A Deep Dive into Alcohol, Mental Health, and Redefining Manhood Feat. James Swanwick

Track 3️⃣- Seedling Feat. James Swanwick

Join us on P.S.A the Mental Health Podcast for the third installment of our enlightening series "Industry Plant," where we delve into the murky waters of mental health, self-improvement, and the often glossed-over relationship with alcohol.

Our special guest is none other than the inimitable James Swanwick, an Australian-American entrepreneur, speaker, journalist, and sober-life advocate. A man of many hats, James has left an indelible mark in the realms of journalism, sports broadcasting, and entrepreneurship. His pivot from a casual drinker to an influential figure in the alcohol-free lifestyle movement demonstrates his inspiring commitment to personal transformation.

In this episode, we draw on James's rich reservoir of experiences, his knowledge of the detrimental effects of alcohol on mental health, and his valuable insights into the journey of sobriety. Whether it's his journalistic journey with the News of the World, his stint as an ESPN SportsCenter anchor, or his high-profile celebrity interviews, every chapter of his life has infused him with wisdom that he now channels into helping people lead healthier lives.

James's extensive resume includes the creation of Project 90, an online program aimed at aiding individuals in eliminating alcohol from their lives, and his authorship of the book "The 30-Day No-Alcohol Challenge." His dedication to promoting sleep hygiene led him to co-found Swanwick Sleep, a brand famous for its blue-light-blocking glasses, known as “Swannies.”

We also invite James to share his journey of transformation, delving into his motivation for advocating an alcohol-free lifestyle. We examine terms like "transform," "addiction," and "sober" and explore how they connect to mental health.

We discuss James's Hollywood correspondent tenure, gleaning insights from his encounters with celebrities, the influence of those interactions on his views of mental health, and wellness. We delve into the impact of alcohol on brain function, mental health disorders, and sleep quality. Izzy also has a candid conversation about Keke Palmer and the drama around her actions at the most recent Usher concert.

Moreover, we explore the narrative of sobriety in a society that perpetuates drinking culture. What are the challenges of trying to quit alcohol, and how can they be navigated? James offers his expert opinion on this matter, combining scientific research with his firsthand experience.

As we weave through these profound topics, we pause at 'The Weekly Sabbatical' at 50:24 to reflect upon our theme for this week – 'Seedling/Young Plant.' We draw parallels between the care, vulnerability, growth, and potential of seedlings and individuals embarking on their journey to sobriety.

In the latter half of the episode, James gives us a glimpse into his early journalistic career, discusses his Project 90, and delves into the mission and stories covered in his "Alcohol-Free Lifestyle Podcast." The conversation then shifts to being sober in social settings, the challenges it brings, and effective ways to maintain sobriety.

As the conversation concludes, we dive into why an alcohol cleanse might be an ideal undertaking for young millennials, particularly men. We address emotional expression and how society's emotional rhetoric needs a significant overhaul.

Join us on this transformative journey, shedding light on a realm that is so often dimmed by societal norms and pressures.



For all your writing needs, Grant Writing Homework Assistance, Resumes, Cover Letters, Templates, Media Kits, Product and Profile Descriptions, and more, please visit psathepodcast.com

James Swanwick's Social Media
Instagram: @jamesswanwick
Tik Tok: jamesswanwick

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/p-s-a-the-mental-health-podcast--5520511/support.

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Pigging back off development and now cominginto the ceiling and young plant form of
track three. And this one,y'all, I loved it one. I
loved it one. I loved thisone. I loved it because I liked
how we talked about you know,you may not see certain things, but
that don't mean it's not there.So this episode centers around being sober,

(00:29):
which actually the guest of the week, my boy, James Sweenek, discussed
how he likes to say alcohol forinstead of sober. Now we talk about
living a sober lifestyle in general thatdoesn't relate to alcohol, but this one
is good for those people who youknow, we talk a lot about alcohol,
as he is somebody who has apad podcast dedicated to it. He
talks about the ninety Day Alcohol Challenge, the thirty day challenge that he took

(00:52):
that trains the trajector of his life, and how drinking alcohol, even if
it's once or twice a week.He even says, you won't be in
your full potential at this point.I want to be in my final form.
So he talks about a lot ofdifferent things, talking about getting the
proper sleep when you like cut outalcohol, when you what else. He
talks about some of these things abouthow like if he could be a plant,

(01:15):
where he would be He talks about, you know, working in Hollywood,
going to Hollywood parties and being thelife of the party, completely sober.
And then I asked about for uspeople that live in these lit cities.
For instance, if you live ina city like a Houston, where
it's always to of ton of tonup, how to live a life where

(01:36):
you don't have to hide in thehouse and act like a Disney princess and
run away from life because it's alcoholgonna be there. And gives you tips
on how to socialize without alcohol.So my suggesting, even if you do
plan to keep drinking in life,and some of us have, you know,
put it away completely, at leasttry to go on the clans and

(01:56):
see what happens, and instead ofstaying sober, tell people you alcohol free.
All right, And he gives hisreason about the whole sober word.
All right, so as I alwayssit back, relax and get ready be

(02:31):
at another level. And I whatI like it is what you're saying is
too when you was like, justtry it, like I said, because
when you get results with stuff andI And it's such a cliche and common
analogy, but like if you goto the gym, it's a cool thing
to be the person who isn't drinking. Everybody don't have to be the same,
So I feel like it can't belike kind of like the Oh,

(02:52):
I'm the one that don't drink.Oh, I'm the one that taking a
break from drinking. Oh, I'mthe one that's alcohol free. I think
that's a good title to add tosomebody to writ y'all, what's going on?
Is your boy? Easy? Bankover? What's up? Y'all?
Soul today it's a little different,all right now? Yeah, I used
to hear ads run through my stufffor other people. All right, this
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So PSA Prodigy Spoard Advented Stations hasexpanded far beyond just the podcast.

(03:15):
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(03:37):
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know I'm missong, and also youcan reach out to me at the Prodigy
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YouTube. Peace, I'm back andit's up PSAF. He say, it's

(04:04):
going on everybody, and just likethat, we are going on. We
are now at track three. Okay, so we're keeping the ball moving.
I don't think we're gonna have nogaps in this series as far as any
days off, any weeks off,because I really want to need eleven these

(04:25):
next eleven weeks. I really wantthem to be some pressure. And I
think that they're gonna because now I'mgonna break the fourth wall a little bit
because typically you know, I don'tsay, but this podcast series has been
recorded out of order, like bigout of order, not a little out
of order, big out of order, you feel me, And I think

(04:46):
that this is like this episode isprobably like eighth one recorder or something crazy.
And this is tract three, sothat she goes to show you how
things are done. But guess whatstories not all So that's all that matters.
Okay, watch this. So firstweek we talked about planting the seed.

