No More Booze - The Podcast

***Please note that this is a episode includes a conversation about suicide***
This week on No More Booze, I'm joined by the effervescent John Boland @bolandjohn0, a man I literally met on the side of a mountain! We talk about what 30 years of drinking (and living behind a mask) really cost him and what sobriety has given back. John shares the moment with his son that changed everything and how irrational thinking led to irrational behaviour, his mental health and lots of other aspects of his life.
We chat recovery tools, boundaries, 'playing the tape forward', miracles and why John’s big suggestion is simple: if you’re sitting on the fence, do a bomber headfirst into the sobriety world. Enjoy John's energy, vitality, zest for life and incredible positivity in this episode.
Jon Boland from Finglas in Dublin. He has been sober for the last 6 years and is loving every second of it. John feels that he has been given a second chance at life and he is grabbing with both hands. He does a lot of volunteer work and has set up a business called Get Up Adventures working alongside marginalised communities. In this, he has found his purpose in life and credits sobriety as the gift that keeps on giving. John, along with a few others, is doing a Paddy's Day hike up at Glencullen, Dublin starting at 9.30am. Come Join Us! Feel free to contact him @bolandjohn0 for more details.
If any topic in this podcast has affected you, please reach out to www.pieta.ie or www.samaritans.ie
If you are interested in joining one of my Monthly Groups, please visit www.greyareadrinker.ie or send me a DM on instagram @greyareadrinker

It’s a solo episode this week on No More Booze and I’m answering your Instagram AMA questions.

We start with the Stages of Change (the trans-theoretical model): pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, relapse/recycling and termination. I break down what each stage looks like in real life, why ambivalence is so normal for grey area drinkers and how identity (and neuroplasticity) shifts over time.

I also chat about what I’d do if my kids started drinking as teens and the hardest bits of giving up booze: stillness, stopping, nervous system regulation and learning to feel “enough” without the wine. Enjoy!
As always feel free to reach out to me on instagram @greyareadrinker or on my website www.greyareadrinker.ie

This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by fellow podcaster Anna Donaghey, host of The Big Drink Rethink Podcast, coach and author of the brilliant new book ‘What Are You Thirsty For?’

Anna shares how she quit alcohol five years ago after a long bouncing along the bottom period. There was no dramatic rock bottom, just exhaustion and that constant inner tug-of-war.
We talk grey area drinking, why awareness comes before action and the cost of using alcohol as the fastest way to change your state.
We also dig into unmet needs, perfectionism, self-limiting beliefs and the bigger question: not ‘is my drinking bad enough?’ but ‘is my life good enough?’
Find Anna at thebigdrinkrethink.com and search ‘The Big Drink Rethink’ wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Anna is an alcohol mindset coach and host of the acclaimed podcast The Big Drink Rethink. A former advertising strategist, she brings insight, empathy and humour to conversations about alcohol, identity and intentional living. After quitting drinking five years ago, Anna set out to explore why we drink - and what we’re really looking for. Her debut book, What Are You Thirsty For?, invites readers to get curious, reconnect with themselves, and create a life where nourishment is genuine and substitutes are irrelevant.
Buy Anna’s book:
‘What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want:
https://www.thebigdrinkrethink.com/book

Connect with Anna:
Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey
Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

To find out more about me, my work as an Alcohol-Free Coach & Mentor visit www.greyareadrinker.ie or find me on instagram @greyareadrinker

This week on No More Booze, I’m joined by Sinead Anderson @anderson.sinead a Galway woman living in the south of France, who’s three and a half years alcohol-free and wishes she had done it sooner. We chat about growing up shy, using booze for confidence and the years of 'it’s fine, everybody does it' attitude until the switch finally flipped.
Sinead shares how quitting alongside her husband changed everything: no more shame-filled mornings, more self-acceptance and a real sense of reclaiming who she is. We talk visualisation, using 'I don’t drink' as a full sentence, why moderation didn’t work and the new dopamine swaps (sea swimming and lifting weights).
Sinead is a life coach who's approach reflects that same grounded clarity. She is based in France and works online and in person with her clients. Gentle but attentive, she works with presence and care, listening deeply to what is said and to what might lie beneath the surface. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I did recording it.

Find Sinead at sineadandersoncoaching.com and on Instagram @anderson.sinead
To find out more about me, my work as an Alcohol-Free Coach & Mentor visit www.greyareadrinker.ie or find me on instagram @greyareadrinker

This week on No More Booze, I’m chatting with my beautiful pal Joanne McCarthy-Colbert @jomccointeriors about what it looks like to quit drinking without a rock bottom and how finding the words grey area drinker was the switch that finally changed it all. Joanne shares her story of starting young, having no off switch and the years of trying to figure out where she fit (not dependant on alcohol but not able to moderate either). We talk fertility treatment, motherhood, anxiety, identity, perimenopause brain fog and why alcohol just stopped matching her values. We also chat about dopamine swaps, manifestation and the power of being fully present even in grief.
Joanne is an interior designer, entrepreneur and creative visionary based in Ireland. Known for blending practical design with soul and intention, she helps clients transform their spaces into homes that truly reflect who they are. One year alcohol-free, Joanne also speaks openly about personal growth, discipline and building a life and business with clarity, focus and purpose. Enjoy!

Find Joanne on Instagram: @jomccointeriors
To find out more about me, my work as an Alcohol-Free Coach & Mentor visit www.greyareadrinker.ie or find me on instagram @greyareadrinker