Stop Over-drinking and Start Living

Your body doesn't reach for the wine because you're weak. It reaches because it's never learned that discomfort is survivable. That changes today.

In this episode, I share the story of Amy — a high-achieving client who came to The Magic House retreat in Lisbon for the photos and left with something she didn't expect: a completely different relationship with her phone, her body, and the quiet moments she used to fill with scrolling.

No decision. No willpower. It just happened.

That's what building a regulated nervous system actually looks like. And in this episode, you'll learn exactly how to start building yours.

You'll learn:

Why women who over-drink tend to be disconnected from their own bodies — and what the research says about the link between body awareness and alcohol cravings

What interoception is and why training it is one of the most powerful things you can do to stop over-drinking

How embodied practices like breathwork, forest bathing, mindfulness, yoga, and sound healing work — and why they have nothing to do with relaxation

The simple grounding practice Angela uses at every retreat that you can do anywhere, starting today

Why your nervous system can't be talked into feeling safe — and what to do instead

If you're a woman who drinks more than you want to, finds herself reaching for a glass at 5pm almost automatically, or has tried every top-down strategy and still can't seem to make it stick — this episode is for you.

No labels. No shame. No telling you to quit forever. Just the science, the story, and a place to start.

This is the Stop Over-Drinking and Start Living podcast with certified stop over-drinking coach Angela Mascenik. New episodes every week for high-achieving women who want to change their relationship with alcohol, feel their feelings, and actually live their lives.

Find Angela at angelamascenik.com | Learn about The Magic House Retreat Center in Lisbon, Portugal at https://www.angelamascenik.com/magichousefounderscircle

This week I share a small bit about what happened at The Magic House in Lisbon during my first retreat.

One woman shared that here cognitive firing came back online and that for the past year or 2 she couldn't recall some of her vocabulary that she prided herself on.. and it came back online.

One woman shared she felt like a shell of herself when she first arrived and at the end she felt whole and alive and like herself again.

One woman realized she was prioritizing everyone else and wasn't listening to her own needs and learned how to do that this week.

There were first yoga practices, sound baths and massages.

There was adventure and integration.

Stepping away from our day to day lets us see what is and isn't working and where we might need to pay attention more.

Allowing yourself to tell yourself the truth, learn how to be in your body to access important wisdom, and being surrounded by beautiful souls all doing it together is transformative.

Also, having a private chef and not having to do any chores helps too!

Magic happens at The Magic House Retreat Center and you definitley want to be a part of it!!

Join us in May or April 2027.

Angela Mascenik is a certified coach who helps women stop over-drinking and has created an elevated bohemian sanctuary in a century old building in Lisbon, where women come to release their own magic without substances clouding their true needs and desires.

Click the link to get more info about the Lisbon Magic House:
https://www.angelamascenik.com/magichousefounderscircle

Please enjoy this podcast REWIND- Frustration As Fuel

This episode I dive into how you can channel your frustration to stop over-drinking to get you to take actions you haven't been willing to take. Frustration can be a great emotion to initiate permanent changes if you know how to identify which actions will move you forward or keep you stuck.

Angela Mascenik, certified stop over-drinking coach, breaks what it really takes to create lasting change from the inside out with your relationship with alcohol, every week in the Stop Over-drinking and Start Living podcast.

If you’re successful, responsible, and “high functioning” on the outside but privately exhausted from managing alcohol in your head, you'll resonate with the helpful tips in this episode to cut back or take a break from alcohol.

Click the link to get more info about the Lisbon Magic House:
https://www.angelamascenik.com/magichousefounderscircle

This week's podcast is a must listen if you have been making drink plans or zero drink plans and not following them.

First, I'm sharing how I'm self-coaching myself through the final days before I welcome my first group to The Magic House Retreat Center in Lisbon, Portugal! And you can apply this to any project or big event in your life that might be happening.

Then, I share a tactic that will help you interrupt the automatica behavior of drinking off plan, even when you have the best intentions to stick to your plan in the morning.

The idea is that we need to pro-actively check in with ourselves and Stop - Notice- Process BEFORE the urge or the chatter hits at the end of the day.

SNP {Stop - Notice - Process} is my signature interruption technique to handle urges or interrupt behavior when we have strong feelings or desires to do drink or take unwanted actions.

Don't miss this episode.

Angela Mascenik, certified stop over-drinking coach, breaks what it really takes to create lasting change from the inside out with your relationship with alcohol, every week in the Stop Over-drinking and Start Living podcast.

If you’re successful, responsible, and “high functioning” on the outside but privately exhausted from managing alcohol in your head, you'll resonate with the helpful tips in this episode to cut back or take a break from alcohol.

Click the link to get more info about the Lisbon Magic House:
https://www.angelamascenik.com/magichousefounderscircle

Please enjoy this podcast REWIND:

I received a great question last week around the fears we have when we think about changing our drinking.

Here it is:

The biggest fear I have about not drinking is a potential loss of emotional connection with other people. My husband and I have a routine of drinking together, having one of our great, deep conversations. And with other people - I love to connect deeply with people and put them at their ease - and so many people use mutual drinking to do that!

I met a friend of mine who’s going through a hard time. I didn’t drink, so she didn’t drink, but it felt like neither of us could quite relax and enjoy ourselves. And with new friends - so often people use mutual drinking with me to let their guards down and get to know each other.

I know this is all just an unfortunate part of the drinking culture, but this, I feel, is the biggest barrier to me not socially drinking: the loss of apparent mutual intimacy.

This is such a great question.

This podcast episode addresses this common fear, how alcohol actually doesn't help build true intimacy, and some ideas on how to start building intimacy without drinking.

Enrollment for Alive AF! is open until April 3!
Join here → www.angelamascenik.com/aliveaf