Did we blast our brains beyond repair with all of our drinking? What if you drank heavily for decades? Are you doomed? In this episode I’m explaining a ton of different studies on brain recovery in sobriety. You’ll learn what to expect as you get more sober time, if our brains make a full recovery, how long it takes to see improvement, how drinking less impacts your brain, and more about how alcohol damages the brain.
What to listen to next:
E195: when does sobriety get better
E12: why we blackout from drinking alcohol
E191: going back and forth makes your cravings stronger
E187: how multiple cycles of withdrawal impacts your brain

Resources I offer:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Weekly emails on Thursdays with the sober tip of the week, announcements, interviews, and more. https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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.



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E196: How the Brain Recovers After Quitting Drinking

I promise you, you're not a weak-willed loser with no self-control. There are a lot of reasons why we can't control the way we drink- trauma, lack of coping skills, stress, anger, anxiety. Plus, as you'll learn in my podcast, alcohol takes advantage of our vulnerabilities to hook us, then it changes our brains to keep us stuck and reliant on alcohol. It's not about willpower. In the Sober Powered Podcast, I use science, psychology, and compassion to help you understand why you use self-destructive coping skills like alcohol, what happens in the brain to make drinking spiral out of control and prevent us from drinking in moderation, and how to develop the coping skills and emotional sobriety you need to quit drinking and stay sober.
About me: I quit drinking on November 9, 2019. I have a master's in biology and I'm a certified anger management specialist and crisis intervention specialist.
Not sure where to start? My most popular episodes are 99, 150, 170, 177, 180, 186, 191, 194, 196, 197 and 202.

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Do we “get” to be sober or do we have to be sober? What if you don’t want to glamorize sobriety or think about alcohol as a class one carcinogen? Do you have to call yourself an alcoholic to quit drinking for good? In this episode I’m explaining how we think we are different from everyone else and 5 different ways I’ve seen the sober community talk about sobriety. At the end of the episode I’ll share how to know if your thinking is helping you quit drinking or keeping you trapped in the cycle with excuses and unrealistic expectations.
What to listen to next:
E138: 5 ways problem drinkers think differently
E204: can anyone get addicted to alcohol?

Sober Support:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E215: 5 Different Ways of Thinking About Sobriety

We drink to cope because it seems to help us manage anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, etc., but self-medicating with alcohol only makes your problems worse. Drinking to cope increases our risk of developing a problem and in this episode I’ll explain why. You’ll learn how much more likely coping drinkers are to develop a problem, how this makes it harder to quit drinking, and how drinking to cope differs for men and women.
What to listen to next:
E111 Drinking alone
E206 HALT
E212 resilience

Bonus Episode: 2 Ways to Reduce Chaos and Overwhelm in Your Life
https://www.soberpowered.com/skills

Sober Support:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E214: Self-Medicating with Alcohol

We think that turning off our brain with alcohol at the end of the day is “me time” and it’s the only way to get a break. This isn’t self-care, it’s called being depleted and trying to survive a life that drains you. Poor self-care is one of the most reliable predictors of relapse in people trying to get sober. It’s important and in this episode I’m explaining what self-care is, how we can navigate transition times, and 5 simple ways you can begin to prioritize self-care in your life. I’ve been slacking hard on my self-care for a while, so I’ll also explain how this has been impacting me and my plan to stop depleting myself moving forward.
What to listen to next:
E188: wellness over weight loss

Sober Support:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E213: Self-Care is NOT Temporarily Turning Off Your Brain (Getting "Me Time")

It’s frustrating if you keep trying to stop drinking, but aren’t succeeding. We’ve discussed the brain changes that make it more difficult in a few recent episodes, but there are other factors as well. In this episode we’ll discuss the difference in how people handle the same life circumstances and stressors, and what determines whether you will be resilient in the face of stress and hardship. You’ll learn about epigenetic changes that make it more difficult to be resilient and how your family, friends and support system plays a role.
Sober Powered Skills bonus episode: 3 Skills to Practice to Improve Your Resilience
https://www.soberpowered.com/skills

What to listen to next
E149: alcohol and the nervous system
E210: good news, your brain heals A Lot within 90 days… unless you relapse
E204: why some people get addicted and others don't
Bullying story:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/38-sober-powered-a-coffee-with-gillian-tietz/id1653657536?i=1000623771932
https://www.recoveryelevator.com/re-461-wait-you-drink-poison/

Sober Support:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E212: Why Some People Get Sober and Others Don’t (Resilience and Epigenetics)

Anticipation of the reward from alcohol is one of the main reasons we stay stuck in the back and forth cycle. We believe alcohol will help us relax, unwind, deal with negative emotions, have fun, or connect with others. This is what causes cravings for alcohol. In this episode I’ll explain how we learn to associate certain things with drinking, how we can break these associations after we quit drinking, and 2 ways that you can reduce cravings.
What to listen to next:
E62: dopamine deep dive
E197: making the decision to quit drinking
E143: how to stay accountable in your sobriety
E128: why cravings are so powerful 

Sober Support:

Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free



 
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more:
https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E196: How the Brain Recovers After Quitting Drinking

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