioritize their own well-being.
Therapy can help individuals address codependency. Through counseling, they can explore their relationship patterns and develop healthier habits.
Emphasizing self-care is essential for breaking free from codependency. Individuals must learn to nurture themselves rather than solely focusing on others’ needs.
Ultimately, overcoming codependency paves the way for healthier relationships. It allows individuals to thrive independently while fostering meaningful connections.
The Path to Self-Acceptance
Self-acceptance is a crucial aspect of recovery. Embracing one’s flaws and acknowledging past mistakes leads to personal growth.
Individuals must learn to celebrate their achievements, no matter how small. Recognizing progress reinforces motivation to continue on the recovery path.
Practicing self-compassion is vital for fostering acceptance. Individuals should treat themselves with kindness and understanding instead of harsh criticism.
Engaging in activities that promote self-discovery can aid this process. Exploring new hobbies or interests helps individuals connect with their true selves.
Ultimately, self-acceptance is empowering. It allows individuals to heal and move forward without being burdened by past mistakes.
Sharing Stories to Inspire Others
Sharing personal stories can be a powerful tool in recovery. By opening up about their experiences, individuals can inspire others facing similar struggles.
Writing about one’s journey is an effective way to process emotions. It allows for reflection and may encourage others to seek help.
Books and articles serve as platforms for sharing experiences. They create connections among those who have faced addiction or related challenges.
By sharing stories, individuals contribute to a larger conversation about recovery. This openness helps reduce stigma surrounding addiction and mental health issues.
Ultimately, storytelling fosters community and understanding. It reminds others that they are not alone in their struggles and encourages healing through shared experiences.
Transcript:
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:00:03]:
Janelle Testa, welcome.
Ginelle Testa [00:00:05]:
Thank you. Excited to be here.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:00:07]:
Yeah. Thank you for being here. And you’re the author of the book, Make a Home Out of Make a Home Out of You.
Ginelle Testa [00:00:14]:
Yes. It’s a memoir.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:00:16]:
Yeah. It it sounds really interesting. So, yeah, please tell us more about the book and your experience that led up to writing the book.
Ginelle Testa [00:00:23]:
Sure. Sure. So the book is mostly about relationship and drug and alcohol addiction, but there’s some body image stuff weaved in there. So it’s the idea that I made homes and substances, behaviors, and people instead of making a home in myself and learning to, like, be comfortable in my own skin. So by the end of the book, I figure out how to start to do that. Not perfectly, but, yeah, it’s a lot about recovery.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:00:48]:
Okay. And, what what drugs were like, I think alcohol was mentioned. Like, what drugs have you dealt with, as far as drugs of choice and drugs that have been an issue? I mean, I know food is is one of them, and alcohol.
Ginelle Testa [00:01:02]:
So I’d say early days, it was, like, when I was a young teenager from 14 to 16, it was drugs. So it was, like, whatever I could get my hands on. For some reason, drugs were easier for me to get my hands on than alcohol. I guess maybe because my dad was a drug dealer and I was stealing them from him. But, it was weed, opiates, ecstasy, coke, really anything I could get my hands on. And then from 16 to 21, it was alcohol. And I actually stopped drinking when I was 21, and I’m 32 now. So my my using and drinking was only about 8 years, and then I’ve been sober for for 10.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:01:40]:
Oh, wow. Okay. Okay. So that’s in the past. And and, did you ever get involved in any of these medication things like naltrexone or or Suboxone and all those kind of things?
Ginelle Testa [00:01:51]:
I didn’t have to. My my drug use was pretty short lived and not that, like I don’t know. I do I wasn’t using every day. I didn’t get, like, addicted to opioids. I just was using them recreationally, so I feel lucky for that. And then the drinking, I just sort of went to AA and, you know, got better after that. I don’t go to AA anymore, but I did go to AA for a long time.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:02:15]:
Oh, okay. And what if Tom what about the body image thing and issues with food? Like, is that some how long have have you, like, found, like, are you managing that well? Are you comfortable with that now?
Ginelle Testa [00:02:27]:
Definitely. So I wouldn’t say it’s food addiction. It was more eating disorder. So it morphed from anorexia to binge eating, and I dealt dealt with a lot of just discomfort around, like, eating. Like, I either ate too much or too little and couldn’t find, like, some sort of healthy balance for me. And over the course of my sobriety, I’ve been able to work with dietitians, therapists, psychiatrists to deal with that as well. So I feel like I’m in a really good place with that. I saw a dietitian for years.
