Shows
Just Following Up...Again: A Public Relations PodcastJust Following Up with Julie Frey, APR, CPRC & Lindsay Hudock, APR, CPRCState President Julie Frey, APR, CPRC and State President-Elect Lindsay Hudock, APR, CPRC sat down with CWC-FPRA President Hunter Carpenter, APR in this episode of Just Following Up…Again. They discuss the benefits of an FPRA member and some of the exciting programs on the horizon, including the PR & Comms Summit. Learn all about with FPRA has to offer in this episode.
Editing by MakSchu Productions
Theme song courtesy of Ben Kunkel/Professor Soup
Have a suggestion for a future episode? Let us know by filling out this form.
For m...
2025-05-2843 min
Firearm Trainer's Podcast For American Firearm InstructorsS6E19 Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC)In this week’s episode we talk with Dr. Jon Lott Jr from the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) on how statistics are used to sway people’s opinion and support false messages.
Today’s episode is also brought to you by the following:
This episode is brought to you by POM pepper spray.POM has been the innovator in pepper spray technologies for several generations and continues to deliver the best formula in the best delivery system.POM sells inert, water-filled, units for instructors to utilize in training scenarios to help students unders...
2024-01-0949 min
Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE96: Does Craving Sugar Increase Your Risk of Relapse?Gill discusses sugar cravings. It’s very common to go from having no interest in desserts or sweets at all to all of a sudden be craving them all the time once you stop drinking. There’s split advice on this in the sober community. Some say to just eat the sugar and worry about it later once you’re more comfortable with not drinking, and there are other people who say to avoid sugar entirely. In episode 41 she explained in detail why we crave sugar in sobriety, and in this episode she covers what we can do about it and...
2022-04-2216 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE95: Surprise, Moderate Drinking Isn’t Good for Your Heart (New Study)Gill discusses a new genetic study on moderate drinking and heart health. We have believed for so long that moderate drinkers are healthier than non drinkers because they drink alcohol moderately, but this study has given us clues on why moderate drinkers may actually be healthier. You’ll learn more about this study, what they found, some other interesting studies on moderate drinking, and how you can take care of your heart health.What to listen to next:E85: Biased Alcohol Studies vs RealityE90: New Study Finds Just One Dr...
2022-04-1514 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE94: Drinking to Cope or Numb Out Doesn't Help, Here's How to Really CopeGill discusses avoidance behavior and how your tolerance for unexpected stress impacts your quality of life. She explains some interesting studies about intolerance of uncertainty leading to heavy drinking, and how your ability to tolerate stress determines your sensitivity to rewards like alcohol. You’ll learn how to use the method of cognitive reappraisal to reframe the way you think about stress and see situations in a healthier, more realistic perspective.What to listen to next:E60: How Alcohol Affects Our Cognitive AbilitiesE41: Why Sober People Want So Much Su...
2022-04-0816 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE93: Alcohol-Related Deaths Increased By 25% in 2020Gill discusses a new study that found that alcohol-related deaths had increased by 25% in 2020. She explains the findings, how much alcohol-related deaths usually increase in a year, and how alcohol was involved in these deaths. You’ll learn about how the general population changed their drinking habits during quarantine, and what you can do if you’re struggling with drinking to cope with pandemic stress.What to listen to next:E63: Why Alcohol Causes Depression and Suicidal ThoughtsE85: Biased Alcohol Studies vs RealityE90: New Study Finds Just...
2022-04-0120 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE92: Why Don’t We Realize Our Drinking is a Problem?Gill discusses 5 reasons we don’t realize our drinking is a problem. You’ll learn how prevalent lack of awareness is in problem drinkers, and what the steps are moving through complete unawareness to acceptance. She explains factors that contribute to denial like how alcohol impacts our memory, how society makes it more challenging to accept you need to get sober, and how we convince ourselves that we couldn’t possibly have a problem.What to listen to next:E56: High Functioning Alcoholics and DenialE60: How Alcohol Affects Our Cognit...
2022-03-2517 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE91: Do You Want to be Sober or Do You Want to Drink Without the Consequences?Gill discusses losing the motivation to stay sober. Sometimes, we’ll say we don’t want to drink anymore, but what we really mean is we want to drink without the consequences. Your intention matters and if you are carrying around hopes and dreams of drinking again someday, then you’ll drink again. In this episode she explains why even when sobriety, your life, your job, and your relationships are a priority for you you still might end up drinking and then later you’re left wondering why you always do this to yourself.What to...
2022-03-1815 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE90: New Study Finds Just One Drink Shrinks Your Brain, or Does it? Gill discusses the new study that was published a few days ago about how even just one drink a day can shrink your brain. She explains what this study found, how the study was performed, and what she thinks of the results. She relates this to studies about how alcohol is healthy and teaches you how to identify whether a study's results are fact or just an association.What to listen to next:E85: Biased Alcohol Studies vs RealityE69: Alcohol Shrinks the Brain... But What Does That Mean?
2022-03-1116 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE89: How Dopamine Strengthens Our Cravings and Weakens Our WillpowerGill discusses cravings and how dopamine influences our level of self-control. Cravings to drink can show up when you least expect them and they can be really powerful. They don’t last forever, but if you’re trying to willpower your way through cravings all the time then you’re going to get exhausted. She explains an interesting study on levels of dopamine and how this influences our decision to go for instant gratification, and how the more willpower we try to throw at something, the worse our ability to exert self-control becomes.What to lis...
2022-03-0415 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE88: Sibling Studies: Why One Develops a Problem and the Other Doesn'tGill discusses brain networks that make us more vulnerable to developing an addiction. Childhood trauma, family history of addiction, and growing up with a parent who struggles with substances greatly increase your risk of developing your issues with addiction. We know this, but sometimes if you look at families there is one sibling who makes it out fine and the other comes out with a ton of hardship and mental health challenges. Why is that though? Is one sibling strong and the other is weak? In this episode she explores why some siblings do not develop addiction despite having...
