Ep 149: Mocktails vs. replacements: what really helps

When you start drinking less, it’s tempting to swap your wine for a mocktail — but does that actually help? In this episode, Christie unpacks the truth about replacements: what works, what doesn’t, and how to tell the difference. You’ll learn how to identify the need beneath the craving, use neuroscience and faith to retrain your reward system, and build new evening rituals that bring real peace — not just another substitute.

You’ll hear about:

• The hidden “why” behind your evening drink
• When mocktails help — and when they keep you stuck
• How dopamine and habit loops influence cravings
• Real mind–body–soul replacements that actually satisfy
• A faith-based framework for choosing true peace over imitation comfort

Replacing alcohol isn’t about deprivation — it’s about redirection. Learn how to meet your real needs with rest, prayer, and presence instead of pouring another glass.

Drop us a Question or Comment

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (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 drinkless or not at all for any
reason.
I am your host, Christy 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.
Welcome back, friends.
Today we are diving intosomething that stirs up a lot of
curiosity.
Mocktails and the whole world ofreplacements.
If you've ever asked yourself,should I replace my evening wine

(00:44):
with something else, or am Ijust tricking my brain with
these mocktails?
This episode is for you.
So let's first start here.
When you reach for a drink, it'salmost never just about the
drink.
It's actually about the moment,the pause, the reward, the
transition from doing to being.

(01:05):
So when we talk aboutreplacements, whether that's a
mocktail, sparkling water,herbal tea, or even
non-alcoholic wine, beer, andspirits, what we're really
asking is, what am I trying toexperience right now?
Is it connection?
Is it comfort?

(01:26):
Is it celebration?
Or am I actually just trying tosignal to my body, like the work
day is done, you can rest?
Are you just looking for adelineation between the work
part of your day, the busy partof your day, the doing all the
things kind of your day, to therestful time of the day?

(01:52):
When we bring awareness to thatneed that's underneath the
craving, then we can move fromreacting to responding.
And that's where truetransformation begins.
One of the things that I usuallyinvite people to do is to ask
themselves two questions.
What am I feeling?

(02:13):
And what do I need?
Before even thinking aboutpouring themselves a drink.
Now let's talk mocktails.
I love pretty glasses, a littlebit of mint, some lime, and
maybe a splash of cranberryjuice or something.
I personally do not get superfancy with mocktails.

(02:38):
I have.
I've made some non-alcoholicmargaritas and some other
things, but I'm more of a justpour it and add a couple little
things to make it look fancy.
But I know people who get superfancy and have all the things
and really like to put a lot oftime and effort into it.

(02:59):
They almost make it like anothersort of calming ritual.
And if that's you and you loveto do that, I think it's great.
Mocktails can be a reallybeautiful bridge, especially in
those early stages of reducingor eliminating alcohol.
And now here's why this canhelp, because as I just

(03:20):
mentioned, they support theritual without the risk.
So it's the ritual of making amocktail, especially if that's
something that you do nightly.
They satisfy that dopamine cueof I'm doing something special.
Now we've talked about thedifferent ways that alcohol

(03:44):
actually really spikes yourdopamine level when you drink
it, but you actually get littledopamine hits, even just like
planning it, just thinking aboutit.
And so again, when you have thatthought, I'm doing something
special, then you get a littlebit of that dopamine that's
like, ooh, that feels good.

(04:05):
I that sounds like something Iwould like to do.
And then mocktails can also makesocial situations easier,
especially if you're somebodythat gets uncomfortable or
worried about what other peoplethink.
Even if you're not, though,sometimes they can be great to

(04:26):
have.
I usually always will order likeat least a sparkling water with
lime when my husband and I go toan event, just so that I have
something in my hand, because itjust gives me that feeling of
having something special.
But it also signals to otherpeople like that I already have

(04:46):
something.
So they don't need to ask me.
Because sometimes if I don'thave something in my hand,
people ask me, do you want aglass of wine?
Do you want, you know, XYZ?
And so if I have something, notonly do I have that thought of
like, I'm part of the moment,but I also am signaling to
others like I'm good, I havesomething to drink.

(05:07):
So here's the caution though.
If your brain still associatesthat ritual, that glass, that
clink, that pour with alcoholreward, then your mocktail might
actually keep that neuralpathway alive.
And I have had clients, I alwaystell clients, you know, try it,

(05:28):
try, you know, non-alcoholicwines and beers and spirits and
that kind of thing if you want,and making mocktails.
But I've had some, some clientsare great with it, they love it.
It's a it's a great bridge, likeI was saying, between drink, you
know, like a regular habit andkind of changing that habit.

(05:50):
But I've also had clients thatcome to me and say, Christy,
this is actually making it somuch harder.
And I just feel like now I'mjust replacing that alcohol with
something else that I have tolike plug in there, but it's not
really satisfying.
So it's almost more frustrating.

(06:13):
So this is where awarenessmatters because that's something
that you can test out and seelike, does it work?
Is it working for me?
Does it leave me dissatisfiedand wanting more?
So you might ask yourself thequestion, am I enjoying this for
what it is?

(06:35):
Or am I just pretending it'swine?
Like, do I really love this mocktail?
Like, does it taste good?
Does it, you know, feel good inmy hand?
Does it um give me all of thethings that are does it help me
kind of delineate my daytimefrom my nighttime?

