Andrew and Adele both know why they need alcohol to socialize — or think they do. For Adele, 64 and living in a New Zealand wine region, it started at 14 in the back of a school bus and never really stopped being about fitting in. For Andrew, who is navigating a late-life ADHD diagnosis and the possible end of his marriage, the answer turned out to go a lot deeper than the social stuff.

Andrew discusses:

His late-life ADHD diagnosis and why emotional dysregulation makes the pull toward alcohol so much harder to catch.

Realizing he has never felt safe — and how his body already knew that before he did

What finally made his marriage struggles make complete sense

The hand-on-heart technique from Coach Zoe and how it's helping him regulate in real time

Finding The Path after his wife asked for a divorce — and what group coaching calls unlocked

Adele discusses:

Fifty years of drinking to fit in, starting at 14 in the back of a school bus

Why AA's shame-based language kept her stuck, and what changed when she joined The Path

The five-year-old who felt different, rejected, and vulnerable after her parents' divorce

Struggling to show compassion for her younger self because of choices she hasn't forgiven

The visualization practice that gave her a glimpse of something she hadn't felt in a long time: peace

And more…

Coach Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life's big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoe taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had. Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Coach Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time. Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related episodes:

Using Alcohol to Cope | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 736 –https://thisnakedmind.com/self-love-is-the-key-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e736/

Building Genuine Connections Without Alcohol | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 821 – https://thisnakedmind.com/building-genuine-connections-without-alcohol-e821/

The Cost of Fitting In | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 785 – https://thisnakedmind.com/the-cost-of-fitting-in-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e785/

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This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA.

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In Summer of Love, Kerri Maher writes about wine country glamour, shame that runs across generations, and the woman at the center who can't quite say out loud what she knows about herself. She lived that from the inside before she could write it clearly. She read Annie Grace's This Naked Mind in its earliest self-published form in 2016, stopped drinking for 15 months, then convinced herself the problem had been unhappiness and let it back in, and spent four more years in the push and pull: a sticky note on the fridge that kept watching her fail, sneak drinking she couldn't rationalize away, and a strange accidental last act at the end of 2021 that finally closed the door. This conversation with Coach Hayley is the first time she's said any of it out loud.

Kerri and Coach Hayley discuss:

What Kerri's first, unspoken reaction to a friend's news told her about herself — and why she almost didn't register it

Why reading Annie Grace's This Naked Mind in its earliest self-published edition wasn't the simple end of the story

The sticky note on the fridge, the promise it represented, and what she was still doing while it stayed up

A question from the Sober Powered podcast that gave her chills — and why it took her years to answer honestly

What emotional regulation, perimenopause, and a coaching certification all have to do with finding freedom from alcohol

What she gave the Dawn character in Summer of Love that she could only have given her from the other side

And more on the community that finally felt like home, mental real estate, and what "you are doing it" really means when the process is nonlinear...

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Episode links:

thisnakedmindapp.com

https://amzn.to/4fBVKEq (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) 

Related episodes:

We Are the Luckiest | Laura McKowen | EP 241 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-241-we-are-the-luckiest-with-laura-mckowen/ 

Reader Question: How Do You Deal with the Romanticism of the Food and Wine Culture? | EP 294 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-294-reader-question-how-do-you-deal-with-the-romanticism-of-the-food-wine-culture-when-youre-alcohol-free/ 

Creating A New Identity After Quitting Drinking | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 801 - https://thisnakedmind.com/creating-a-new-identity-after-quitting-drinking-alcohol-freedom-freedom-coaching-e801/ 

Follow on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-naked-mind-podcast/id1287269357

Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0UB06sNguPjVvgAYFBcR9I?si=b7568f24c21249ff

Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA.

BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at betterhelp.com/nakedmind

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Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 919

If you're trying to figure out how to stop drinking for good, you’ll want to tune in for this episode. Shannon is 14 days alcohol-free and the first person on either side of her family to ever try changing their drinking — and every time a family member sets down their glass because she isn't having one, the guilt shows up right on schedule. Amy read This Naked Mind five years ago, went alcohol-free for five months, lost her mother during COVID, and spent five years trying to get back. She's six weeks in now and more afraid of losing it than she's been afraid of anything she's built for herself. Listen and find out what actually gets in the way for both of them.Shannon discusses:

Growing up surrounded by heavy drinkers & being the first to step away

The guilt she carries when family members say they "won't drink either" on her account

Tracing people-pleasing back to a 7-year-old part of herself who learned to be responsible for others' feelings

Her ALIVE goal: free, full of hope and joy, not chained to a substance or to other people's reactions

Amy discusses:

Being six weeks alcohol-free and terrified of losing what she's worked so hard to build

Reading This Naked Mind five years ago, going alcohol-free for five months, losing her mother during COVID, and drinking again for five years

The shift from holding alcohol freedom in a clenched fist to an open hand

How taking care of her granddaughter became the biggest trigger — and how she navigated it without drinking

And more from both guests…

Cole Harvey is a certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoe taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.

Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related episodes:

Stop Making Excuses to Drink Again - EP 664 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-664-readers-question-how-do-i-stop-making-excuses-to-drink-again/

Why Do People Go Back to Drinking? - EP 730 -  https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-730-coaches-podcast-coach-ellie-with-lauri-m-tina-m/

Overcoming the Fear of Drinking Again - EP 741 - https://thisnakedmind.com/overcoming-the-fear-of-drinking-again-erins-naked-life-e741/

Ready to take the next step? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Tim's Naked Life | EP 918

When AA isn't working, most people assume they're the problem — not committed enough, not broken enough, not at rock bottom enough to figure it all out and make a change. Tim Kelly thought that too. A 30-year sales professional who'd always been able to muscle through whatever came at him, Tim spent years inside 12-step programs and still couldn't stop drinking. In this episode, he sits down with Coach Cole Harvey to talk about what finally changed, and why the answer was never about trying harder. 

Tim and Coach Cole discuss:

What five or six AA meetings a week for years actually felt like inside him, when all the work never brought the contentment he was looking for

The night his fiancée found him drinking again and chose to stay, and why Tim believes that one decision may have saved his life

Picking up Annie Grace's book and signing up for a Live Alcohol Experiment, the best $48 he's ever spent

Why a numbers-driven, 30-year sales professional was skeptical that curiosity could do what years of hard work hadn't, and how that changed

The "be where your hands are" grounding technique he learned in the Live Alcohol Experiment and still uses today

Not walking his daughter down the aisle, carrying that grief openly, and how it became the reason he decided to become a coach

And more on self-compassion, the "I know nothing" coaching philosophy, what the brain does when it decides you're broken, and so much more

Episode links:

alcoholexperiment.com

Tim's coaching practice: https://onwardafcoaching.com/ 

Related episodes:

Is AA Not the Only Answer? Ginelle's Naked Life | Naked Life Stories | EP 693 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-693-naked-life-story-ginelle-t/ 

Finding Hidden Blessings: Tom's Naked Life | Naked Life Stories | EP 629 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-629-naked-life-story-tom-keppeler/ 

Does Annie Grace Think AA Is Wrong? | Reader Question | EP 324 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-324-reader-question-does-annie-grace-think-aa-is-wrong/  

Follow on Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-naked-mind-podcast/id1287269357

Follow on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0UB06sNguPjVvgAYFBcR9I?si=b7568f24c21249ff

Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 917

What happens when you finally want to stop using alcohol to cope, but the idea of facing everything without it feels almost impossible? In this episode, Kim and Liv bravely step into that very question. They open up about just how easily alcohol became a source of comfort — soothing a nervous system wrecked by family crisis and serving as the one reliable, familiar thing in the uncertainty of life. Astonishingly, what comes next isn’t a battle of willpower. Learning how to cope without alcohol becomes something else entirely - permission to feel, to choose your next step on your own terms, and to discover the strength that's been with you all along. 

