EP 108: Enjoy Truly Joyful Events Without the Regret

What if this holiday season, you could walk away from every gathering feeling proud, happy, and totally in control? That’s exactly what we’re exploring in this episode of the Catholic Sobriety Podcast! I’m Christie Walker, your host and biggest cheerleader, and I can't wait to share some game-changing tips to help you handle those festive parties without overindulging in alcohol.

This is not about missing out—it’s about showing up as your best self and fully enjoying the moment - without the alcohol. Together, we’ll talk about setting simple intentions, being prepared for tricky situations, and creating boundaries that actually work for you. Whether it’s bringing your favorite drink, knowing when to step away, or making a plan that fits your vibe, I’ll give you the tools to feel confident, excited, and totally at peace.

The best part? Sticking to your goals during the holidays doesn’t mean giving up the fun—it means creating space for more joy, clarity, and connection. I promise, you’re going to feel so good saying no to what doesn’t serve you. Trust me, my clients have never regretted choosing sobriety, but they have shared stories of wishing they’d taken this path sooner.

Sound good? Share with a friend who might need a little extra encouragement. Be sure to follow me on Instagram or check out my coaching services for more practical tips and loving support. 

You’ve got this, and I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way. Happy, healthy holidays? Yes, please! 🎄✨

Drop us a Question or Comment

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Catholic Sobriety Podcast, the
go-to resource for women seekingto have a deeper understanding
of the role alcohol plays intheir lives, women who are
looking to drink less or not atall for any reason.
I am your host, christi Walker.
I'm a wife, mom and ajoy-filled Catholic, and I am

(00:22):
the Catholic Sobriety Coach, andI am so glad you're here.
If you're worried because theholidays are coming and you have
dinners, events and all kindsof things with family and
friends planned, but you'retrying to reduce or eliminate
your alcohol consumption, or youjust don't want to over drink

(00:44):
over the holidays, then thisepisode is for you.
I am going to share with youfour powerful planning tips that
will help you get through allthose social events and
situations that might be causingyou a little bit of anxiety.
Causing you a little bit ofanxiety.

(01:08):
So I know from experience thatit can be difficult when you
have to go into a socialsituation and you're not really
prepared for what could happen.
I naturally already plan forthese situations, and you
probably do too.
You find out what the dresscoat is.
You find out who's going to bethere and what they're going to
be serving.
You might find out what they'regoing to have to drink and what

(01:29):
sort of entertainment they'llhave.
I want you to take what youalready do, what you already
know, and plan for these events.
Now just go ahead and do thiswith the next event you have
coming.
Or if it's a situation that youfind yourself in where you
could easily over drink andmaybe not keep those commitments

(01:51):
to yourself, then thisfour-step method to powerful
planning will help you so much.
So the first thing you want todo is to decide what your goal
is.
Are you going to drink onedrink?
Are you going to drink twodrinks?
When are you going to bedrinking these?
Are these going to be at thebeginning of the night?

(02:12):
Are you going to have one atthe beginning and one at the end
?
Are you going to have one atthe beginning and one with
dinner?
Are you going to have one withdinner and one at the end?
I don't know, it's whateveryou're deciding.
Or maybe you're deciding youdon't want to have any alcohol,
and that's great too.
That's another goal.
So, whatever your goal is, whereit's going to feel really

(02:33):
peaceful for you to take it orleave it, then I suggest, first
of all, setting that, writingthat down, putting that
intention down, setting thatwriting that down, putting that
intention down, and along withthat, I want you to start
visualizing the event.
What do you anticipate aregoing to be your roadblocks or

(02:54):
triggers that might come up foryou?
So I want you to write thosedown too.
Is it going to be alcohol likeright on the table?
Is it going to be certainpeople that are there?
Is it going to be alcohol likeright on the table?
Is it going to be certainpeople that are there?
Is it going to be maybe notknowing what to say when people
ask you if you want to drink orask when you say no, not wanting

(03:17):
to have to tell people aboutyour goals, which is completely
fine.
Just planning in advance forthat is going to be so helpful,
because then you're not justgoing into it not knowing what's
going to go on.
So, first thing, set your goal.
Second thing this is all partof step one, by the way you're
going to visualize what is goingto be your trip ups, your

(03:42):
triggers, your hang ups, andwrite those down.
We're going to address thoselater.
Write those down.
And then the last thing in thisfirst step is to think about
how you want to feel at the endof the night or how you want to
feel the next morning.
So write that down too.

(04:03):
Do you want to be proud of yourchoices?
Do you want to have more peace?
Do you want to feel good thenext morning?
Whatever that is, write thatdown.
So step one you're going to setyour goal, visualize the event
and figure out what yourtriggers might be.
Decide how you want to feel atthe end, what you want the

(04:24):
result to be from the end of thenight and all your hard work.
Okay, now for step two.
I want you to think about whatyou are willing to do to keep
that commitment to yourself.
That could be are you willingto bring your own drinks?
Are you willing to?

