What if your drinking habits aren’t really about alcohol at all, but about the quiet, powerful beliefs sitting beneath the surface? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey dives into the “Pyramid of Belief”, a simple framework that explains how deeply-rooted feelings of “not enough” shape much of our behaviour, including drinking.

Using lived experience and insights from Dave Gray’s "Liminal Thinking," Anna breaks down how our early experiences, the culture we grow up in, and the swirl of online comparison, all reinforce beliefs like “I’m not smart enough,” “I’m not interesting enough,” and “I’m not enough, full stop.” She explores why alcohol so often becomes the go-to answer for the emotional discomfort those beliefs trigger and guides listeners through the first, vital steps to uncovering what they’re really thirsty for.

Highlights:

00:00 Welcome & intro

00:40 The "not enough" beliefs we rarely examine

01:13 Why this episode isn’t (really) about alcohol at first

02:14 What is the Pyramid of Belief

05:04 How our minds filter reality

05:57 How a single shame-triggering moment forms a core belief

09:03 Why you’re not flawed and how “not enough” beliefs got there

10:30 Anna Donaghey’s own formative “not smart enough” moment

13:39 The modern "comparison machine"

14:20 How alcohol soothes the “not enough” wound

16:15 Key question: “What is my drinking actually trying to answer for me?”

16:27 Find your own “I’m not enough” belief

17:47 What “I need...” before a drink reveals about your core beliefs

17:59 Why pinning down beliefs (not just thoughts) is tricky

18:42 Announcing a series exploring specific “not enough” beliefs

19:37 None of this is your fault

20:23 Resources & how to join The Big Drink Rethink community.

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

Why does alcohol seem to have a different, more intense pull for some people - and could undiagnosed ADHD be the missing piece of the puzzle? In this episode, Anna Donaghey is joined by Matt Wing, a midlife mentor who spent over 30 years in a cycle of high achievement and high-functioning drinking, before a late ADHD diagnosis reframed everything.

Together, they explore the misunderstood relationship between ADHD and alcohol use, bust the myth that it’s a simple willpower problem, and break down the real, neurological drivers behind compulsive drinking.

Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Meet Matt Wing, midlife mentor, exploring ADHD and alcohol

01:13 Decades of "normal" drinking and the invisible exhaustion under it

04:45 Compulsive self-fixing, failed solutions, and obsessive searching

06:12 The pink book, ADHD traits, and why self-help didn't always land

10:21 ADHD as a chronic dopamine deficit

11:08 Instant dopamine hits: why nothing's enough

12:44 Why attempts to cut down usually fail: it's not a "willpower" issue

15:03 Alcohol's social acceptance hides its true addictiveness

18:02 ADHD drinking: urgency, intensity, and chasing the unattainable

23:19 Why 4pm is the real problem, not "having a drink problem"

24:16 Racing head syndrome: alcohol as the only "off switch" that works

29:19 Hyperfocus, the evening crash, and alcohol as relief not reward

31:13 Rejection sensitivity and rejection-sensitive dysphoria in ADHD

33:28 Why social drinking feels so necessary (and so hard to quit)

34:38 "Time blindness": why the ADHD brain struggles with "forever”

43:04 The missed ADHD generation: making sense of the past

46:22 New ways to soothe the nervous system

51:40 Growth mindset: you're not stuck, and social skills can be learned

53:37 ADHD as a superpower if you channel it right

56:40 Where to find Matt Wing and resources to get support.

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Matt Wing:

Matt Wing is the founder of Midlife Mentor, a coaching and content brand for midlife adults who want to change their relationship with alcohol without calling themselves an alcoholic or sitting in a recovery group. He's the creator of the 4PM Reset Method, built around the idea that most people don't have a drinking problem, they have a 4PM problem: the daily window where old habits take over. Matt speaks from experience, not theory, and has helped clients through his 30-Day Reset, 90-Day Deep Work, and 1:1 coaching programmes. He shares free tools and weekly insight through his newsletter, The Friday Feeling, and on Instagram @midlife.mentor, where he's built a community of over 100,000 followers.