Ginelle Testa [00:02:57]:
I don’t see her anymore because I feel good. But I found a lot of recovery through the Health at Every Size movement, the idea that people at any size can take actions towards their health, that I don’t have to focus on weight. I don’t have to focus on food. I can just focus on, like, being healthy and what that means for me.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:03:13]:
Yeah. Did did you ever get involved with, what do they call it? Like, Overeaters Anonymous or any of the related programs?
Ginelle Testa [00:03:21]:
I went to one meeting, and I found it pretty shaming. Like, they I I don’t know. I really try not to emphasize on weight. I try to emphasize on, like I said, healthy actions. So they really harp on weight there and harp on, like, a strict food plan, and I none of that was really what the recovery route that I was taking.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:03:42]:
Yeah. Yeah. There there’s I did an interview with someone about, it was partly about, Grace Heaters Anonymous, which is similar to to Overeaters Anonymous. But I think the difference is that they I think they carried on the food plan where Overeaters, stopped doing the food plan. But it was it it was it was interesting. I mean, there there was a lot of of 12 step things and and things about, you know, setting boundaries and dealing with with relationships and things, you know, not not just the food itself and the, you know, but dealing with things that that lead a person to to overeat.
Ginelle Testa [00:04:17]:
Yeah. That’s the thing. It’s rarely about the substance or the whatever it is. Like, my my main problem was sex and relationships. So that’s I actually went to sex and law at x anonymous too in addition to AA. And feel like that’s really where I dealt with the root of my issues was it was relational more than it was substance.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:04:36]:
Yeah. Yeah. What what were you ever involved? And maybe this is the thing of codependency, you know, being dependent on another person. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think that’s something that a lot of people are dealing with, and maybe we don’t understand what it is or or how it works.
Ginelle Testa [00:04:55]:
Yeah. Codependency was and still can continue to be a huge issue. I think codependency isn’t resolved overnight. I’ve been working on it for, like, I don’t know, 7 years. But, codependency looked like to me really like a lot of control within my relationship. So like wanting to control my partner, them wanting to control me, like feeling responsible for my partner and their life, or them feeling responsible for me. And just like this enmeshment where we sort of depended on each other to be okay. And that none of that works for me anymore.
Ginelle Testa [00:05:25]:
It it feels gross. And so I’m really working on, like, having healthy boundaries and partnerships, having yeah. Just responsibility for my own well-being and responsibility for my own self care and self soothing. Of course, it’s okay to depend on I think codependency can sometimes be thrown around a lot. Like, oh, you shouldn’t depend on others ever because it’s codependent. I think there’s a good balance. Right? Like, it’s okay to depend on others a little bit, but when it’s your only source of dependence, that becomes a problem.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:05:52]:
Yeah. Yeah. It it makes sense. And I think that’s a difficulty for a lot of people with issues with relationships, you know, bad relationships. And what what about, narcissism? Has that played into the the story at all of of what things that have happened to you?
Ginelle Testa [00:06:09]:
No. I don’t think so. I’ve been fortunate to not not deal with many narcissists. Mostly just people who are a little broken and codependent like me.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:06:18]:
Yeah. Yeah. Has the codependency, like, played in with with, you know, eating disorder or drug use in the past of, you know, like, 2 people saying it’s okay for you to do it because I’m doing it also?
Ginelle Testa [00:06:30]:
Definitely. I remember in high school, I had a partner convince me to start selling ecstasy because he wanted us to have, like, a good access to it and good, like make sure we had it all the time and, like, didn’t have to pay for it. So, yeah, I I was like, okay. Well, he wants me to do that. So I’ll do it with complete disregard to, like, my well-being and, like, what that would do to me.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:06:54]:
Yeah. Yeah. And, so the problem during that time period was probably not so much the ecstasy, but but the the relationship issue.
Ginelle Testa [00:07:04]:
Definitely. Yeah. It was always about, like because if I wasn’t in a relationship, I was pursuing a relationship and, like, pursuing the next thing. And I think it I was always, like, seeking, seeking, seeking, and there was, like, this void that I felt. So whether I was filling out with drugs and alcohol or relationships or, you know, eating disorder patterns, it was it was always something.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:07:25]:
Yeah.
