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This week we’re celebrating our 200th podcast episode by taking you through our Top Twelve podcasts – the episodes which have had the most downloads since we started the podcast back in 2020 

There's a clip from each podcast as well as the link to the whole episode

Or if you’re really organised you can even make them into a playlist!

Numbers 10,11 & 12

So coming in with 2,200 downloads each is a trio of ladies who’ve taught our Tribe so much about how our brains work…

Author Dr Loretta Breuning, Neuroscientist Staci Danford and Stanford Psychiatrist Dr Anne Lembke

It’s important to remember that we are wired for survival rather than happiness and our default state is one of anxiety as we are on the look out for threats..

However once we understand how to trigger our happy brain chemicals we can structure our days to ensure that we get a regular dopamine hit to lift our mood

So let’s start with Dr Loretta Breuning who helped me unpack the cause of my own “early sobriety blues”

Have a listen to the first interview I did with her which was in August 2021 

Loretta also did an interview with me very recently to talk about her new book which is called Why Youre Unhappy – that came out on January 20th this year.

The next lady in our trio is neuroscientist

Staci Danford who taught us about our Lizard brain and how we need to manage it… she even recommended we give it a name.. she calls hers Ernie!

That interview came out in August 2021 

Here is a link to that episode 

The third of our trio is Stanford Psychiatrist Anna Lembke who’s written a top selling book called Dopamine Nation

It’s an awesome book which I highly recommend if you are interested in the science of addiction – her explanation of the Pain/Pleasure balance is superb

That episode is called Why we get Addicted and came out in November 2023 

Here is the link 

Moving away from neuroscience to number 9 in our Top Twelve

In that spot we have Sobriety Coach Lori Massicot – Lori is the host of a podcast called 50 and beyond and like me is convinced that ditching the booze is one of the very best things we can do for ourselves as we get older

Her episode is called Why we need to ditch the drink in mid life and came out in December 2021

Here is the link 

I also did a fun episode with Lori recently when we listed the 15 Signs that you need to take a Break from Booze – signs that Lori and I ignored for far too long!

That one was released on January 27th this year

Next up we have Melissa Witherspoon – she’s the author of a touching memoir called

I’m Sober…So Now What?

Melissa has relapsed several times and has some invaluable insights into the various stages of relapse

• She observed that there are 3 stages of relapse
• Stage 1 is emotional relapse – not even thinking about drinking yet but observing the triggers that seem to be getting more frequent
• Stay in Stage 1 long enough without taking action and you may move to
• Stage 2 which is the mental relapse when you start to feel uncomfortable in your skin – and skip activities like connecting with your sober tribe and sticking to your exercise routine – all things that relieve triggers
• Stay in Stage 2 long enough and you may move to
• Stage 3 which is physical relapse when you are back in active addiction
• The advantage of knowing about these 3 stages are that you can keep your radar sharp for Relapse Warning Signs – all different for different people but you need to be able to pick up if you are feeling a bit “off” as Melissa puts it – keeping a journal is a great way of monitoring your emotions
• For Melissa it shows up in a lack of self care – if she starts neglecting things like her hair washing routine she will see it as a warning sign and tune in to what’s going on..

Learn more from Melissa by listening to the episode which came out on September 2022 and is called Relapse Warning Signs

Here is the link 

So from the three stages of relapse we go to the 4 stages of alcoholism – a very moving share from Tribe member Vanessa Hilton Barber

• Vanessa divides her drinking career into phases:-
  the Fun phase (15-19)
  the Social phase (19-30)
  the Fairly Desperate phase (30-39)
• the I Need to Quit phase (39 onwards)
• This pattern fits pretty well with Ken Middletons theory that 20 years of regular drinking will result in alcohol dependence

Here’s a link to that episode 

Now we’re up to our Top Six and at number 6 with 2.3 downloads is the brilliant William Porter

William is a lawyer with a passion for the science behind alcohol dependence and has written 2 books Alcohol Explained and Alcohol Explained 2

They’re both essential reading and I think the more we understand the damage that alcohol does to our bodies and brains the less likely we are to want to drink it!

His episode is called Why we Get Hangxiety and came out in July 2021 

Here's the link

Next up is another lovely chap who suggests that we identify ourselves as a non drinker…. From Day One

He’s called Nigel Jones and is the author of a book called Walking Back to Happiness

Nigel’s professional background is in marketing and PR so he has a deep understanding of the power of messaging and the effect it has on our subconscious mind.  As he says we are in effect being “groomed” by the liquor industry to be loyal and lifelong consumers.

 That episode came out in

Jan 2023  called How to be a non drinker 

Here's the link 

Next up is author of the Sober Diaries – a book that has helped so many people ditch the shame and quit drinking.

Claire Pooley was a mom of 3 young children when her drinking was at its worst – she was going through 10 bottles of wine a week and knew it had to stop

Clare Pooley is a great example of someone who ditched the booze and made her dreams come true

She’d always wanted to be a novelist – when she quit drinking she finally had the time and energy to write – the Sober Diaries got her noticed and she was promptly signed by a top publisher to write 3 novels

The Authenticity Project was her first and her second book has the inspiring title of How to Age Disgracefully – it will be out in June this year.

Have a listen to Clares episode which came out in

April 2021 – its called How I Ditched the Drink 

Here's the link 

I love her life hack of going to bed early, getting up early to cook and freeze the evening meal

That’s how she avoiding guzzling a bottle of wine as she cooked in the evening!

Now its time for the top 3 

Coming in at number 3 with 2,500 downloads is the fabulous Ken Middleton – he’s the author of Bamboozled which has the awesome subtitle of How Alcohol Makes Fools of us All!

Do grab a copy if you haven’t yet read it – a brilliant description of how we’ve been manipulated by Big Alcohol for decades

I often quote Ken who says “even if alcohol doesn’t destroy us it will limit our potential” and in fact his latest Tribe Sober episode is called

“How Alcohol Limits your Potential” – that one was released in April 2023 

Here's the link

Ken was also one of our guests back in November 2020 when he shared his own story and explained the science behind alcohol dependence – and why drinking regularly for 20 years means you’re very likely to develop a “problem”

Next up at number 2 is me!

With our very first podcast episode which was released in May 2020 to celebrate my 5th Soberversary

Here is the link 

And finally hogging the number 1 slot with an incredible 3,300 downloads is Australian Sobriety Coach Kathryn Elliott

It’s called How to Stop Binge Drinking and came out in June 2022

Here is the link

Like me Kathryn has had breast cancer which prompted us to do an episode together recently

Neither of us realised that our heavy drinking was putting us at risk of breast cancer so we celebrated breast cancer awareness month by having a conversation about it..

Spreading the word that more than 3 glasses of wine A WEEK increased your risk of breast cancer

We called it Drink Less for your Breasts and it was released in October 2023

So that’s our Top Twelve

A big thank you to all our listeners – thanks to you the Tribe Sober podcast has had more than 300,000 downloads which keeps its global ranking in the top 2% of all podcasts

Most importantly more than 20% of our members found their way to us via the podcast

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