(04:45):
If you've decided just to haveone or two glasses of wine, are
you willing to then put thatbottle of wine away where you
won't have access to it or itwill be kind of out of sight,
out of mind?
Are you willing and I know thishurts, because every time I
suggest it people are like ohChristy, I can't even imagine

(05:08):
that but are you willing todrink what you've promised
yourself?
You're going to drink and stickto that, if that's two glasses
of wine.
Are you willing to either givethat bottle of wine away or pour
it down the sink I know I knowthat might have hurt your heart
a little bit.

(05:29):
Serious about your commitment toreducing or eliminating alcohol
, then you will do whatever ittakes to root that out,
including wasting wine.
So it may have to be done.
It may not have to be done ifyou can give it away or put it
somewhere else where you're notgoing to be tempted by it.

(05:51):
You're not going to be temptedby it.
So what are you willing to do?
That's what I want you to thinkabout.
Are you willing to beuncomfortable?
Are you willing to have toughconversations?
Are you willing to leave ifthings aren't going that great

(06:12):
and you feel super tempted, like, like at any moment you could
drink.
Either you leave or you drink.
So just write all those thingsdown.
Those are just some examples,but you just have to figure out
what you are willing to do andwhat is going to work for you.
The third step is I want you tothink about what you are not

(06:35):
willing to do.
Are you not willing to have atough conversation with somebody
and feel those feelings?
And if you're not willing to dothat, what are you willing to
do instead?
So you might go back in asyou're filling these in, you'll
probably do it simultaneously,like what am I willing to do,

(06:56):
what am I not willing to do?
And then, as you think of whatyou're willing to do, it may
spill over into what you're notwilling to do.
So step one and step two veryoften just kind of are done at
the same time.
So just know that if you'redoing that, it's totally okay.
If you want to separate them,totally fine too.

(07:18):
Then the last step is to have anexit strategy.
Now, I know it can be verydifficult to exit.
I actually was just doing somegroup coaching yesterday in my
30-day alcohol reset and wetalked about this exact topic

(07:40):
and the woman said, like I couldexit as far as like going for a
walk, I could go outside, Icould go and play with kids, I
could.
You know, she had all theseways that she could remove
herself from these situationsthat could cause her or tempt

(08:01):
her to want to drink.
Or, if she has an urge, shecould use this exit strategy of
whatever one of those thingsthat she had listed, like going
for a walk, playing with thekids, whatever it is.
But she said that she could notleave, completely leave the
event without it causing a lotof chaos, like within the family

(08:24):
and things like that.
So definitely take that intoconsideration with the event,
who is going to be there andwhat is going to be right for
you, because this is all aboutpeace.
So again, step one you aregoing to set your goal and this
is a goal where you are going tobe proud of yourself when you

(08:45):
stick to it.
So, whether you decide to drinkor not drink, you are going to
do that from a place of peace.
Step two is to figure out whatis going to maybe trigger you,
what kind of causes, those urges, and just sit with that for a
little bit, because you willlook at that as you are doing

(09:06):
steps one and step three.
And then the third part of stepone is to visualize what you
want the result to be at the endof the night and the next day.
So that's the three parts ofthe first step.
The second step, again, is tosay what you are willing to do.

(09:29):
What are you willing to do tokeep that commitment?
Just very simple what are youwilling to do?
What are you willing to do tokeep that commitment?
Just very simple what are youwilling to do?
And as you're doing that, lookat those triggers, those things
that might trip you up duringthe event.
Step three what you're notwilling to do.

(09:49):
And then, step four, have anexit strategy, and that could
either be completely leaving theevent or just removing yourself
for a time.
Now I want to say somethingabout an exit strategy.
I don't recommend leaving justbecause you're uncomfortable,

(10:10):
like you need to get used tobeing in the discomfort and
learning how to cope with thatand developing techniques of how
you're going to do that.
If it gets to the point whereyou think that you are going to
drink, like you either leave oryou're gonna drink, then exiting
is going to probably be yourbest choice.

(10:33):
But but again, assess thesituation and what could happen
if you leave.
Could you just have an excuseand leave a notice like I'm
really tired or I have bigmorning or whatever, and leave?
So in order for this to all work, you need to write down your

(10:53):
plan.
You don't necessarily have totake it with you, but you need
to write down your plan.
You don't necessarily have totake it with you, but you need
to write out your plan and stickto it.
That's the trick.
It's only as powerful as youallow it to be.
Write it down, stick to it andyou will be able to keep those

(11:15):
commitments to yourself.
I hope that that is helpful foryou.
I would love to know.
When you do this, just send mea message, let me know.
Did you plan, how did you plan?
Did it work?
How did you feel at the end ofthe evening?
Did you feel at the end of theevening?

(11:38):
I can tell you that not oncehave I ever had anyone tell me
that they regretted not drinking.
Had a lot of people pretty mucheverybody that I've worked with
tell me that they haveregretted drinking, and by that
I mean over drinking.
If this episode has beenhelpful for you, I think that
you'll find episode 103 to bevery helpful as well, and that

(11:59):
episode is how to drink lessthis holiday season.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episodeand I would invite you to share
it with a friend who might alsoget value from it as well, and
make sure you subscribe so youdon't miss a thing.

(12:20):
I am the Catholic SobrietyCoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching
that I offer, visit my websitethecatholicsbrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic Sobriety Coach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time and remember I am

(12:46):
here for you.
I am praying for you.
You are not alone.