Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober
Episodes
E234: The Scary Side of How Alcohol Affects the Body
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cancer and cirrhosis. The 2 scary parts of drinking. This is going to be a brutally honest episode about the scary side of how alcohol affects the bod...
E233: How Alcohol Affects the Body: A Deep Dive
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There’s so much to say about how alcohol affects the body I could go on for hours, and none of it is good stuff. I’ll explain why alcohol makes yo...
E232: The 3am Wake Up of Shame: Alcohol and Anxiety
05 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Not remembering how we went to bed becomes a normal experience, but it is not normal. We get drunk, eventually end up in bed, only to jolt awake aroun...
E231: Everything You Need to Know About Alcohol Withdrawal
01 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Withdrawal is pretty obvious, the symptoms that we experience when we quit drinking. There is a lot more to it though. In this episode you’ll learn ...
E230: 11 Tips to Quit Drinking in Dry July
28 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Getting started is the hardest part. What are you supposed to do with your time? How do you get through the first week? In this episode I’ll cover 1...
E229: 5 Mindset Shifts to Help You Stay Sober (That Aren’t Stupid)
25 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our thoughts create our reality. For most of my life I thought that I had bad luck and bad things kept happening to me, but in sobriety I realized I h...
E228: Why Alcohol Automatically Captures and Holds Your Attention
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve stopped drinking, have you noticed that when you walk into a room your eyes immediately go to where the alcohol is? Or how you keep track ...
E227: You Need a Goal (200 lb Deadlift Achieved!)
18 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Let's talk about goal setting and building self-confidence. You've probably heard me mention off and on that I've had this goal to deadlift 200 lbs. I...
E226: Using Alcohol to Escape Your Life
14 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us use alcohol to turn off our brain, escape our problems, or check out, but escapism is actually associated with more intense drinking and lo...
E225: 5 Strategies for Dealing with Relapses and Getting Back on Track
11 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What causes a relapse? How can we recognize it and make changes before we actually relapse? In this episode I’ll discuss the path to relapse and wha...
E224: Alcohol Makes Your Brain Stop Working
07 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Your brain has to be connected well to be able to work. We beat ourselves up because we know we shouldn’t drink, but then we do, or because we keep ...
E223: 6 Common Triggers for Drinking and How to Avoid Them
04 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are triggers to drink everywhere, but I’ve seen 6 common ones that mess up people’s attempts to get sober. In this episode I’ll explain wh...
E222: 6 Neurotransmitters That Get Messed Up By Alcohol
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Glutamate, GABA, Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, and the whole HPA axis (stress response). These are some of the important systems in your brain ...
E221: 5 Ways to Redefine Fun Without Alcohol
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alcohol is marketed as a key to relaxation and fun. Ads and movies show us that alcohol is essential for social bonding and carefree moments, signalin...
E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hippocampus is an important part of the brain, which is unfortunately very vulnerable to alcohol. It is most well-known for its role in blackouts,...
E219: 7 Healthy Lifestyle Changes to Support Your Sobriety
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our lifestyle can make our sobriety easier or harder. When we quit drinking, things have to change. We can’t keep coming home to the same old routin...
E218: In the Moment Craving vs Constant Craving
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are 2 types of alcohol cravings that you may experience as you quit drinking: sudden, in the moment cravings or constant all day cravings. In th...
E217: Warm Weather: 3 Reasons We Think Alcohol is Required
14 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The weather is getting warmer and we start thinking about how everyone’s going to be on the porch or at restaurants drinking, how nice that looks, a...
E216: 4 Types of Impulsivity: Which One Are You?
10 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We don’t drink because we’re losers with no self-control. A lot of times we drink because we can’t handle emotions, we get the F its, and we kee...
E215: 5 Different Ways of Thinking About Sobriety
07 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do we “get” to be sober or do we have to be sober? What if you don’t want to glamorize sobriety or think about alcohol as a class one carcinogen...
E214: Self-Medicating with Alcohol
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We drink to cope because it seems to help us manage anxiety, depression, trauma, stress, etc., but self-medicating with alcohol only makes your proble...
E213: Self-Care is NOT Temporarily Turning Off Your Brain (Getting "Me Time")
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We think that turning off our brain with alcohol at the end of the day is “me time” and it’s the only way to get a break. This isn’t self-care...
E212: Why Some People Get Sober and Others Don’t (Resilience and Epigenetics)
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s frustrating if you keep trying to stop drinking, but aren’t succeeding. We’ve discussed the brain changes that make it more difficult in a ...
E211: The Anticipation of the Drink
23 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Anticipation of the reward from alcohol is one of the main reasons we stay stuck in the back and forth cycle. We believe alcohol will help us relax, u...
E210: Good News, Your Brain Heals A LOT After 90 Days Sober… Unless You Relapse
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Significant brain healing can happen within the first few months of being sober. Finally some good news for us, right? In this episode you’ll learn ...
E209: How Porn Addiction Affects the Brain
16 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Behavioral addictions are stigmatized because they feel like more of a choice because there’s no substance changing your brain. However, process add...
E208: Stress, Depression and Our Eating Habits
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We do the same thing with our diet that we do with our drinking- our eating habits aren’t great, but they’re not bad either so it feels manageable...
E207: 15 Milestones to Look Forward to in Sobriety (Sober Timeline)
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are lots of great things that happen when you quit drinking, but we can get distracted by wanting everything to be easy and perfect. In this epi...
E206: HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You’ve probably heard of the acronym HALT, hungry, angry, lonely, tired. These are all triggers for relapse because they influence our ability to th...
E205: Kindling in Alcohol Withdrawal
02 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For some of us, each time we go through withdrawal, the next withdrawal is worse. This is called kindling and in this episode I’m explaining what ki...
E204: Can Anyone Get Addicted to Alcohol?
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is everyone on the slow path towards addiction? Are all moderate drinkers a little bit addicted? We know alcohol is an addictive substance that gets u...
E203: Why You Still Want Alcohol Even When You Hate It (It’s Dopamine!)
26 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Drinking stops being fun and enjoyable, but we continue to do it anyway. Why is this? We know it makes us miserable and we want to stop, but by 4pm or...
E202: WTF is “The Work”?
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I talk about doing “the work” a lot on this podcast, so let’s talk about what that work is. In this episode I’ll explain what the work is, roa...
E201: Your Dysregulated Stress Response
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is everything you need to know about cortisol, stress and alcohol. I’ll explain how our stress system adapts to both chronic stress and...
E200: My Greatest Shame
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The moment that should have been my rock bottom, but wasn’t. I never thought I’d share this story, but I realized recently that this story doesn’...
E199: Frustration Tolerance
12 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Your ability to tolerate frustration can make your life easier or it can make it harder. For most of my life I made things harder for myself. In this ...
E198: 5 Ways Anger Management Changed My Life
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I struggled with anger for most of my life. Conveniently, when I began drinking a lot of my anger went away, but when I got sober it came back stronge...
My Favorite Things I Learned in February and How to Apply Them to Your Life
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I cover a lot of research on this podcast, and it’s probably difficult to remember it all. In this episode, I’m sharing my favorite things I learn...
E197: Making the DECISION to Quit Drinking
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of us “quit” drinking and we go back and forth for a long time beating ourselves up for being too weak to stick with it. In this episode, I ...
Do You Want to be Sober or Do You Want to Drink Without the Consequences? (Replay)
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
E196: How the Brain Recovers After Quitting Drinking
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did we blast our brains beyond repair with all of our drinking? What if you drank heavily for decades? Are you doomed? In this episode I’m explainin...
E195: When Does Sobriety Get Better?
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sobriety is great, but it can also be frustrating. We did the work right? We quit drinking, so when is it going to get easier? When will we start to f...
E194: 5 Stupid Coping Skills That Work
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When you’re used to using alcohol to fix all your problems, it’s difficult to know what to do when that’s no longer an option. Drinking prevents...
E193: Feeling More Emotional and Anxious? How’s Your Sleep?
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know that about 30% of adults don’t get enough sleep? Sure, being tired sucks and many of us are busy and have reasons for not getting enoug...
My Favorite Things I Learned in January and How to Apply Them to Your Life
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
I cover a lot of research on this podcast, and it’s probably difficult to remember it all. In this episode, I’m sharing my favorite things I learn...
E192: Do You Need a Drink or Are You Just Hungry? (Alcohol & Ghrelin)
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cravings make it difficult to stay sober. You may not be craving alcohol because you need it though, you may be craving alcohol because you’re not t...
E191: Going Back and Forth Makes Your Cravings Stronger
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us go back and forth while we’re trying to stop drinking. You might get 4 or 5 days in, then drink again and repeat this process many times....
E190: Non-Alcoholic Drinks: The Pros and Cons
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails are very popular, but are they good for your sobriety? In this episode I’ll explain both sides of the argument- h...
E189: How the Brain Regulates Emotions & Impulses (Rumination & Retaliation)
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If your mind gets stuck on cravings to drink and you can’t redirect, then you’re more likely to white knuckle it until the craving becomes so inte...
E188: Wellness Over Weight Loss
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of us quit drinking and expect weight loss. We see influencers online sharing before and after pictures and telling us how much weight we can lo...
How Many More Years Do You Want to Spend Thinking "It's Not That Bad?" (Gray Area Drinking)
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest problem with gray area drinkers is that they don’t have a huge rock bottom. They usually have limited outward consequences or none at al...
E187: How Multiple Cycles of Withdrawal Impacts the Recovery of Your Brain
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of people who will quit for about a few days or a week or 2 and then go back to drinking, and they repeat this process over and over a...
E186: Anger Management
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Every time I say I’m an angry person or that I struggled with rage in my first year people always laugh and say that they can’t imagine that. Ange...
How Nutrition Can Support Your Sobriety with Dr. Brooke Scheller
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Brooke Scheller is back on the show! We’re discussing her new book, How to Eat to Change How You Drink, and focusing on the role nutrition plays...
E185: Unexpected Things That Happen in Early Sobriety
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For some, sobriety is the best thing ever and the benefits are really exciting. But for others, things may get worse before they get better. In this e...
E184: Benefits of Dry January: What the Research Says
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Dry January is a great time to take a break from drinking after going hard over the holidays, but does it have an impact on your ability to drink less...
Your Guide to Dry January with Casey Davidson, Suzanne Warye, Erinn O'Neill and Michaela Horvathova
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Dry January! In this episode I'm joined by Casey from the Hello Someday Podcast, Suzanne from The Sober Mom Life Podcast, and Erinn & Michaela f...
My First Sober Christmas
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christmas is one of those days that we future trip about. We think, how am I going to not have a drink on Christmas?! I was 6 weeks sober for my first...
E183: To Drink or Not to Drink? How Your Brain Decides
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Not drinking requires you to exert cognitive control over your impulsive system, but it’s difficult to develop the pause between the urge to drink a...
"But Everyone Drinks Like Me"... No They Don't
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is a belief that I see holds a lot of people back from quitting drinking. In this episode I'm discussing why we think everyone drinks like we do ...
E182: Why You Drink Habitually Without Thinking
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of us refer to our drinking as a bad habit. Something we have to break and then we’ll be okay. Something gets messed up with the way we build,...
Losing Friends When You Quit Drinking
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I lost friends when I quit drinking. If this is something you worry about or something that you're experiencing, then in this episode I'm explaining m...
E181: Why You Keep Drinking and Expecting it to be Different
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It takes us a long time to realize that we need to stop drinking. But why does it take us so much longer than the average person to realize we need to...
"Why Aren't You Drinking?"
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this shorty I'm discussing the question "why aren't you drinking?". I'll share my advice for how to answer this question and how not to answer it. ...
E180: Why Your Drinking Gets Worse Over Time, Not Better
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to fall into the trap that your drinking will get better over time. That you're just going through a phase or you're just leaning on alcohol...
Navigating Holiday Parties Sober
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's the holiday season and that means parties and happy hours! In this episode I'm sharing what my first sober holiday party was like and my tips for...
E179: Sober Holiday Tips with Paul Churchill, Casey Davidson, and Veronica Valli
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The holiday season is tough when you don't drink. Alcohol is everywhere and it's socially acceptable to drink as much as you want during this time of ...
E178: Why You Lose Your Motivation to Quit Drinking
17 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of reasons motivation fades, but there may be some things that you are doing that are impacting your motivation to get out of the cycl...
E177: 4 Years Sober: Why Did This Happen to Me?
10 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I’m celebrating 4 years of sobriety, and one of the main questions that inspired me to do all this research on addiction was why me? I wanted to und...
E176: We Have to Grieve Alcohol (It’s Ok to Miss it)
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s normal to be sad that you can’t drink, feel like you’re missing out, or to start romanticizing alcohol. It’s okay to miss it, but that do...
E175: Tired After Quitting Drinking? Here’s How to Boost Your Energy Levels
27 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most common complaints I see from newly sober people is that they are exhausted, and the fatigue after quitting drinking can last for a lon...
E174: Why Routine is Important in Sobriety
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Routine is important because we are sensitive to stress and triggers. I feel like, no matter how much sober time you have, we are more sensitive than ...
E173: What To Do With Your Days After a Slip
13 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve been getting this question a lot recently. People reach out to me who have drank and then they want to know if they have to reset their days. T...
E172: Guide to Your First Week Sober
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re struggling to get past the first week or maybe this is your first attempt at quitting, then in this episode I’m explaining my experience...
E171: Sober October Tips with Casey Davidson, Suzanne Warye and Amanda E. White
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Getting started in sobriety is hard. Is the fun over forever? Do you have to label yourself now? Are people going to judge you? How will you fill up y...
E170: Here’s Why the First Year of Sobriety is So Hard (It’s Dopamine)
22 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our brains get used to big dopamine bursts from alcohol and this makes natural rewards like walking, nice weather, or spending time with friends or lo...
E169: Alcohol and Gut Health
15 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Acid reflux, chronic inflammation, and depression are all ways that alcohol can negatively impact our gut health. Most people aren’t aware while the...
E168: Is Drinking the Only Way to Meet People? (Dating, Socializing and FOMO)
08 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Socializing, dating, and spending time with family are all things that we worry about when we quit drinking. We worry about connecting with other peop...
E167: What to Expect With Your Anxiety When You Quit Drinking
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anxiety is something I get asked about all the time and it’s a major reason people have trouble quitting drinking. Their anxiety is too bad in the b...
E166: Cravings and Staying Stuck in Your Old Life with Angela Pugh
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cravings are a major challenge and in this special episode Angela Pugh, host of the Addiction Unlimited Podcast, and I teamed up to discuss cravings f...
E165: I Quit Sugar for 30 Days
18 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I was eating way too much sugar, so in a desperate attempt to break the loop I decided to quit sugar for 30 days. In this episode you’ll learn why I...
E164: How Taking Breaks from Drinking Helped Me Quit For Good
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I see a lot of people take a break, drink again, and beat themselves up for being a loser. Breaks are really important for collecting data on your dri...
E163: Can We Learn to Moderate Our Drinking?
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I desperately wanted to learn how to become a take it or leave it drinker. I thought if I took a 90 day break, then I’d reset my tolerance and break...
E162: What to Expect Cognitively in Early Sobriety
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cognitive health is the ability to think clearly, learn new things, and remember information, events, and what you’ve learned in the past. As proble...
E161: What to Expect Emotionally in Early Sobriety
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When I quit drinking I thought I could quit and just move on with my life, but then all of these big emotions rushed in and it was shocking. I didn’...
E160: Reflecting on the Early Days of Our Sobriety with Eric Zimmer, Laura Cathcart Robbins and Paul Churchill
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may look at people in the sober community and think that we have a lot of sober time and that may feel unattainable or too far off. In this specia...
E159: What to Expect Physically When You Quit Drinking
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Good news: there are a lot of physical benefits that happen in the first month of quitting drinking. This can be very motivating to continue on with t...
E158: Dry July: 7 Things You Need to Know to Get Started
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dry July is here and if you’re working on quitting drinking, then this episode is all about how to get started. You’ll learn what to expect in the...
Q2: How to Answer “Why Aren’t You Drinking?”
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When I first quit drinking I was very nervous about how people would respond to me. I worried about what to say to them. In this episode I will give y...
E157: Fatigue and Brain Fog in Early Sobriety
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fatigue and brain fog are two of the more unexpected symptoms you may experience in early sobriety and they can drag on for a bit. In this episode you...
E156: 55 Tips to Quit Drinking
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve realized over time we forget parts of the struggle. In interacting with my community I get reminded of the things I went through in my first fe...
How Dopamine Impacts Your Level of Motivation
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most common issues I see with people is that they lose their motivation to stay sober and keep going back and forth getting a few days or a...
E155: My Career Journey (Teaching, Biotech and Working for Myself)
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Work is a major trigger to drink and it has been one of my biggest struggles in my adult life (aka my stupid belief). In this episode I explain my car...
E154: Keep Coming Back. Relapse is Not the End
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The back and forth cycle is frustrating and depressing and it can feel like you’re never going to figure it out. It also really hurts our self-estee...
Q1: Do Drinking Dreams Ever Go Away?
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve quit drinking for any amount of time then you may have experienced a drinking dream, which is a dream where you relapse and drink alcohol....
E153: Surviving the Summer Sober: 5 Challenges You Might Face
26 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If this is your first summer without alcohol, then you might be really nervous because warm weather makes you want to sit outside and drink, there are...
E152: Anxiety and Depression Increases Your Risk of Negative Consequences from Your Drinking
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
People with anxiety or depression are much more likely to experience negative consequences from their drinking, even when they drink exactly the same ...
E151: Why Your Attempts to Quit Drinking Aren't Working
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There are a lot of different ways to quit drinking and what works for 1 person won’t necessarily work for everyone. I think everyone has tried thing...
[Bonus] When You Can't Take Stress Off Your Plate
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of the reasons emotions can be so overwhelming is because we don't have coping skills to deal with them, so we run right for alcohol every time we...
E150: 15 Moderation Strategies I Tried to Gain Control of My Drinking
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
I used to spend so many mornings Googling, “how can I moderate my drinking?” I thought if I could just figure out the right strategy, then I’d b...