2022-02-2515 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE87: Why Shame Increases Loss of Control Over Alcohol and How to Manage ShameGill discusses shame. We talked about shame way back in episode 7 and learned that there is a clear link between experiencing shame and relapsing. In this episode you’ll learn about the difference between people who are guilt-prone and those who are shame-prone and how that impacts their drinking. She has so many interesting studies to share about the link between shame, loss of control over drinking and developing a problem, and some studies that may explain why some of us are prone to feeling shame instead of guilt. You will also hear the story of Gill's first drink an...
2022-02-1817 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE86: Why Helping Others Helps You Stay SoberGill discusses how helping others helps us. You’ll learn about some studies on helping others, what a helper’s high is, and what oxytocin is. She explains some studies that looked at people in recovery helping others and how that impacts their own sobriety, why we are drawn to personal stories of recovery, and give you some ideas on how you can start helping others if you don’t want to do it publicly. She also describes the difference between helping others purely because you feel the drive to, versus helping others with the intention of money, followers, or fam...
2022-02-1116 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE85: Biased Alcohol Studies vs RealityRecently, wine spectator shared an article on Instagram about how moderate, daily wine drinking helped you not get covid. Most people see that post and think, “great, I knew I was doing something right!” and very few people actually go read the article. In this episode, Gill discusses science funded by the alcohol industry, how that ends up influencing the results, and how you can know the difference between biased, exaggerated claims and the truth. She walks you through a few different studies that support how alcohol is healthy, shows you the holes in these studies, and what the trut...
2022-02-0418 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE84: Does Alcohol Really Taste Good and Feel Pleasurable?Gill discusses if alcohol actually tastes good and feels good for us. You’ll learn about why we perceive alcohol as pleasurable, a bit about taste genetics, and how the way alcohol tastes for you can influence how much you drink. She has an interesting study to share with you about how the pleasure you feel from alcohol affects how much you drink, and if we develop a tolerance to pleasure making us require more alcohol to get the same effect.What to listen to next:E76: Learning the Truth About Your Dr...
2022-01-2815 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE83: What to Expect Emotionally in the First 90 DaysGill discusses heightened emotions in the first 90 days of sobriety, but really this can apply to whatever stage you’re at. Big emotions and mood swings are very common, so in this episode you’ll learn how your emotions change when you stop drinking, how to manage this without turning to another self-destructive coping mechanism, and what to expect emotionally during withdrawal, early sobriety, and up to 90 days of sobriety.What to listen to next:E9: From chronic day ones to forever sobrietyE38: What causes withdrawal symptoms?E67...
2022-01-2114 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE82: So You Quit Drinking, Now is When the Work Starts with Amanda E. White, LPCGill welcomes Amanda E. White to the podcast. Amanda is a licensed therapist and the author of the book “Not Drinking Tonight: A Guide to Creating A Sober Life You Love.” Not drinking is just the beginning of improving our lives. We also have to learn things like how to deal with emotions, how to set and maintain healthy boundaries, and how to take care of ourselves. This episode is your guide to moving forward without alcohol. In this episode you’ll learn:
Amanda’s path to becoming a therapist and struggling with her drinking during grad scho...
2022-01-1444 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE81: Why We Drink: Social Drinkers vs Problem Drinkers Gill discusses why we drink. Our motivation for drinking matters and a recent study found that why we drink coincides with the development of alcohol use disorder. She covers the main reasons why people drink: to cope with mental health and negative emotions, to unwind after work and deal with stress, to socialize, and to cope with stress from parenting. She found some interesting studies to share with you about why people drink, and one study at the end of the episode about why mom’s drink.What to listen to next:E55...
2022-01-0718 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE80: Benefits of a Dry MonthGill discusses Dry January and how a month-long challenge can help you. You’ll learn the physical and mental health benefits of giving up alcohol for 30 days, a bit of the history of Dry January and how popular it is, and how giving up alcohol for a month can greatly improve your self-efficacy or your belief in yourself. She never did a month-long challenge, but she shares a bit about her experience giving up alcohol for 90 days and what she learned from that break.What to listen to next:E23 What your bl...
2021-12-3116 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE79: Why We Romanticize AlcoholGill discusses romanticizing alcohol. You’ll learn why we selectively remember the positive memories of our drinking, why the negative memories fade away, and how this can lead us to drink again. She found a very cool study to tell you about too, that looked at how quickly negative memories fade for moderate drinkers versus heavy drinkers. And if you struggle with romanticizing alcohol, then she provides some tips at the end of this episode for dealing with these thoughts.What to listen to next:E25: Staying Sober During the Holidays...
2021-12-2416 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE78: We Need to Learn to Feel Our Feelings with Nikki Eisenhauer from The Emotional Badass PodcastGill welcomes Nikki Eisenhauer to the podcast. Nikki is a licensed psychotherapist, life coach, and the host of the Emotional Badass Podcast. If you struggle with alcohol, then it's highly likely that you also struggle with handling emotions in a healthy way. Gill loves the way that Nikki discusses emotions in her podcast, and knew her expertise would be the perfect addition to Sober Powered.In this episode you’ll learn:
How Nikki started her career working with people who struggle with addiction and trauma
How to connect with your emotional self vs yo...
2021-12-1752 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE77: Are Non-Alcoholic Drinks Okay to Drink?Gill discusses non-alcoholic drinks. Some people love them, and some people think they ruin your sobriety. In this episode she explains why non-alcoholic drinks can be so triggering and how they activate the reward center. You’ll learn if it’s safe to consume drinks that have a tiny bit of alcohol in them, why you might get a fake buzz from non-alcoholic options, and how drinks that mimic the real thing can lead someone down the path to relapse or they could just be a great tool for someone else’s recovery.What to lis...