Connect with Matt:

Website: https://www.midlifementor.me/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midlife.mentor

Why do high-flying CEOs, investors, and ultra-successful leaders, people with every resource at their fingertips, still end up stuck, lonely, and reaching for a drink?

In this episode, Anna Donaghey is joined by Lindsey Frances, a leadership psychologist. Together they unpack the universal experience of feeling trapped by drink, the myth that outer success delivers inner fulfilment, and why human suffering pays no attention to your bank balance.

Is the pull to drink really about stress, status, or socialising, or is it something deeper: unmet needs for purpose, connection, and calm? As Lindsey and Anna discover, real change starts with a single question: what are you truly thirsty for?

Highlights:

00:00 Intro: High achievers & high-functioning alcohol use

02:03 What boardrooms and AA rooms have in common

05:15 The trap: shame, disconnection, and feeling unworthy

06:09 Why suffering feels the same in £1000 shoes or 99p flip-flops

09:36 Success as an external “cage”; failing on the inside

12:14 Coping at the top: alcohol and other numbing strategies

13:32 Addiction is disconnection, so what comes first?

15:13 Alcohol as a (false) shortcut to connection and significance

17:06 What are people really thirsty for? Purpose, enough-ness, & joy

22:30 Why high achievers can’t just “stop”

26:12 Sophrology and imagining a life beyond work (and drinking)

30:27 What does constant “fight or flight” feel like?

36:31 Why you can’t biohack your way out of pain

40:08 Universal issues, whether you run hedge funds or trim hedges

45:08 Simple, accessible tools for regulating your nervous system

48:01 “Simple, but not easy”: choosing your hard

49:20 Lindsey’s own journey - making sense of emotions after quitting

54:09 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s story: why sobriety trumps career success

54:55 Serving others, and the real sources of flourishing

55:23 Where to find Lindsey Frances and resources for sophrology

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Lindsey Frances:

Lindsey Frances is a clinical sophrologist, legacy and wealth psychologist, preventative health expert and data-led performance coach, helping high performers, CEOs and investors master financial and emotional stress, sleep and self-regulation through a unique blend of sophrology, biometrics and behaviour change psychology.

In 2021, she opened a private sophrology cabinet on the Alpine French-Swiss border, where she has since guided clients ranging from cross-border executives and athletes to burnout recoverers towards calmer nervous systems and more sustainable performance.

Connect with Lindsey:

Website: https://www.lindseyfrances.co.uk/

What if all the sleep scores, step counts, and readiness reports in the world still leave you missing the point? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey unpacks the paradox of our “self-quantified” age: we collect endless data about our bodies, yet remain confused about why we reach for that Friday night drink.

Why do so many of us meticulously track our health and download optimisation apps, but still pour a glass (or two) at the end of the week even though the data says it’s a bad idea? Anna explains why metrics alone can’t change behaviour and why the real question isn’t “What does the data show?” but “What are you truly thirsty for?”

Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Obsessed by health data but still drinking?

00:44 The archetype: data-obsessive, wine-on-Friday person

02:04 We’re more quantified, and less self-aware, than ever

03:21 Data isn’t enough to change behaviour

05:30 We’ve stopped asking about causes and focus on numbers instead

06:53 The wine and wellness routines: same job, different means

07:33 Understanding your body is useful but it’s only the doorway

08:23 The answer is found in your life, not your data

09:45 The core unmet needs that drive drinking

10:06 Meeting your deeper needs transforms your relationship with alcohol

10:44 The real question: what is this drink telling me about my life?

11:29 Next week: Lindsey Frances using data as the start, not the end, of self-discovery

12:11 The question to sit with: not your sleep score but what are you thirsty for?

