Did we blast our brains beyond repair with all of our drinking? What if you drank heavily for decades? Are you doomed? In this episode I’m explaining a ton of different studies on brain recovery in sobriety. You’ll learn what to expect as you get more sober time, if our brains make a full recovery, how long it takes to see improvement, how drinking less impacts your brain, and more about how alcohol damages the brain.

Work with me:

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

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

Course

• Pickled. Why Moderation is Impossible https://www.soberpowered.com/pickled

Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The witching hour, or usually hours for most of us, are the time of day where you typically drink and want to drink the most when you’re sober. This could be morning for some people, it could be 4-7pm, 6-8pm, it varies. This time block is when your biology, habits, and old reward wiring collide: cortisol is dropping, your prefrontal cortex has less decision bandwidth, and your brain is scanning for the routine that used to deliver relief. The evening cue your brain fires isn’t proof you need alcohol, it’s proof you drank often enough and long enough that your brain automated it. Today, we’re digging into why 5–9 PM feels like the danger zone, what’s happening under the surface in the brain and nervous system, and how understanding those mechanisms helps you respond differently this time.

What to listen to next:

E249: Stress & Cravings

E265: Rewiring the reward system

Work with me:

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

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

Course

• Pickled. Why Moderation is Impossible https://www.soberpowered.com/pickled

Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 30-day break from alcohol changes multiple systems at once: metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological, and behavioral. In this episode, I’m summarizing what the research says about the benefits people commonly experience, including sleep, energy, liver fat, and drink-refusal self-efficacy. I’ll explain what improves early, what takes longer, and what predicts real behavior change beyond the month. 

What to listen to next:

E231: everything you need to know about withdrawal

E205: kindling in alcohol withdrawal

E240: post acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS)

E247: Sober Sleep is the Best Sleep, But Not Right Away

E265: Rewiring the reward system after getting sober

Pickled. Why Moderation is Impossible Course

https://www.soberpowered.com/pickled

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stop doing the hardest part over and over again. In this episode, Casey, Suzanne and I discuss our advice for making sobriety stick and the mistakes we've observed people making over the years.

Connect with Casey: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/

Connect with Suzanne: https://thesobermomlife.com/

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

What to listen to next:

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

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

What to listen to next: E241: 6 Theories of Alcohol Cravings E223: 6 Common Triggers for Drinking and How to Avoid Them

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

E302: Feeling Like a Normal Person Again After 8-10 Months E252: How Many Attempts Does it Take to Quit Drinking for Good

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Work with me:

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

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

 Weekly email:

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

Support the show:

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

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

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices