Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Being sober isn't a punishment. Sober life is not a last resort for weak-willed losers who aren't strong enough to figure it out. You can be sober without feeling deprived or left out. Millions of people wake up with another hangover and Google, "how do I know if I'm an alcoholic?". We get stuck on the label and the stigma, when instead we should be asking ourselves, "is alcohol making me miserable?" and "would I be happier if I quit drinking?" In the Sober Powered Podcast, Gill, a former biochemist turned sober coach, walks you through the latest research on alcohol use disorder using her own sober story as a case study along the way. The science of how alcohol affects the brain can help you depersonalize your drinking experience so you can finally say goodbye to your hopes and dreams of moderating someday (because you clearly can't moderate!). Getting sober doesn't mean you are a weak-willed loser with no self-control, it simply means you are a person who can't drink. Your brain loves it too much and you are too hardcore. Each episode features in depth explanations of what is going on in the brain along with the tools and mindset shifts that Gill works on with her clients to help them accept being sober, let go of shame, and learn the coping skills required to manage stress and emotions sober -in the hopes of helping you do the same. Website: www.soberpowered.com

Episodes

E277: Being Willing to Start is the Hardest Part (“The Work”)

April 25, 2025 • 20 mins
I thought getting sober was the end of the story. I did it, I succeeded, now life will be amazing forever. But the parade never came. Instead, I started to get uncomfortable and notice patterns in my behavior that I didn’t like, and without alcohol around, I couldn’t unsee it. This is where a lot of people fall off. Their work begins to show up, it gets uncomfortable, and instead of facing it they talk themselves into how drinking ...
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E276: A Burst of Mental Clarity at 60 Days Sober (Cognitive Healing)

April 18, 2025 • 26 mins
Many people experience a noticeable shift in mental clarity around 60 days sober. When it happened to me I felt like I was waking up from a long dream and I could finally use my brain again. This may feel like being present, having patience, better focus and attention, improved memory, and reduced mental clutter. In this episode, I’ll explain how alcohol causes cognitive impairments, why we have mental clarity around 60 days in, an...
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E275: 3 Ways Alcohol Damages the Heart and How to Have Good Heart Health in Sobriety

April 11, 2025 • 25 mins
Alcohol damages every area of the body, but in this episode we are focusing on the heart. I’ll explain 3 ways that alcohol damages the heart, how the heart heals after we get sober, and 5 things you can do to have good heart health moving forward. What to listen to next: E232: The 3am Wake Up E266: Can You Drink After Taking a Break? E268: Is Moderate Drinking Healthier? Here’s Why So Many Studies Say Yes E247: Sober Sleep is the ...
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E274: High Dopamine, Low Effort Behaviors and Making Sobriety Feel Less Hard

April 4, 2025 • 27 mins
Your brain is wired for quick hits of dopamine, or high-reward, low-effort habits that feel good in the moment but sabotage your long-term goals. Over time, this conditions your brain to expect rewards without effort, making real change feel harder than it actually is. In this episode, I’ll explain how these patterns destroy motivation, fuel inconsistent effort, and keep you stuck in the cycle of short bursts of change followed by ...
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E273: How the Sober Brain Breaks Down Alcohol Associations (But They’ll Build Back Up if You Drink Again)

March 28, 2025 • 33 mins
We believe alcohol is required for vacations, unwinding, dealing with stress, celebrating, and socializing. We have built up powerful associations in our brains to reinforce these beliefs through dopamine and repetition. After you get sober, facing life without alcohol can feel impossible. Everything reminds you of alcohol. You start to notice how prevalent it is on TV and in movies. In this episode, I’m explaining how the brain bu...
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E272: 6 Habits That Make My Life Better

March 21, 2025 • 24 mins
When we develop a problem with alcohol, it becomes the center of our lives and most or all decisions are made after taking alcohol into consideration. When you remove alcohol, there’s a big empty hole in your life. You can fill this hole with other substances, sex or relationships, gambling or shopping, sitting around sad, or you can make some changes in your life. I’ve slowly made changes over the past 5 years to now have a life w...
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E271: Alcohol, Career Stress, and the Lie of “I Function Just Fine”

March 14, 2025 • 27 mins
“I function just fine, it’s not like I’m missing work”, I said until I started missing work. “I have a masters degree, I couldn’t have gotten this far if I was an alcoholic.” Have you ever thought things like this to yourself? Most drinkers are able to function. Most will never reach the stereotypical alcoholic that we think of. High functioning doesn’t mean not a problem, and in this episode we’ll discuss drinking to cope with car...
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E270: Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober

March 7, 2025 • 28 mins
You probably expect that the more sober time you have, the less you crave alcohol. That’s true for some people, but others experience an effect called incubation of craving. This is where cravings build up over time and peak around 60 days, then again around 6 months sober. In this episode, I’ll explain the research on incubation of craving, what you might experience, why this happens, and what you can do to stay sober. What to lis...
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E269: Running on Autopilot Mode

February 28, 2025 • 31 mins
Regular drinking and early sobriety often feel like living on autopilot, where we are repeating the same routines without conscious awareness. Alcohol changes the brain to increase mindless activity, which can lead to rumination, excessive self-focus, anxiety, and addiction-related thought loops. In this episode, you’ll learn about how alcohol affects the brain and puts us on autopilot, how this keeps us stuck, and when this recove...
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Making Friends After Getting Sober (Mini Coaching Call)

February 21, 2025 • 33 mins
Making new friends as an adult is difficult enough, but when you're sober, it adds an extra layer of difficulty. In this episode, we're talking about how to find friends in sobriety with a focus on what's the block from putting yourself out there, what do we have control over, how much armor do we have up, a fear of rejection, and how we can start attracting the right people in our direction. My guest today is a 42 year old woman w...
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E268: Is Moderate Drinking Healthier? Here’s Why So Many Studies Say Yes

February 14, 2025 • 26 mins
Most people defend moderation. What about all those people in the blue zones? Europeans drink every day, what about the French Paradox? If you do a quick search, then you can find tons of articles telling you how moderation is healthier than not drinking. Drinking a little bit every day will help you live longer and have a healthier heart. This has generally been accepted for decades, but is it really true? In this episode, I’ll ex...
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E267: Resources vs Support: Are You Setting Yourself Up for Success?

February 7, 2025 • 26 mins
This is the biggest mistake I see people make. There’s one pattern I’ve noticed with people where they want to be sober, but they approach it in a way that makes them less likely to actually achieve sobriety. In this episode I’m going to explain how you can set yourself up for success, how to build an effective support system, and how support can help you stay sober. We’ll discuss the self-improvement trap where people enter a stag...
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E266: Can You Drink After Taking a Break?

January 31, 2025 • 35 mins
So you’ve taken a break from alcohol and now you’re wondering do you stay sober or do you go back to drinking? In this episode I’ll discuss your options, when the best benefits from a break are, whether it’s possible for some people to moderate their drinking after a break, and how to know if you really have a problem and need to be sober or not. What to listen to next: E204: why some people get addicted and others don't E238: why ...
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E265: Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober

January 24, 2025 • 28 mins
When will being sober feel rewarding? When does it get easier? When does the boredom go away? In this episode you’ll learn about the process of recalibrating your reward system after quitting drinking. I’ll explain how alcohol messes up the reward system, the process of recalibration that occurs during the first year, what happens if you relapse, and what you can do to make the process go a little bit smoother. What to listen to ne...
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E264: Here’s Why You Have Mood Swings After Quitting Drinking

January 17, 2025 • 28 mins
Are you cranky AF after getting sober? Is your mood volatile and unpredictable? Are the little things setting you off? This is a normal part of the sober experience, so congrats on getting started. In this episode, I’ll explain why we have mood swings after quitting drinking. You’ll learn what’s going on in the brain, when it should start to ease up, and things to look out for as you continue working on your sobriety. What to liste...
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E263: Sugar Cravings After Quitting Drinking

January 10, 2025 • 22 mins
Did you go from never wanting dessert to now never skipping it? Are you craving sugar constantly now that you’ve quit drinking? Sugar cravings in sobriety are very normal and in this episode I’ll explain a few reasons why we crave sugar after getting sober and how you can start managing your sugar cravings moving forward. What to listen to next: E188: Wellness Over Weight Loss E249: Alcohol and Cortisol: Extra Stress and Extra Crav...
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Alcohol and Cancer Risk (Surgeon General Warning Explained)

January 4, 2025 • 14 mins
The Surgeon General just recommended that cancer warning labels be included on alcohol bottles. However, the link between cancer and alcohol is old news. A recent study from the National Cancer Institute found that only 50% of Americans are aware that alcohol causes cancer, so in this episode you'll learn how alcohol causes cancer, alcohol and cancer statistics, and what this new information means for you. What to listen to next: E...
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E262: 31 Tips to Quit Drinking in Dry January

January 3, 2025 • 37 mins
Are you trying to quit drinking for Dry January? A sober month is a good opportunity to learn more about your drinking and get experience handling your life without alcohol. I know it’s scary in the beginning and you may not know what to do. In this episode I’ll share some research about Dry January and how to be successful this month, then we’ll cover 31 different tips to quit drinking. Go to https://www.soberpowered.com/tips to g...
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E261: The Psychology of New Year's Resolutions (Willpower and Goal Setting)

December 27, 2024 • 22 mins
2025 can be your year. Most of us set goals to quit drinking or lose weight, and then we don’t achieve it. In this episode, I’m going to explain 3 things that make us less likely to meet our goals. Most people think lack of willpower or self-discipline is the reason why we don’t succeed, and I’ll explain why that’s not the case. You’ll also learn 4 ways to set goals to increase your likelihood of success and the goal that I’m worki...
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E260: 5 Holiday Mental Health Challenges

December 20, 2024 • 23 mins
If you love the holidays, then I’m happy for you, but many of us don’t. If the holidays make you feel tired, jealous, stressed, and resentful, then you came to the right place. In this episode I’ll discuss different mental health challenges that may be coming up for you and I’ll weave in survey data on stress and mental health during the holiday season. We’ll cover things like social media comparison, invisible labor, pressure to b...
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