(05:06):
Second week we talked about the developmentand shout out to my boy Jason
Jackson, he had a fire.So but now this week we're talking about
the third stage of the plant.All right, and this stage I'm not
gonna give too much away early,but this stage is the one that I
feel I can't kind of get overlooked. This is the one that features stands

(05:26):
around the young plant stage, theseedling, where you kind of start to
see something. We talked about developmentlast week, but it's not quite there
yet. It still has potential.Keep that word in the back of your
mind because we're gonna come back toit later. All right, So first
off, let's get into the week'smean. This week's mean reads the liquor

(05:47):
got this generation in a choke hold. Okay, real simple to the point.
We're gonna get into that later.Inspiration. So this week's inspiration,
as I was, you know,getting my ands and all my stuff together,
this week's episode is inspired by aChief Keith song I Hate Being Sober.
I think they came out when Iwas like either in high school or

(06:09):
early college. Used to be mysong back in the day. I haven't
heard in a long time. Butyou know, Chief Keif can perform at
the BT Awards now, so Iguess that's progress somewhere, right. And
a quote by Beth Wilson that says, we honor ourselves when we speak out
for recovery. We show the worldthat recovery matters because it brings hope and
peace into the lives of individuals andthen loved ones. Now this isn't for

(06:33):
those who when we talk about thisepisode something about being sober, right,
we usually think about alcohol. We'regonna talk about that too, but it's
not always alcohol. Being sober isalso I don't want to give two much
away, I'm gonna say it,but long story should being sober is much
deeper than just alcohol. That hasa lot to do with it. And
as we get along with this week'sepisode, we're gonna kind of get into

(06:56):
how you know, because let's keepit under The generations before us drink too,
they actually did coke as well.But the thing is I think that
we it's so easy, you know, with the terms and the phrases be
outside, we outside it's just soeasy to go out thinking you're about to
go have a pancake and next thingyou know, you ten shots in crazy.

(07:18):
Oh Rayjian, have you been there? And it's just like, bro,
I wasn't even trying to do allthat today, especially when you live
in some of these toxic cities.Okay, but let me not get too
ahead of myself. Let's go aheadand jump into this week's happy hour.
All right, So for this week'shappy hour, I actually want to talk

(07:40):
about a stalker right now. Idon't think I have a real stalker,
but there's some weird stuff going aroundin my apartment complex. So I was
walking one day and it's this guy. Think he's new and he's like older,
and you know sometimes older people juststare and like it's weird because like
I'll just be walking. Hell,it's like he'll literally just be walking or

(08:01):
whatever, and then it's like he'llsee me. But then he does it
to other people too, I heard, And so he'll see me in the
just like this like look, thisis flaces something and I'll just be like
and I already live in a onebedroom and I'm not worried about, you
know, being attacked or nothing,because you don't want these problems. But

(08:22):
it's just the point of it's justweird because it's like, where are you
coming from? And you hear thesestories all the time about people having stalkers
and people having people looking at themcrazy, and then to just turn into
something unnecessary. You know, listen, Oh, maybe it's time for me
to move, you know, Idon't know. Maybe so maybe this is,

(08:45):
you know, the the levy thatbroke the damn and then finally I'll
be transported into somewhere better. AndI believe that's possible, and I believe
that's gonna happen. But you know, it's just something to keep in mind
with everything. Also, this summerhas been the hottest. They said,
he's been the hottest has been inthere, I don't know how long.
And it's been very hot. Nowit's hot every summer, but I think

(09:09):
this summer, people, I thinkthat I'm allowing y'all to be a little
dramatic this summer because typically the hellto be like, it's hot is hot.
You knew it was gonna be hot. You live in Texas, what
did you expect? But you know, this one is a little hot.
I'm interested to see how hopefully wedon't have a winner like that, because
I don't like that, but youknow, I'll be interested if that does

(09:31):
happen. Now, a few weeksago, they've been doing this thing.
It started with Kiki Palmer. Thenit transfers to Jonah Hill and I'm interested,
he's gonna go to next where.Now they're trying to push this narrative
of you know, strong city girltype woman and then week beta mail.

(09:52):
Now y'all know me, I don'tlike the alpha male beta mail signal male
conversations. I really don't. Butyou're trying to push this narrative of like
a city girl, you do whatyou want to do. But then I'm
still, you know, got aman at home now, And the case
of Kiki Palmer, in reality,the dude Darius was not wrong, but

(10:13):
it's just the stance of you neverembarrassed who you're dealing with. And then
on top of that, y'all notmarried, so it's like, you know,
so that's where he put he shotitself in the foot, But at
the same time, it's us aconcert, so then it's like, okay,
well, you know, it's justentertainment. That's us to doing what
he's doing. But at the sametime, it's like cameras is around.

(10:39):
But then in the same breath,can you not should you? We not
respect her because it's like, atleast you did it on camera, you
know what I'm saying. At leastyou wasn't trying to be sneaky with it,
you know, and she's just enjoyingthe show. I don't know.
I think it's just something to thinkabout. But then the jone of his
situation with his girl, this girlfor Ford coming out saying that he had
he was emotionally abusive. I didn'tread it text Mussas, I don't feel

(11:01):
like it, but I mean,it's definitely some type of agenda trying to
be pushed and anybody who is anybodycould see it. I believe that.
But you know, it's so much. We ain't gonna get into the what
the man should do and what awoman should do today. This ain't the
conversation for that. But the mainthing is it all aligns what we're talking
about self control, and that's themain topic for today. So keep that

(11:26):
in mind. Now, Like Iwas saying, y'all, happy hour,
we're not gonna running through the mudtoday. All I'm gonna say is this
episode is definitely gonna be a goodone. I got a guest today.
I'm gonna pick his brain about somestuff because we need some help, you
know, as A as A asthe conglomerate, because the lookould be beating
y'all up. And the only reasonthe look of beat y'all up is because

(11:50):
you keep inviting it to and youkeep inviting it over. It's like y'all
have a domestic violence relationship with alcohol, and it shows in many ways.
So I got an expert today whoI'm gonna pick his brain and hopefully and
give y'all some tips. All right, so let me go ahead and introduce
him. My god, what's goingon? Is he nice to be here

(12:18):
with you? How you doing?I'm good? I'm good. So for
those that don't know, this isan early morning recording for me, but
for my man. Here, youare in the UK? Correct I am?
I'm in the UK at the moment, that's right. Okay. So
before we get into that, Igot some more questions. So tell the

(12:39):
people, where's your name? Whereare you from? And then obviously I
said where you live? But youcan say it again. My name's James
Swannick. I help mostly high achieversto have a better relationship with alcohol.
More specifically, I help executives,entrepreneurs, business owners, growth minded people
to either reduce their alcohol consumption orto stop drinking entirely. And the reasons

(13:03):
for most people doing that is sothey can perform at a peak level,
so they can produce more in theirbusiness or their career, so they can
feel better, so they can loseunwanted weight, so they sleep better,
so they look better. Just towarning, you do get better looking when
you stop drinking alcohol because the toxinsleave your skin. And you know,

(13:24):
I don't per se help those whowould describe themselves as being an alcoholic.
I help really the societally acceptable drinkerwho drinks an amount that society would say,
yeah, that's fine, but deepdown you know that it's slowing you
down in many areas of your life. My organizations called Alcohol Free Lifestyle,

(13:52):
and we've been doing this now helpingtens of thousands of people since twenty fifteen.
Okay, now that's why I thinkthis episode is gonna be perfect because
a lot of people who got that'swhy I made sure, I talked about
just be sober in general, becausebut when people here sober, they instantly
think of, oh, I'm notan alcoholic, And you're absolutely right.