2021-12-1016 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE76: Learning the Truth About Your Drinking with Dr. Anna Lembke, Author of Dopamine NationGill welcomes Dr. Anna Lembke to the podcast. Dr. Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. Her new book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021), an instant New York Times bestseller, explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.In this episode, you'll learn:
How whatever perceived positives alcohol is bringing to your life (like less anxiety) with repeated use, alcohol causes or worsens the very thing you...
2021-12-0342 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE75: How Sleep Improves from Actively Drinking to Long Term SobrietyGill discusses how sleep changes from when we’re drinking to long term sobriety. She explains how alcohol impacts sleep, how sleep changes in withdrawal and early sobriety, and when you can expect your sleep to fully recover. You’ll learn how lack of sleep while we’re drinking exacerbates the damage alcohol causes to the brain, how insomnia impacts cravings, and 5 strategies for coping with insomnia in sobriety.What to listen to next:E3: Alcohol, sleep and drinking dreamsE59: What to expect when you stop drinkingE60: H...
2021-11-2617 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE74: Resilience Impacts How Much You DrinkGill discusses resilience. Being able to get through hardship without self-destructing is key for maintaining our sobriety. She explains what resilience is, some research on how this impacts sobriety, and other skills that contribute to resilience and staying sober. At the end of the episode she will go over 5 tips for developing resilience if this is something you struggle with.What to listen to next:E55: How to Power Through When You Want to Give UpE35: Emotional SobrietyResources I offer:
Membership: Living a...
2021-11-1920 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE73: The Obsession May Eventually Even Out (I’m 2 Years Sober)Gill celebrated 2 years of sobriety on November 9th, 2021. In this episode, she will discuss how sobriety has changed for her from the first to the second year, obsessing about sobriety, intrusive thoughts about alcohol, an all or nothing mindset, and how to achieve balance in your sobriety.What to listen to next:E55: How to Power Through When You Want to Give UpE70: How the Brain Balances Reward and ConsequencesE21: I'm One Year Sober! Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Pow...
2021-11-1219 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE72: Trauma Makes it Even More Difficult to Handle Our EmotionsGill continues our conversation about trauma from last week's episode. She discusses a couple interesting studies about how trauma impacts our ability to regulate our emotions, and how not being able to regulate your emotions leads to relapse. You’ll learn how trauma impacts the way the brain responds to emotions, how this can lead to addiction, and what you can do to start working on improving your ability to handle negative emotions.Emotion Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ERSQ)What to listen to next:E46: Neuroplasticity Helps Us Re...
2021-11-0516 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE71: Trauma May Make Drugs and Alcohol Feel More PleasurableGill discusses how trauma increases the risk of developing an addiction. She reviews an interesting study from 2021 that looked at how trauma impacts the amount of pleasure a person will feel from drugs. You’ll learn how childhood trauma changes the way animals and humans experience pain, another reason why we can never become take it or leave it drinkers or drug users, and why science thinks trauma makes us more vulnerable to addiction.What to listen to next:E67: How Alcohol Impacts Cortisol and Causes CravingsE11: Why Alcohol Fe...
2021-10-2915 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE70: How the Brain Balances Reward and ConsequencesGill discusses the balance between how we believe alcohol is benefitting us and the consequences it's bringing to our lives. This balance is what helps moderate drinkers know when to stop, but sometimes this balance can be disrupted and the negative consequences just don’t seem to be that bad. In this episode you’ll learn about how the brain balances reward and consequences, and some ways this balance can be disrupted to increase the risk of developing a problem with alcohol.What to listen to next:E54: Neuroplasticity and Using Alcohol to E...
2021-10-2216 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE69: Alcohol Shrinks the Brain... But What Does That Mean?Gill discusses how alcohol shrinks the brain and what that actually means. She explains how alcohol shrinks the brain, how this impacts our cognitive function, and how the brain recovers with sobriety. You’ll learn about some genetic factors that make us more vulnerable to abusing alcohol and what happens when alcohol causes permanent brain damage.What to listen to next:E26: Does the Brain Recover?E17: Alcohol and the HeartE11: Endorphins and Opioid Receptors Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Power...
2021-10-1516 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE68: How Heavy Drinking Changes the Way We Make DecisionsGill discusses decision making. She explains how the damage alcohol abuse causes to the brain relates to damage caused by a type of traumatic brain injury. You’ll learn how the brain makes decisions, how alcohol abuse changes our decision making, and what you can do to make better decisions and protect your sobriety.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Weekly emails on Thursdays where I explain the latest episode in more detail, share images to help you understand the concepts, share announcements, interviews, writing, disc...
2021-10-0818 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE67: How Alcohol Impacts Cortisol and Causes CravingsGill discusses stress, cortisol and cravings. She explain how our stress response system works, and how alcohol changes this response and our hormones. You’ll learn how alcohol impacts our cortisol levels, how this impacts our cravings for alcohol, and what this means for people trying to stay sober. At the end of this episode you'll see how this topic connects to a lot of other things we’ve discussed on this podcast. This is an episode you don't want to miss!Episodes to listen to nextE40: Why Are We So Angr...
2021-10-0119 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE66: What Increases Our Risk of RelapseGill discusses what increases our risk of relapsing. She explains how alcohol changes the brain to make it harder to not drink, so we’ll talk about changes to the reward center, how the brain communicates with itself, and how we are able to handle stress. You’ll learn how hope and the way you deal with things helps you stay sober too.What to listen to next:E26: Does the brain recover?E42: Is relapse a part of recovery?E46: Neuroplasticity helps us recover
2021-09-2415 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE65: What Happens to the Body When You Binge DrinkGill discusses what happens when you binge drink. She explains the effects binge drinking has on different parts of the body, and you’ll learn more about alcohol overdose poisoning. At the end of the episode she shares a story of a family friend who experienced alcohol overdose poisoning.Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Weekly emails on Thursdays with the sober tip of the week, announcements, interviews, an...
