Sober Edge

In this episode of The Sober Edge Podcast, we explore how alcohol dulls our five senses—sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell—and what happens when we remove it from our lives.

From the rich flavors of food to the warmth of human connection, breaking free from alcohol allows us to experience the world in full color again.

Join host Teri Patterson as she delves into the science behind sensory impairment and shares inspiring insights on how we can rediscover joy, presence, and beauty in the everyday moments that make life extraordinary.

Full Show Notes Here

Emotions can feel overwhelming, especially when we're no longer numbing them with alcohol. In this episode, we'll explore together how we can better understand and manage our emotions in this alcohol-free life. From self-awareness to self-regulation, we'll discuss practical ways to move beyond reaction and into intentional response.

Whether you're facing frustration, anxiety, or even joy, learning to process emotions in a healthy way is key to loving your AF life.

Join me as I share insights and tools to help you experience emotional freedom and navigate life's ups and downs while feeling all those 'big sober feelings'!

Full Show Notes Here

The future of non-alcoholic beverages is bold, innovative, and—thanks to Focus by Be Honest Bev. Co.—packed with an extra boost. In this episode, I dive into the evolving world of NA drinks and where hemp-infused drinks fit into the mix. My guest, Michelle Houston, shares the surprising twists and challenges of creating a better, cleaner, and more intentional beverage. Could this be the new go-to for mindful drinkers? Tune in to find out!

Full Show Notes Here

Emotions, motivation and alcohol. When it comes to emotions, we need to understand a few things about alcohol and the connection between our feelings and our motivations.

There are four pillars of human motivation that overlap with emotions.

1. Avoid pain: our natural inclination is to avoid pain. When it comes to being motivated to change our relationship with alcohol, avoiding pain can be a help or a barrier...
2. Seek Pleasure: just as we want to avoid pain, we are also wired to seek pleasure. This is partly due to our old friend, dopamine, which is responsible for focus and motivation. Once again, we need to understand that 'seeking pleasure' can move us toward our goal or get in the way of us making sustained changes...
3. Conserve Energy: how many of us use alcohol as a way to manage our energy? Knowing that our brain is focused on conserving energy can be helpful when we consider the 'energy drain' that comes with drinking and overdrinking...
4. Prove itself right: our brains are prediction machines. We love to know the answer; we love to be right! When it comes to motivation for a sober-curious life, this default mode can get in the way...

Using this new awareness takes time and practice. See if you can catch yourself in one of these dynamics this week. Notice where you want to be right, or are focused on avoiding pain. Use the opportunity to explore how this new sense of understanding can keep you motivated to change!

Full Show Notes Here

Check out my new affiliation with Alcohol-Free Lifestyle; a place for high achievers to take a 90 day break from alcohol and discover more purpose, productivity and satisfaction!

Back again for an encore is my very special conversation with Amanda E. White. This is the most popular episode of The Sober Edge Podcast and I invite you to listen in to this important conversation about:

• Women's health
• Boundaries around drinking
• Making an empowered choice

Since our conversation in 2021, Amanda had continued to be a powerful voice and advocate for 'not drinking tonight'.

Full Show Notes Here

Getting a 'fresh start' or 'a new lease on life' might seem the perfect way to begin your alcohol-free journey.

But, what if we have some time away from alcohol, and then we go back to drinking, first just the occasional glass of wine, or beer on a hot summer's day. Gradually, (or maybe rapidly), we find ourselves drinking again every day. Now it's time to start again.

In this episode of The Sober Edge, I introduce you to a concept that sounds just slightly different from starting over but, in practice, is actually very different. Starting from where you are allows one to take the learning, the practice and wisdom that comes from taking a break from drinking and use it to create a vastly different experience. One that just might lead to permanent change.

Listen in to discover:

• The power of counting days
• What happens to our brains when we stay stuck in the cycle of stopping and starting?
• Why is it so difficult to get past Day 3?

The hidden beauty of this journey to freedom from alcohol is wrapped up in the lessons we learn from the path we take. Here's to making the path easier by shifting our minds.

Breaking news: Surgeon general calls for cancer warnings on alcohol. This headline generated a lot of messages and conversations with my family, clients and colleagues.

It's happening! Maybe...

It's been nearly four decades since Congress approved the first government warning label on alcohol, the one that says pregnant women shouldn't drink and warns about the dangers of driving while drinking. No updates have been made since then. Any effort to add a cancer warning label to alcohol would face significant push-back from a well-funded and powerful beverage industry, which spends nearly $30 million every year lobbying Congress.

In this episode of The Sober Edge Podcast, I share more about the New York Times article.

It will most likely take a long time for the outcry to result in changes in the labeling legislation. For cigarettes, it was 20 years after the first alarm bells were sounded before full labels warning of cancer were mandated. The good news is that this push may impact the guidelines about 'safe' drinking amounts, which are due to be reevaluated this year.

Full Show Notes Here

Happy 2025!

I love the energy of intention that comes with a new year. I no longer set resolutions, but I believe it is important to explore where we have been and what is ahead.

I have been enjoying hearing from other thought leaders and some of my mentors about how they embrace the new year.

In this episode of The Sober Edge Podcast, I share my own fondness for selecting a word of the year. This is a practice I have embraced for the past 5 years and one of my favorite ways to embrace the new year. I guess I am a sucker for rituals!

Here are a few other things I cover on the podcast:

• The neuroscience of goal-setting
• How to choose a word of the year
• Some 'dos and don'ts' that make this even more effective

Full Show Notes HERE

My life changed profoundly in 2015 when I decided I would give up alcohol. I knew I wanted something different, but I had no idea that this life would be better than my wildest dreams! I was simply ditching booze because I needed to change something. I had a sense it was alcohol that might be standing in the way of a more fulfilling life, but I didn't know for sure. Now I do.

My Christmas wish for all of you is to discover how much bigger and brighter and better life can be when we stop hiding and numbing and tamping down our true self. It's not that giving up alcohol in itself creates this change, but instead, it allows us to discover a part of ourselves that we have not yet met. A part that is vulnerable and messy and beautiful. A part that wants to be seen and wants to shine. This takes time and work - we will have to do hard things, but the reward is a bold and courageous life. A life where we can be fully ourselves, and we can learn to love ourselves again.

May we be brave enough to share the deepest parts of ourselves with one another so that we may be blessed by the human spirit within each of us.

Show Notes HERE

I recently sat down with Billy Wynne, co-founder of Awake, one of the first sober bars in the U.S, and author of the upcoming book, The Empty Path.

Billy shares his personal journey of how he gave up alcohol and how all roads started with his Zen Buddhist practice. Billy recalls that initially, like many of us, he made up rules about his drinking, one of which was 'never drink alone'. This led him to acknowledge that drinking didn't really have a place in his life and, in fact, he felt liberated from alcohol vs. deprived.

He shares the story of Awake and his experience with opening one of the first sober bars in the U.S. Awake closed in 2022, but not before sparking new ideas for many.

Billy and I chat about his first book (available March 2025), The Empty Path: Finding Fullfillment through the Radical Art of Lessening.

We also chatted about:

• Equanimity and mindfulness meditation
• Presence-based coaching
• The art of Savoring
• Time, Parenting and Travel... and more!

Show Notes HERE