(06:55):
Or am I just pretending it'swine?
So if the thought of pouringsomething into a wine glass
feels like comfort or a fix,that's worth noticing because
your brain might not yet knowthe difference, and we don't
want to accidentally reinforcethe very loop you're trying to

(07:17):
break.
However, if it does work foryou, like I had a client say
that she, and I may havementioned this before on another
podcast, but she loves thosecute little decorative napkins.
And she would make herself likethis little drink.
It was like sparkling water andsomething else.

(07:38):
And when she decided to stopdrinking, she would make that
exact same drink, but just notput the alcohol in it.
And she still loved it becauseshe noticed like the feel of the
glass in her hand, thecondensation on the glass, that
beautiful napkin.
And I guess she has like a wholedrawer of like different ones

(07:59):
for different seasons anddifferent themes.
And it's just like one of thoselittle pleasures that she just
really enjoys.
And she said that it was not ahard switch for her.
Like that totally worked forher.
So that's where getting curious,noticing is this causing chaos,
or actually, does it make mefeel relaxed?

(08:20):
Is it, you know, kind of givingme the peace that I'm seeking,
or, you know, whatever.
So here's what neuroscience hasto say now.
Your brain releases dopamine,the feel good, pay attention,
chemical, not just from drinkingalcohol, but from anticipation

(08:40):
of reward.
I talked about that earlier.
So that means that the sound ofthe cork, the clink of the ice,
even like the lighting of acandle, can become dopamine
triggers.
So when you pour that mocktail,your brain lights up before the
first sip, saying, Oh, this isour reward moment.

(09:02):
Now, hear me out.
That is not a bad thing.
It's just how habit loops form.
So the goal isn't to eliminatepleasure, it's just to retrain
your brain to find pleasure inhealthier ways, right?
So through rest, through beauty,through prayer, through

(09:24):
movement, through realconnection.
So that's why I say don't justreplace your drink, actually
replace the reward.
And we've talked about thisbefore.
It's like the cue, craving, andreward.
So you could still have thatcue, which could be like the
time of day.

(09:44):
And the craving would be thatfeeling or thought that you
have, right?
I need, I need rest.
The reward, instead of it beingalcohol, you can replace that
reward with something else.
So, how do we do that?
Well, when you stop drinking orgreatly reduce how much you're

(10:05):
drinking, your brain istemporarily low on dopamine and
serotonin.
So we want to feed it goodreplacements, those replacements
that rebuild your reward systeminstead of hijacking it.
Here are some categories thatmight help.
So for your mind, you could bejournaling or even voice noting,

(10:29):
like how your evenings feelwithout alcohol.
You could listen to worshipmusic, dance, sing along, um,
listen to a guided reflection.
You can light a candle and readscripture, you know, just
something to kind of activateyour mind.

(10:49):
Maybe you like doing, I don'tknow, like sudoku or crocheting
or knitting or something likethat.
Those things can be reallyhelpful.
Now, for your body, you could gofor a sunset walk or make a cozy
herbal tea or even one of thosesleepy girl mocktails.

(11:10):
It's basically like magnesium, asplash of cherry juice, and
sparkling water.
And that'll help you kind ofrelax and even fall asleep
easier.
You could do something tactilelike put lotion on your hands,
do a nice facial or something,take a warm bath or even some

(11:32):
stretching.
And then you can also feed yoursoul by praying the examine at
the end of the day, askingyourself, like, where did I feel
God's presence?
Maybe write down three thingsthat you're grateful for that
day, or maybe one thing thatwould have been blurry, or maybe

(11:55):
you wouldn't have noticed if youhad been drinking.
And then you can also offer thecraving as a prayer.
Like, Lord, I surrender thisdesire.
Please show me what I reallyneed.
I want you to know thatreplacing alcohol isn't about
deprivation.

(12:15):
We don't want to just removesomething and leave a gaping
hole there.
It's about redirection, aboutfinding a new way of replacing
that reward and building a newhabit path.
Now, as Catholics, we understandthat freedom isn't just about
the ability to choose, but thecapacity to choose the good.

(12:40):
So mocktails can be a steppingstone toward that freedom, or
they can keep us tethered to oldpatterns.
So here's a good discernmenttool.
Ask yourself Does this help mefeel more present to God, to
others, and myself?
If the answer is yes, that'sawesome.

(13:02):
Go for it.
If not, then maybe just pauseand ask the Holy Spirit to show
you what that craving is reallypointing toward.
Because often beneath the desirefor a drink is the desire for
peace.
And peace is a fruit of thespirit, not the kind of spirit

(13:22):
that you find in a bottle.
So what actually helps?
I mean, sometimes it's a mocktail, sometimes it's a new
evening routine, sometimes it'spausing long enough to pray
something like Jesus, fill thisspace where the drink used to
be.
Your journey is uniquely yours.

(13:43):
The goal is not perfection, it'speace, it's presence, it's
progress.
Now, if this episode spoke toyou, I would love it if you
would share it or leave a quickreview.
It helps other women find thiswork.
And if you're ready to go deeperinto faith-based habit change,

(14:05):
join us in the Sacred SobrietyLab.
You'll find the tools,neuroscience, and spiritual
guidance to make these changesstick for good.
Until next time, stay close toJesus, stay curious, and keep
walking this sober-ish path.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Well, that does it for thisepisode of the Catholic Sobriety

(14:29):
Podcast.
I hope you enjoyed this episode,and 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

(14:50):
that I offer, visit my website,the Catholic Sobriety Coach dot
com.