Ginelle Testa [00:07:26]:
And it used to be. I shouldn’t say that I’m not, like, perfectly healed. You know? We play whack a mole in recovery that, like, we deal with something and then something else pops up. It’s like, oh, here. I’m I’m here to pay attention to you now. Yeah. Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:07:37]:
I I thought for a second, I thought you meant literally whack a mole because that’s actually one of my favorite games. Oh. I I I think I can probably beat anybody at whack a mole, but I haven’t played for a while. So I don’t know. That’s awesome. But, yeah, I I see what you mean, though. Like, that, you know, you you know, like, maybe someone goes in recovery to to stop using alcohol or or drugs or both, and then, you know, they develop a an eating disorder or or they start smoking more and and, you know, you now you have a new problem to to deal with.
Ginelle Testa [00:08:05]:
Exactly. So it almost never ends, but that’s okay. That’s, like, the layers of recovery.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:08:11]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I guess, like, nobody’s finished with it. You’re always, like, working on, you know, find you know? I I don’t mean, like, you’re looking for the next problem to solve, but there’s always something to work on.
Ginelle Testa [00:08:23]:
Right. And I I go back and forth about, like, the term in recovery because I’m like, how many humans have trauma or some sort of addictive issue, whether that’s with food or cigarettes or TV or something? Like, I feel like we’re all dealing with something. So, like, how much is the term in recovery useful? How much is it not? Like, I do have addict addiction issues, so maybe it’s useful. I don’t know. I go back and forth about it.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:08:46]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, definitely, like, there’s so, you know, eating disorders are are psychological and psychiatric issues that that people should be seeing someone qualified to deal with that. One one thing I’ve I’ve learned recently, I, you know, I I have a lot of patients that that I’ve worked with in in treating opioid, dependence. And then but then I find over the you know, that they also have other medical treatments that, you know, because I asking about what medications are you on, what doctors are you seeing, that that a lot of people are now getting on medications. You know, now they have weight loss medications or weight management medications that are actually working for people as opposed to everything that’s come up until now. And it it’s interesting, though, that that, you know, people are are reporting it it almost seems like, you know, like, when buprenorphine or Suboxone came out, it was kind of a miracle drug that it it it really worked well. But there there was a lot of pushback from the, you know, the whole rehab, recovery industry.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:09:47]:
I mean, NA is against it, and their credits anonymous has an official position that they don’t approve of methadone or or Suboxone.
Ginelle Testa [00:09:54]:
I wasn’t aware of that. It’s supposed to have no opinion on outside issues. That’s interesting. Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:09:59]:
They they they yeah. They don’t have that’s that’s really interesting with NA, and I still I I wish I could talk to, like, the top people and interview them and ask, like, what is and I know that they don’t all agree that there’s people that that are within organization, there’s a lot of people that don’t agree with that, but that’s the official position is they actually have documents. You know, they have all these pamphlets that you can pick up in a meeting and you can find them online. And I think the one for methadone is actually called Bulletin 29, and that was from 1996, and it’s very much against methadone. And there’s more recent ones against all any kind of medication for addiction. Right. And and and the thing is that you could take if you take Suboxone or actually buprenorphine, which is the ingredient in Suboxone, if if a person takes it for pain, that’s an outside issue That that falls under they have a a thing called, in I think it’s called in times of need or something. There’s a 42 page pamphlet that basically says, if if you’re taking something for medical condition, that’s an outside issue, and it’s none of our business.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:10:59]:
But if the same drug is used for pain, it it’s outside. If it’s used for addiction, then they don’t approve of it, and you shouldn’t be talking in meetings. You shouldn’t be taking a a service position. You shouldn’t be counting clean time.
Ginelle Testa [00:11:13]:
Oh my god. That’s horrible. I had no idea that that was the case.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:11:16]:
Yeah. And that’s
Ginelle Testa [00:11:17]:
AA isn’t that way.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:11:19]:
AA has
Ginelle Testa [00:11:19]:
no opinion.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:11:20]:
Yeah. As far as I know, that’s only NA. AA is different. AA, individual people in groups might have their opinions, but there’s no top level position on on that subject.