(14:13):
You might not be by society status, but it's always there's something I feel
like people know it's holding them back, Like you know what I'm saying,
it's always. That's why I'm gladyou said that, because it's like we
you know, when something's holding youback. It's just kind of like,
well, my friends are doing it, you know, everyone else is doing
it. I'm not doing it everysingle day, so I should be okay.

(14:37):
That's what most people think. That'snot always the case. So now
your career trajectory is quite impressive.So you've were a journalist to an ESPN
Sports center anchor to now successful entrepreneur. What inspired you to focus on the
issue of alcohol consumption. Well,I stopped drinking in twenty and ten at

(14:58):
the age of thirty five, soup until that point I was a socially
acceptable drinker. I grew up inmy native country of Australia. I would
have a couple of drinks most nightsof the week. On weekends I would
drink more heavily, but I wasn'tgetting arrested. I wasn't getting a DUI.
I didn't do anything that you know, people would consider rock bottom,

(15:20):
but in my thirties, in myearly thirties, certainly, I realized that
I'd put on about twenty pounds ofunwanted body fat. I wasn't sleeping great,
I didn't look great. MY relationshipswere strained. I was irritable.
I felt like a six out often. It wasn't rock bottom, but
just very, very average. Andso I was in Austin, Texas in

(15:41):
March twenty ten. I was atthe annual south By Southwest Festival. I
had two Bombay Sapphire gin and Tonicsat an industry party on a Friday night.
I went back to my hotel,woke up the next morning, went
to an eye Hoop, an internationalhouse of pancakes next door to my hotel,
for breakfast. And I was sittingthere just feeling really average. And

(16:03):
I said, you know what,James, just take thirty days off alcohol
and see how you feel, becauseright now you're not feeling too good.
And so I did. I committedto taking thirty days off, and in
thirty days, I lost thirteen poundsof unwanted body fat. I slept better,
I looked better. I auditioned tobecome a sports center anchor on ESPN,

(16:26):
and to my utter bewilderment, Igot the job, and a couple
of weeks after that, I mademy debut in I think it was April
or May of twenty ten, hostingthat iconic sports TV news show, and
I thought, well, this noalcohol thing was definitely giving me some good
results. Maybe I'll just keep going, and so I did. I tried
to see if I could get tosixty days. I felt good. I

(16:47):
got to ninety days, felt evenbetter. I started attracting a higher caliber
relationship into my life. I meta woman who was very high vibration,
good person. She drank only modestly. Drinking wasn't necessary to create romance or
to socialize, and I thought,well, I just keep going. And
then I got to one year notdrinking, and I went and ordered a

(17:11):
bud light at a bar to celebrate, and at the very last moment,
I put the drink back, orput the beer down, handed it back
to the barman because I thought,well, in one year, I've lost
twenty five pounds. I look good. Sleep Well, I'm on TV hosting
my dream job. I've got agreat girlfriend. I feel like an eight
or a nine out of ten.I think I might just keep going,

(17:33):
and so I did, and Ihaven't drunk since then. It's been thirteen
and a half years. And thenin twenty fifteen, so many people were
asking me how do you do it? How do you do it? How
do you have fun without drinking?That I decided to create a whole business
around it, and now that hasturned into this alcohol free lifestyle organization with
a podcast in Apple Podcasting on Spotify, and we helped clients to go through

(17:55):
a ninety day stop drinking process sothey come out the other side choosing to
be alcohol free rather than having tofeel like they have to say no to
alcohol. We're inspiring people to choosean empowering, health conscious, positive lifestyle
as opposed to saying no to alcohol. Okay, well, I think that's

(18:18):
it's all about the paradigm, andit was, and that angle is a
nice paradigm shift. Again that you'realready starting off with a lot of your
facts about again, how you statedthat it wasn't for the person who's considered
the alcoholic. It's just for theperson to say, I want you to
be at another level. And Iwhat I like it is what you're saying

(18:38):
is too when you was like,just try it, like I said,
because when you get results with stuffand I and it's such a cliche and
common analogy, but like if yougo to the gym and you get results
after three weeks and you never workout, you're gonna want to keep going,
like, let's see how far Ican go. So I feel like
it's the same thing with drinking.If you take a break, you know

(18:59):
what I'm say, and you drinkevery weekend, you know, at the
least maybe once or twice a weekalong with the weekend, and you say,
let's do thirty days, I feellike the results will be so good
that you'll be like, you knowwhat, let's try it again. Let's
try it even more. And evenif you do incorporate drinking back into your
life, I believe you probably wouldstill wouldn't do it as much as you

(19:21):
did prior to the thirty days,just because of the results that you get,
you know, clearer skin, lookingbetter, feeling better. So this
stuff, we're not even what twentyminute seeing and it's already some gems being
dropped, so all right, welove to see that. And now before
we get into the nitty grid ofeverything, because this is industry plant and
we're on track three, so Ihave to act. And I've gotten literally

(19:42):
a different answer every time. Ifyou could be a plant, what plant
would you be? And why I'mthinking if I could be a plant,
what plant would I be? Andwhy I'm merely thought of flowers? But

(20:04):
flowers aren't a plant. You've stumpedme on that one. I'm thinking I
don't have a particular type. Butwhat I would say would be a healthy,
handpicked plant which would get direct sunlightmost of the day. And I
would hope that whoever was trying tokeep me sustained would feed me beautiful water,

(20:33):
filtered water, because I see thatas an embodiment or as a metaphor
rather for my own life in thatI'm always trying to get natural sunlight,
vitamin D obviously, and I'm alwaystrying to drink good, clean, filtered
water because if I can get naturalsunlight and get that vitamin D, and
if I can drink plenty of beautifulfiltered water throughout the day, then I'm
sustaining my physical health and my mentalhealth. So if I was a plant,

(20:59):
I'm not exactly or which plan i'dbe. I just want to be
a plant that faced the sun andhad someone who was always giving me beautiful,
clean, filtered water. Okay,all right, I'll take all right
now the last the quiz lit kindof thing until we get as we did,
deep into the episode. All right, So now I'm going to ask
you a few words of phrases,and I want you to tell me the

(21:19):
first thing that comes to mind.There is no right or wrong guess.
Okay, all right, So whenyou hear the word transform, what's the
first thing that comes to mind?Breaking free of your comfort zone in order
to make positive change? All right? When you hear the word addiction,

(21:42):
what's the first thing that comes tomind? Mentally addicted as opposed to physically
addicted. There's a distinction. Okay, we're gonna get into that. And
then when you hear the word sober, what's the first thing that comes to
mind? Ineffective because we use alcoholfree instead of sober, because alcohol free

(22:07):
implies you're making a choice, whereassober implies that you're in a prison,
forced to say no to something thatyou might ordinarily choose. So the definition
of transform it says, make athorough or dramatic change in form, appearance,
or character of addiction, the factor condition of being a digital,

(22:27):
particular substance, thing, or activity. And then sober, so I actually
have the definition from the spiritual context, it says that the term sober is
frequently used in the context of beingvigilant, clear minded, and self control.
The term is metaphorically is used metaphoricallyrather than two literal absence of alcohol
or intoxication, although it is commonlyusing that sense today, so we typically

(22:49):
know that I do like the termalcohol free. I'm sure you heard it
before, but I think when Iheard alcohol for instant thinking like sugar free,
and with the lifestyle that I Itry to live. Try I live
a low car lifestyle, so alot of things in my cloths that are
sugar free. So it makes sense. And I like that that whole concept
of alcohol free because again, itchanges the narrative, and when you say

(23:14):
alcohol free versus sober, it justchanges the mind. It just does something
differently, and it just we're gonnaget into that. But I really like
how I like that angle death betterOkay, and real quick before we get
to the next section, What inspiredyou to say alcohol free instead of sober?
I never resonated with the word sober, or sobriety or even alcoholic.

(23:38):
Sober and sobriety implies to me thatunder normal circumstances you would choose to drink.
However you can't. You're forced notto because the effects are so damaging.
That's sobriety and being sober. Idon't like that word. I want
to choose the direction I'm going inrather than saying no to something, I

(24:03):
want to say yes, because alot of the studies of human brain and
behavior indicate that it's far easy toaccomplish your goal if you tell your mind
what to do instead of telling yourmind what not to do. And the
word sober and sobriety is very muchthe way I interpret it is telling yourself
what not to do, which meansyou end up thinking about that very thing,

(24:27):
which in many cases may mean thatyou end up going back and drinking
when you don't want to. Okay, And that definitely I can definitely see
the angle. So that's good stuff. All right. Now let's move into
the next segment, which is whatdoes this have to do with mental health?
All right? So before we getall the way deep into that,

(24:49):
let me ask you this. Duringyour tenure as a highly woold correspondent,
you interview numerous celebrities, and canyou show some insights from those experiences and
how they might have influenced your prospecton mental health and wellness well. I
interviewed movie stars like Brad Pitt,Tom Cruise, Jamie Fox, Angelina Jolie,

(25:10):
Jennifer Aniston. I lived in LosAngeles for a few years, and
I was a Hollywood journalist, soI would go to these movie junkets where
they would promote their films, andI would interview them for twenty minutes or
so. And the pattern that Inoticed from maybe six or seven years of
doing that was that many of thesehighly successful people were very driven and not

(25:37):
necessarily all the time very happy.Some of them were very happy, but
some of them the impression I gotwhere they were somewhat tormented by their success.
They were really striving to achieve something, but the joy in their life
was lacking. They were almost neuroticabout trying to achieve the goals. Not

(26:00):
everyone, just some of them,and then there was then I saw the
other side, where I saw peoplewho seemingly had it all together, where
they really had a great work lifebalance and they had joy in their life.
But then I also don't know,right, because I interviewed Will Smith
when he was promoting I Am Legendand I Robots, and this was all

(26:22):
in the late two thousands, andI thought, man, there's a guy
who seems so happy. He's gothis stuff altogether. And now with the
context of the infamous slap at theoscars a couple of oscars ago, I
can see that maybe, you know, he was just striving, striving,
striving to be the best that hecan be in the eyes of other people,
you know. And so again Idon't know the reality. This is

(26:45):
just my impression, but I thinkI think it didn't for me. I
think it didn't matter that people werecelebrities as such. I think the statistics
of how all of us human beingslive our lives pretty much day the same,
your respective if you're a celebrity ornot. Some people are tormented,
some people have joy in their life. Some people maybe don't know what's going

(27:08):
on in their life. Okay,all right, So good stuff. And
I mean, and it's interesting becauseI think that a lot of times from
then outside looking in, we assume, oh, they have everything together,
they're rich, and then you hearthose interviews where those celebrities will say things

(27:29):
like, you know, I goteverything I wanted, now would And that
just goes to show you that somemoney is not everything in success is not
everything. And a lot of times, and even in those cases, which
if we kind of tied into today'sconversation, a lot of them don't have
control over their lives as much asit seems because they have all these people
running everything for them. They gotthis person doing is that person doing that,

(27:52):
And it's like they never really havetime for themselves. And then sometimes
they may find advice or something.It's not waste alcohol, and usually it
could be anything to kind of justlet loose or release. And even if
we kind of correlate that with WillSmith, the whole slap thing, like,
you know, not saying that itwasn't I guess justified in the sense,

(28:14):
but it was a lack of selfcontrol and he lost it. And
that just goes to show you evenyour favorites, just because they smile and
grin on the stage and on theplatform don't necessarily mean they got it all
together. So let's talk about asfar as just being alcohol free as and
just how alcohol relates to mental health. So an impact on brain function and

(28:37):
mental health disorders. It says longterm alcohol use and abuse can have severe
effects on the brain function and potentiallyto mental health disorders. According to an
article publishing the Journal of Alcohol Researchand Current Reviews, chronic heavy drinking is
associated with many serious problems, includingbrain damage. Then parents can be associated
with various mental health problems such asdepression and high social personality disorder, among

(29:02):
other things. The second one says, sobriety and mental health improvement. Now
it says sobriety or we're gonna flipit and call it alcohol free living.
An alcohol free lifestyle can improve mentalhealth outcomes. According to a study from
the American Journal of Public Health,individuals who have substance use disorders, including
alcohol can achieve this by a showsignificant lower risk of depression compared to those

(29:26):
who have not achieved an alcohol freelifestyle. All right, and then the
third one is the impact on sleepquality. Alcohol can greatly affect sleep patterns,
which is critical to mental health andaccording to a study publishing a journal
Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research,alcohol consumption, particularly at a higher levels,

