How I Finally Quit Drinking After Years of Denial | Harriet’s Sobriety Story
episodePreviously titled “Six Months Sober: Harriet's Journey Through ADHD, Motherhood and Alcohol Recovery” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 19, 2026
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Okay.
Hello and welcome to One for the Road with me, Sober Dave. Over the next few weeks I'll be talking to some incredible guests, all of whom have made the decision to look at their relationship with alcohol and take steps towards a positive change. My guests are all at different points in their journey. Each one has a powerful, uplifting story to share and that's why I hope every episode leaves you feeling inspired. You did it. You put the drink down. But maybe lately there's this quiet question sitting underneath everything, what now? Because staying sober and actually becoming someone, those aren't the same thing. And if you're white knuckling an identity that's still built around what you're not doing anymore, it's exhausting.
I know because I've been there. That's why I built your sober self. My six-week program for people who are already sober and ready to stop to surviving it and start genuinely thriving in who they are becoming. Here's what I want you to do: head to soberdave.co.uk and book a free chemistry call with me. No pressure, just a real conversation about where you're at and whether this is the right next step. Or you can drop me the word sober self. on my Instagram at soberdave and I'll get you booked in myself. You got sober for a reason. Let's find out who that person really is. Good morning, Harriet. Welcome to my podcast One for the Road. And thank you so much for joining me today. How are you?
Yeah, I'm all right. Thanks, Dave. I'm good. I'm a bit nervous, but I'm okay. You don't have a bit of a funny few reads.
At all, honestly. We're all in the same boat. Doesn't matter how far down the road we are. And the reason I wanted to get you on today is that You've just celebrated six months of sobriety. And well done for that one. And, you know, I don't just want to get people on who are celebrities or they're ten years into their sobriety. I wanna keep it real. You caught my eye. And I thought, you know what, it'd be really good for you to come on and tell your story and how it's been like as well for the last six months as well. So thank you for agreeing to come on my podcast.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah. So as usual, we start at the beginning. Um, from when you was a little girl. How was it for you growing up?
Yeah, probably not the most balanced star in life. My mum was she actually had Hodgkin's lymphoma and she was given six months to live. So I was living between sort of commuting from almost near London to a primary school an hour and a half away because my mum didn't w want me to move schools. Um so yeah, it was quite a tough kind of start in life probably. Yeah. Now I look back and I look back with my own children. Um And there wasn't loads of stability perhaps at the start.
So did you stay at that school then?
I did because my mum survived. Yeah, my mum survived.
Did change, she's still with us now.
Yeah, she's quite poorly, but yeah, she is.
So how about after that? How was uh things for you?
Um, yeah, it was all right. Yeah. I mean I wasn't for me, my drinking didn't start when I was really young. It wasn't it wasn't really that. But um yeah, I'm definitely I'm really ADHD, I got diagnosed last year and so a lot of my life has started to make more sense um as I've grown up because I always felt like I wasn't like everyone else and I'd probably use drinking to mask that and sort of try and fit in. And be cool or you know. You know what it's like when you're a teenager.
Yeah. And I mean, now you know that information, does that explain um some of your behavior patterns when you were growing up?
Oh yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah, definitely. And definitely the ADHD. And it's helped me realise I'm quite a naive person um in terms of I take everything at sort of face value. Um and I do see kind of the best in people and situations. Um Yeah, and I probably didn't stick up for myself enough when I was younger. Um, but as you get older you realise these things, don't you? You can only do that with hindsight.
Yeah. So how old were you when you started drinking then?
Well, I would say I mean, I was like a binge typical binge drinker, you know, if I went to a party in my teens, but that's not where my problem developed 'cause I was definitely now looking back, I was really ADHD and in my twenties I used exercise and I controlled
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–9:07
2
How did Harriet’s childhood and family illness shape her relationship with alcohol?
9:07–15:00
3
What role did an ADHD diagnosis play in understanding Harriet’s drinking patterns?
15:00–21:17
4
How did motherhood, postpartum depression, and isolation influence her alcohol use?
21:17–26:16
5
When and why did Harriet’s drinking start to escalate into a problem?
26:16–35:50
6
What triggered Harriet to finally decide to quit drinking and go cold‑turkey?
35:50–46:07
7
What were the biggest challenges Harriet faced during the first three months of sobriety?
46:07–55:12
8
How has Harriet’s life changed after six months of sobriety and what does she miss most?
55:12–58:44