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

What if the real reason you feel stuck around drinking isn't a lack of willpower or information, but simply that your thinking can't yet see another way? Anna Donaghey is joined by Doug Fleener, author of "Start with What If" and creator of the "What If Rule", a simple, three-step practice for creating new perspectives in real time.

Drawing on his own journey from addiction to leadership roles at Bose Corporation, Doug shares how change really happens: through interruption, curiosity, and asking different questions. Together, he and Anna explore why curiosity trumps willpower, and how tiny shifts - like asking, "What if I just didn't drink today?" can unlock entirely new possibilities.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Welcome to The Big Drink Rethink

00:45 What if what keeps you stuck isn’t willpower?

01:01 Meet Doug Fleener

02:14 The “What If Rule”: change in real time, not ‘someday’

03:23 Doug’s 30,000ft wake-up call

06:09 The power of interruptions and rock bottoms

07:11 Why it feels easier to change your state than change your life

15:15 The real impact of asking “What if I didn’t drink just today?”

16:21 Why avoiding forever/never thinking makes change possible

17:47 “I’ll tackle it when I’m ready” - and how action actually creates clarity

23:10 The What If Rule explained: Pause, Question, Go

31:43 Why one pause matters even if you still have the drink

33:13 How identity, habit, and depletion drive drinking autopilot

37:52 Future journaling: setting intentions for who you want to be

41:12 Drinking as a default off-switch for discomfort

43:08 How to sit with feelings (instead of pushing them down)

45:42 “Nobody ever wishes they drank more”

46:47 The permission to start small

49:12 You don’t need a plan, just the next question.

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Doug Fleener:

After years of struggle with addiction and self-doubt, Doug rebuilt his life from the inside out. And his journey shaped his belief that transformation begins with one simple question: What if?

As the author of “Start With What If” and “The Day Makes the Year (Makes a Life)”, and the creator of The What If Rule, Doug helps people see challenges, habits, and everyday moments in a new light. His insights are practical, hopeful, and deeply human - showing how anyone can create better perspectives and possibilities starting today.

Connect with Doug:

Website: https://www.dougfleener.com/

Book “Start with What If?”: https://www.dougfleener.com/dougsbooks

Summer is supposed to be the easy season, so why does it so often leave us more tired, pressured, and frazzled than ever? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey unpacks the myth of the "restful summer" and the invisible standards that pile up as the weather warms: be the memory-maker, the joy-creator, the calm presence. It's a pressure that fuels depletion and quietly drives the urge for an evening drink, not for pleasure, but as an off-switch when rest feels out of reach.

Drawing on psychologist Donald Winnicott's idea of the "good enough" parent, Anna reframes what it means to do summer well, and shares practical questions to help you carve out genuine breaks, lower the pressure, and gently move away from alcohol as your only way to switch off.

If your summer doesn't feel like the break you were promised, this episode will show you you're not alone and point you toward a kinder, more sustainable way through.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Why can summers be exhausting

01:20 The real summer vs. the Instagram version

03:20 Family life: chaos of young kids or grownup kids at home

05:07 The “gap” between summer’s promise and reality

05:26 Feeling the pressure to make memories

06:03 Why we feel guilty when we finally get a break

06:31 Evenings as the first off-switch and how that cues drinking

08:03 Introducing Winnicott’s “good enough” concept

09:52 Chasing the perfect summer sets up the craving for relief

10:14 Good enough is actually enough

11:27 Once you lower the bar, the craving (and pressure) loosens

12:32 What your evening self actually needs

13:47 What would actually make summer feel like a break for you?

14:39 Specific examples for reclaiming space and calm

15:47 “Good enough” as the true standard, not a consolation prize

16:07 The real summer is messy (and that’s enough)

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

"I'm drinking less on Mounjaro, should I see this as a win?" It's a question landing in Anna Donaghey's inbox more and more, and in this listener Q&A episode, she gives it the thoughtful answer it deserves.