(29:47):
can interfere with all stages of sleep, including the quality of room sleep,
which is crucial for mental health andemotional health. Now, being this
young person, I see people allthe time brag about not being able to
sleep, like they think like atrophy, Like oh, I guess what,
I don't go to no sleep,but I've seen no sleep. I
hear all the time. Right now, you you're also a co found You
also co found a Swanning sleep withyour brother Trista and created the popular Swannies

(30:12):
Swannis glasses as I pronounced it,Swanny Swanny swans glasses. Can you help
explain how the blue light affects ourhealth and why blocking is essential for our
sleep quality? Well, Look,anytime that you are exposed to artificial light
at night, your sleep is beingcompromised. So your microwave light, kitchen

(30:34):
light, TV light, cell phonelight, iPad light, the Sperdomata light
in your car, the McDonald's goldenarches as you're driving along the highway,
all of that light at night disruptsour melatonin release, which causes a sleep
challenges. What it actually does isthat light stimulates our pituitary and penal glands,

(30:56):
which suppresses melatonin release. Now,most folks may not have a problem
falling asleep, but the quality oftheir sleep is going to be compromised because
you were staring into that cell phonelate at night, or because you were
brushing your teeth in the bathroom lightat night, or because you were watching

(31:18):
a Netflix show on your phone asyou lay in bed at night. The
safest way to block artificial light atnight is to live your life by candlelight.
No one's going to do that though, right We live in twenty twenty
three, So the next best thingyou can do is put on a pair
of quality orange lensed blue light blockingglasses. The company I have is called
Swannic Sleep. We produce these scientificallyproven blue light blockers called Swannys. The

(31:42):
University of Washington did a scientific studyon them in twenty nineteen which showed that
people who wore these glasses for aboutforty five minutes before they wanted to go
to sleep slept on average of twelvepercent better, and then the next day
the US is reported about thirteen percentincrease in productivity because they had clarity and

(32:05):
focus and energy. A pair ofclear lensed glasses of clear lensed blue blockers
will not help you with your sleep. They must be an orange lensed pair
of blue light blockers, because onlyan orange lens can block enough of that
blue light that disrupts your melotonin release. It's true that clear lens blue blockers

(32:25):
like the ones I'm wearing now aregood for daytime use because they filter the
blue light. But at nighttime,you really must switch to an orange lensed
pair of blue blockers. And Iwould encourage, you, know, only
go for a pair that are scientificallyproven, because there are a lot of
cheap imitations on the internet that arenot and they tend to not do what

(32:50):
they claim that they can do.But I put mine on forty five minutes
before I want to sleep. Ikeep them on, I scroll on my
phone, I do some reading,A brush my teeth in the bathroom light,
and then I get into bed,I turn off the last light and
then I removed the glasses, andI sleep beautifully now. So we talked
about that you brought up earlier,about how you notice when you stop drinking

(33:14):
or whatever you notice your sleep sleepquality improved. It also said in the
source that I just read that thesleep quality improved, or you know that
your sleep is affected. So whenyou so basically, when you stop drinking,
you notice it one way, andthen when you started applying everything you
just said the swanee glasses, younotice that even bigger what's the word prison

(33:39):
before you notice the even more drasticchange to your sleep as far as then
the quality improved even more after that, correct, correct, because you're actually
better drinking alcohol for breakfast than youare anywhere close to bedtime, because at
least then the body has sixteen hoursto go to work to break down the
toxins from the alcohol. As ifyou drink at nighttime in the last few

(34:01):
hours before you go to sleep,It's true, it may make you sleepier,
it's true, it may help youto fall asleep, but the quality
of your sleep is going to becompromised because your body is now working to
break down the toxins from the alcohol. But we don't want our body working
when we're sleeping. We want ourbody resting. So every time you drink

(34:24):
at nighttime right last three, fouror five hours before you go to sleep,
you're essentially clocking in for the day. You're starting the work day of
your body. When you want tohave clocked out, you don't want to
be working, you know, wantyour body working. You want to have
colocked out for the day. Butevery time you drink, whether it's wine
or beer or whiskey or licky whateverit is, you're just clocking in.

(34:46):
You're making your body clock in fora full day's work. Well, well,
it's interesting because we live in brunchculture these days. So I guess
it's kind of like if for thepeople you do this, they know y'all
love to go to bro I mean, if you're gonna drink, I guess
it's better to do your daytime drinking, do your brush drougher thin, versus
when it's time to go to sleep. But it's crazy because I have noticed

(35:09):
that, like when you drink rightbefore you go to sleep, like I
will wake up and I always madeit, which now shows that that was
an issue. But I will alwaysbe like, yeah, I can drink
all this before I go to bed, and then I wake up like early
and full of energy, and yourbody is clocked in. That's why that
makes perfect sense. Good stuff toknow. Now you made up a point.

(35:30):
Not made up a point, butyou made a point, and you
said that brushing your teeth before goingto bed it's not good. Why is
it just because of the lights oris it for other reasons. It's because
of the lights, because ninety ninepoint nine percent of the population will brush
the teeth and lost twenty minutes beforethey go to bed. Right, And

(35:52):
when you're doing that without wearing apair of blue light blocking glasses, you're
destroying your sleep. Because the bathroomlight is on. You're standing there in
the mirror brushing your teeth. Thelight from the bathroom is shining into your
eyes. Your pituitary and penal glandsare being stimulated. The melatonin that wants

(36:14):
to be released because it's late atnight is suppressed. It's like it's like
pushed down. It's not releasing theway that nature intended you to have it
released. Right, So you're brushingyour teeth, You're like, oh,
yeah, I'm getting ready for bed, but the lights on, right,
The melatonin's like I want to come. I want to flow through your body.
I want to flow through your body, but it can't it can't get

(36:36):
out because you're staring into that damnlight. So what you do is you
wear a pair of the orange lensedblue blockers like the Swannys, and you
brush your teeth with those glasses on, and then you don't remove them until
you've switched the final light off andyou're in bed, right Like, I
get into bed with my glasses on, and then I switch off the bedside

(36:58):
lamp, you know, then Iremove the glasses. I don't wear the
glasses. Then take them off,go to the bathroom, brush my teeth,
get into bed, scroll through myphone, turn off the light,
go to sleep. I'm always wearingthe glasses right up until I switched the
final light off. Okay, goodstuff. It's just interesting because you never

(37:22):
I've never heard that before, andI'm like a person who likes knowledge,
so well, hearing that now,I definitely am going to do some things
differently. So I have to actwith the Swannies. Where can we get
them? How much do they cost? You can get them at swannic sleep
dot com or they're on Amazon aswell. You can just type in Swannies

