It’s Dry January and whether you’re participating for the first time, the 3rd time, or you’re working towards long term sobriety, then there are some things that most people struggle with. You may not struggle with all of these things, but it’s good to be prepared just in case. In this episode we’ll review 4 different challenges you may face and I’ll help you come up with a plan to deal with each one.

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

It’s almost New Year, New Me time and before you make plans and goals for 2026, I’d love to walk you through a sobriety audit to evaluate how far you’ve come over the past year. In this episode I’ll guide you through an audit of your identity shift to becoming a person who doesn’t drink, you’re emotional growth and skill development, and help you recognize any signs of drifting backwards to relief and comfort seeking.

What to listen to next:

E267: resources vs support: how to set yourself up for success

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

Holiday overwhelm isn’t about being weak, it’s about carrying more emotional weight with fewer internal resources. In this episode, I walk you through simple ways to stay regulated when the pressure builds. You’ll learn how to reduce emotional overload, recover faster from overstimulation, and navigate challenging environments and people.

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

The holidays create the perfect storm for stress and emotional reactivity in sobriety. Your reward system may still be healing, your stress circuitry is more sensitive, your routine is disrupted, and old family roles and comparisons drain your patience fast. Most importantly, I teach you how to regulate before the stress hits so you’re not constantly trying to recover from emotional overload. This is the foundation of real stress resilience in sobriety.

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

Family interactions can trigger the relapse mindset long before cravings show up. You’ll learn how old emotional roles, deep shame pathways, and the brain’s threat-prediction system pull you back into survival mode and why alcohol becomes the remembered shortcut for relief. I break down seven internal permission slips that fuel relapse thinking and the emotional chain reaction behind them. This episode teaches you how to interrupt the pattern early, before the thought of drinking even enters the picture. 

What to listen to next:

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

This fear hits so many people between 6–18 months sober. In this episode, we’ll look at the deeper roots of this thought: identity lag, internalized criticism, perfectionism, shame, and the brain’s inability to feel progress early on. I break down why everything feels slow, and why “being behind” is almost never about sobriety itself. This episode helps you understand what’s really going on underneath that pressure and how to interpret it without spiraling or beating yourself up.

E270: Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober

E302: Feeling Like a Normal Person Again After 8-10 Months

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

Non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails are very popular, but are they good for your sobriety? In this episode I’ll explain both sides of the argument- how they can be helpful for your sobriety and how they can be triggering, cause cravings, or hold you back. You’ll learn if 0.5% non-alcoholic drinks are okay to drink and why you may get the feeling of a fake buzz when you consume alcohol-free drinks.

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

A lot of clients will tell me that they feel like a normal person again. This isn’t a random occurrence, there are 4 very real changes that are happening to the brain during the healing process that allow you to feel normal eventually. In this episode I’ll describe this milestone and 4 changes that make it possible.

If you enjoy learning about timelines, then there is a detailed timeline of healing and what to expect inside my community or as a client resource.

What to listen to next:

E300: how problem drinking develops and escalates

E296: the science of why we drink

E295: the feeling of lost time

E289: emotional tunnel vision: when little problems are a big deal

E283: alcohol shortens your perception of time

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

If you think you’re a loser and a failure, then you’re going to behave in ways that confirm these beliefs. We all have beliefs about our inherent worth and what we deserve, and when life starts getting too good, we’ll self-sabotage to bring ourselves back down. In this episode, I’ll explain the self-worth ceiling and where this comes from so you can get some insight on your own motivations behind your behavior.

What to listen to next:

E269: autopilot

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

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

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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

How do you know if you’re someone who needs to get sober for good or if you’re just going through a phase? In this episode, I’ll share about how my drinking progressed over the years and a lot of research about how drinking motives differ in problem drinkers vs take it or leave it drinkers, how being sober curious progresses problematic drinking, and how putting your brain through multiple cycles of withdrawal makes it more difficult to get out of the cycle. 

What to listen to next:

E267: resources vs support: are you setting yourself up for success?

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email

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

Support the show:

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered

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

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