E284: Reward Substitution: Healthy vs. Harmful Replacements for Alcohol
When we quit drinking, it’s pretty common to pick up another crutch or transfer the addiction to something else like food, work, cannabis, shopping, etc. Your brain still wants comfort, relief, stimulation, and escape and it’s easy to use other methods of relief instead of doing the emotional work and not needing relief. In this episode, I discuss the desire to replace alcohol with something else, how we do this in unhealthy ways, and what healthy reward substitution looks like. If you’ve ever said “at least it’s not alcohol”, then this episode is for you!
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors
Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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19:49
E283: Alcohol Shortens Your Perception of Time (Instant Gratification)
Learning to put effort into our lives, be patient, and not rely on instant gratification is challenging. Alcohol teaches us that we can have what we want immediately and with no effort. Real life doesn’t work that way. In this episode, I explain alcohol myopia, which is how alcohol narrows our focus and prevents us from accurately thinking about the future. You’ll learn about how your brain is wired for instant gratification and how to start breaking out of this when you get sober.
What to listen to next:
E254: Why You Can’t Make Good Decisions About Your Drinking (or Anything Else)
E263: Sugar Cravings After Quitting Drinking
E265: Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober
E267: Resources vs Support
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors
Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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18:08
E282: Minimizing, Rationalizing, and the Myth of “I Wasn’t That Bad”
Maybe your drinking isn’t/wasn’t that bad, but does that mean it’s good? If you don’t truly face what you’re doing, then how can you expect to change and move forward? In this episode, we dig into the psychological tricks we use to protect ourselves from the truth about our drinking- minimizing, rationalizing, and rewriting the past. I explain how cognitive dissonance, memory decay, and emotional self-protection keep us stuck in the cycle, and why excusing our behavior prevents real change. You'll learn what happens in the brain when we reframe harmful moments as one time occurrences, and how that keeps us from learning, growing, or getting sober for good.
What to listen to next:
E164: how taking breaks help me quit drinking for good
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors
Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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19:11
E281: Why Your Brain Makes Drinking Look Better Than It Was
When the sun comes out, so do the memories of “fun” drinking days, but are those memories even accurate? In this episode, I break down how your brain edits the past to make alcohol look better than it really was. I’ll explain how dopamine, emotional memory, and the fading affect bias distort your perception of your drinking life, and why the “good times” are often more fantasy than fact. You’ll learn how to interrupt the craving cycle before it starts and I’ll share a personal story about my own distorted alcohol memories around drinking on vacation. If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for a version of drinking that never really existed, this episode will help you ground yourself in the truth.
What to listen to next:
E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations
E269: Autopilot mode
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors
Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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18:06
E280: Romanticizing Alcohol: What’s Going on in Your Brain
Are these harmless thoughts or do they lead to relapse? In this episode you’ll learn what is going on in your brain when you romanticize alcohol, how this can make being sober more challenging, and 3 ways to break the romanticizing loop. I’ll share a story from 4 years ago about when I romanticized alcohol, how I used tools, and what that same situation would look like today.
What to listen to next:
E269: Autopilot mode
E273: How the sober brain breaks down alcohol associations
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors
Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
About Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober
Being sober isn't a punishment. Sober life is not a last resort for weak-willed losers who aren't strong enough to figure it out. You can be sober without feeling deprived or left out.
Millions of people wake up with another hangover and Google, "how do I know if I'm an alcoholic?". We get stuck on the label and the stigma, when instead we should be asking ourselves, "is alcohol making me miserable?" and "would I be happier if I quit drinking?" In the Sober Powered Podcast, Gill, a former biochemist turned sober coach, walks you through the latest research on alcohol use disorder using her own sober story as a case study along the way. The science of how alcohol affects the brain can help you depersonalize your drinking experience so you can finally say goodbye to your hopes and dreams of moderating someday (because you clearly can't moderate!). Getting sober doesn't mean you are a weak-willed loser with no self-control, it simply means you are a person who can't drink. Your brain loves it too much and you are too hardcore.
Each episode features in depth explanations of what is going on in the brain along with the tools and mindset shifts that Gill works on with her clients to help them accept being sober, let go of shame, and learn the coping skills required to manage stress and emotions sober -in the hopes of helping you do the same.
Website: www.soberpowered.com
Listen to Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober, The Fit Positive Podcast and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app
Ireland