Ginelle Testa [00:11:31]:
Wow. I wasn’t aware of that. That’s horrible. Because drugs are so useful to people. My dad is on Suboxone.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:11:38]:
Yeah. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a it’s it is literally a it’s a miracle drug. There there it’s not perfect. I mean, it’s difficult to get off of if a person’s been on it for a long time and they decide I’m ready to try life without it. I mean, it it’s not something that people have to be on forever. Everybody’s different. Some people would feel comfortable staying on a a small amount indefinitely, but there’s also a lot of people that that feel that they’re done with it and ready to come off of it.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:12:05]:
And, you know, so so everybody is different. But, yeah, coming off of it is not easy that because it does it helps a lot with the addiction, but it creates a physical dependence, which is a different whole different issue, being physically dependent and getting sick when you try try to reduce it. But it’s it is something that can be managed, and there’s new ways that they’re coming up with. There’s some doctors that are talking about using the you know, they have a shot version of it, the SUBLOCADE. And there’s another one called BRX80, but SUBLOCADE is from the same company as Suboxone, and it’s a monthly shot. So some people have discovered that the shot can be a way to come off, like, after you’ve done a year or more of Suboxone that you could switch to the shot. And, and then kinda it it’s like a natural kinda long term tapering solution because the shot can take months or even up to a year to to wear off. And, yeah, it’s really I’m sorry to go get off the subject of of what we’re talking about before.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:12:59]:
But No.
Ginelle Testa [00:13:00]:
It’s really interesting. I had no idea about that.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:13:03]:
Yeah. But I I think the medical treatments are so, it’s interesting how people want, like, a treatment, and then a treatment comes out and then they’re like, well, I don’t know. Maybe that’s not maybe that’s not a good idea. You know? Like like, these, all these diabetes drugs that now we’re finding out, like, treat weight management so well, and people are resisting them and saying, like, you know, we we there’s a shortage. Those should only be for the people with diabetes. There’s a lot of problems with them. But, really, I I interviewed somebody recently, and she said it it it’s made her for the first time feel like she’s full. Like, she never knew what it was like to feel full after eating and doesn’t binge anymore because she can eat and be done with it.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:13:42]:
And, you know, so I’m hearing good things about that. But and and not that I’m recommending it to anybody, but, yeah, but it is interesting, though. Like, when there there’s a condition where there’s, you know, support and and psychological treatments and counseling and coaching are the only thing available. And suddenly, there’s a medical treatment that that comes out. It’s like revolutionary, but the establishment might resist it for a long time.
Ginelle Testa [00:14:06]:
I personally feel mixed about Ozempic and those and, like, I forget what the other ones are called, but because I don’t always think that weight is the core issue. I think there’s a lot of weight bias, and there’s a lot of that goes into medical teams. And I feel like it’s more about, like, the actions that people are taking. Like, it’s more about because I have friends that are that run miles and miles that are heavier than me, and I have friends that don’t work out, smoke cigarettes, you know, all this and that are thinner than me. Like, weight isn’t the core issue. It’s, you know, it’s more like the health actions that you take. So if if Ozempic is I have a friend that we had this conversation recently where I was like, oh, I feel weird about Ozempic, and
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:14:48]:
she was saying that she struggles with emotional binge eating disorder and
Ginelle Testa [00:14:48]:
that Ozempic is helping her manage those cravings that she’s not eating 4,000 calories before she goes to bed every night. And that’s like yeah. If that helps her, then that’s great.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:14:59]:
Yeah. I I think maybe it’s possible that this is like a theory just just popped in my head just now, that, you know, when a person has diabetes, you know, that that he can measure their blood sugar is high on average for over a period of time. And then they have prediabetes, you know, where you can say, well, you’re not diabetic yet, but we we see that your blood sugar is a little bit high in response to to taking, you know, eating sugar or whatever. You know, they have tests where they can say, well, you’re not quite diabetic, but you’re on the verge of becoming. And what if there’s, like, a pre prediabetic, you know, where there’s no physical signs whatsoever, but but there’s a thing in the brain that’s, like, pushing the person to that. And and, you know, because, apparently, these things like Ozempic and the other similar ones work not only on on the stomach and and and blood sugar and the and the pancreas and all these other areas. Apparently, it works on the brain also to, you know, to help take away the sugar cravings and the carb cravings and, make people feel satisfied with their their food. So, you know, maybe that that whole condition, you know, starts in the in the brain and and it you know, like a pre pre prediabetic or something like that.
Ginelle Testa [00:16:03]:
Yeah. It’s it’s interesting. My friend and I were just having this conversation where I was saying that the way that I healed my eating disorder recovery was by eating more and not in a binge way, but, like, by eating breakfast, eating lunch, eating dinner, and eating snacks in between. Because my problem was that I was restricting and then binging. And, like, so I think for me, I didn’t need something like that. But it’s not to say that other people don’t need something like that. Like, who am I to say whether or not that’s a necessary treatment?
