Ep 130: The Secret I’ve Been Waiting to Share (and Why It Might Change Your Summer)

Ever found yourself anxious about how you'll handle summer gatherings without overdoing it on alcohol? You're not alone. That mental game of "How will I manage vacation drinking?" or "What will people think if I skip the wine?" plagues many Catholic women who are trying to be more mindful about their relationship with alcohol.

In this honest conversation, I share why summer can feel particularly challenging for those working to drink less. Drawing from both personal experience and client stories, I explore how those seemingly reasonable plans to "just enjoy a few drinks" can quickly spiral into broken promises, guilt, and missed moments with loved ones. One client powerfully described her vacation experience: "I thought I was supposed to be relaxing, but instead I felt completely out of control."

The good news? Having thoughts about drinking doesn't mean you must act on them. Through building awareness and resilience, it's possible to notice those urges without spiraling or panicking. This discovery led me to create a new (SUPER affordable!) Summer Challenge for Catholic Women—a structured yet grace-filled approach to drinking less without sacrificing joy or connection. 

Summer truly can be both sacred and fun—and you absolutely can drink less while being more present more. Visit thecatholicsobrietycoach.com to secure your spot today - or click on the link below.

Join the Sober-ish Summer Challenge for Catholic women!
https://courses.drinklessornotatall.com/courses/soberishsummer62

Drop us a Question or Comment

I'm here for you. I'm praying for you. You are NOT alone!

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☀️ 62-Day Sober-ish Summer Challenge for Catholic Women:
https://courses.drinklessornotatall.com/courses/soberishsummer62

👉🏻 JOIN THE FREE 5-DAY KICK START
https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start

👉🏻 Join The Sacred Sobriety Lab
https://sacredsobrietylab.com

Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com

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.
Hello, hello, I'm so glad thatyou're here with me today.
I've got something reallyspecial to share with you and
I've been sitting on it for awhile.
If you're part of my email list, part of my email list or my

(00:50):
sacred sobriety lab, then youhave gotten a little bit of a
teaser already about it.
If you're not on my email listand you want to be, feel free to
send me an email or sign up forone of my freebies, like my
five-day sacred sobrietykickstart.
It's free Day.
Sacred Sobriety Kickstart it'sfree.
But I just need you to stickaround because the big reveal is

(01:11):
coming toward the end of theepisode and, trust me, you are
going to want to hear it.
Let's talk about something thatis coming up a lot in my
conversations lately, and thatis summer.
My 12-year-old said it's notsummer yet because I guess
summer starts on the 21st andactually today was a little
chilly here, so it doesn't trulyfeel like summer for me, but

(01:34):
I'm sure where you are it mayfeel like summer and if not, it
will soon.
So we're looking forward topool days and beach trips, maybe
weddings, cookouts, all thoseamazing fun summer type things.
And while summer should feelcarefree and fun, I know that it

(01:56):
can also stir up some realanxiety, especially when it
comes to drinking.
Especially when it comes todrinking.
So maybe you've already startedplaying that mental game of
like how am I going to handlevacation without overdoing it?
What are people going to say ifI skip the wine?
Can I even have fun without adrink in my hand?

(02:18):
And if you've been having anyof those thoughts, let me just
put your mind to rest, becauseyou are not alone in those
thoughts.
I was actually just talking to aclient about this exact thing,
and last summer she went intovacation with a plan to treat
herself with a few drinks.

(02:40):
It seemed like a totallyreasonable plan.
Drinks it seemed like a totallyreasonable plan, but by day
three she realized she wasdrinking a lot more than she had
planned for.
Because of that she was feelingreally drained and anxious and
guilty and she just felt reallybad because she had broken this

(03:04):
promise to herself and so shebroke trust with herself.
And she also said that she feltlike she missed being present
with her family, not the wholetime, but just in certain
situations, either because shewas drinking a little too much
or she just didn't feel thatgreat the next day, and so she
didn't always go out ondifferent like excursions and

(03:26):
things that the family went on,she told me.
I thought that I was supposedto be relaxing, that's why I was
drinking, but instead I feltcompletely out of control.
Now, maybe you've been there too.
Maybe you've been replayingthose decisions, wondering why

(03:47):
you just can't stop when you getgoing, or why is this still so
hard?
And listen, I get it.
Like I really really get it,because even though I've lived
through many, many summersalcohol-free, I'll be honest,
those that-seems-fun thoughts,yeah, they still pop up