2021-09-1717 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE64: Anxiety and Alcohol (Part 2)Gill discusses anxiety and addiction. She explains how the brain keeps itself in balance, how alcohol affects this balance, and how this causes us to feel relaxed when we drink and then anxious when we don’t. You’ll learn why we get hangxiety when we try to stop drinking, how genetics plays a role, how long it generally takes for the brain to balance itself out after we quit, and more about a drug called Baclofen which is prescribed off label in some countries to treat alcohol addiction.What to listen to next:
2021-09-1018 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE63: Why Alcohol Causes Depression and Suicidal ThoughtsGill discusses serotonin and dopamine. She explains what serotonin is, how serotonin and dopamine work together, and how they are affected by alcohol. You’ll learn why alcohol causes depression and suicidal thoughts, and a fun fact at the end of the episode about serotonin, dreams, and psychedelics.What to listen to next:E13: Alcohol, Serotonin and DepressionE19: Alcohol Use Disorder and Psychiatric ComorbiditiesE62: Dopamine and AddictionResources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com...
2021-09-0318 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE62: Dopamine: Everything You Need to KnowGill discusses dopamine. We know dopamine is associated with addiction, but she explains what dopamine does and how it makes it tougher to quit drinking. You’ll learn how dopamine reinforces addiction, what animals who have damage to their dopamine systems are like, how dopamine affects our desire to search for alcohol, and how punishers and aversion affect addiction. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Weekly emails on Thursdays with t...
2021-08-2714 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE61: How Alcohol Memories are Triggered in SobrietyGill discusses how alcohol memories are triggered in sobriety. She had an unexpected encounter with $28 all you can drink wine recently, and this triggered an urge and all those weird thoughts about drinking. She found some very interesting studies about where drinking memories might be stored, how they become activated and lead to relapse, and why these drinking memories get triggered during sobriety. It can be very frustrating after a lot of sober time to have urges pop up, so hopefully this episode helps you understand why this happens and reinforces that you can never change the way you...
2021-08-2019 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE60: How Alcohol Affects Our Cognitive AbilitiesGill discusses cognitive skills, which are skills that the brain uses to understand information, remember it, and apply it. She explains how alcohol impacts our cognitive skills, which ones suffer the most, and how long these skills take to recover in sobriety. You’ll learn about skills like attention, working memory, problem solving, updating our beliefs, memory, self-awareness, and emotional and social skills.Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/ange...
2021-08-1316 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhat to Expect When You Stop DrinkingGill discusses what to expect when you stop drinking. She walks you through the physical and mental improvements you can expect from the first few days up to the first few years. You’ll learn how in some areas of our health, things may get worse before they get better, and what challenges to expect in early sobriety that might throw you off and trigger you to drink. Episodes mentioned:E38: WithdrawalE22: AnxietyE35: Emotional SobrietyE33: Alcohol EnergyE3: SleepE41...
2021-08-0621 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHow Does Alcohol Cause Cancer?Gill discusses cancer. She explains what a carcinogen is, how it causes cancer, and what component of alcohol causes cancer. There’s some misinformation circulating in the sober community on that topic, so she clears that up. You’ll learn how alcohol causes cancer, how our genetics contribute to our risk of developing cancer from heavy drinking, and how the way the body handles chronic heavy drinking puts us even more at risk for developing cancer.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigatin...
2021-07-3018 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHow Alcohol Affects Our LooksGill discusses how alcohol affects our looks. You’ll learn the impact that alcohol has on our hair, skin and nails, dental health, facial aging, body odor, and on our ability to build and maintain muscle mass.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off your first month. https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Weekly emails on Thursdays where I explain the latest episode in more...
2021-07-2316 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHigh Functioning Alcoholics and DenialGill discusses high functioning drinkers/alcoholics. She explains the common characteristics of someone who is high functioning, how denial fits into this, and how a high functioning drinker can have a much more difficult time accepting that they need to stop drinking. You’ll learn about functional tolerance, which is a type of tolerance that high functioning drinkers develop that allows them to appear like they aren’t even drunk. Of course, neuroplasticity fits into all of this as well!Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly...
2021-07-1619 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHow to Power Through When You Want to Give UpGill discusses what to do when horrible things happen in your life and all you want to do is give up. She experienced something pretty bad recently, and has had similar experiences twice when she was drinking. In this episode, she walks you through how she handled this situation in all 3 occasions, how she handled it differently now that she is sober, how she resisted the urge to give up and drink it away, and what you can do to stay strong and move through pain when life gets hard.Resources I offer:
Memb...
2021-07-0919 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberNeuroplasticity and Using Alcohol to Escape or Numb OutGill discusses using alcohol to escape. You’ll learn about instant gratification versus actually working for stress relief, tips to deal with stress without drinking, and a couple of interesting studies about how brain differences in social versus problem drinkers influence our desire to escape, and how alcohol relates to overall happiness. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off your first month. https://www.so...
2021-07-0216 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberThe Top 5 Things I've Learned in 1 Year of Researching AddictionIt's the 1 year anniversary of the Sober Powered podcast! In this special anniversary episode I'm going over my top 5 things I've learned in the past year of researching addiction. If you enjoy the podcast and it's been helpful for you, then the best thing that you can do to support the show is to share your favorite episodes and get this information out there. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement over the past year!Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about...
