When I started podcasting almost 2 years ago I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to stick at it. Finding guests, interviewing guests and then editing the conversation was pretty time consuming. Then I read that 60% of podcasters give up after less than 10 episodes which seemed like a challenge!
Through this podcast Tribe Sober has connected with people from all over the world and our membership is becoming more and more international!
So next week we celebrate our 100th episode so a huge thank you to our listeners who have helped us to get this far! If you are new to the podcast then welcome – and if you’ve been with us from the start then thank you! In either case we’d love you to leave a review.
So this week I’ve delved into our podcast download stats and highlighted the most popular podcasts – our top ten!
In this Episode
- At 10th place with 1150 downloads is Episode number 72 (released in December 2021) – it’s called “Why We Need to Ditch the Drink in Mid Life” – my guest was Lori Massicot who has a podcast herself called “to 50 and beyond” – it’s a podcast aimed at women in mid-life where she highlights the beauty of aging and the freedom that comes along with alcohol free life. She on a mission to raise awareness towards the life changing impact of sobriety as we age and had me guesting on her podcast as an example of someone who ditched the drink later in life. You can find that on episode 182 of her podcast.
- At 9th place with 1192 downloads is Episode 67 (released in October 2021) we have an episode called “Rebranding Sobriety” with the fabulous Susan Christina. She’s on a mission to make alcohol free living as attractive and glamorous as we thought drinking was! Susan shares her own story of recovery and talks about the “drinking train” that many women board and pointed out that it was only travelling one way – the way of increasing dependence, rehab and for some people it’s unfortunately travelling to disease and death.
- At number 8 with 1206 downloads we have episode 81 (released January 2022) called “Take a Break” from the booze. We believe in Challenges here at Tribe Sober and every year we run our Sober Spring Challenge - and then another one in January. On this podcast we hear from 3 ladies who did Sober Spring 2021 - why did they sign up? what was it like? what tips do they have?
- If you are listening to this and decide you’d like to do a challenge then just go to tribesober.com and hit Join Our Tribe and we'll put you on our 30 day starter challenge for new members.
- At number 7 with 1215 downloads was “Coping with Cravings” (released January 2021) - my interview with South African natural health expert Mary Ann Shearer. Both of her parents were alcoholics yet she became passionate about health and has published a bestselling book called The Natural Way. Mary Ann is a woman before her time and was advocating veganism thirty years ago!
- She advised people who have stopped drinking to satisfy their cravings by eating fresh fruit not chocolates or sweets Our bodies need glucose and eating fresh fruit satisfies the craving for alcohol – we offer this as standard advice in our community as many many people battle with those cravings for sweets when they stop drinking.
- Mary Ann explained the damage that alcohol does to our endocrine system - and how it makes menopause much worse
- At number 6 with 1279 downloads was Neuroscientist Staci Danfield – released in August 2021 that episode is called “Is you Lizard Brain the Boss?” She explained that our brain tricks us into thinking that alcohol is making us happy but in fact it is a depressant – if you’ve been drinking for years then the alcohol will have altered the balance of your brain which is why you become increasingly dependent.
- When we understand how our brains work we can work with it – and that’s when the magic will happen – a great analogy is to think of how we use our computers – we work with programs that are installed in our computers – not against them!
- Understanding our brains means that we can understand ourselves better and see what we are gaining by ditching the drink – we need to create a “pattern interruptor”
- At number 5 we have episode 66 with 1318 downloads (released in October 2021) - “Anxiety and Alcohol” was the topic and my guest was Casey McGuire Davidson. Casey went to doctors and therapists about her anxiety and insomnia – most of which was caused by alcohol but she was in denial about her drinking and just didn’t CONNECT THE DOTS
- Like many of us Casey started making rules – in fact Casey and I had a whole conversation about the rules we used to make that you can find on her podcast (Hello Someday – episode 77 )
- The reason we make these rules of course is that we are still trying to moderate as we can’t imagine our life without it – having to give up completely is our worst nightmare – whereas with hindsight both Casey and myself can say that giving up completely was the best thing we ever did!
- She eventually hired a Sober Coach and checked in with her every single day – because she was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
- Episode 50 is at number 4 with 1510 downloads. - another podcast about anxiety! – title was “Why we get Hangxiety and my guest was William Porter.
- We talked about "hangxiety" and how it's caused by chemical changes in our brain - when it becomes over-sensitised
- If you drink a bottle of wine every night then your brain will take the first glass as a signal that the rest of the bottle is coming!
- That's why moderation is so difficult - and it's exhausting as we are thinking about it all the time
- Dependency happens once we learn (consciously or subsconsciously) that another drink will quell the anxiety caused by the first
- FAB is responsible for many people falling off the wagon as they think they can now have "just one" - which is not sustainable
- He explained why it's a complete myth that alcohol helps you sleep - the truth is that it ruins our sleep!
- At number 3 we have the fabulous Clare Pooley with 1587 downloads. The episode is number 39 and was released in April 2021 - called “My Top Life Hack” Clare is a wonderful example of how your dreams can come true when you ditch the booze. Her sober blog not only helped her to stay on track but it attracted a publishing deal which led to the sober diaries – she then went on to write TAP and is about to publish a second novel. Her childhood dream was to be an author and now she is!
- CLAIRE's TOP TIP - she reconfigured her day - went to bed at 7pm (to avoid evening drinking) and got up at 5am feeling great!
- As cooking the evening meal was a big temptation for her she cooked it in the morning and heated it up in the evening
- Like many of us she had a major low in early sobriety - she calls this "the wall" and believes it's our brain chemistry adjusting
- Her blog - the obstacle course went viral and is essential reading in early sobriety
- Clare's key message in the blog is to keep going however hard it gets - stopping and starting is the hardest way
- Clare also said it was essential to "find your tribe" and recommended tribesober.com
- At number 2 we have Eusebius McKaiser with 1599 downloads. South African journalist talking about his relationship with alcohol. Eusebius signed up for our Dry January Challenge a fewyears ago and to his surprise maintained his sobriety. We first met when I was on his radio show reading out my Goodbye to Alcohol Letter. We recommend writing a GTA letter on the basis that for some of us alcohol is like an abusive lover we need to get it out of our lives. A goodbye letter is a cathartic and powerful ritual that can help us draw a line under our drinking years. Go to ts.com, hit inspiration and hit GTA letters to read the letters written by tribe members.
- Eusebius shared benefits he is experiencing and explained how he has substituted different kinds of music for alcohol - to stimulate the right mood when he is writing.
- Eusebius wrote a blog for our website called "Sober Diary Reflections" - you can read it here and we also recorded another Tribe Sober podcast together – called Busting Sobriety Myths – episode 77.
- At number is my story "How I quit drinking and started a tribe!" with 1675 downloads
- Just beating Eusebius by a mere 76 downloads is my story! I can’t claim too much credit as this was the very first episode – released way back on my 5th Soberversary in May 2020 – episode 1! In it I talk about my long struggle with alcohol – how I nearly drowned by passing out in my bath at the age of 25 and carried on drinking
- How I got breast cancer - and carried on drinking
- How a "walking, talking blackout" made me (finally) ditch the drink
- I talk about my quest for sobriety, my failure as an AA member and how I finally got sober. I share my motivation for founding Tribe Sober and read out my Goodbye to Alcohol Letter.
More Info
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