Medications like Mounjaro, originally prescribed for diabetes and weight management, are quietly dialling down people's desire for alcohol often without them even trying. Anna explores what the emerging research tells us about GLP-1 drugs and the brain's reward system, why the effect on cravings may not last, and why it's so important not to skip the deeper work of understanding your relationship with alcohol, even when the urge has gone dormant.

Because here's the real opportunity: this "hiatus of desire" is a rare window for self-enquiry, not a shortcut. Anna shares her perspective on the risks of treating pharmaceuticals as a simple fix, and offers practical reflection prompts for anyone noticing their cravings have changed.

If your desire to drink has suddenly gone quiet, this episode will help you ask the question that really matters: what was it saying in the first place?

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Intro: The rise of questions about Mounjaro and drinking

01:05 The listener question: Drinking less and craving less, now what?

02:23 How GLP-1 drugs (Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy) work in the body

03:39 What research is saying about reduced cravings and reward

04:45 Animal trials, human reports, and what’s not FDA approved

06:06 The real opportunity: getting curious about why you are drinking

07:12 Why “the drug quietens the craving, but doesn’t explain it”

07:26 Why the effect isn’t permanent, dose reduction and recurrence

08:04 The “hiatus of desire” and what you can do with this rare space

10:00 Warning: Why “Mounjaro helps you quit drinking” is a risky narrative

10:44 Addressing the myth of an instant pharmaceutical solution

11:13 Practical advice: Get curious about what’s under your habits

12:08 Plans for a deeper dive with expert guests coming soon

FREE WEBINAR: How to Get Unstuck: A Year Inside a Community That's Changing Lives.

Anna and fellow coach Tabbin Almond are excited to announce they’re hosting a free webinar on Thursday 9 July to share what they’ve learnt about what women actually need when they want to change their relationship with alcohol. You can register to grab your spot here: https://www.thebigdrinkrethink.com/webinar

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

What if your next holiday could tell you more about your drinking than any ordinary day? Anna Donaghey is joined by travel writer and longtime non-drinker Teresa Bergen to explore why holidays are such a flashpoint when it comes to alcohol.

They unpick the cultural scripts that equate travel with "letting go," the invisible pressure to drink in airports, at resorts, and on work trips, and how travel can act as a mirror for your relationship with alcohol. Teresa shares decades of sober travel, surprising lessons from writing The Sober Travel Handbook, and the vividness of seeing the world clear-headed.

Listen to rethink your travel story and design holidays that match what you actually want.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Rethinking drinking on holiday

01:29 Teresa’s story: 38 years as a non-drinker and the “holiday script”

05:19 Why do we link travel to different rules around alcohol?

10:13 The bizarre normality of airport drinking at dawn

14:12 “No drink = no fun” & what it’s like to break the social norm

18:11 Why holidays reveal our biggest beliefs and fears about alcohol

23:30 The benefits of holidays without drinking

27:11 Building holidays around your real interests, not just the booze

46:48 Practical tips for a non-drinking holiday

49:00 Find links to Sober Travel Handbook & travel ideas in the show notes

50:02 How to rethink your “holiday script” and try something new.

FREE WEBINAR: How to Get Unstuck: A Year Inside a Community That's Changing Lives.

Anna and fellow coach Tabbin Almond are excited to announce they’re hosting a free webinar on Thursday 9 July to share what they’ve learnt about what women actually need when they want to change their relationship with alcohol. You can register to grab your spot here: https://www.thebigdrinkrethink.com/webinar

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Teresa Bergen:

Teresa Bergen is a travel writer and long-time sober person who wants to help others in recovery see the world without picking up a drink.

She's the author of Sober Travel Handbook: Navigating the World Alcohol-Free, in which she shares tips for avoiding airport bars, business networking without the booze, navigating well-meaning friends who want you to drink with them, and many other common situations. She helps non-drinkers strategise and plan for travel so that they can confidently experience other places and cultures and have new adventures while minimising their chances at relapse.