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:16:30]:
Oh, yeah. Everybody has has their own path and what works for them. But I I can relate to the whole you know, over the years, I’ve lost huge amounts of weight by, following crazy diet plans of, you know, excessive exercising and, like, I I I was thinking back to diet I did years ago where I had, like, 3 protein bars a day, and that was, like, my all I would eat, nothing else. And and then go on the, you know, the treadmill for an hour every day. And, you know, I think I lost, like, 50 or £60, and I’m like you know, everybody’s all, like, congratulating me. Like, wow. That was great. You lost all that weight.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:17:02]:
And, you know, then within a short time, I’m, like, gaining it all back again. I mean, I I Yeah. Over the years
Ginelle Testa [00:17:07]:
saying it’s about it’s about the actions that you take. It’s not about the weight. You know? It’s like if you’re if you’re restricting and militantly exercising, like, that’s not healthy either.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:17:17]:
Yeah. Yeah. It’s really and that’s the thing. It’s hard to find, you know, like, a you know, I mean, for me yeah. I guess that that’s the thing. You know, working with professionals is the right thing to do because, otherwise, if there’s no plan, you know, I I if I have no plan, I would just go get completely out of control, like, you know, finishing people’s food. You know, food gets left around. I’m like, wow.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:17:38]:
That looks good on the plate. You know? Like, Why would they waste that? And, yeah. I mean, it just, you know, just like when they they say tracking a workout, you know, when people work out and you should track your workout because otherwise, you have no idea, like, whether you’re making progress or or not. I kind of agree with the the idea. Like and this is something in that gray sheet is anonymous program as I think that they are very strict about tracking food. And, you know, some people are not in favor of tracking, but I I don’t know. What do you think about food tracking? Like, weighing weighing your food?
Ginelle Testa [00:18:09]:
Personally, like, absolutely cannot do that. I subscribe to, like, intuitive eating where, like, I pay attention to my body’s hunger and fullness cues where I, like and that’s that’s where eating enough comes in because if I let myself get to the point where I’m starving, then I’ll binge, and I’ll eat a bunch of stuff that I and I’ll feel bad. But if I’m like paying attention to my hunger throughout the day, and I’m like, oh, I could use a snack in between meals, and I’m like feeding myself enough. I’m able to like tune into that. So Yeah. I’m not able to do that though. So if if if you’re not able to do that and food tracking helps you, then great. But for me, it’s, like, really triggering.
Ginelle Testa [00:18:43]:
It reminds me of my fitness pal days where I was counting my almonds. Like, it it’s really triggering.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:18:49]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Years ago, they, Weight Watchers had a, a plan. And then over the year, every few years, they changed their plans. So for people that kinda go back to them, you know, leave and gain weight and then go back and try weight watchers again. It’s always some new flashy plan, and they have all these, like, fancy colorful pamphlets. And I remember they at one point, they they had 2 plans.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:19:09]:
1 was, I think, like, the core plan, and one was the old tracking plan. And the old plan was, like, where you track points, which is basically calorie counting. You know, we’re using their way of calorie counting. And then the I think it was called the core plan, and it was here here’s all the foods you can eat, and you don’t have to to keep track of them. But they did have a hunger scale. They had, like, a diagram showing I’m I’m I’m a little bit satisfied with my food. I’m a little bit hungry. I’m very hungry or very overfull, and you never wanna be at either full end of the scale.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:19:37]:
You wanna, like, track you know, keep always keep assessing yourself. I guess, like, in terms of the steps, like, I think it’s the 10 step. Like, we are always, like, monitoring your, you know, your feelings or or what’s happening.
Ginelle Testa [00:19:47]:
Inventory.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:19:48]:
Yeah. Like like, I guess you’re, like, always think I don’t know if it’s the same thing really, but thinking, like, am I am I a little hungry? Am I too hungry? And, you know, but at at the same time, eating all these natural foods, you know, things that are, like, high in fiber and, like, fruits and vegetables and and lean meats probably. But, you know, so they had a whole series of what they call the 0 point foods. I I think, actually, that’s how they do it now. I think they in their more recent plans, they kinda combine and mesh them together where you have the the 0 point foods that you can, in theory, eat as much as you wanna, but but you’re not supposed to eat them. You know, like, for example, like, if you get, like, a big 3 pound bin of grapes, you know, even this though it’s a 0 point food, you can’t just binge and eat the whole thing because it wouldn’t work.