(37:43):
or swannic Sleep. They're about seventybucks seventy tucks. They're scientifically proven candidly.
You can get much cheaper on theinternet, but they're not scientifically proven.
I can't speak for them. Idon't know whether they do they claim
they do. But you can gettwenty dollar pairs twelve dollars pairs cheap ass

(38:04):
pairs from China if you want.I just don't know how effective they are.
I'm not saying they're not effective.It's just I don't know. But
if you want scientifically proven from theUniversity of Washington, then you would choose
a pair of our glasses. There'salso more expensive glasses on the market that
are also not scientifically proven. Idon't know if they do the things that
they claim they do. Depends whatyour budget is, depends on how seriously

(38:29):
you take your health, if youwant it to be proven or not.
No, I definitely I'd rather paythe money and get get the right one,
then try to be cheap and goto cheaper route and then having to
steal pay in the more because youdidn't spend all the money. Because this
one broke a ease, one wentout early, you know, it just
it just never worked when you tryto go to cheap route. I've tried

(38:50):
plenty of times. I will saythis. The pro athletes at the New
Orleans Saints where our glasses, proathletes at the New York Knicks, at
the LA Lakers, A Manchester Unitedin Tottenham Hotspur over in the English Premier
League. These the pro athletes arewearing our brand of glasses, Swannys from

(39:13):
Swannic Sleep, because they're scientifically proven. So again, sports scientists at many
of these major sporting organizations are nowtaking the sleep of their athletes very very
seriously. And the brand they chooseis the ones, you know, the
one that's been scientifically proven. Soit's just something to take note of.

(39:35):
I don't see, you know,pro athletes getting a cheap ass pair that
they're not sure whether they work ornot. Right, definitely. So now,
what is the quote, likewise urgethe younger men to be self controlled?
Mean to you? Say it again? For me? Is he likewise

(39:57):
urge the younger men to be selfcontrol? What does that mean to you?
Yeah? So I think for me, I look at it as one
hundred responsibility. Be responsible for yourlife, Be responsible for your feelings,
your reactions, your responses. Nobodycan hurt you, only you can hurt
you. But I see a lotof people blaming other people. This person

(40:19):
made me cry, this person mademe upset. What's a better way of
saying that is, this person saidthis thing and I was upset. See
how you take It's like an eyemessage, like I'm responsible. I was
upset when he said this, andthat's you accepting responsibility for being upset,
right, Whereas I see most peoplegoing, oh, she made me cry,

(40:43):
he made me cry, he mademe angry. Nobody made you angry.
Nobody made you cry. You madeyourself angry. You made yourself cry.
So when I hear that quote thatyou said, for me, it's
all about being responsible for your responsesand your reactions for where you are in
the world. It's nobody else's fault. You are responsible for everything, absolutely,

(41:06):
and that quote comes from it's actuallytight as two and six, and
I agree wholeheartedly. I think thatI actually, like I said, this
episode by far, this whole season, they all been good, but this
one has been definitely I feel likeangled in the whole of the reprogramming thing
because we always focus around decision making, and obviously everything we're talking about the

(41:28):
centers around decisions, but this oneis just a reprogramming and just simple rewarding,
like you said, instead of saying, oh they made me mad.
No, no, no, theysaid this and I got mad. You
need to stop letting. And that'sanother example of letting your emotions take get
the best of you. And Ithink people society has made that to a
what's the word I'm looking for,We've made it. Okay, I just

(41:51):
leave it at that, and thathas become it's just a lot I go.
I'm going at all day. I'mnot trying to do that, so
all right now, I think peopleneed to prayadigm shift and again and reprogram
their mind, and especially when wealign that or we talk about that with
how it correlates with being alcohol free, being sold with whatever, right,

(42:12):
So you know, I think thisalso can kind of align with people too.
And sometimes we need to take abreak from people and things and sometimes
not necessarily isolate yourself as far asforever, but just see seasons of maybe
where you need to take a breakfrom just stuff. You know, it's
a lot of times there's a lotof go go, go, go go,
and I think that this generation that'sthe trend to, like like I

(42:37):
said earlier, don't get any sleep, work work, don't stop, you
know, go over here and gothere, go here. They're everywhere,
especially living in Houston is very fastpaced. So I think that the issue
again lies in people wanting to kindof get like a fixed almost And sometimes
it's not always just alcohol. Alot of it can be said. It

(43:00):
could be drugs, it could bejust being around people in this situation of
that just because you need something tokind of like how you say, feel
that void now you had said earlier, people don't take responsibility for what they
you know, their actions are.They need to take more responsibility. Why

(43:21):
do you think that people? Whydo you think people just need their void
so bad in this generation? Whydo people need their voice so much in
this generation? Their voice? Whydo people need to feel that void?
If you think they need to feela void, feel that void, I'm
sorry. Yeah, um, look, I think social media has played a

(43:44):
big part in that because we startcomparing ourselves to other people. I mean,
there was a time before social mediawe didn't know what out acquaintances we're
up to. We didn't even care. We were just busy living out lives
and maybe we knew what our familyand immediate friends were doing, but we
didn't know where they were and wherethey were, where they were eating,

(44:06):
and what they were eating and whothey were doing it with. And so
we lay in bed each night andwe're looking through this Instagram or Facebook and
look at at other people, andeveryone's posting these glamorous photos of them doing
cool things, and we go,oh, I'm not doing those cool things.
I don't have as many friends orI don't have those cool friends,
and so we start comparing ourselves.I've been guilty of it. I remember

(44:28):
lying in bed twenty seventeen eighteen,just scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, thinking,
my life sucks because everyone else iscrushing it and I'm not crushing it.
The reality was that I was crushingit compared to my own standards,
but I was expressed a lot.I experienced loss because I was comparing myself

(44:49):
to other people, you know,And so I think I just have shut
out a lot of the noise,and now I just focus on what are
my family up to, what aremy close friends up to. I still
scroll on social media and I takea glance, but I don't go down
the rabbit hole, you know.I just kind of like quickly look at

(45:10):
it, and then I just moveon. And that has really helped my
mental health, I have to say. And I would suggest that anyone struggling
with, you know, wanting tofill a void, would probably do well
to limit who they're watching and howmuch of it they're watching. Okay,
all right, so now let's moveinto the next segment, which is called

(45:35):
I Challenge that. So now wekind of got to challenge everything we're going
were preaching today. So here's thething. I've seen a meme on Instagram,
everybody's favorite social media, right,and the meme read, every time
I want to stop drinking or takea break is either a holiday or somebody's

(45:55):
birthday. Now, if you're andrinker or you drink every so often or
whatever, and somebody's birthday comes upor holiday and you're trying to be alcohol
free, and it just and yousay, you just just a scenario.
And this is the beginning. It'ssay, for instance, you say,
okay, I'm gonna be alcohol free, starting out for thirty days, and

(46:17):
then day three is your best friend'sbirthday. And y'all known for turning up
this town, flipping the paying thetown red, you know, all that
good stuff. What will be yoursuggestion to that person in that moment.
Go to the party, dance ontables, have a great time, and

(46:38):
drink soda, water, ice,and a piece of lime, and let
other people see you having a wonderfultime while being alcohol free. You can
have so much fun. Turn thetown red. To borrow your phrase,
just have the best time without drinkingattractively packaged poison. You can. You
just haven't had the experience of ityet, right, so I would.

