It's Not About the Alcohol

If you've had bariatric surgery, and now you're drinking more than you ever have, you may be wondering if quitting is your only option. This conversation shows you why the answer is embedded in your own personal experience, not someone else's playbook, and why letting go of your alcohol identity opens the door to what you really want. Guest: Ruby Williams, 20-year wine industry veteran turned alco...

You've been negotiating new rules every time you break the old ones, and you still can't figure out why "just drink less" never sticks. The answer isn't in your glass. It's in your week. Three client stories show you exactly where the drinking is coming from, and the one question to ask instead of "what's wrong with me." What you'll learn: Why removing the one thing that gives you relief, in a wee...

You eat clean, you handle everything, and by five o'clock you still feel like you need a glass of wine to calm down. Sian Cook, a former client trained in medicine, explains what stress is draining from your brain, why wine feels like the fix, and where to start to change your relationship with alcohol. What you'll learn: Why stress burns through the nutrients your brain needs to feel calm Why win...

You've been telling yourself you drink too much because you love it too much. That's not what's happening. This episode shows you the rules you've been following since childhood that make you say yes to everyone else and no to yourself, and why the drink at the end of the day is the only thing you actually let yourself have. What you'll learn: Why the same rule that makes you reliable for everyone...

You have discipline in every other area of your life. You follow through, you deliver, you keep everything running. So why is it that the one night you tell yourself no drinking, you pour that first glass like that was the plan all along? This episode explains what's actually driving that, and why willpower can't make it stop. What you'll learn: Why "not drinking" feels harder than anything else o...

You've done a lot of work and you've definitely improved. But you're still drinking more than you want. And there's a critical voice in your head that keeps insisting you should be doing more–working harder and changing faster. This episode explains why the desire to drink won't lift until you deal with the emotional patterns that are driving it, and what it actually feels like to be free. What yo...

You're still drinking more than you should, and you want to know if real change actually is a slow process, or if you're just making excuses so you don't have to quit. Here's the honest answer, plus a reliable metric to track so that you can feel more confident about your progress. What you'll learn: Why your drinking is usually the last thing to change, not the first Why counting drinks is counte...

You wake up asking the same question you asked yesterday. What the hell is wrong with me? But you've already decided the answer is that you're drinking is out of control. This episode shows you how the story you keep telling yourself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and gives you three moves to shift your perspective of what's going on (and what really needs to change). What you'll learn: Why t...

You wake up feeling rough and decide, "I'm not drinking tonight." For a few hours, that plan feels solid. But evening comes and you pour one anyway. And now your brain has even more evidence that you're not in control. Which makes you less motivated to try again (because what's the point?) This episode shows you why planning to "not drink" often backfires and what to do instead. What you'll learn:...

You've been telling yourself that if you were more disciplined, then you wouldn't drink as much as you do. But the problem isn't that you need more control. It's that giving yourself permission to relax means that you're wasting time or falling behind. Which is why you need alcohol. This episode explains why expanding your capacity for peace and joy is what actually reduces alcohol cravings, and g...

You set a plan to take a break from drinking and made it a few days. Then you blew it. And now you're trying to figure out why you keep breaking promises to yourself when it comes to alcohol. This episode gives you a step by step strategy (based on curiosity and self-compassion instead of judgment) to help you reduce your drinking.  What you'll learn: Why taking a break from drinking isn't about p...

You keep telling yourself you'll take the night off, or at least stop at two glasses. But then you drain the entire bottle (as usual). This episode shows you why that's not a willpower problem, and walks you through Colleen's Capacity Audit so you can see exactly what's draining you.  What you'll learn: Why you reach for wine to relax after work even though you know that's not what you really need...

If you're an alcoholic, how is it possible that you can get more done before breakfast than most people do in a week? And yet, you still know that you drink too much. So you Google your questions, maybe take the online quizzes, which don't help. This episode gives you a better way to look at your drinking and one specific question that has a much more clear and productive answer. What you'll learn...