Ginelle Testa [00:20:30]:
Right. Yeah. It’s tricky. I don’t know. I I don’t like the Weight Watchers point system, but it’s just not it doesn’t work for me. Like, maybe it works for other people.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:20:39]:
Well, it was it’s tracking, and, you know, tracking is like it I I mean, honestly, even though I I like it, I I have not kept been consistent with tracking for probably more than a few weeks at a time because it is, like, you know, even when they make it as easy as possible, like, they have like, I I like, I like an app now called Lose It, which is pretty good, and it’s still annoying to have to type in the food or scan the food and everything. Sometimes it can pre track. You can plan your food for the day. But, you know, but, yeah, if if, you know, my eating plan includes, like, you know, getting, getting a pizza and nobody’s watching how many pizzas I’m eating, It’s and I’m not tracking anything. Definitely, it’s not gonna work. I’ll probably eat half the pizza at least. So I don’t know. Sorry.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:21:25]:
I’m just but, yes. So tell let let’s talk more about the book. Tell me about, like like, what made you decide to to write this book?
Ginelle Testa [00:21:33]:
Sure. Yeah. So National Novel Writing Month, Nanowrimo happens every November, and it’s, like, it’s a month where writers set out to write 50,000 words in 30 days. And it’s, like, just a worldwide thing. So I started to jot down my addiction stories and, like, my trauma stories and, like, early things that have happened in my life. I just started to jot them down for that, and I did 50,000 words of it. And the next year, I did it again. And then the 3rd year, I was like, oh, I could do something with this and just started to patch the stories together in, like, a linear way, and made a book out of it.
Ginelle Testa [00:22:06]:
And, yeah, just the the idea of making a home out of you came to me, like, in recent years, like, the last 2 years, and it just felt like a thread that went throughout everything, like, all the eating stuff, the relationship stuff, and the drug and alcohol stuff. Yeah. It felt like it was thematic throughout the whole thing.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:22:24]:
Yeah. And so that that’s, like, somewhere between 12,000 words a day?
Ginelle Testa [00:22:29]:
Yeah. It’s 1600 words a day.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:22:32]:
Oh, okay. Which, I mean, you know, for people that think that’s terrifying, it’s it’s manageable. You know, once you get used to it, you know, and even 2,000 words a day. I I mean, you know, it depends on the quality and if it’s being part of a consistent book, but a person can write high quality. I I think I read somewhere that that Stephen King writes 2,000 words a day. But then, you know, he’s also keeping track of all his characters and story lines and everything.
Ginelle Testa [00:22:57]:
And he’s he’s a professional writer. Like, he does nothing but write. So there’s that too. Like, he doesn’t have a job like most of us.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:23:05]:
Yeah. Yeah. So, now I was I saw I saw somewhere that you you have a I do you do you do digital marketing? I saw that you have a history of it. Or is that is that what we currently do?
Ginelle Testa [00:23:17]:
Yeah. Yeah. I work for a start an ed tech startup in digital marketing. I have a master’s in marketing. Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:23:23]:
Okay. And and do you, do you work on the content side of things as far as doing writing?
Ginelle Testa [00:23:28]:
I do. Yeah. I’m a content marketer.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:23:30]:
Oh, wow. Okay. Like, would that be, like, more like blogs and SEO, or would it be more like copywriting advertising?
Ginelle Testa [00:23:37]:
It’s more blogs, SEO, social media. It’s that kind of content. Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:23:42]:
Oh, oh, that’s great. So you already that that 16 1600 words a day was probably, like, fairly easy for you then.
Ginelle Testa [00:23:49]:
It’s hard because I write for work, and then I go home and I write at night. So it’s like sometimes I get a little drained, but, yeah, I I am used to writing a lot.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:23:58]:
Oh, wow. Wow. That’s, what what do you think of all this, AI stuff? Like, everybody’s just, like, you know, coming up with different ways to use AI to to do their writing for them.