2021-06-2524 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberEverything You Need to Know About Cirrhosis and MoreRecently, a member of the Sober Powered Facebook group passed away due to complications from cirrhosis. The hope for this episode is that this helps someone to quit drinking a little bit sooner or to go to the doctor a little bit sooner if they are experiencing symptoms. This is a full, extensive guide on cirrhosis. You'll learn the stages of liver disease and how cirrhosis develops, what cirrhosis does to the body, complications of cirrhosis and why they occur, and the general prognosis for someone with cirrhosis. About 10 minutes into the episode Gill gives a signal to turn it o...
2021-06-1823 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy We Crave Alcohol and What to do About itGill discusses cravings. She explains what cravings are, why we have them, and how our beliefs about alcohol influence our cravings. You’ll learn about how cravings contribute to relapse, and what you can do to identify and manage your triggers.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off your first month. https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Weekly emails on Thursdays where I explain the la...
2021-06-1118 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE50: [Special] Advice From 7 of My Sober FriendsIt's episode 50 of the podcast! This is a special episode featuring some friends from the sober community to tell you about what has had the biggest impact on their recovery. I hope that you take away a few different tips and perspectives that you can apply to your own journey, plus that you discover new resources and people who inspire you.In this episode,Odette Cressler, host of Recovery Elevatorhttps://www.instagram.com/theharmonylane/https://www.instagram.com/recoveryelevator/Je...
2021-06-0433 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober5 Consequences of Not Having BoundariesGill discusses boundaries. She explains what boundaries are, why some of us have trouble setting them, and 5 consequences of not having boundaries. You’ll learn the real motivation behind people pleasing and having no boundaries, and how boundaries connect to emotional sobriety. At the end of the episode, she gives you some tips for creating boundaries and some easy ones to start with. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code...
2021-05-2820 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberIs Addiction Genetic or a Learned Behavior?Gill discusses what increases our risk for developing a problem. You’ll learn if there is a specific gene for alcoholism, how genetics influences your risk for developing a problem, and how your life experiences influence the risk. By the end of this episode you will have a good understanding of what factors could potentially align in someone’s life to create a problem, one reason why we can’t become take it or leave it drinkers, and why some people are much less likely to ever develop a problem. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a So...
2021-05-2117 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberAddiction Treatments From Snake Pits to Modern MedicineGill discusses addiction treatments throughout history. If you’re wondering what snake pits, lobotomies, LSD and gold injections have in common, then you’ll enjoy this episode. This episode only covers treatments from ancient times up to the 1950's when pharmaceutical treatments were developed. Gill ends the episode by giving a brief explanation of how the 3 FDA approved drugs for alcohol abuse (Antabuse, Naltrexone, and Campral) work in the brain.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a pri...
2021-05-1416 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberNeuroplasticity Helps us RecoverGill discusses neuroplasticity. She explains what neuroplasticity is, how this affects addiction and recovery, what the purpose of dopamine is, and parts of the brain that are key for coping with stress and staying sober. You’ll learn more about how neuroplasticity affects our ability to stay sober and to learn new methods of dealing with stress.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off yo...
2021-05-0717 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberEmotional OverwhelmGill discusses overwhelm. She has experienced powerful overwhelm a few times in her life, and after doing some research, feels like she has a better understanding of why she felt that way. Since quitting drinking, she has been completely free of overwhelm so in this episode she explains how she was able to do that and what emotional overwhelm really is. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code...
2021-04-3014 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberKevin Bellack on Parenting Before and After Quitting DrinkingGill talks to Kevin who is an alcohol-free accountant, husband, and father. You may know him from his personal Instagram account, @TheSoberGinger, or because he leads 1000 hours dry. Kevin quit drinking when his daughter was 11 years old, so she remembers what it was like before. In this episode they discuss his journey to quitting drinking, what his relationship with his daughter was like before he stopped drinking, what parenting was like for him before vs after he stopped drinking, how he told his family that he’s not drinking anymore and how they responded, what his relationship with his daug...
2021-04-2350 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberDrinking to CopeGill discusses drinking to cope. Many problem drinkers will drink to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, past trauma, or loneliness. When we try to stop drinking, we’re not used to handling our problems and feelings so each one becomes a major trigger. There is a big connection between drinking to cope and developing a drinking problem. In this episode, you'll learn about some studies on drinking to cope and a few reasons why women are more likely to do this than men are. She will tell you about her experience drinking to cope, and her advice for anyone who is...
2021-04-1616 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberTrailer: What's This Podcast Even About? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2021-04-1401 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberIs Relapse Part of Recovery?Gill discusses relapse. She explains how common it is for people to relapse, some different perspectives on sobriety, and some things that increase the chance of relapsing. You’ll learn about her experiences with going back to drinking, and a few things you can work on if returning to drinking or relapsing is an issue for you.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off yo...
2021-04-0916 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy Sober People Want So Much SugarGill discusses sugar. When she stopped drinking, all of a sudden she had a desire for sweet stuff. There are some misconceptions around why this happens and some interesting research on problem drinkers and sugar. In this episode we'll break down 3 myths about sober people and sugar. You’ll learn why sober people tend to want to eat all the sugar, how your genetics and childhood influence sweet preference, and what you can do to limit the amount of sugar you’re consuming. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain ac...
2021-04-0214 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE40: Why Are We So Angry?Gill discusses anger. There is a strong connection between anger, substance abuse, and relapse. You'll learn what happens in the body when we feel anger and what it really means when you're angry. Gill explains her experience with anger in sobriety and gives you some tips for how you can start working on your own anger.Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Weekly emails on Thursdays with the sober...
2021-03-2617 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberGetting Sober Improved my Body ImageGill discusses body image. She struggled with disordered eating and body dysmorphia before she started drinking, which is why she started drinking so late in life. When she began recovering from these issues, she started drinking, and just swapped one problem for another. Gill explains how common it is to struggle with both eating disorders and alcohol abuse, how common it is to trade one problem for another, and more about body dysmorphia. You’ll learn about her journey from feeling fat at 9 years old, to finally liking her body for the first time in her life at 30 years old.
