Episode 55: Mamba Mentality: Anne Skriba Turned her Trauma into Triumph
In this episode, host Ray Donovan sits down with former college basketball player and coach Anne Skriba to discuss her journey through addiction, recovery, and the healing power of therapy. Anne opens up about how the pressures of being an athlete led her to use alcohol as a coping mechanism and how the pandemic pushed her deeper into isolation. She shares the pivotal moments that led her to sobriety, including the impact of her therapist's powerful words and how she applied the 'Mamba mentality' to her recovery. Together, Ray and Anne dive into the unspoken struggles athletes face, the silence around substance abuse in sports, and the importance of mental health in personal growth.
Anne’s Toolkit:
Understand your trauma to address it
Therapy is a crucial tool
Break the silence
Recognize coping mechanisms
New tools for healing
Advocate for mental health
Surround yourself with a support system
Understanding Sobriety: Anne’s Journey and the Athletic Influence
Anne Skriba’s approach to sobriety was profoundly shaped by her background as an athlete. Her journey into recovery was not marked by rigid discipline but rather by a mindset of curiosity and self-improvement. This perspective stemmed from her athletic discipline or “Mamba Mentality,” where the focus is on continuous growth and learning.
Anne reflects on this approach: “I realized that the way I approached basketball—constantly striving for improvement, understanding my weaknesses, and learning from them—could be applied to my recovery. Instead of viewing sobriety as just a set of rules to follow, I saw it as an opportunity for self-discovery and growth.”
This mindset allowed her to view her recovery through a lens of exploration and self-betterment. Rather than imposing strict, punitive measures on herself, she embraced a more compassionate and inquisitive approach, questioning whether her behaviors, including alcohol use, truly served her well-being.
Contradictions of Substance Abuse in Sports
In their chat, Ray and Anne delve into a crucial but often overlooked issue: how athletes deal with substance abuse. Ray points out that we usually hear a lot about athletes using substances to boost their performance, but not enough about how some substances actually hurt their performance. If anything, we usually hear that an athlete was abusing a substance like alcohol or drugs after their career is over. It’s a huge gap in the conversation.
Anne chimes in with a sharp observation: “People don’t really care what athletes are going through as long as they show up on the court. Fame and money can make it easy to ignore their personal struggles. It’s like their issues are pushed aside as long as they’re performing well.”
Anne even reflects on how she was clearly drinking excessively, but because she was performing well on the basketball court, and she was wearing her “strong black woman” badge, the people around her didn’t say anything.They figured she had it all together. Their discussion highlights a significant problem in the sports world: the tendency to focus more on athletes’ public success and less on their private battles. The pressure to perform, coupled with the perks of fame, often means that personal challenges, like substance abuse, get swept under the rug
Trauma and Self-Evaluation
Anne's journey into sobriety was guided by a crucial question: "Is alcohol really serving my life?" Rather than judging or demonizing alcohol, she focused on understanding its role and impact on her well-being. She wasn’t just about abstinence but about exploring the deeper reasons behind her drinking. Why was she reaching for that bottle?
Her approach was all about self-exploration. Anne realized that to truly address her relationship with alcohol, she needed to understand her trauma and the emotional needs alcohol was meeting. Instead of seeing alcohol as the only problem, she looked at the broader picture—what was driving her to drink?
Anne shifted from rigid self-discipline to a more compassionate and flexible mindset. This allowed her to explore her habits and trauma with curiosity, rather than imposing harsh rules. She approached her recovery with an open mind, looking for ways to improve her life and well-being. For Anne, sobriety wasn’t just a challenge but an opportunity to live more fully and consciously. By tackling her trauma and examining her behaviors with curiosity, she aimed to move past her old patterns and discover a more genuine and joyful way of living.
Anne's details
Instagram:@skriba05