Ginelle Testa [00:24:09]:
I think AI is so useful for so many things like ideating, catching mistakes, thinking about what to do next. It’s not good for writing for you. You. Like, I do not recommend writing an essay with AI, but I do recommend being like, I have this idea. What should I do with it? And AI can give you a couple options or, like, here’s this piece I finished. What’s missing? Or, like, where when did I make a mistake? Like, those sort of things, AI is awesome for. But when I’ve written entire pieces with AI, it’s just you could tell it’s
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:24:38]:
AI. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there there is some stuff you can do if you keep and I’m sure you’ve done this if you keep developing the prompts and, apparently, I just I’m learning about this. If you you have to tell the eye to play a role. I didn’t realize that. But, apparently, it’s really important to tell it to play the role of a, you know, like, a professional copywriter or author of some kind. And the more specific you get about who the AI is pretending to be and and who the audience it’s addressing is, you know, probably that makes a big deal and how it filters out its own information and experience.
Ginelle Testa [00:25:09]:
Oh, that’s really interesting to know because I I’m taking a writing class, and I tried to have AI help me with the with some ideas, and it was, like, just spinning out junk. Like, I was like, none of this is usable.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:25:19]:
Yeah. Yeah. Actually, I’m yeah. I’m looking at this course, and and the guy showed that, he showed us the difference of he did a prompt where it would ask for, places to visit. I forgot what city it was. He said within a certain city, like, places to visit, and he just did, like, a a general open prompt of, like, what are some great places to visit? And it gave, like, the most common tourist sites. And then he said, you know, be like a a I forgot what it was. Like, a food expert and, on, you know, local, unique places or what.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:25:48]:
You know? Like, he gave it a very specific role to play, and and it found much better places. It the same exact AI gave a completely different list of of output, and it was much more interesting.
Ginelle Testa [00:25:59]:
I love that. Yeah. It’s definitely worth fine tuning and being like, no. Not like that. Be do Yeah. Less, like, cheesy or whatever. Like, I give it prompts all the time. Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:26:09]:
Yeah. Yeah. So, you you can even, like, I think there’s one with chat GPT. You can make your own. I I actually, just for the fun of it, made my own therapist. I I programmed it to, you know, all the different things of how I wanted it to deal with me and issues, and it it was interesting. I mean, it kind of I felt like it was kinda spitting back the stuff I I fed into it initially. You know, like, you know, it still wasn’t like I mean, I I don’t know.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:26:34]:
Like, if you go to a real therapist, do they actually ever give, like like, original things like you hadn’t thought about? Like, I I don’t know if a therapist would serve that function of of giving you ideas of how to solve problems.
Ginelle Testa [00:26:46]:
Sometimes. But, usually, she’s just like, hey. Here’s what you already know about yourself, so let’s work with that.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:26:54]:
Yeah. So so, like, helping you to to, like, analyze what what you already know about yourself or to to see it more clearly?
Ginelle Testa [00:27:02]:
Yeah. She tries to, like, have me use my inner resources to solve a problem, you know, rather rather than being like, here’s a new thing that I mean, sometimes she’ll give me new ideas, but most of the time, it’s like, let’s let’s work with what you already have.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:27:14]:
Yeah. So so the book so what led you to, like, going from doing the, the challenge of 50,000 words in a month to actually publishing a a real book and getting it out in the market and selling a book?
Ginelle Testa [00:27:27]:
Yeah. In 2016, I started writing professionally as a dating writer. So I I published 300 articles, and I was like, this publishing thing is really interesting. Like, I wonder if I could do that with my book and, like, this book that I’m creating. And I thought that yeah. I just thought it might help people, that my experience just like I experienced in the room sharing my story helps others connect, identify, feel less alone, and I thought that it would be helpful for others.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:27:58]:
And it
Ginelle Testa [00:27:58]:
was a passion I had. I just really wanted to do it.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:28:02]:
Yeah. Thanks. So did you are you did you sell is it self publishing, or did you go to a publisher and and, like, how how does it work?
Ginelle Testa [00:28:10]:
I got a hybrid publisher. So there’s 3 paths. There’s self publishing, hybrid publishing, and traditional publishing. Traditional is the traditional book deal where you get you get, like, paid to create the book. Self publishing, you pay for everything yourself, and you don’t have, like, any of the benefits of traditional. And then hybrid is you pay for it yourself, but you get a lot of the benefits of traditional publishing, like distribution, and they do your cover. They edit it for you. They manage your data online.
Ginelle Testa [00:28:38]:
They yeah. So they did that hybrid route.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:28:41]:
Oh, that’s that’s good.
Ginelle Testa [00:28:42]:
Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:28:42]:
That’s really good. So now the book, is it is it out already? Is it available?