(47:00):
I would say, don't stay homeand lock yourself away from society thinking that
you can't enjoy yourself and everyone elseis having fun because they're drinking. No,
go out and have the most funnot drinking. I used to live
in the Hollywood Hills. I wentto Hollywood Hills parties. I went to
the MTV Movie Awards parties. Iwent to Elton John's post Oscars party.

(47:21):
I went to the Playboy Mansion.I danced on tables, I swam in
the grotto at the Playboy Mansion.And I did it all not drinking alcohol,
with people thinking that I was drunkmany times, but I was just
high on life and having a greattime. You do not need to hold
a glass of attractively packaged poison inorder to have a good time. So

(47:43):
go to your friend's party, tearup the town, but do so drinking
alcohol free. It's funny that actuallyhappened to me one time, because I'm
like a natural clown. And Iremember it was that one of my friends,
they had like a gathering, adinner or something, and everybody was
drinking and eating. I wasn't drinking, and so I was just saying off

(48:06):
the wall random stuff and they andour friend and she's, are you drunk?
I said, no, I'm completelysober, and she was laughing.
She said, you even worse sober? I said, I know that she
was even worse, like funnier,so I said. And when I noticed
that, I said, okay,so I don't need because you know,
it's crazy because I remember in collegeI was talking to one of my friends
and he was just like, youknow, in high school, middle school,

(48:29):
we used to have so much funat events, completely sober, and
now we didn't. Got to collegeand adult life and everybody's faded and we
didn't kind of forgot what it waslike to have fun back then. Because
I remember in high school, Ididn't drink, smoke, none of that,
but I had friends that did,and I remember being sober and having
still a ball, and then it'show you went to college and you kind

(48:52):
of lost that. And so Ithink that my suggestion for people was to
just kind of like go back tothat, because you didn't always go to
ouctions faded, you know what I'msaying, to the point where some people
say, I gotta get faded togo, Oh, I need a shot
to go. You didn't made alcoholand and just a lot of things,
not even alcohol, a lot ofthings your crutch, and now it's kind

(49:12):
of like you forgot how it usedto be. So I think what people
should do is just try to ventureback and just to see go back to
that feeling of how it used tobe, because you know, this generation
loves nostalgia anyway, So why nightgo back to the have a nostalgic moment
of being sober, Because, likeI said, you weren't always drunken than
a skunk, So keep that inmind. So now you have authored the

(49:36):
thirty Day No Alcohol Challenge, Sonow can you tell us about some of
the most common challenges people face whenthey first attempt to reduce or quit alcohol.
Based on your coaching experiences, peoplemistakenly think that stopping drinking means that
they no longer can have fun,and so they see thirty days and a

(49:57):
thirty day challenge is more of atrial and a tribulation and a test and
like where they have to lock themselvesaway from everything. And so they also
see thirty days as having a stoppoint at thirty days, and that you
get to celebrate by having a drinkon day thirty one. I would encourage
people to go into the thirty daysthinking that you're going to go for forty

(50:19):
days or fifty days, or sixtydays or ninety days, and look at
it as you're going to have themost fun during these times. You're going
to go out to the club oryou know, do hiking or do some
new activities and experience the joy thatcomes from that. So stop thinking you're
depriving yourself of something for thirty days, and start thinking that you are going

(50:40):
to give yourself a gift for atleast thirty days. I love that.
I think that is great, especiallyjust for how this is. You know,
I had a friend he was onmy podcast a few weeks ago shout
out to Trent, and he saidhim and his girlfriend went on a seventy
five day alcohol quinn and they didn'twatch challenge and they didn't drink alcohol for
seventy five days. They actually,I know for sure him he actually started

(51:06):
drinking again after that, but hesaid it wasn't the same. And then
he's at the point now where he'ssaying he thinks he believes he's gonna quit
completely now, he said, becausewhen he got back to he said,
it wasn't the same anymore. AndI believe that. I believe your body
gets used to you not doing something, and when you try it again,
it's just not it. You know, you look at it like again a
diet, I said earlier. Youtake weeks off from eating certain fry foods

(51:29):
or certain meats even and then youtry to eat again, you get sick
and it's like, as it reallyworth it. And that's something to keep
in mind too. So for thosethat may be wondering what may happen when
you try to quit alcohol or takea break or do a cleanse, whatever
however you want to view it,there are some symptoms and some things.
So the first one is withdrawal symptoms. It says one of the major challenges

(51:52):
people face is coping with withdrawal andthen, according to a report by the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholis them with draw somethings can range from
mild anxiety and fatigue to nausea,of bombing, even life threatening conditions.
Then, it says to its highrelapse rates statistically, relapse is another significant
challenge face by those attempting to quitalcohol. The NIDA estimates the relapse rate

(52:15):
among people trying to quit substance abuseto include an alcohol or between forty and
sixty percent. Now, with that, I do feel as though with anything
else, if you do go onto alcohol cleans or alcohol free for thirty
days or sixty days or whatever youwant to do, and you do relapse,
don't think like, ah, Iha started back, as will keep

(52:35):
going. Now, I think that'sa lot of people's a lot of times
we as people, we just belike all that messed up, might as
will keep messing up. And it'skind of like with anything else, like
once you have a setback, acknowledgethat you did it, but then I
feel like, no, we'll keepgoing, Like all right, you had
a setback, let me not letme put boundaries in that area now and
this and so I won't go backto the devil. And then the third

(53:00):
one I kind of mentioned earlier,which he gave a great scenario thing to
do, but it's social pressure andstigma. The social aspects of drinking also
present a challenge for individuals attempting toquote alcohol and then a lot of times
studies have shown it it is asocial point four socials for socializing. And

(53:24):
I think that's interesting because we've madeit to where we can't socialize with our
alcohol, and you can. Youcan literally do the exact same things,
you know what I mean. Youcan go eat at a restaurant. Even
if you are a clubb, youcan go to a club. This man
has been in Hollywood parties and onlyGod knows w went down those Hollywood parties

(53:45):
and didn't drink and had a ball. You can't too. And also like
he's saying, if you go outyour way to like show, like look,
yeah, I'm having a great timeand I don't have any alcohol.
I actually have a friend who doesn'tdrink at all, and he's like one
of the most It's like weird becausewhen we would drink, it's like he
got littered two, and it wasso weird because he doesn't drink or smoke

(54:07):
or do anything. And it waslike he got more excited and more lively
as we got drunk. It wasit was weird, but it was funny
and he knew how to make itwork. So keep that in mind,
y'all. And also, it's acool thing to be the person who isn't
drinking. Everybody don't have to bethe same, so I feel like it
can't be like kind of like theOh I'm the one that don't drink.