(04:09):
sometimes.
I still notice the moment wherea cold glass of rosé or a boozy
beach cocktail sounds kind ofgreat.
But the beautiful part is, it'sjust a thought and it passes.
And the more I've practiced it,the more I've learned that you
could absolutely have thosethoughts and still stay true to

(04:33):
your goals.
You don't have to act on everyurge.
You don't have to be afraid ofevery craving when you realize,
oh, I can notice that thoughtand I can do that without
spiraling.
Now it's not about perfection.
It's about building the kind ofawareness and resilience that

(04:57):
helps you move through momentswith peace instead of panic, and
that's why I'm so excited tofinally share the 62-Day
Soberish Summer Challenge forCatholic Women.
This is a totally grace-filled,judgment-free roadmap to help
you drink less this summerwithout missing out on life, fun

(05:19):
or connection.
And no, it's not about beingthe fun police or quitting
forever, unless that's what youwant.
What this is is aboutexperimenting, paying attention,
getting curious instead ofcritical, and letting God into
this conversation in a whole newway.

(05:42):
I have to tell you, I hear timeand time again from my clients.
Sometimes they'll come to mesaying like I just feel like I'm
not doing that great, I'm still, you know, having those times
when I set a plan and I don'talways keep it, and you know,
different things happen.
But then, once we startcoaching about it and talking

(06:04):
about it and really looking attheir wins, they come to the
point where they realize thatthey are drinking so much less
now than they did when westarted working together, which
is really the goal.
They also have so much moreawareness about their choices of
choosing to drink or not drink.

(06:25):
Again, that is what this isabout.
Whether you decide to takealcohol or leave it, and you do
so with peace, that's.
That's fine too.
That is evidence, and we aregoing to look at the evidence

(06:55):
and look through what happenedthat day.
So I have questions and thingslike that that are going to help
you.
But what is in this 62-daysummer Challenge?
We'll walk through three simple, powerful phases together.
First, we'll get clear onwhat's really going on your

(07:17):
habits, patterns and whatalcohol might be doing for you
and to you.
Then we'll introduce the secondphase, which is life-giving
tools and routines to help youfeel better physically,
emotionally and spiritually.
And then, finally, you'llpractice what you've learned,

(07:39):
while staying connected to yourfaith, your purpose and your
peace.
You'll also get daily andweekly tools like journal
prompts, catholic prayers andshort audio encouragements,
mocktail recipes and just a fun,private, faith-based community.
I'm going to put together apop-up Slack group where you can

(08:01):
share your wins and yourstruggles with other women who
get it.
So if you feel like you don'thave a community of people that
you can talk to about this, ifyou really just don't have
anyone to talk to about itbecause you are afraid of
feeling judged, then thisprivate community is exactly
what you need.
You will have women who aregoing through the same struggles

(08:26):
and walking the same path asyou are.
There's no pressure to beperfect.
It's just a safe, supportivespace to grow closer to God and
closer to yourself.
Now let me just say this it'snot about being good or bad,
perfect or not.
It's about being whole, andthat's what this plan helps you

(08:49):
move toward.
You will finish the 62 daysfeeling more confident, clear
and present, with a whole newperspective on what it means to
truly enjoy your life.
So, friend, don't wait until the4th of July.
Weekend has you in a spiral ofoh my gosh, why did I do that
again?
Just head to my website orcheck the show notes and grab

(09:13):
your pre-sale spot today,because summer can be sacred and
fun.
You can drink less and enjoymore and be more present, and
I'll be right here, walking withyou every step of the way.
So pre-sale opens up today.

(09:36):
When I'm dropping this Now, theprice I have it at now is the
lowest price it's ever going tobe.
This is the introductory pricefor this program, so you're
going to want to scoop it up,because the price will go up the
next time I offer it.
Until next time, stay hopeful,stay prayerful and remember you
are not alone.
I will talk to you soon.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety

(10:00):
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 soyou don't miss a thing.
I am the Catholic sobrietycoach, and if you would like to
learn how to work with me orlearn more about the coaching

(10:22):
that I offer, visit my website,thecatholicsobrietycoachcom.
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic sobriety coachcom.
Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic sobriety coach.
I look forward to speaking toyou next time and remember I am
here for you, I am praying foryou.
You are not alone, thank you.