Episode 18: What Was Alcohol Keeping You Safe From Experiencing? - Dry July, No Drama

Dry July, No Drama: Daily Tips for a Take It or Leave It Relationship With Alcohol

Episode 18: What Was Alcohol Keeping You Safe From Experiencing? - Dry July, No Drama

I want you to really listen to this one.

Instead of beating yourself up after you have drunk more than you wanted to - focus on the data. Stop being so judgemental. Judgement puts us into a state of dysregulation, and dysregulation makes us much more likely to drink.

In my programs we work on data, not blame. We work on growth mindset, not self-attack. It is always: what did I not yet know how to do?

The question to ask yourself every single time this happens during your preparation week:

What was alcohol keeping me safe from experiencing?

For many of us there is a harsh inner critic constantly telling us everything we did wrong and catastrophising everything that is about to happen. Often, drinking is trying to make that voice stop. Often it is trying to keep us pushing through when we are exhausted - or trying to help us relax because we genuinely do not know how to do that without it.

For so many women it is exhaustion. Burnout. Needing to stop.

We have been culturally conditioned to push through our nervous system and judge ourselves the moment our capacity is not where we think it should be. Alcohol stops us from experiencing ourselves as less than capable. It gives us permission to stop - because we do not know how to give that permission to ourselves.

For me it was different again - alcohol let me stay in the room with my family and actually engage when all I wanted was time alone. My brain had been conditioned to believe wanting that time alone was selfish. It let me focus on their needs when everything in me wanted to focus on what I needed to get done.

There are a million versions of this question. What is it helping you avoid experiencing?

Once you understand what alcohol has been keeping you safe from - you can start to explore what you actually need instead.

This episode is part of Dry July, No Drama - a daily MidlifeAF podcast mini series with tips for cutting back on alcohol without willpower, labels or forever.

My Awareness Worksheets are perfect for asking yourself exactly this question - without judgement, with curiosity. See links below:

FREE TOOLS - four beautiful resources to help you drink less and feel fabulous:

1. 7 Steps to Take Back Control of Alcohol - the exact steps I took when I started out on this journey nearly five years ago.
   https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/7-steps
2. Awareness Worksheets - if you do nothing else, working through the answers to these questions will change your relationship with alcohol for the better.
   https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/awareness-worksheets-opt-in
3. Your North Star Visualisation - stops your brain freaking out about doing something unfamiliar.
   https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/northstarvisualisation
4. Grounding Meditation - you know that feeling when you have a drink and the body goes "aaaaaaaahhhhhhh" and everything seems to relax? What the body really needs is to ground - to come back home to self, and for self to feel lovely. That is what we work on in my live programs. We start every session with a grounding and connect with ourselves to find out what our body really needs when it thinks it wants to drink.
   https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/grounding

READY TO GO DEEPER?

Ready to make alcohol a non-issue?
Watch my free one-hour masterclass: 5 Surprising Ways Taking a Break from Booze Can Be Effortless and Change Your Life. One hour. Five shifts. Your take it or leave it relationship with alcohol starts here.
WATCH NOW FOR FREE: https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/masterclass

Are you tired of the mental back-and-forth about drinking?
I am running a FREE 3-Day Alcohol Reset on 23, 24 and 25 June, 7pm Melb/Syd (replays available). No willpower talk. No abstinence pressure. You can even drink while you do it. A judgement-free space to learn the tools to step into a take it or leave it relationship with alcohol.
REGISTER FREE: https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/3-day-reset

Want a take it or leave it relationship with alcohol? Want to stop all the "will I, won't I" internal conflict around wine?
I am running the Great Aussie Alcohol Experiment LIVE from Wednesday 1 July. 30 days. Small group coaching. Only 25 spots. Small, intimate and private. Rewire your brain and nervous system so you no longer have to reach for a glass to quieten your busy brain, calm your overwhelmed soul or socialise when your social battery is spent. Early bird pricing open now - $500 off the full price, plus two 1:1 counselling sessions with me and 3 webinars included (worth +$1,000). We won't run this live again until October.
YOUR NEXT RIGHT MOVE STARTS HERE: https://www.hoperisingcoaching.com/the_great_aussie_alcohol_experiment

Change happens in a moment, my friends - the preparation for change takes a little bit of time. Take the time. You will be amazed at the difference it makes.