Alcohol Minimalist: Change Your Drinking Habits!

In this episode of Think Thursday from the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, host Molly Watts explores the transformative mental health benefits of self-transcendence.

After recently visiting the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time, Molly shares her personal experience of awe and expansion, describing how moments of transcendence can shift perspective, lighten emotional burdens, and promote mental well-being.

Drawing ...

In this episode, Molly revisits a listener favorite: Undoing the Urge to Overdrink — a heartfelt and informative conversation first shared just before Thanksgiving 2023. Molly reflects on how emotional triggers, life events, and deeply rooted habits shape our relationship with alcohol — and how we can interrupt the cycle to create lasting change.

Molly also shares a poignant personal moment, connecting the episode's theme w...

In this week's Think Thursday episode, we explore an unexpectedly powerful topic: the science of smiling. 

Is being a "natural smiler" something you're born with? Can smiling actively improve your mood, or is it just a reflection of how you feel?
And what role does a simple grin play in rewiring your brain for resilience, positivity, and emotional peace?

Molly dives into the research on genetic influences on smiling, the ...

Welcome (or welcome back!) to the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast with your host, Molly Watts, coming to you from salubrious Oregon!

In this final episode for Alcohol Awareness Month, Molly gets personal and shares the three major ways her drinking habits — and more importantly, her thinking about alcohol — have evolved over the years.

This isn’t just about counting drinks or cutting back to a “magical low number.” It's about cre...

Have you ever said to yourself, “This habit feels unbreakable”?

Whether it’s procrastination, nighttime snacking, or pouring that end-of-day drink, it often feels like these behaviors are wired into our identity. But what if the real thing holding you back isn’t the habit itself—but the story you’re telling yourself about it?

In this Think Thursday episode, we’re exploring why some habits feel impossible to change—and why ne...

In this compelling episode of the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, Molly reconnects with Katie Lain, founder of Thrive Alcohol Recovery, to explore the power of neuroscience-based strategies for changing your relationship with alcohol. Katie shares her personal recovery story and how the Sinclair Method, a treatment protocol that uses the medication naltrexone, gave her a new lease on life.

This conversation goes beyond the medi...

This Think Thursday episode may just become one of your favorites. Molly explores the overlooked but powerful connection between water and brain health. From hydration to hydrotherapy, sound to sensation, this episode unpacks four science-backed ways water supports your brain, helps regulate your emotions, and contributes to meaningful, lasting behavior change.

Whether you love a hot bath, play ocean waves to fall asleep, o...

In this special Alcohol Awareness Month episode, Molly Watts sits down with Ben Kramer, a licensed psilocybin facilitator and educator in Oregon. As the state pioneers legal psilocybin services, this insightful conversation unpacks how this once-taboo compound is emerging as a powerful therapeutic option for mental health and substance use struggles. Ben, a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and former firefighter, share...

Episode Summary
In this episode of Think Thursday, we’re diving into the psychology and neuroscience of reminiscing. Why does it feel so comforting to revisit our past? What is actually happening in our brains when we do it? And how can we intentionally use this experience to feel more grounded, present, and connected?

This isn’t just about nostalgia—it’s about using our memories as a powerful tool for self-awareness, e...

In this episode kicking off Alcohol Awareness Month, Molly Watts dives into the subtleties of emotional drinking, helping listeners uncover unconscious patterns and build emotional resilience to disrupt them. Drawing inspiration from an episode by Corinne Crabtree on emotional eating, Molly makes powerful parallels to alcohol habits many listeners may not even recognize as emotionally driven.

What You’ll Learn in This Episo...