Begin Again Moments: Alcohol Awareness Week
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What is the focus of Alcohol Awareness Week in this episode?
I'd really love to talk to you about moderate drinking. This is a really interesting and important thing for people to be able to learn to do. You can go from drinking a lot to moderate drinking or do you, in your opinion, would you have to stop? How did you start drinking again and what made you realize you could?
I think if you are, if you have my kind of nature, call it an addictive nature or an alcoholic nature or whatever you want to call it. There's always, it's a slippery slope, always will be. I think the difference is responsibility and all of the good work that you do. I think me going out and destroying myself for days on end is going to get in the way of my business. It's going to get in the way of my career. It's going to get in the way of my marriage. It's not a good example for my children. I think having kids makes quite a big difference. My kids have never seen me drunk and they never will, hopefully. I had a lot less on.
How did Spencer Matthews change his relationship with alcohol?
I had a lot of turbulence in my mind before. I was lazy as well. I didn't try. I didn't push myself. I didn't have the aspirations I have now. I used to drink probably at my worst when I was bored, like between TV shows. I wouldn't go and meet my agent and think, right, what can we be doing? How can we make more money? How can we better... I would just... Get pissed. I was pretty loose, you know, I was just spiraling kind of all the time. And you think it's fun, but it's not, you know. And I think, you know, firstly, what we spoke about earlier, you know, wanting to show up for Vogue, wanting to prove to Vogue that I wasn't some, you know, drunk loser was important to me. Then, you know, I wasn't sober for long before starting a business.
And then all of a sudden your plate's kind of full and you're busy.
What scientific insights about alcohol influenced Spencer's perspective?
So you don't even really feel like drinking much because you have a new addiction in my case then. And again, with that came responsibility to not be out drinking and being drunk, right? And then you have children and then it's all layers on top of each other. I think if I was the kind of person that now... went out and had a couple of pints of beer and couldn't stop, then I wouldn't have the beer. I'd have the experience to just go, what's the point in any of this? The fact is I can have the occasional drink. Sometimes the occasional drink leads to several drinks in a night. But my relationship feels more normal now.
Yes.
And I think... I read Dr. Anna Lemke's book called Dopamine Nation, which was just fantastic. If you've not read it... I haven't, so thank you. Oh, it's wonderful. And it's quite, you know, it's... It's neuroscience-y, but it's also an easy read. Yeah, perfect.
Right up my street. No, but honestly, right up my street.
For me, I mean, you know, I'm obviously not a scientist. So for me, it was a welcome read because I was so fascinated by it that I flipped through it in kind of no time. And it's all about kind of, you know, spikes in dopamine and how toxins and alcohol make you feel. But actually the result of... what drinking actually does to your brain. And I think the more educated I've become about it, the less keen I am to be involved with it in that big scale anyway. This is alcohol, I mean, because realistically, and I'm sure I'm not ringing any alarm bells here, it's really bad for you. And I'm very interested in my health. So in the same way that I'll have a fried chicken sandwich every so often, I might also have a beer every so often.
It's not a very big deal to me. And if it did feel like a big deal, I would stop.
What challenges does Ruari Fairbairns highlight regarding alcohol consumption?
So, you know, I am conscious of it, though, like very conscious of it, you know, and I wouldn't I wouldn't ever want to threaten where I've got to. And I don't mean that in a kind of success scale. I just mean so much good work has been achieved in the last few years. And I know that, you know, drinking could destroy that if I let it. So I think just being aware of it has been helpful.
I'm like fascinated by this kind of idea of semi, like just being able to have a couple of drinks though. It's really interesting that.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the focus of Alcohol Awareness Week in this episode?
0:00–1:18
2
How did Spencer Matthews change his relationship with alcohol?
1:18–2:16
3
What scientific insights about alcohol influenced Spencer's perspective?
2:16–4:05
4
What challenges does Ruari Fairbairns highlight regarding alcohol consumption?
4:05–6:19
5
What surprising benefits did Ruari experience after reducing alcohol intake?
6:19–8:33
6
How does understanding alcohol's impact change one's life?
8:33–10:53
7
What is alcohol use disorder and how is it defined today?
10:53–13:35
8
What positive changes can occur when alcohol is removed from one's life?
13:35–15:56
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Begin Again with Davina McCall
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