Ginelle Testa [00:28:47]:
September 3rd.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:28:48]:
Oh, that’s great. And and is it gonna be available on Amazon?
Ginelle Testa [00:28:51]:
Yeah. It’s on Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble, Simon and Schuster. It’s it’s all over, so it’s very exciting.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:28:59]:
Oh, that oh, that’s great. That’s great. Yeah. And you’re gonna, planning to be, like, a best seller up front of your category?
Ginelle Testa [00:29:05]:
I doubt it. But
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:29:08]:
since Yeah.
Ginelle Testa [00:29:08]:
Since it’s hybrid publishing, it’s not gonna be, like, in bookstores around the country, like, you know, some books are, but that’s okay. I mean Yeah.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:29:17]:
Well, if if if we can yeah. If we can get the word out, you know, you know, people, enough people preorder it, you know, you can get apparently, that that’s the best way to become a best seller is get a lot of preorders.
Ginelle Testa [00:29:28]:
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So that’s that’s the hope. But, yeah, I mean, I’m just excited to get be getting my book out there, so it’s it’s exciting for me.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:29:37]:
That’s really so who who would the the book be best? Like, who would you think would would best benefit from reading it?
Ginelle Testa [00:29:43]:
I think young adults anywhere from, like, 18 to 35. Probably the best audience for it because it’s it’s really a coming of age story. I think any anything younger than 18 is probably a little young to read it. There’s it’s pretty spicy. But, yeah, it’s about it’s about coming of age and growing into yourself, and it it it ranges from age 13 to age 29 ish. So it’s, and I think people in recovery, especially, but anyone who has who struggles with, like, relationships or drugs and alcohol or body image issues, I think any of that will would be a fit.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:30:22]:
Yeah. Yeah. It it’s, yeah. Sometimes it seems like like in modern times, like, a lot of these I I thought a lot of problems that people in my generation would kind of just go away because there’s so much connection and and information available that, you know, because it just used to seem like, you wanted to be part of the in crowd because you wanted to act like you knew, like, what was cool and what was going on. And, you know, now, like, everybody has access to all the information in human history and, you know, but still, you know, the the same problems, you know, maybe even worse problems are have come up in in more recent generations now.
Ginelle Testa [00:30:58]:
That’s a really good point that, like, the Internet didn’t fix everything.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:31:03]:
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Like, it made new problems. You know, now now you have social media, causing even worse problems. And, and you think that people would know better than than to to get into, like, drugs and and especially smoking cigarettes. Yeah. You think that people would know better, but, apparently, like, the the little Juul thing got a lot of people hooked on on nicotine.
Ginelle Testa [00:31:23]:
Just be cool for teenagers. Like, that’s that’s a cool thing.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:31:28]:
Yeah.
Ginelle Testa [00:31:28]:
You know, there’s no long term studies of, like, the impacts of vaping.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:31:34]:
Yeah. Yeah. Although yeah. But I I I feel you know, maybe, like, it seems like kids today are, like, more kinda open about how they feel or something like that. Like, there seems to be a little bit more awareness of of psychological issues and and mental health issues and and and feelings. So maybe that’s a positive thing.
Ginelle Testa [00:31:54]:
That’s very true. Yeah. Gen z is definitely more open to therapy and, like, talking about their feelings and, you know, embracing mental health issues that they can deal with.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:32:05]:
Yeah. So, if so if somebody wanted to like, do you have a website that people can go to to read read about your story and the book and things like that?
Ginelle Testa [00:32:14]:
So it’s gineltesta.com, and it’s also I’m also on Instagram, TikTok, Janelle Testa, so people can connect with me on all those platforms.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:32:25]:
Okay. Like like so on on Instagram, it would be, like, the at sign and janel testa would be your your name there?
Ginelle Testa [00:32:32]:
Exactly. Yep.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:32:34]:
Okay. And and, okay. And the and the what was the website again?
Ginelle Testa [00:32:38]:
Just my name, janeltesta.com.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:32:41]:
Oh, okay. Oh, that that’s good. Okay. So, yeah, we’ll put that in the the show notes for the podcast. Okay. Yeah. That’s great. So, yeah, Janelle, thank you again for thank you for joining me today.
Mark Leeds, D.O. [00:32:51]:
Thank you.
Ginelle Testa [00:32:51]:
Yeah. Thank you for having me.