2021-03-1914 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhat Causes Withdrawal Symptoms?Gill discusses the central nervous system and alcohol withdrawal. She explains how alcohol affects the central nervous system, what bodily functions this impacts, and how the central nervous system rebounds after we stop drinking. You'll learn what's going on in the brain to cause withdrawal symptoms like night sweating and the more serious symptoms of delirium tremens.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off...
2021-03-1214 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberAlcohol and InfertilityGill discusses hormones. She explains how alcohol affects insulin and how it affects our reproductive hormones. She discusses how hormones send messages, how insulin works to maintain blood sugar levels, and how humans go through puberty. You’ll learn how alcohol affects fertility for both men and women, and how drinking during infertility treatments impacts the success of the treatment.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST...
2021-03-0515 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberYour Sober Pal Tells us What AA is LikeGill talks to Laura from Your Sober Pal about AA. Laura will explain why she went to her first AA meeting, what to expect when you first start going or when you return after a relapse, her experience having a sponsor and sponsoring others, and how to handle shame. They discuss the common barriers people have about attending AA- calling yourself an alcoholic and the higher power aspect. This episode is important because many of us refuse to even try AA, but it could be the thing that helps you finally get sober.Laura is an award-winning wri...
2021-02-2646 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberEmotional SobrietyGill discusses emotional sobriety. She explains the idea of emotionally staying the same age you were when you started drinking, and how to work on becoming more emotionally mature. You’ll learn about distress tolerance, how it impacts our sobriety, but especially how it impacts the first few weeks of sobriety.Emotional sobriety ebookhttps://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered/e/48675Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private commun...
2021-02-1916 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy Drinking Makes it Hard to Lose WeightGill discusses weight loss. Many of us have a goal to lose weight, and it can even be something we pursue for our entire lives without success. There are 3 main reasons that alcohol prevents the body from burning fat as energy, which you’ll learn about in this episode. It's more than a simple calorie/sugar thing.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off you...
2021-02-1215 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy Do We Feel So Tired in Early Sobriety?Gill discusses wine energy. Is it a real phenomenon or something that we just think is real because we’re buzzed? You'll learn what happens to alcohol as it's broken down and how these breakdown products affect the brain. She will explain some very interesting information about how one product from the breakdown of alcohol affects our genes.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20...
2021-02-0515 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberA Conversation with my HusbandGill's husband Drew visits the podcast as her first guest! This is an episode you really don't want to miss! They discuss how her last night of drinking was from his experience, if he thought her drinking was problematic before she quit, and if he has ever worried about his own drinking. Drew tells us a bit about his childhood and how that shaped his views on how much and how often it is acceptable to drink. Drew also explains how alcohol affected their relationship, how he feels socializing now with a sober wife, how drinking (even mode...
2021-01-2941 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberIf Alcohol is Toxic, Why Can We Drink it?Gill discusses why humans are even able to drink ethanol in the first place. Ethanol is toxic, and we aren’t able to drink diluted versions of other alcohols without severe consequences, so she's been curious why we even evolved to process ethanol. She explains why scientists think we evolved enzymes to process alcohol, and what happens if you drink the other alcohols, which have very similar structures to ethanol. She ends the episode with a couple of stories about people consuming alcohol thinking it was just ethanol, but it was actually tainted with methanol.Re...
2021-01-2216 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberGray Area Drinkers and Positive Alcohol ExpectanciesGill discusses gray area drinkers. She explains the idea of the popular saying, “rock bottom is where you stop digging”, what misery threshold is, and how positive alcohol expectancies play a large role in how we drink. Gray area drinkers have a unique challenge of not having their drinking be bad enough to quit, but having it be bad enough to make them miserable all the time. She discusses this idea and why it is so hard for them to stay sober in this episode.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life wher...
2021-01-1516 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberThe Link Between Drinking as a Teen and Developing an AddictionGill discusses alcohol and the teen brain. She explains how bullying contributes to teen drinking and why teens tend to binge drink (hint: it has to do with their brains!). This topic connects back to episode 22 on anxiety, so you’ll learn more about brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) with an explanation on DNA and RNA. She will also discuss how teen drinking puts kids at risk to develop addictions later in life and some statistics on this topic. This episode is very interesting, so even if you didn't drink as a teen or have a teenager, you will still enjoy...
2021-01-0819 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberIs it a Bad Habit or a Problem?Gill discusses bad habits versus problems. It’s hard to accept that our drinking is a problem, so many of us will claim it’s a bad habit and just needs to be replaced with something else. She explains what habits are, how they’re formed, and the brain structures involved. She contrasts this with what we’ve learned about addiction to show you the difference between a bad habit and a problem, and explain why we can’t replace alcohol with anything else. You'll learn a bit about her bad habits too!Resources I offer:
Mem...
2021-01-0117 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy We Can’t Just Drink on Special OccasionsGill discusses the desire to just drink on special occasions. Sometimes, we will get sober, but our goal is to eventually just drink on special occasions. She explains why this is basically impossible for problem drinkers because of the extensive damage alcohol does to our prefrontal cortex. You'll learn more about how alcohol abuse damages our ability to have self-control and accurately access situations. She also discusses some interesting survey results from a US national survey that looked at work and family holiday parties.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where...
2020-12-2518 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberDoes the Brain Recover?Gill discusses how the brain recovers after we stop drinking. There have been mixed conclusions on this topic over the years, so she presents the latest information from 2019-2020 all the way up to a couple of weeks ago. You'll learn what white and grey matter are in the brain, how alcohol damages the brain, and how our cognitive function improves in sobriety.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use...