Kim discusses:

Giving alcohol the "job" of soothing her nervous system through trauma and crises

Why all-or-nothing thinking and shame from a previous recovery program made it harder to move forward

The shift from feeling like she needed to "let it all go" to learning to live with her experiences differently

Building real confidence through action — vulnerability, community, and showing up before the confidence was there

Liv discusses:

Drinking for her entire adult life (30 years) and why "familiar" is the one word she'd use to describe alcohol's role

Noticing gradual mind shifts that are both exciting and frightening as the Path material starts to work

A pattern of making goals only to rebel against them — and why that rebellion disappears when the choice is truly her own

Learning to sit with discomfort for an hour, and replacing white-knuckling with curiosity

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time. Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Cole Harvey is a certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol as a way to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning. Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related episodes:

How To Stop Drinking To Avoid Emotions | Alcohol Freedom Coaching https://thisnakedmind.com/drinking-to-avoid-emotions-afc-e845/ Alcohol Addiction and Shame | Hayley's Naked Life https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-679-naked-life-story-hayley-s/ Trusting Yourself Again | Alcohol Freedom Coaching https://thisnakedmind.com/trusting-yourself-again-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e760/ 

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Follow on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0UB06sNguPjVvgAYFBcR9I?si=b7568f24c21249ff

Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Sabrina’s Naked Life | EP 916

Trigger Warning: This episode includes mentions of an eating disorder.

What does it really take to stop drinking when every warning sign you've been handed just isn't enough? Sabrina grew up watching her father drive drunk, got her own DUI at 17, and spent years treating pregnancy as her only real break from alcohol. It wasn't a rock bottom that finally did it; it was her husband standing at the door with packed bags on Halloween, and four daughters she wasn't willing to lose. Now 18 months alcohol-free, Sabrina is here because she remembers exactly how lonely day one felt, and she wants the next woman to know she doesn't have to feel that way. Sabrina shares what she discovered about how to stop drinking as a mom.

Sabrina and Coach Cole discuss:

Growing up surrounded by alcohol and no example of what moderate drinking looks like

Why DUIs and close calls weren't enough to make her stop

Discovering that pregnancy was the only "free pass" she felt she had to be alcohol-free, and how beautiful those windows were

Her husband packing his bags on Halloween and why that ultimatum changed everything

Finding Annie Grace's podcast on her commute to work and what it finally felt like to understand that it wasn't her fault

And more on communication after alcohol, sharing this gift with others and how to stop drinking as a mom

Episode links:

thisnakedmind.com/podcasts

Related episodes:

Healing Through Self-Love: Cole's Naked Life | E737 — https://thisnakedmind.com/healing-through-self-love-coles-naked-life-e737/

Facing the Dark Side of Alcohol: Shannon's Naked Life — https://thisnakedmind.com/the-dark-side-of-alcohol-shannons-naked-life

Quitting Drinking to Be a Better Mother: Alicia's Naked Life — https://thisnakedmind.com/quitting-drinking-to-be-a-better-mother-alicias-naked-life/

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Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Trigger Warning: This episode contains references to suicidal ideation, childhood trauma, family violence, and mental illness. 

Laura has been alcohol-free since Christmas and the voice in her head keeps saying: this isn't going to work for you. Patricia is 83 days in, standing outside in minus-17 degrees watching the moon, finally letting herself cry. Feeling raw after quitting alcohol is exactly where both of them are. Coach Hayley and Coach Zoe don't try to fix it or rush past it. They just sit with it.

Laura discusses:

Feeling happy on the drive home and immediately wondering if she was doing something wrong

How stopping drinking opened up body awareness she didn't know she was missing

What it felt like when her shoulders released, her jaw unclenched, and she could finally breathe

Using a hand-on-heart practice to respond to emotional cravings instead of reaching for a drink

Coach Hayley's reframe: "A thought is not an instruction"

Why her morning practice made her smile — and how she almost dismissed it as not enough

Patricia discusses:

How 23 years of teaching children to feel safe revealed tools she already had for herself

Staying in her own box, processing old emotions, and building a new life without leaving the one she has

Why her long walks across Britain and the Camino were nervous system regulation she never recognized

Building a life from her own ingredients, not the fears handed to her by others

The difference between loving her adult children and enabling them

Why "I'm choosing today" is more sustainable than "I can do this forever"

And more topics…

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoe taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.

Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Episode links:

nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

How To Stop Drinking To Avoid Emotions | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | E845 – https://thisnakedmind.com/drinking-to-avoid-emotions-afc-e845/ 

The Path to Inner Clarity | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | E748 – https://thisnakedmind.com/the-path-to-inner-clarity-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e748/ 

Healing Emotional Pain Without Alcohol | Reader Questions | EP 706 – https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-706-readers-question-healing-emotional-pain-without-alcohol/ 

Ready to take the next step on your journey? 
Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Is your life mostly intact — job fine, marriage okay, responsibilities covered — and yet you're drinking every single night and can't quite picture stopping? That's exactly where Tim Knapp was for years, and he was also, at the same time, one of the people other people called in a crisis. He spent over a decade working inside addiction recovery programs, walking men out of homelessness and incarceration, understanding the neuroscience of dependency from the inside out. High-functioning doesn't mean fine, and Tim's story is one of the most honest, clear-eyed accounts of what it actually looks like when the two things are true at once. 

Tim and Coach Cole discuss:

• Growing up in small-town Oklahoma and discovering the buzz at age 12 — including a homemade raisin wine operation that launched a decade-long love affair with the altered state

• Why Tim loved the buzz itself more than the taste, and how that distinction became the key to his freedom

• Working at the Bowery Mission in New York City while his own drinking quietly escalated in the background

• The painful intersection of conscious and subconscious mind: knowing something is hurting you and still wanting it anyway

• How reading This Naked Mind led to an afternoon of rereading, a conversation at the kitchen bar, and the first honest talk he'd ever had with his wife about his drinking

• Why you don't have to lose everything before you're allowed to ask for help — and why high-functioning drinkers are often the least likely to reach out

• The photo of his childhood self on the fridge, and what it means to welcome that person back

• Tim's coaching style: asking questions that get to the why, not just the what, and his conviction that you already have everything you need to change

Episode links:

https://thisnakedmind.com/bookhttps://www.timknappcoaching.com/

Related Episodes:

Healing Through Self-Love: Cole's Naked Life | EP 737 — https://thisnakedmind.com/healing-through-self-love-coles-naked-life-e737/ 

Find the Courage to Choose Yourself: Patrick's Naked Life | EP 735 — https://thisnakedmind.com/find-the-courage-to-choose-yourself-patricks-naked-life-e735/

EP 20: Reader Question – What do You do about Missing the “High” from Drinking? -  https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-20-reader-question-what-do-you-do-about-missing-the-high-from-drinking/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? 

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

Have you ever gotten exactly what you wanted, only to wait for something to go wrong? That's where Brenda is in today's episode — alcohol-free, feeling like herself again, and quietly afraid to believe it will last. In the second session, Emma has spent five years in a cycle she can't seem to break, and she finally gets a look at what's really underneath it. Two coaches, two guests, two conversations that go to some genuinely surprising places. 

Brenda discusses:

• Why her alcohol freedom has felt "too easy" — and what that fear is really about

• How knowledge and science shifted her desire, not just her behavior

• The one-year and five-year visualization exercise that changed everything

• Reframing past "failures" as data points that guided her to exactly where she is

• Building self-trust day by day through The Path community

• And more…

Emma discusses:

• Her five-year cycle of months alcohol-free followed by weeks drinking again

• Why alcohol gave her permission to feel emotions she couldn't access otherwise

• Connecting with an emotional armor that formed in childhood to protect her

• An IFS-style coaching exercise to meet the "bouncer at the gate" with curiosity

• The moment her armor responded: "I've been so lonely"

• And more…

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Cole Harvey is a certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol as a way to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:Trusting Yourself Again: Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 760 - https://thisnakedmind.com/trusting-yourself-again-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e760/ 

Reclaiming Your True Self: Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 770 - https://thisnakedmind.com/reclaiming-your-true-self-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e770/ 

Is the Drunk You the Real You? | Reader’s Question | EP 696 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-696-readers-question-is-the-drunk-you-the-real-you/

Ready to take the next step on your journey?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

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Ever used drinking to cope with grief and felt like it wasn’t even a conscious choice but rather a reflex? Jonathan knows that feeling exactly. He'd been living alcohol-free for two and a half years when he lost his father-in-law and then his dad, just months apart, during the pandemic. On the drive home from the funeral, he stopped at a Mexican restaurant and ordered a margarita. He thought he'd have one and go back to his life. Instead, the door that had been closed swung open, and the whole cycle started over. This conversation with Coach Cole is about grief, identity, and what it really takes to find your way back to yourself.

Jonathan and Coach Cole discuss:

How a scuba trip at sixteen taught Jonathan that alcohol was the price of admission for real connection, and how that belief quietly ran the show for twenty-five years

Building his identity around being the life of the party through the service industry years, and the first time he realized he had no off switch

Spending an entire Renaissance Festival doing alcohol math in his head, calculating drinks instead of making memories with his wife

The fight, the blackout, and the tearful run in the rain that brought him to the This Naked Mind audiobook

How reading This Naked Mind produced what felt like an overnight shift, and the anger he felt at never having been told what alcohol actually was

Going two and a half years alcohol-free during the pandemic, then losing his father-in-law and his dad within months of each other

The single margarita at a Mexican restaurant that cracked the door back open, and how the whole cycle restarted without a single conscious choice

Going through the TNM Institute as his own first client, uncovering twenty-five years of people-pleasing, and finally stepping into who he actually is

And more on IFS parts work, somatic experiencing, rebuilding self-trust, and what it means to show up in your own truth...

Episode Links:

Start your journey at nakedmindpath.com

 https://www.thisnakedmindinstitute.com/tnmi-home

Related Episodes:

How Do I Deal With Death and Grief Without Alcohol | Reader Question | EP 262 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-262-reader-question-grief-without-alcohol/

How Quitting Drinking Saved My Life | Kay B.’s Naked Life | EP 717 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-717-naked-life-story-kay-b/

Alcohol and Grief | Coaching Questions with Pam McRae | EP 382 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-382-coaching-questions-with-scott-pinyard/

Ready to take the next step on your journey?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn't a lack of willpower, but a lack of understanding what's really driving you back? Linda has nearly 100 days alcohol-free and is starting to wonder if she trusts herself more than she thinks she does. Jane is asking a question she's carried for decades: why do I keep going back to something that gives me nothing anymore? In this episode, Coach Cole and Coach Zoe meet each of them right where they are, with warmth, honesty, and zero judgment. If you've ever felt confused by your own relationship with alcohol, you're going to feel very seen here.

Linda discusses:

Whether Antabuse has become a crutch, and what she realizes

A self-trust check-in that shifts when she remembers an overlooked moment

Finding an unopened margarita and pouring it down the drain without a second thought

The difference between running from a past she doesn't want and moving toward a future that actually pulls her

Building trust through evidence: 99 days, four big holidays, and choices she barely noticed making

And more…

Jane discusses:

Why do I keep going back to drinking — the question she's been carrying her whole life

Tracing her drinking from teenage rebellion through to a need to escape discomfort

The distinction between habit and addiction, and why it changes everything

The hand-on-heart practice Coach Zoe teaches her to become her own parent and witness discomfort instead of numbing it

And more topics…

Cole Harvey is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoe taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

Why Do I Keep Going Back to Drinking? | Reader Question | EP 570 – https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-570-readers-questions-why-do-i-keep-going-back-to-drinking/

How To Stop Drinking To Avoid Emotions | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 845 – https://thisnakedmind.com/drinking-to-avoid-emotions-afc-e845/

Trusting Yourself Again | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 760 – https://thisnakedmind.com/trusting-yourself-again-alcohol-freedom-coaching-e760/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? 

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at betterhelp.com/nakedmind Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at quince.com/nakedShopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at shopify.com/mind Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at zazzle.com OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at OSEAMalibu.com