You've always been a little proud of your high tolerance. You can drink grown men under the table and still walk and talk like a rockstar in four inch heels. But lately it scares you. How is it even possible to drink that much and not even feel it? This episode answers that, and shows you how to "feel" the signals in your body that you've trained yourself to ignore. What you'll learn: Why a high t...

You've been drinking more lately because of your partner. Their mood is the problem. Their lack of effort. Their inability to have an honest conversation.  But if this is their problem, why are you stuck? My interview with high conflict divorce coach Karen McMahon will show you how to take your power back instead of drowning it with alcohol. What you'll learn: Why drinking feels safer than conflic...

You know you should be drinking less, but you can't follow through. You promise and plan to do something different and then repeat the same mistakes over and over. This episode explains the gap between knowing what you should be doing and actually doing it. And gives you the perspective shift that you need to make to close it. What you'll learn: The two reasons "knowing" doesn't translate to doing...

You've been blaming yourself for drinking too much. You assume the brain fog, the fatigue, the weight you can't shift, the way you can't stick to your plan, all of it, is because you drink. But what if the reason you're drinking so much is that your hormones are off? This episode walks you through what to test for and what to do when your doctor tells you everything looks "normal." What you'll lea...

You've been searching for something to take the edge off. Some tool or strategy that can help you relax so you don't feel like you need to drink so much. CBD. THC gummies. A sleepy-time tea. The anti-anxiety medication your doctor offered. This episode explains why nothing you've tried works as well as alcohol, and what your nervous system really needs. What you'll learn: Why alcohol helps you rel...

You've been told that the best way to stop drinking too much is to stop drinking entirely. This episode shows you why that advice usually doesn't work for high-achieving women. Dr. Tammie Kennedy is here to share her experience as one of my students in The Next Chapter. She'll tell you the truth about not only what's changed for her, but also what hasn't changed after nearly a year in the program....

You can't fall asleep without a few drinks. Every time you've tried going to bed without it, you end up back on the couch an hour later pouring a glass because your brain wouldn't shut down. This episode explains what's happening in your nervous system and gives you three practices to rebuild your desire (and ability) to go to sleep without alcohol. What you'll learn: Why trying to "not drink" lea...

You've been kicking yourself for finishing the bottle (again) when you promised it was going to be just one glass. This episode explains why trying harder isn't working, and gives you three principles of self-directed neuroplasticity that actually rewire your brain so drinking less stops feeling like you're fighting your own instincts. What you'll learn: Why over-drinking isn't a willpower failure...

You're not a woman who needs more information. You read the books. You follow the sober curious accounts. You've done Dry January. You've downloaded Sunnyside or Reframe. Every Sunday morning you promise yourself this week is going to be different. And here you are, still on the hamster wheel. There's nothing wrong with you. You're just trying to solve the wrong problem. This week Colleen walks th...

In this episode, Colleen pulls apart something that sounds right, but quietly keeps women stuck: thinking about your feelings instead of actually feeling them. Because most women in this space aren't avoiding the work. They're doing a ton of it. They can explain their patterns. They understand their triggers. They know why they drink. And yet… nothing really shifts. Colleen walks through the diffe...

Now that I'm on the other side of my recent slip back into drinking every night, I can see exactly what happened—and more importantly, I can explain the mechanism that makes this so dangerous for high-achieving women. In this episode, I'm breaking down why nightly drinking doesn't just affect your health—it systematically destroys your confidence, your self-trust, and your sense of who you are. An...

In this episode, Colleen revisits one of the hardest ideas to trust at first: that before your drinking changes, you have to stop making your drinking the enemy. And yes… that can feel dangerous. Because the moment you stop restricting, judging, and trying to control yourself, your brain often swings the other direction. It sees a loophole. It tests the boundaries. It acts like the rebellious teen...