In today's episode, Colleen walks us through a deceptively simple question that came up on a recent coaching call: How do I actually feel my feelings? The answer isn’t mindset. It isn’t a technique. It’s presence. She explores the difference between thinking about emotions and physically experiencing them—without adding a story, a solution, or a label.

With grounded metaphors and everyday honesty, she invites you to see emotions as temporary energy—not identity. You’ll hear what happens when we resist that energy, and how easily it creates stagnation, self-protection, and shame loops that can shape entire patterns of behavior.

If you’ve been trying to “work on yourself” without shifting how you relate to your emotional state, this episode may open a quieter, more embodied door.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Feeling your feelings means staying present with physical sensation—not interpreting it.

• Resistance to emotion creates stagnation and keeps old stories alive.

• Emotions aren’t problems to fix; they’re energy to allow.

• Identity forms when we attach meaning to temporary emotional states.

• You don’t need to change your story—just stop holding onto it.

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

Click here to watch this episode on YouTube!

If you've ever wondered whether medication could help you drink less — or you’ve tried naltrexone and felt disappointed — this episode is for you.

I’m joined by Katie Lain, founder of Thrive Recovery and a fierce advocate for the Sinclair Method — a science-backed approach that uses naltrexone to reduce alcohol cravings over time. Katie shares her personal story of going from daily binge drinking to finding freedom without needing to get sober. She’s also going to explain what most people get wrong about relying on medication alone to change their relationship with alcohol.

If you’ve been stuck in the “gray area” — drinking more than you want to, but not seeing yourself as an alcoholic — you’ll love this conversation. You’ll walk away with a big-picture understanding of what it takes to rewire the brain for lasting change, and how to move through the messy middle of behavior change without shame, guilt, or black-and-white thinking.

Katie Lain is the founder of Thrive Alcohol Recovery. You can find her @thrivealcoholrecovery on YouTube, Instagram, Linked-In and Facebook. 

Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer

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.

—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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In today’s episode, Colleen shares a personal and refreshingly honest story about her relationship with nicotine—and how emotional sobriety has shifted the way she responds to temporary imbalance. What starts as a candid reflection on sneaky vape relapses becomes a powerful reminder that healing isn’t about perfection. It’s about how we respond when we veer off course.

Colleen takes us through her own journey of regulating her nervous system, loosening old beliefs about addiction, and trusting that balance always returns—especially when we stop making a big deal out of being human. This isn’t a story about failure; it’s a blueprint for self-trust, grace, and gently coming home to yourself without shame.

If you've ever found yourself back in an old habit and wondered, "Did I just ruin everything?"—this episode offers a softer, smarter answer: No. You just forgot for a second how resilient you really are.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Your comeback is always stronger when you respond to imbalance with curiosity, not panic.

• Slipping into an old habit doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you're human.

• The belief that you must “hack” your body to be okay is a lie; balance comes from within.

• There’s equal evidence that you can self-correct—so feed that belief instead.

• Emotional sobriety means trusting your body, your experience, and your ability to return to center.

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

In today’s episode, Colleen lifts the veil on a common self-sabotage mechanism that often flies under the radar: worry. What begins as a moment of genuine joy and success quickly dissolves into anxiety—and not because something actually went wrong, but because her nervous system quietly panicked at how good it all felt.

Using a relatable personal story and the concept of the “upper limit problem,” Colleen explores how we unconsciously block positive emotions the moment they start to expand. Whether it's a burst of pride, creative momentum, or a deep sense of peace, many of us unknowingly kink the hose of our own emotional flow—defaulting to worry as a way to shut it all down.

This episode offers a practical and empowering reframe: your worry isn't a warning—it’s a signal that something good is trying to get in. If you’re ready to stop letting anxiety pull the plug on your joy, this one’s for you.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• Worrying is rarely helpful—it’s often just your brain’s way of shutting down positive feelings.

• The moment you feel amazing is often the exact moment your brain tries to sabotage it.

• Overthinking is usually under-feeling—go back to what you were feeling before the worry kicked in.

• Blocking good feelings also blocks creative, aligned thoughts. Don’t let your brain shut the door on new ideas.

• Ask yourself: What positive emotion is this worry trying to block? That question can change everything.

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

Click here to watch on YouTube!

If you’ve ever done an alcohol free challenge for 30, 60 or 90 days, maybe even a year, only to fall back into old habits when you started drinking again— this episode is for you. In today’s deep dive, Colleen Freeland explains why behavior-based sobriety models (like Sober Sis, Annie Grace, and Casey Davidson’s approaches) can actually keep you trapped in the very drinking cycle you’re trying to escape.

You’ll learn why the real issue isn’t alcohol — it’s the perfectionistic, all-or-nothing mindset these programs reinforce. Colleen unpacks the neuroscience of habit change and explains why shame, identity labels, and emotional avoidance block your brain’s ability to rewire for good.

She’ll walk you through the Default Mode Network, Reticular Activating System, and the Habenula — three key parts of the brain where habits live — and show you how to reprogram your subconscious mind through identity-based change and emotional safety.

🔍 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why sobriety programs are a psychological “bait and switch”

• The difference between behavior change vs. identity change

• How all-or-nothing thinking fuels binge cycles

• What it really means to build trust with yourself

• Why you need to stop counting sober days

• How to redefine success in a context that has nothing to do with alcohol

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 and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@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!

In today’s episode, Colleen peels back the curtain on one of the most radical shifts we can make: recognizing that we are not our thoughts—we’re the observer behind them. What starts as a reflection on managing the energy in your body becomes a masterclass in emotional authorship, reminding us that our thoughts, not our circumstances, are what create our lived reality.

Using the metaphor of a self-driving car, Colleen breaks down how most of us are unconsciously letting outdated programming steer our lives. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When you take back the wheel—choosing how you want to feel and filtering your thoughts through that emotional compass—you begin to rewrite the narrative of your life, one aligned action at a time.

This episode is both a wake-up call and a permission slip: to believe what feels good, let go of what causes suffering, and trust that healing your inner world is how you change the outer one. If you've ever wondered whether it’s really possible to feel free, peaceful, and powerful in your own skin—this is your answer.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• You are not your thoughts—you’re the one hearing them. Use that awareness to change your story.

• Your body is your compass; if a thought feels heavy or constricting, it’s not the truth you need.

• You don’t need external validation to feel good—you need internal alignment.

• Emotional energy is your language with the universe. Tune it, and your life will start to reflect it.

• The bravest thing you can do is feel your feelings and then choose the ones you want more of.

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

In today’s episode, Colleen walks us through a high-stakes moment with one of her clients—standing at the emotional fork in the road between old habits and radical self-responsibility.

After a tense night at her childhood home, surrounded by triggering family dynamics and judgment, this client found herself spiraling into shame after a single shot of tequila… and a familiar pattern of self-attack. With her sister likely ready to confront her, she reached out for support—not to fix the situation, but to reclaim her power before it got hijacked.

What unfolds is a masterclass in nervous system protection, mindset choice, and learning how to stop reacting to the stories in your head (and the ones projected onto you). This episode is your reminder that peace isn't earned through explanation—it’s chosen in the moment, with breath, presence, and courage.

If you’ve ever felt like you have to prove, fix, or defend your choices just to feel okay again—this one will show you another way.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• You can’t rewrite the story from inside the story—you have to leave it behind to create something new.

• Your body is your true self. Protect it like a mama bear.

• Emotional pain often comes not from others’ opinions, but your own mind’s interpretation of them.

• You don’t owe anyone an explanation to feel okay. Permission comes from you.

• Real power is choosing how you want to feel—and aligning your actions to create that state, without waiting for someone else to “get it.”

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

Click here to register for the neural rewrite masterclass! How to escape your negative self-talk.

Click here to watch this episode on YouTube! 

What happens when you’re the person everyone counts and you’re secretly falling apart?

In this episode, Colleen sits down with tech founder, entrepreneur and coach Mike Hardenbrook for an honest conversation about what it looks like when high-functioning people hit their limit. Mike opens up about the moment his drinking stopped working, why success can be a mask for burnout, and what it really takes to start living from self-trust instead of self-discipline.

Mike’s story is proof that you don’t have to lose everything to change—but you do have to stop pretending everything’s fine.

If you’re tired of performing under pressure, this episode will show you how to walk away from the bad habits that aren’t serving you anymore without losing your edge--or the fun version of yourself. 

Mike has also developed a brand of supplements specifically for drinkers looking to cut back that have been shown to reduce alcohol cravings up to 60% and correct the nutritional deficiencies caused by regular drinking. 

Find Mike: Mike's Instagram  Mike's Website. 

Click here to shop for the Cloud 9 supplements mentioned in the interview.

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! 

In today’s episode, Colleen shares a real-life moment of emotional sobriety in action—when an old blog post, a rogue email, and a morning scroll tried to hijack her peace before she even got out of bed.

What begins as a minor tech task quickly spirals into a stress response… until she catches it. Instead of reacting from urgency, she pauses, reconnects with her intention for the day, and remembers: just because it feels urgent doesn’t mean it is.

This episode is a practical, embodied reminder that emotional sobriety isn’t about getting it perfect—it’s about noticing the pattern before it runs your whole day. If you're done letting false alarms steal your time, energy, and presence, this one shows you how to reclaim control—without rushing to fix anything.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• You are the director of your attention—not your email, not your stress, not your past habits.

• Feelings aren’t facts—your body is just signaling what your brain has been rehearsing.

• New habits don’t erase old ones—you overwrite them with intention and repetition.

• Sensations that constrict you are red flags that you’re believing an old, unhelpful thought.

• Your day doesn’t begin when you check your phone—it begins when you decide how you want to feel.

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

In today’s episode, Colleen reveals the sneaky way our own thoughts quietly become emotional abuse—and how to interrupt the habit of thinking things that hurt.

From bedtime mirror pep talks to buried beliefs about being “a hot mess,” this episode explores how subconscious thought loops create the feelings that sabotage your confidence, relationships, and self-trust. Colleen explains how your nervous system isn’t reacting to your circumstances—it’s reacting to your story. And most of that story? It’s fiction you’ve been rehearsing for years.

If you’re ready to stop bullying yourself with thoughts you’d never say out loud to a friend, this episode is your start to choosing a better script and creating safety in your own mind.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

• The way you feel about yourself is just a reflection of the thoughts you repeat.

• Your thoughts aren’t facts—they’re habits.

• Negative emotions are your body’s way of flagging old, outdated beliefs.

• If you wouldn’t say it to someone else, it doesn’t belong in your internal dialogue either.

• The path to healing starts with noticing the thought, pausing the habit, and choosing again—on purpose.

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