We drink to cope because it seems to help us manage anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, etc., but self-medicating with alcohol only makes your problems worse. Drinking to cope increases our risk of developing a problem and in this episode I’ll explain why. You’ll learn how much more likely coping drinkers are to develop a problem, how this makes it harder to quit drinking, and how drinking to cope differs for men and women.
What to listen to next:
E111 Drinking alone
E206 HALT
E212 resilience

Bonus Episode: 2 Ways to Reduce Chaos and Overwhelm in Your Life
https://www.soberpowered.com/skills

Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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.




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E214: Self-Medicating with Alcohol

I promise you, you're not a weak-willed loser with no self-control. There are a lot of reasons why we can't control the way we drink- trauma, lack of coping skills, stress, anger, anxiety. Plus, as you'll learn in my podcast, alcohol takes advantage of our vulnerabilities to hook us, then it changes our brains to keep us stuck and reliant on alcohol. It's not about willpower. In the Sober Powered Podcast, I use science, psychology, and compassion to help you understand why you use self-destructive coping skills like alcohol, what happens in the brain to make drinking spiral out of control and prevent us from drinking in moderation, and how to develop the coping skills and emotional sobriety you need to quit drinking and stay sober.
About me: I quit drinking on November 9, 2019. I have a master's in biology and I'm a certified anger management specialist and crisis intervention specialist.
Not sure where to start? My most popular episodes are 99, 150, 170, 177, 180, 186, 191, 194, 196, 197 and 202.

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Glutamate, GABA, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, and the whole HPA axis (stress response). These are some of the important systems in your brain that get messed up when you blast your brain with alcohol all the time. Then when we quit drinking, these get even more messed up. In this episode you’ll learn what these 6 do, how alcohol messes them up, how they get more messed up when we quit drinking, and how long it takes for them to recover in sobriety. (TW: link between addiction and suicide when I discuss serotonin)
What to listen to next
E38: Central Nervous System Depression
E75: How Sleep Improves from Actively Drinking to Long Term Sobriety
E170: Here’s Why The First Year of Sobriety is So Hard
E201: Your Dysregulated Stress Response

Sober Powered Skills Episode: Feel Calm, Boost Dopamine, Improve Your Mood, and Reduce Stress
https://www.soberpowered.com/skills

Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E222: 6 Neurotransmitters That Get Messed Up By Alcohol

Alcohol is marketed as a key to relaxation and fun. Ads and movies show us that alcohol is essential for social bonding and carefree moments, signaling us that a drink in hand is your ticket to fun and connection. Then when we start to notice our drinking is problematic and think about how we may have to get sober, one of the first things we panic about is how this means the fun is over. In this episode, I’ll explain why alcohol isn’t fun and 5 ways you can redefine fun after quitting drinking.
What to listen to next
E170: why the first year of sobriety is so hard
E217: Warm Weather: 3 Reasons We Think Alcohol is Required
E213: Self-Care is NOT Temporarily Turning Off Your Brain


Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E221: 5 Ways to Redefine Fun Without Alcohol

The hippocampus is an important part of the brain, which is unfortunately very vulnerable to alcohol. It is most well-known for its role in blackouts, but damage to the hippocampus from our drinking can cause problems with everyday memory too, like telling someone the same story over and over again. The hippocampus has a lesser known, but very important role in learned associations. Associations are cues in the environment that help us predict an alcohol reward, so they cause cravings to drink. In this episode, I’ll describe how alcohol damages the hippocampus to cause blackouts, impair our memory, and form associations with alcohol. You’ll learn how this damage persists in sobriety and how long it takes for the hippocampus to heal.

Sober Powered Skills Bonus Episode: 3 Ways to Improve Hippocampus Function
https://www.soberpowered.com/skills

What to listen to next
E211: the anticipation of a drink
E218: in the moment craving vs constant craving
E196: how the brain recovers in sobriety
E210: the brain heals a lot in 90 days (unless you relapse)
E191: going back and forth makes your cravings stronger


Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations

Our lifestyle can make our sobriety easier or harder. When we quit drinking, things have to change. We can’t keep coming home to the same old routine but just not drink. In this episode I’ll explain 7 lifestyle changes that you can make overtime to support your sobriety and why these changes are helpful. 
What to listen to next:
E188: wellness over weight loss
E213: self-care is NOT temporarily turning off your brain

Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E219: 7 Healthy Lifestyle Changes to Support Your Sobriety

There are 2 types of alcohol cravings that you may experience as you quit drinking: sudden, in the moment cravings or constant all day cravings. In this episode, you’ll learn about both types and 3 reasons we crave alcohol. I’ve experienced both types of cravings so I will share my experience and help you understand why you keep craving alcohol and where to get started in minimizing your cravings.
What to listen to next:
E191: going back and forth makes your cravings stronger
E205: kindling in alcohol withdrawal
E128: why cravings are so powerful (attentional bias)
E216: 4 types of impulsivity
E211: the anticipation of the drink
E206: HALT: hungry, angry, lonely, tired
E203: why you still want alcohol even when you hate it

Sober Support:

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


Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger


Sober Powered Skills (bonus episodes with practical application and coping skills) https://www.soberpowered.com/skills


Weekly emails on Thursdays https://www.soberpowered.com/email


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



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

If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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

E214: Self-Medicating with Alcohol

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