2020-12-1815 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberStrategies for Socializing SoberGill discusses staying sober while you socialize. This episode was originally created for the holidays, but these strategies apply any time. She's 13 months sober, so last year was her first holiday season not drinking. On Christmas day, she was about 6 weeks sober. She walks you through her first sober holiday season, explaining what helped her get through, what the most difficult moments were, and her advice for those of you experiencing this for the first time. Beyond some general tips and tricks, she has a some strategies to share with you: the bartender is your champion, become a sociologist, trea...
2020-12-1115 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHow Addiction DevelopsGill discusses how addiction develops. She explains the different stages from trying your first sip of alcohol to being unable to stop drinking even though you want to. She talks about her own progression through the stages, and a very important memory that’s been on her mind recently. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support. Use the code PODCAST to get 20% off your first month. https://www.soberpowered.com/members...
2020-12-0417 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhat Your Blood Can Reveal About Your Liver HealthGill discusses routine blood work. She explains what your yearly blood work can tell you about your liver health, what normal levels are, and what to do if your levels are elevated. You’ll learn what each test is and what it’s measuring. She ends the podcast with a discussion on cholesterol, what good and bad cholesterol is, how it relates to alcohol and fatty liver, and what you can do to improve your numbers. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating...
2020-11-2717 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy You Think Alcohol Helps Your AnxietyGill explains why alcohol causes anxiety and what exactly is going on in the brain. You’ll learn how our brains adjust to alcohol in ways that lead to even more anxiety, and how this impacts people who are trying to get sober. She explains a few interesting studies that connect this topic with genetics and epigenetics, and why anxiety increases when we first stop drinking. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get...
2020-11-2019 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberI'm One Year Sober!On Monday, November 9th Gill celebrated her one year soberversary. In this episode she goes into further detail about the end of her drinking, what led to her downfall, and all the things that aligned to cause her last night of drinking. She discusses how the past year has been, the challenges she faced, and her experience with the pink cloud. At the end of this episode, Gill offers advice to those of you who are struggling in the early days of sobriety. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you ga...
2020-11-1320 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy is it So Hard to Moderate?Gill discusses why some of us just can’t moderate. During her drinking, she was always plagued by the question of "why can’t I just be normal?" You will learn the answer to this question in this episode. She will explain why some of us just don’t have that voice in our head that tells us to stop drinking, and you’ll learn what parts of the brain are responsible for this voice. She will also discuss some epigenetic and environmental factors that can contribute to someone's inability to moderate. Resources I offer:
Memb...
2020-11-0619 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberAlcohol Use Disorder and Other Mental Health ConditionsGill talks about alcohol use disorder and the comorbidity of other mental illnesses. Specifically, OCD, eating disorders, PTSD, depression, and anxiety and how it’s more likely that someone who abuses alcohol will struggle with one or more of these conditions than people who don’t abuse alcohol. She will also explain how PTSD affects the hippocampus and her own experience with psychiatric comorbidities.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get support...
2020-10-3018 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberMy Husband Still Drinks, Here's How We Make it WorkGill is married to a take it or leave it drinker, and in this episode she discusses how she handles her husband’s drinking. She will tell you the ways she asked for his help when she quit drinking, how he has responded to her sobriety, what she would do if she was married to a problem drinker, and how she would approach sober dating.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get s...
2020-10-2317 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberAlcohol and the HeartGill discusses how alcohol affects the heart. She explains how the heart works, what the different parts of the heart do, what blood pressure is, how alcohol affects our heart rate and rhythm, and why alcohol causes damage to the heart. You’ll learn why your heart races in the middle of the night after heavy drinking, and the connection between alcohol and high blood pressure. She will tell you how her blood pressure and heart rate were affected by alcohol, and what both have been like in sobriety.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living...
2020-10-1619 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberSigns I was a Problem Drinker (That I Ignored)Gill talks about the warning signs she ignored that clearly showed she shouldn’t be drinking. This episode was inspired by a very interesting conversation with her husband, which she will tell you about first. She describes what a successful night of moderation looked like, how she couldn’t keep extra alcohol around, how after a few years she was unable to take a day off drinking, and the irrational fears she carried around about dying in a freak, drunk accident. Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to...
2020-10-0920 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberStigma and Social DeathGill discusses the stigma that exists for mental illness and alcoholism. She explains the history of treatment of the mentally ill from ancient times to present day. You’ll learn how alcoholics are viewed by the general public based on information from several national surveys from around the world. She ends this episode by talking about how the stigma of having a drinking problem impacts people’s decision to get help.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings...
2020-10-0226 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberNature vs NurtureGill discusses nature versus nurture. We will explore if addiction depends on genetics, how we're raised, or both? She explains the impact both genetics and our environment have on us. Like usual, there are a lot of interesting studies to tell you about! You’ll learn what epigenetics is, how our experiences influence our genes, and how stress plays a role. She will also explain what an ACE score is and how our childhood impacts our mental and physical health as adults.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain acc...
2020-09-2520 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberSSRIs and Alcohol-Induced AggressionGill discusses the impact alcohol has on serotonin and our mental health. She explains what serotonin is, how it impacts the body, and what antidepressants might be doing in the brain. You'll also learn about some interesting studies on alcohol induced aggression and how having a certain variant of a serotonin transporter puts us at a higher risk for developing a problem with alcohol. Since we are discussing depression, Gill explains some statistics on alcohol and suicide and the link between the two.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you...
2020-09-1819 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy We Blackout From Drinking AlcoholGill discusses blackouts. She explains how memories are formed, what puts you more at risk for blacking out, and some interesting studies on en bloc blackouts. You’ll learn what actually occurs in the brain to cause a blackout. Gill was extremely prone to blacking out, so she ends this episode by telling you how she blacked out during her wedding and the psychological impact of blackouts.Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private commun...
2020-09-1117 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhy Alcohol Feels Good (Endorphins and Opioid Receptors)Gill talks about endorphins and opioid receptors. She explains the history of opioids as medication, how we discovered endorphins, and how endorphins and opioid receptors relate to addiction. You’ll learn about how alcohol alters the opioid system in the brain reinforcing more drinking. Gill ends the podcast by talking about what she thinks is the coolest research on endorphins and alcohol addiction, so make sure you listen to the end!Resources I offer:
Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetin...
2020-09-0418 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberDenial and Dry Drunk SyndromeGill discusses the different defense mechanisms a problem drinker or alcoholic will use to continue drinking. She will explain denial, rationalization, minimization, and projection, and how being in denial actually changes the connectivity between parts of a drinker's brain reducing their self-awareness. You’ll learn about how each defense mechanism shows up in a drinkers life and what it means to be a dry drunk. Gill will explain how she moved through these various defense mechanisms and what you can do to overcome them for yourself. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Po...
2020-08-2821 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberFrom Chronic Day Ones to Forever SobrietyGill talks about Sober Power, how you earn it, and what it can do for you. She describes how it took her 5 years of worrying about her drinking to finally quit and embrace a sober life. In this episode you'll learn about Gill's two previous experiments with sobriety, and why this time is different. You will see how her mindset changed from the first time she attempted a sober week to now. If you are a chronically starting day one, then you won't want to miss this episode. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Livin...
2020-08-2128 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberWhat to Expect During WithdrawalGill discuss withdrawal. She explains the physical and psychological symptoms you can expect when you quit drinking, and why some people develop delirium tremens, which is a dangerous form of withdrawal. You'll learn about the medical detox experience and post-acute withdrawal syndrome, or PAWS. Gill also describes her withdrawal experience when she first quit. If you are concerned about withdrawal please discuss this with your doctor. It is okay to ask for help! I'll tell you 100x throughout the episode just in case you forget!!Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered...
2020-08-1418 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberShameGill discusses shame. She explains how it keeps us stuck in a drink, hate yourself, drink loop and how it makes us more vulnerable for relapse. She discusses several studies on shame in relation to alcohol abuse. You'll learn more about why it is so hard for people to quit drinking for real and why shame makes us more vulnerable to becoming problem drinkers. Gill will explain some tips she has for improving shame, and a very important tip she learned from a 2020 study on shame. Mentioned in this episode: Craig Beck's Youtube channel.
2020-08-0722 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberHow the Body Processes AlcoholGill discusses how we metabolize alcohol and how it causes damage to the body. She explains the enzymes and organs involved, how alcohol contributes to cancer and organ damage, and how it interferes with fat loss. You will learn what happens to alcohol after we take that first sip and the damage it causes on it's way to being eliminated. This episode is not meant to be a scare tactic to make you quit drinking, it is purely educational and informative. I will be discussing statistics and facts (including cancer), so if that upsets you, you may want to skip...
2020-07-3123 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE5: Sugar AddictionGill discusses sugar addiction and why sober people want to eat all the sugar. She explains several studies done in rats, mice and humans that illustrate how sugar is addictive in the same way drugs and alcohol are. In fact, mice actually prefer sugar to cocaine when given access to both! You will learn how our brain communicates via dopamine to reinforce and reward behavior, and what happens to the dopamine receptors of people who develop sugar addiction. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sobe...
2020-07-2422 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberDrunk Sex is the WorstGill discusses the biology of sex and how we even orgasm in the first place. She explains how alcohol influences sex: the statistics, sexual violence, some scientific studies, and her own personal experience with drunk sex. You'll learn why alcohol negatively affects our sexual performance and enjoyment and why sober sex is the best sex. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
The Sober Mindset Course https://www.soberpowered.com/the-sober-mindset-course
(Free Private Podcast) 5 Blocks Holding You Back From Quitting Drinking
https://www.soberpowered.com/5block...
2020-07-1724 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE3: Alcohol, Sleep, and Drinking DreamsGill discusses sleep cycles, how alcohol affects our quality and quantity of sleep, and why we have drinking dreams. She explains how alcohol suppresses REM sleep, and what that means for us when we get sober. Resources I offer:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober Group Coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Anger Management Program https://www.soberpowered.com/anger
Weekly emails on Thursdays with the sober tip of the week, announcements, interviews, and more. https://soberpowered.myflodesk.com/zzwwfuio1l
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.co...
2020-07-1016 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE2: Alcohol Cravings. Why does our brain tell us to drink?Gill discusses the areas in the brain that light up when we crave alcohol. She talks about how we condition our brains to want alcohol, and how this shows up as intense cravings when we try to quit. She explains three scientific studies that show how the brain is affected by cravings, how intense cravings put us at risk for relapse, and the improvements seen with treatment and sobriety. Gill ends the episode by talking about her own experiences with alcohol cravings and the work she has done to reduce them. Resources I offer:
C...
2020-07-0320 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberThe Last Night I DrankGill talks in detail about the last night of her drinking and why she quit. The mission of this podcast and the blog is to raise awareness about the destruction alcohol causes to our mental health. If you are experiencing poor mental health please understand that alcohol causes our mental health to decline, and use that knowledge to get help. https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ Support the show
2020-06-3016 minSober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being SoberE1: Introduction and How Alcohol Causes AnxietyWelcome to the first episode of the Sober Powered Podcast! Gill discusses why she began this project and why you don't need to hit society's version of rock bottom to quit drinking. Like many, Gill lived in denial about her drinking, telling herself she's not that bad because she doesn't fit the general idea of what an alcoholic looks like. She explains how her anxiety was a major contributor to embracing a sober life and a bit about the brain chemistry changes that occur when we abuse alcohol.For more information about alcohol and anx...
2020-06-2517 min