Take a Break from Drinking

Listen in as I talk about how you can shift your perspective on the lower brain and interact with your inner toddler in a new way. I talk about how the lower brain evolved to maximize our chances of survival, but can't really differentiate between good and bad habits. I'll also share how you can start to talk to your inner toddler in a calm and constructive voice that will help you move past all t...

Join me today to discover how understanding the facts around the shift in your drinking habit can help you understand how the think-feel-act cycle fits in your brain's search for an outlet for the negative emotions you were invariably feeling at the time. You can learn new ways to cope with negative emotions that do not create negative consequences and taking a break is a powerful tool to start wi...

I teach clients a four-step response to desire that creates space between feeling the urge and acting upon it. These steps are: pause, listen & watch, neutralize, and travel into the future. Listen in as I walk through these steps, and share how to implement them and how they work with the think-feel-act cycle to help you move past your urge to drink. Get full show notes and more information here:...

Join me today as I talk about authenticity and drinking. Learn why so many of us are so afraid to be who we really are and the rewards you will reap by being your authentic self - doing this work, wrestling with this part of your brain - if you are brave enough and courageous enough to do it. Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/104

In reality, emotions only last in the body for about 90 seconds. You can do anything for 90 seconds, right? But each time we cut off the experience of our emotions, we teach ourselves we're not capable of handling them. Listen today as I share my experiences with emotional tunnel vision and how you can escape the tunnel and take a wider perspective. Get full show notes and more information here: ...

Today, I want to talk to you about why it's so hard to dream, why it can be so difficult to create a vision, and why the habit of drinking will make it even harder. Listen in to hear how you can choose a different course for the new year to help you stop playing small! Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/102

You have to know how to manage your brain if you want to get off the treadmill of chasing happiness and never reaching full satisfaction. Drinking is one way we keep ourselves in this cycle; we turn to drinks to feel better in the moment, but become more dependent on drinking as a consequence. Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/101

In celebration of our 100 th episode of the Take a Break podcast, I'm combing through the archives of the past 99 episodes and pulling out some of the most important concepts and lessons from each episode. This is an excellent review for you to look at what your next layer of work is and if you're a new listener, you're getting the best overview you could possibly get to help you figure out which...

Struggling with something like overdrinking - or overeating, excessive spending, any other habit that's out of control - often goes hand-in-hand with feeling powerless. The fact is, you are anything but powerless in this process. That's the beauty of the think-feel-act cycle: it allows you to identify the thoughts and feelings that are creating undesirable actions, and you can then choose to start...

Listen in as I describe the crucial differences between wanting something to change and committing to making it change. Tons of my clients have been able to change not only their relationship with alcohol, but how they approach all of their goals and dreams. Committing to change may not feel easy in the short run, but it's much easier (and rewarding) in the long run than it is to be trapped in the...

I used to be really committed to a lot of my beliefs about drinking, like "not drinking is boring" and "everybody drinks," and they held me back. On this episode, I share a technique called "The Turnaround" that helped me challenge these beliefs and finally change my thoughts, and eventually, my desire. Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/97

Join me to find out how to identify the stories that you have around alcohol – what it does for you, how it hurts you, what it does for other people – in order to get the full idea of the cause and effect of these thoughts. Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/96

On this episode, I'm talking about how to change your mindset around confronting obstacles. Instead of being surprised by the challenges that pop up, you can anticipate and solve them ahead of time. I break this process down into three steps that will help you make a game plan for dealing with any kind of obstacle. Get full show notes and more information here:  https://www.rachelhart.com/95

I can't tell you exactly how long it will take you to shift your desire; that's different for everyone. But I do know that if you're willing to be uncomfortable over and over and over again, you can succeed. Listen below as I talk about my experience with these questions, how they relate to the think-feel-act cycle, and why you are the reason for your success - not the tools, program, or coach you...

If you're going to change, you have to consider your beliefs about your capacity for change. If you tell yourself that you never finish anything or describe yourself as a quitter, you probably feel defeated and don't end up changing your actions. That's how the think-feel-act cycle works, right? Listen to this week's episode to hear why challenging this thought and countering your brain's confirma...

When you've taken a break from drinking in the past (or maybe right now) have you felt frustrated by the fact that you're still unhappy... even without the "cause" of your undesired behavior out of the picture? Join me today as I address why uncovering the real you can be so uncomfortable and confrontational and how shifting your thoughts away from just your actions can have a tremendous impact on...

Have you ever experienced anxiety that feels so intense you're certain something terrible is going to happen? Do you experience that anxiety around alcohol and taking a break from drinking? Join me today as I break down where anxiety comes from and what you're probably doing in response to it that is keeping you from seeing it clearly. I'm also sharing a step-by-step process you can use to work th...

Today, I want to talk about how we cope with negative emotions, the actions that we take in response to them. And specifically, what it means to numb how you feel. Join me on this episode of Take a Break for a look into why we numb, how to tell when you're using a numbing action to avoid facing your negative thoughts and emotions, and why awareness is key. Get full show notes and more information...

Do you find yourself searching for the motivation to change your habit of drinking… or anything else in your life? I have some good news for you today that can help end your search. Join me this week as I share how you can build the skill of motivation by taking action every day. Get full show notes and more information here:  http://rachelhart.com/89

Most of you probably have thoughts along the lines of, "That's just who I am," "I'm just someone who has no impulse control," or "That's just my personality. I can't change it." But what if it's not "just who you are" but actually something you can change? Today, I want to talk to you about a new and different way of considering who you are: Personality vs Mindset. Get full show notes and more inf...

Whether your numbing action is overdrinking, overeating, overworking or any other overindulgence, you may have had the thought, "Why can't I ___ like everyone else?" Today I'm breaking down the belief that many of you are caught up in of wanting to be like everyone else. I share how the questions you're asking yourself are leading you to the shameful conclusion that there's something wrong with yo...

People hate admitting that they judge others negatively, however, we all do it. On this episode, we're talking about the Mirror Effect – why you judge other people harshly – and what that means about your thoughts about yourself. We also take a look at how you can use the understanding of this concept as a tool to help you change your drinking habit or improve any area of your life. Get full show...

Have you ever felt like you either do everything right and do everything you said you were going to do or you've thrown it all out the window and allow yourself to cut loose and eat, drink, or do whatever your heart desires? Tune in as we take a look at the idea of perfectionism in relation to our drinking habits and how our thinking about earning our worthiness impacts our desire to drink. Get fu...

On this episode, we explore why people are drink pushers and why we avoid them and blame them for our own choices around drinking. We also look at what we need to understand about the think-feel-act cycle and how it's driving the action of pushing other people to drink. Join me to discover how to handle the situations where someone is trying to persuade you to drink to help you feel empowered rath...

Do you feel like, no matter how much progress you make toward changing your drinking habits, you always focus only on the times when you stray from the path to your goals and constantly beat yourself up over it? Today, we take a look at how using certain kinds of language when we don't do as we planned impacts meaningful growth and how a subtle shift can make all the difference when you're trying...