EP266 Minisode: Country Roads Take Me Home (4): “I don’t have a voice.”
Driving away from West Virginia, Colleen realized she no longer needs perfect conditions to feel like herself—because that version of her now lives within her. She explores how emotions are echoes of the past, and how clinging to them corrodes self-trust. Through the story of her sister-in-law Laura, she shares how denying your truth disconnects you from your voice—and how letting it surface is what makes healing possible. 🔑 Key Takeaways Set goals around how you want to feel, not just what you want to do. Emotions are old data, not destiny. Suppressing truth corrodes self-trust; expressing it clears the path forward. It’s not the truth that sets you free—it’s you who must set the truth free. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen’s NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Transcript
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EP265 Minisode: Country Roads Take Me Home (3): Dancing with my future self
After years of trying to fix her life by rearranging circumstances, Colleen finally stopped—and turned inward. This is the story of how admitting “I’m not okay” became the first real act of self-trust. Instead of solving her life, she began tending to herself like someone worth saving, and discovered that clarity comes from action, not overthinking. 🔑 Key Takeaways Admitting you’re not okay can be the first step to freedom. Action creates clarity; thinking in circles deepens the trap. Your emotions are signals, not problems to solve. Trust is built by showing up for yourself, not performing for others. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen’s NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Transcript
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EP264 The hidden habit that destroys your willpower to drink in moderation
I’d been a daily drinker for over a decade when somehow, I found the motivation to stay sober for an entire weekend. It was actually easy and felt so good that I took the whole next week off. And I remember feeling giddy, like, OMG, It’s over. Apparently, I don’t have to worry about that anymore! Sadly, habits don’t just disappear overnight. I was soon back to drinking every day, wondering why I couldn’t just snap my fingers and go back to being that version of myself who wasn’t obsessed with alcohol. What happened to the willpower I had found that week and why couldn’t I get it back? In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about the hidden habit that keeps you stuck in a cycle of overdrinking. I’ll explain what actually causes alcohol use disorder—and why staying sober doesn’t fix it. This isn’t about willpower, or how much or how often you drink. It’s how you respond to yourself when you make a mistake. Inside this episode, you’ll learn: Why beating yourself up after a “bad night” locks the pattern in deeper How to retrain your brain to treat your hangovers with compassion instead of shame And what happens when you set realistic expectations and learn how to fail forward. This episode will give you a foundational perspective shift so you can finally make sense of why trying to rely on willpower doesn’t work—and what actually does. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you’re ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!
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EP263 Minisode: Country Roads Take Me Home (2): Doubling down on my performance strategies
In this continuation, Colleen shares how West Virginia shifted her in ways she didn’t see coming. She found herself in a community where image didn’t matter, where people belonged by being present, not by performing. That freedom to be—messy hair, bare face, imperfect and real—awakened something deeper: the possibility of self-trust. The relationships and experiences from that time became a compass she carried forward. Even as life evolved, that season revealed what authenticity feels like, and how quickly it disappears when we chase approval instead of honoring ourselves. 🔑 Key Takeaways True belonging isn’t earned—it’s experienced when you drop the mask. Freedom grows when you stop measuring yourself against external standards. Authenticity isn’t about circumstances—it’s about how you choose to show up. The lessons that change us most are the ones we carry long after we leave a place. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen’s NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Transcript
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EP262 Minisode: Country Roads Take Me Home (1): Checking all the boxes
In this episode, Colleen begins a five-part mini-series by reflecting on a season of life where everything looked perfect on the outside—four children, big career moves, and daily discipline to name a few. But on the inside she was hollow, disconnected, and coping in ways that kept her stuck. The move to West Virginia became more than a change of scenery; it became a field trip into herself. It was here she first began to see the difference between living to perform and learning to be. What felt like upheaval at the time now stands out as a turning point—the beginning of finding her own voice beneath the roles and responsibilities. 🔑 Key Takeaways Success without connection to self eventually collapses. Coping mechanisms are often misguided attempts at emotional regulation. Living “from the outside in” erodes trust in your own experience. Sometimes the biggest gifts come disguised as disruption. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you’re struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen’s NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Transcript
Would you like to reduce your alcohol consumption by 80 percent so you can enjoy drinking socially without relying on alcohol to manage your stress, anxiety, loneliness and boredom when you're by yourself?
Most high achieving women assume over-drinking is caused by a lack of willpower--or worse, the incurable disease of "alcoholism." So they beat themselves up and avoid asking for help because they feel ashamed and out of control.
Whether you’re a daily drinker who can’t break the habit, or you're still going to sobriety meetings even though you don’t drink anymore, the real problem is that you don’t trust yourself.
Which means it’s not about the alcohol. It’s about your relationship with yourself.
I’m an intuitive drinking coach helping professional women learn how drinking less (or not at all) is actually a superpower, even when the idea of giving up the only thing that helps them quiet their mind feels impossible.
The solution to alcohol use disorder is a FEELING. If you felt comfortable in your own skin and at ease in your life, you would drink like someone who is comfortable and at ease!
Join me each week for holistic, evidence-based strategies to fix your dopamine deficit, regulate your nervous system, cure imposter syndrome, manage sugar cravings, improve your sleep and reclaim your mental health so you no longer have the urge to escape your own body.
Get happy, not sober. Because happy people don’t drink themselves into a stupor.
Ireland