(54:28):
Oh, I'm the one that takinga break from drinking. Oh I'm the
one that's alcohol free. I thinkthat's a good tile to add to somebody
too, So keep that in mind. All right. Let's move to the
next segment, which is the weeklysabbatical. So this is a time in
which we kind of reminisce and kindof just bring everything home together as we
kind of get closer closer to theend. All right, So what does

(54:52):
this conversation have to do with theplaying stage of this week, which is
seedling and the young plan? Right, So the first this care and condition.
So just as seedings lean, theright care and conditions, sunlight,
water, nutrients soil. Individuals whoare going alcohol free need a supportive environment
and access to resources. We havea resource right here, y'all. So

(55:15):
this is one for those who maybeneed the extra coaching. You try to
do it on your own, oryou maybe know that you can't do it
on your own. We got somebodyhere. The second one is vulnerability.
Young plants are vulnerable and need constantcare. Similarly, early stages of alcohol
free can involve dealing with relapses andstresses. The third one is growth and
development. The ceiling stage involves subsentialgrowth and change, as does early sobriety

(55:39):
or alcohol free, with personal growthand developing new coping skills. And then
the last one I like the best, especially for the young millennials. Potential
ceilings hold the potential to become maturefruit bearing plants. Likewise, individuals starting
their alcohol free journey can envision ahealthier, fulfilling life despite the journey being

(55:59):
challenged. So I definitely think that'sgood. And you know, keep it
in mind. Now, you alreadymentioned earlier you are journalists, so we
know that, but can you sharesome memorable moments from your early career as
a journalist, particularly while working withRupert Murdoch's news. I got a job
right out of high school. Iwas seventeen years old and I became a

(56:21):
copy boy at a Rupert Murdoch broadsheetnewspaper called The Courier Mail in Brisbane,
Australia, and you know, thatwas a lot of fun. I got
to learn about reporting on police matters, business matters, some entertainment matters.
And then I moved over to Londonto work for Sky Sports covered sports like
rugby and cricket and tennis, andthen later on ESPN sports journalism, which

(56:46):
was a lot of fun. Igot to meet Tom Brady and David Beckham
and then Hollywood. Hollywood journalists gotto meet folks like I mentioned before,
Brad Pete, Angelina Jolie. Soit's been a great opportunity to meet so
many different people in different phases oflife. It's been so great. I
interviewed the former Vice president Al Goreas well. That was a lot of

(57:07):
fun. And yeah, it's justbeen. It was a great experience.
So now you could you discuss Projectninety in depth. So what we do
is we help mostly folks over theage of thirty to rewire their mindset through

(57:28):
a ninety day stop drinking process.So we have coaches. It's a great
community of people. We make zoomcalls available where people get on and we
rewire their mindset around alcohol. Wehelp them achieve bucket list items, have
fun. It's empowering and positive andfun. It's not AA, where it's
all boring and dull and you don'trelate to people. It's empowering and inspirational.

(57:52):
And what we do is we helppeople take actions, pursue hobbies,
pursue interests, and have a lotof fun. That's the big difference.
It's a fun way to get longterm power of your drinking habits, as
opposed to AA, which doesn't seemfun to me at all. Well,
when you think of AYA, youjust think of those people sitting in the
circle and Hi, James, what'syour name? My name's James, Hey

(58:15):
James, and then they all looklike you never I can never tell,
and I guess I've never been toa meeting. But just the what you
see on TV and even what youhear about is almost like you know,
a rehab or you know, it'sall for people who've been done some wild
stuff off drinking. Maybe hurt somebodyhurt themselves, all that kind of wild

(58:38):
stuff. You just never really know. So that's something to keep in mind.
Okay, so y'all, so let'sgo ahead and wrap today's episode up
with a few more with a fewtips and ways to be sober, especially
in social settings. So these wouldbe real quick preparing practice responses. Being
prepared with the response went off ofthe drink can be helpful. And this

(58:59):
is a study by roll Nick andHeather. The second one is peer support.
Researcher shows that friends who respect yourdecision to be sober has been official.
Twenty fourteen study publishing a Journal ofHealth and Social Behavior was reported that
young adults who spend more time withsober friends were less likely to drink excessively
alternative drinks. By studying a Journalof Alcohol and Alcoholism found that people who

(59:22):
who drink not alcoholic beer report thesame level of social ability as those drink
alcoholic beer. That's easy to goget you. I can't think of the
phrase, but it's definitely one Ican. It's definitely drink. You can
have mindfulness. Applying mindfulness techniques thiscan improve self control, which we've been
talking about. And then also thelast one, which is great activities that

(59:43):
don't revolve around alcohol. So thisencouraging group activities that aren't focused on drinking.
It can reduce alcohol consumption. Astudy in the American Journal of Public
Health suggestion that exposure to alcohol freerecreational activities can reduce alcohol use among young
adults. All right, so let'send up with the question of the challenge
for the week, and it's askingsimply, do you plan to do an

(01:00:04):
alcohol cleanse? I suggest that youdo. Like he said, thirty days
is really all you need, andI promise you you're gonna see a difference.
We had a great episode today.I really enjoyed it. I think
it was going to help a lotof people. Anything you want to say
to the people before you go.If you want to learn more about stopping
drinking, you can listen into thepodcast. It's called Alcohol Free Lifestyle on

(01:00:28):
Apple Podcasts and in Spotify. I'mon Instagram and at James Swannack. You're
welcome to send me a message atanytime. And if you're interested in the
blue light, blocking glasses and sleepingbetter, you can always go to swannic
sleep dot com or just type inSWANNAIC or swannys in Amazon, and you'll
find us there. But I've hada life with alcohol and a life without,
and without is way better. I'vehad a life of mediocre sleep and

(01:00:50):
I've had a life with terrific sleep, and terrific sleep is way better.
I hope this helps, all right, thank you, sir. So that
is all I go for today.Next week we transition into a whole other
topic that centers around everything we've beendoing. You know, we're gonna talk
about the vegetative state which is startingto green, but you're not fully produced,
reproducing and that features my boy Jake, and that's gonna be a good

(01:01:14):
one. And yeah, so asalways PSA signing Now, I always remember
keep ahead of like a neck Kurt, remember who you are making mind up,
don't let him make you. AndI love us for real. Piece