Episode 8: Thinking out loud about Trump, Petrol and my sobriety journey

Episode Description:

Welcome back to Just Glen. This week starts off light but goes somewhere deeply personal. I'm thinking out loud about the crazy state of the world—from the fact that it just cost me $250 to fill up my car, to the absolute reality-TV chaos of Donald Trump's situation in Iran. We also take a quick detour into what I'm watching right now (including the weirdest Will Ferrell movie I've ever seen).

But the core of today's episode is something I've been wanting to share for a long time. Tomorrow, March 25th, marks exactly four years since I had my last alcoholic drink.

For over 30 years, I never went to a social event without a drink in my hand, and I never once thought to ask why. Today, I'm talking about the drinking culture of the 80s, the raw panic of my first sober social event, and the profound "aha" moment when I realised that alcohol was never actually my problem—it was the solution to a problem I didn't know I had.

This is a real, raw, and unscripted look at anxiety, childhood trauma, and the incredible clarity that comes from putting the drink down and finally meeting the person who picked it up in the first place.

In this episode, we cover:

•[00:00] The $250 fill-up: Why petrol prices are mental right now and my short-lived dream of buying an electric car.

•[01:50] Geopolitics with Glen: Trying to make sense of Trump, Iran, and the "orange man's presidency."

•[03:11] What I'm Watching: Why you need to see The Afterparty, the Cougar Town connection to Shrinking, and waiting for the jokes in the Will Ferrell drama Downhill.

•[05:57] The Deep Dive: Celebrating four years of sobriety and the turning point that made me stop.

•[14:47] The first hurdle: The raw, unmedicated panic of attending a black-tie ball completely sober.

•[16:06] The Epiphany: Discovering that social anxiety—rooted in childhood trauma—was the real reason I drank.

•[17:53] Life now: How I navigate social events today, learning to be the "observer," and the power of the Irish exit.

•[21:46] Meeting the real me: Navigating friendships when people only ever knew the "drinking, partying" version of you.

Quotes from this episode:

•"I felt like a carpenter turning up to a job site without his tools. I was really exposed. It was terrifying."

•"The problem that I had was never alcohol. The alcohol was the solution to a problem I didn't know I had."

•"It's been the best four years of my life, and there's no doubt that four years has coincided with me not drinking. That's the actual truth."

Links & Resources:

•Find out more about Glen and his work at The Life Coaching College

•Shows mentioned: The Afterparty (Apple TV), Shrinking (Apple TV), Paradise (Hulu/Disney+), Downhill (Netflix)

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