Connect with Teresa:

Teresa’s website: https://teresabergen.com/

The Sober Travel Handbook: https://teresabergen.com/easy-portland-outdoors/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teresa.bergen/

Some sober travel links recommended by Teresa can be found in The Big Drink Rethink Toolkit here: https://www.thebigdrinkrethink.com/toolkit-optin

What if summer didn't have to be scripted by booze? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey answers a listener's question: "What does it actually mean to get curious about my drinking this summer?"

Anna dismantles "summer scripts", the invisible associations between alcohol and fun, relaxation, or connection. Instead of forcing abstinence or restriction, she offers a gentle, practical process: What are you really looking forward to at each event? What job are you asking alcohol to do? What meaningful moments might you notice if you step out of autopilot?

Whether you want to quit, cut back, or just understand your habits, this is about empowered choice, not deprivation. Expect relatable validation, zero judgment, and practical reflection tools you can use straight away.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Anna welcomes listeners to a summer Q&A episode

01:30 Listener question: “What does being curious mean?”

02:20 How curiosity became Anna’s most powerful tool

03:54 How watching, noticing, and observing can make occasions richer

05:25 The energy drain of strict “quitting” vs. the freedom of curiosity

06:29 How the drinks industry scripts our summer

09:06 What are your “summer scripts”?

10:53 Why simply SEEING the script changes everything

12:17 Practical reflection: Questions to ask before, during, and after events

15:26 What job are you giving alcohol? Stress relief, connection, or ritual?

18:11 Experimenting with non-drinking, not as a rule, but as a test

19:28 What do you remember about these events?

20:41 Setting a feeling-based intention for your summer

22:12 Tiny experiments that help you learn what you really want

24:06 Pick one event this summer to do differently

26:23 How one curious occasion can change your entire perspective

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

What if summer didn’t have to be “powered by” alcohol? In this episode, Anna Donaghey invites sobriety and life coach, Casey McGuire Davidson, to unpack why the summer and its long evenings, and sunny terrace, feels so tangled with the urge to drink. Is it really about the Aperol Spritz… or are we longing for something deeper, like freedom, nostalgia, or a younger version of ourselves?

Together, they challenge the myth that summer is for “letting go” and drinking, and instead explore the possibility that these months could offer more: clarity, energy, presence, and real joy.

If you’re worried you’ll be missing out or feel resistance to change, this episode delivers validation, surprising science, and practical ways to romanticise sobriety rather than alcohol.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Intro: Why is summer so “loaded” with drinking?

01:04 Meet Casey McGuire Davidson: podcast host & ex-corporate high-achiever

04:47 How we don’t realise how much we’re missing by focusing on alcohol

07:10 Romanticising alcohol vs. romanticising sobriety

08:29 Sober travel: what’s really possible when you’re present

10:40 The discomfort and magic of your first sober summer

12:17 The “sober summer bucket list” approach

13:11 Why summer is the best time to rethink your drinking habits

16:42 Are we craving the drink, or a lost version of ourselves?

23:42 How the drinks industry scripts our summer fantasies

27:09 Alcohol’s real deception: convincing us we’re not enough without it

28:00 “Why isn’t this moment enough?” Getting honest about cravings

30:15 The science behind why alcohol seems to make us happier

37:09 The “joy of missing out”: freedom, energy, and real presence

41:00 What’s the biggest surprise on the other side?

Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!

Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/

The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/

If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebigdrinkrethink.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Casey McGuire Davidson:

Casey McGuire Davidson is a Life & Sobriety Coach, speaker, and host of the Top 100 Mental Health show The Hello Someday Podcast for Sober Curious Women. Featured on Good Morning America, NPR, HuffPost, The New York Times, NBC News and more, she helps high‑achieving women change their relationship with alcohol so they can drink less and live more.

Connect with Casey:

Website: Hello Someday Coaching

Podcast: The Hello Someday Podcast for Sober Curious Women

Instagram: @caseymdavidson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloSomeday/