The Big Drink Rethink

By Anna Donaghey

The Big Drink Rethink is a podcast for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol - whether you want to quit, drink less, take a break, or just explore the role alcohol plays in your life.

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How many episodes does The Big Drink Rethink have?

The podcast currently has 141 episodes available.

Best of The Big Drink Rethink

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Ep 138: Pain Pushes Until Vision Pulls | Rethinking Alcohol |
What if the life you’re chasing, and the drinking that comes with it, are both keeping you from the life you really want? In this honest conversation, Anna Donaghey welcomes recovery and transition coach Alina Roselli, who shares her journey from living “outside-in” - seeking validation, people-pleasing and pushing through burnout, to soul-led sobriety and deep self-acceptance. Together, they explore why we can lose ourselves trying to meet other people’s expectations, how burnout and exhaustion can force us to question the life we’re living, and why transformation isn’t simply about giving up alcohol, it's about discovering who you are without it. They also explore self-worth, radical honesty, the trap of external validation and practical ways to start living more “inside-out”. For anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol, their sense of purpose, or whether there could be more to life, this episode offers an invitation to stop chasing approval and start coming home to yourself. Highlights: 00:00 Welcome & introduction to Alina Roselli 00:40 Alina’s unraveling, burnout, alcohol and not knowing herself 02:46 The culture of drinking and starting at 15 05:55 Seeking belonging and landing in “image-driven” circles 10:07 What is “outside-in” living and how it shaped Alina’s self worth 12:28 When alcohol shifts from fun to medicine 15:46 How self-image creates our lives (and can keep us lost) 16:43 Burnout as a wake-up call 17:40 Trying everything (yoga, therapy, self-help) but not getting better 23:27 Filling the “God-shaped hole” - how misaligned living leaves us empty 26:04 Making hard changes and letting go of old identities 28:46 Why inside-out living is terrifying and ultimately liberating 30:10 “Pain pushes until the vision pulls”: learning to listen to your soul 32:43 Finding calm, silence, and the right conditions to truly meet yourself 34:19 Discovering introversion, the need for solitude, and creative renewal 36:29 How the small actions revealed a bigger self and a life worth keeping 39:32 How to reconnect with your needs and stop abandoning yourself 41:36 The courage in honesty and the gifts waiting in the unknown 43:42 Acceptance, creativity, and the joy of simply feeling okay 46:35 Becoming yourself changes the world around you 49:33 People have no idea how amazing they are 50:19 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 About Alina Roselli: Alina is a recovery and transition coach who believes we are in an epidemic of not knowing who we truly are. Through her recovery and coaching work, she is witnessing firsthand how most people are living as smaller versions of themselves without knowing it. She's developed Soul Coordinates, a portrait that bypasses the mind entirely and reveals who you actually are underneath the survival strategies. Her online community and course, The Naked Soul Path on Skool, is an accessible way to come home to yourself in community. Her own journey through burnout, addiction recovery and self loss is the source of everything she offers Connect with Alina: https://www.alinaroselli.com/
August 27, 202651min
Number 2: Ep 137: The Beliefs Driving Your Drinking | Rethinking Alcohol |
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
August 20, 202621min
Number 3: Ep 136: The Alcohol - ADHD Connection | Rethinking Alcohol |
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
August 13, 20261h
Number 4: Ep 140: The Craving Isn't The Enemy | Rethinking Alcohol |
What if the craving you feel for a drink is actually a craving for relief, regulation, or connection, and there’s another, more healing way to get it? In this episode, your host Anna Donaghey is joined by breathwork practitioner Jon Paul Crimi, whose powerful personal story weaves together addiction, grief, emotional numbness, and a breathwork experience that profoundly shifted his life. They discuss why most people reach for alcohol (it isn’t what you think), how drinking becomes our “solution” for regulating uncomfortable emotions, and the striking similarities between addiction and the universal longing for a shift in state. Jon Paul breaks down what breathwork really is (spoiler: it’s not just box breathing!) and shares how circular, connected breathwork specifically offers a physiological and emotional “reboot” making space for release, self-connection, and even joy. Anna shares her first-hand experience with his class, highlighting how breathwork can offer real, lasting relief that alcohol promises but can’t deliver. Whether you’re sober-curious, in recovery, or just looking to break free from unhelpful patterns and cravings, this conversation points to practical, science-backed ways to rethink your drinking. Highlights: 00:00 Welcome & intro to breathwork 01:01 Jon Paul’s story: addiction, loss, and seeking relief 04:13 When drinking goes from fun to just problems 07:29 The emotional “arrest” that comes from early drinking 08:25 Grief, trauma, and the search for tools 11:05 Why our brains equate alcohol with relief 14:15 What finally made sobriety stick 19:26 How breathwork entered Jon Paul’s life 12 years into sobriety 22:44 The first breathwork class: from scepticism to transformation 28:01 How breathwork helps regulate cravings, states, and emotions 30:17 Craving isn’t the enemy, it’s information 34:10 Breathwork vs. psychedelics: power inside YOU 35:48 What actually happens in a circular breathwork class 39:00 “Turning off your brain” and moving into your heart 46:08 Using breathwork for current and past pain, grief, and shame 52:16 Cravings, choices, and living an extraordinary life. 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 Jon Paul Crimi: Jon Paul Crimi is a world-renowned breathwork facilitator, teacher trainer, and recovery advocate - known for a zero-filter, East Coast approach that strips breathwork of its "New Agey" reputation and replaces it with something practical and results-driven enough to win over sceptics, CEOs, and everyday people alike. He started out as an actor, celebrity fitness trainer, and sober coach in Los Angeles, carrying his own struggles with alcoholism, addiction, and low self-worth long before he found a way through them. Almost by accident, around 15 years ago, he wandered into a breathwork class and had a transformation so profound in that first session that it reshaped the entire direction of his life. He's now 26 years sober, and that lived experience - not theory - is what sits underneath everything he teaches. His method is trauma-informed at its core, built around somatic release, nervous system regulation, and processing the emotional weight people carry without always knowing it. It's also gone mainstream in a way few breathwork practices have. He runs weekly live classes, digital workshops, and his Emotional Detox course. You can find him, and all of it, at: https://breathewithjp.com/
September 10, 202655min
Number 5: Ep 139: Toolkit 101 – How To Identify Your Drinking Beliefs | Alcohol Coaching |
What if your drinking is driven less by choice and more by invisible beliefs running beneath the surface? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey breaks down how beliefs act as our “operating system,” quietly driving our thoughts and behaviours, especially around alcohol. Anna reveals why it’s so difficult to spot the beliefs shaping our drinking, how to distinguish between a thought and a belief, and why simply changing behaviour rarely works unless you dig deeper. With practical examples and the “reverse chain” technique (starting with your behaviour and working backwards), Anna offers clear tools, including the powerful “downward arrow” method to help you uncover the beliefs at the root of your drinking habits and gently rethink your relationship with alcohol. Highlights: 00:00 Welcome & intro 00:41 Recap: The belief “pyramid” and last solo episode 01:20 Why beliefs matter more than thoughts or behaviours 03:10 The difference between a thought and a belief 05:07 Real-world examples: how beliefs quietly shape our actions 12:18 “Alcohol, please help me...”, the jobs we hand to booze 13:38 How habits and beliefs wire together neurologically 14:44 Aaron Beck’s model: core beliefs vs. automatic thoughts 15:35 Why starting with your behaviour is the key to spotting beliefs 16:14 Step-by-step: working backwards from behaviour to belief 24:23 Free guide to run this process anytime 25:30 New episodes: breaking down the most common alcohol beliefs 26:14 Where to find helpful resources. For the worksheet referred to in the episode, visit the toolkit full of free resources on Anna’s website thebigdrinkrethink.com, and download ‘How to Identify Your Drinking Beliefs’ Listen to Episode 137: The Beliefs Driving Your Drinking | Rethinking Alcohol, where Anna shares about the “Pyramid of Belief" and how deeply rooted feelings of “not enough” shape much of our behaviour, including our drinking habits. 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
September 03, 202627min