It's Not About the Alcohol

In this episode, Colleen explores how hidden beliefs quietly shape our choices, limit our vision, and create the illusion of safety at the expense of growth. Most of the obstacles we face aren't outside of us — they're thoughts we've stopped questioning.  Through the lens of her own experience, she illustrates how well-intentioned reasoning can harden into self-protection, keeping us in familiar p...

In this episode, Colleen traces a quiet, familiar fear that surfaces whenever we step into new territory — the fear of becoming "too much." What begins as a loving message to stay safe or small can become an inherited boundary that keeps us from expansion. Through her own reflection, she reveals how deeply patterned beliefs about worth, service, and visibility shape the nervous system's response t...

Today I'm sharing a powerful conversation from The Period Whisperer podcast with host Bria Gadd. We talk about the hidden link between hormones, stress, and drinking—why so many high-achieving women end up using alcohol as a coping mechanism. You'll hear the truth about emotional sobriety, how the toxic cultural pressure to be "productive" leads to inevitable breakdown in midlife, and why you don'...

In this episode, Colleen exposes one of the most dangerous lies we tell ourselves: " Whatever. I don't care ." It's the phrase that sneaks in at the very moment you're about to follow through on what matters, pulling you back into autopilot. Habits feel easy not because they're better, but because they're familiar—and this thought is the detour sign that keeps you circling the same old roads. She...

Your nervous system dictates how you think, feel, and act. The problem? The moments you most need perspective are the very moments your biology shuts it down. A racing mind, tense muscles, and cortisol surges aren't proof you're broken—they're proof your survival system thinks you're facing a predator, when in reality it's just an email, a bill, or a sideways glance at the grocery store. In this e...

Today I'm back with Sunnyside podcast host Mike Hardenbrook for a conversation that pops the hood on why willpower isn't enough to change your drinking habits. We talk about what's really happening in your brain and nervous system when you reach for a drink, why your desire to drink has nothing to do with alcohol. Your body craves relief from stress and anxiety and the pressure of everyday life. ...

In this episode, Colleen draws from Keira Bobinet's Unstoppable Brain to unpack how perfectionism wires the brain for shame and shutdown. The real shift isn't about tallying wins and losses—it's about adopting an iterative mindset, where results are just feedback and every moment is a new chance to adjust. When you stop chasing the highs to avoid the lows, you stop living on a scoreboard and start...

In this final chapter of her West Virginia series, Colleen shares a mysterious story about her daughter Anna—and what felt like a sign from Laura, reminding them both that their needs matter. Whether coincidence or something more, it revealed a deeper truth: your voice is your lifeline back to yourself. Choosing to name what you need is not selfish—it's how you stop living by others' expectations...

Today, I'm sharing a conversation that first aired on the Sunnyside podcast—home of the #1 mindful drinking app. I sat down with co-founder and host Mike Hardenbrook to talk about how to change your thinking about drinking so that you can trust yourself with alcohol again. We cover my own personal journey about why I overcorrected my heavy daily drinking with three years of full sobriety, and how...

Driving away from West Virginia, Colleen realized she no longer needs perfect conditions to feel like herself—because that version of her now lives within her. She explores how emotions are echoes of the past, and how clinging to them corrodes self-trust. Through the story of her sister-in-law Laura, she shares how denying your truth disconnects you from your voice—and how letting it surface is wh...

After years of trying to fix her life by rearranging circumstances, Colleen finally stopped—and turned inward. This is the story of how admitting "I'm not okay" became the first real act of self-trust. Instead of solving her life, she began tending to herself like someone worth saving, and discovered that clarity comes from action, not overthinking. 🔑 Key Takeaways Admitting you're not okay can b...

I'd been a daily drinker for over a decade when somehow, I found the motivation to stay sober for an entire weekend. It was actually easy and felt so good that I took the whole next week off. And I remember feeling giddy, like, OMG, It's over. Apparently, I don't have to worry about that anymore! Sadly, habits don't just disappear overnight. I was soon back to drinking every day, wondering why I c...

In this continuation, Colleen shares how West Virginia shifted her in ways she didn't see coming. She found herself in a community where image didn't matter, where people belonged by being present, not by performing. That freedom to be—messy hair, bare face, imperfect and real—awakened something deeper: the possibility of self-trust. The relationships and experiences from that time became a compas...

In this episode, Colleen begins a five-part mini-series by reflecting on a season of life where everything looked perfect on the outside—four children, big career moves, and daily discipline to name a few. But on the inside she was hollow, disconnected, and coping in ways that kept her stuck. The move to West Virginia became more than a change of scenery; it became a field trip into herself. It wa...

You know that feeling after you push through a big event or deadline—the letdown that leaves you tired, unmotivated, and maybe even sick ? Most women assume it's either "burnout" or "laziness." But according to my guest, Dr. Aimee Apigian, it's actually a trauma response. Dr. Aimee is a medical physician, trauma expert, and host of The Biology of Trauma podcast is here to explain why our bodies st...

In this episode, Colleen explores the powerful intersection of science and spirituality—from dopamine research and environmental design to Michael Singer, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Bruce Lipton. Drawing on both brain science and lived experience, she makes a simple but life-changing point: reality isn't what's "out there." It's what your brain chooses to notice. Out of millions of possible inputs, your...

In this episode, Colleen shares a personal story of missed flights, expired licenses, stolen wallets—and how choosing bat-shit positive over bat-shit negative turned each obstacle into an unexpected gift. With humor and honesty, she reframes setbacks not as evidence that life is against us, but as opportunities to practice trust, adaptability, and creativity. Through this lens, even a canceled car...

What if the struggles you face today as a woman didn't start with you—but with your mother, and her mother before her? In this powerful conversation, therapist and certified mother-daughter coach Erica Thomas shares how our earliest identity as "daughter" shapes our personality, our relationships and even how we show up at work.   We're breaking open the cultural and familial scripts that keep wom...

In this follow-up episode, Colleen shares a personal holiday stumble—an experience she originally recorded in late 2024, but one that still rings true as we look ahead to the upcoming season. She names it a "relapse," not because of how much she drank but because of the disconnect between what she wanted and what actually happened. Instead of hiding it, she walks through the three-question framewo...

As the holiday season approaches, this episode—originally recorded after Thanksgiving 2024—offers perspective that's just as relevant now as it was then. Colleen pulls apart one of the biggest myths of change: that it's the behavior itself that's hard. The truth? It's the act of change— the moment you take your brain off autopilot —that feels so uncomfortable. From holiday chaos to daily overwhelm...

Our culture teaches that when someone is struggling with substance use, the correct response is tough love. It's better to let them hit rock bottom than to enable their behavior.   My guest today is Heather Ross, host of the Living While Loving Your Child Through Addiction podcast. She's also a dear personal friend. We're letting you eavesdrop on one of the many raw conversations we've had about t...

In this episode, Colleen unpacks one of the most common struggles in early sobriety and beyond: bone-deep exhaustion. She shares her own experience quitting alcohol (and much more) all at once, and how the "post-acute withdrawal syndrome" myth left her believing she'd be tired and unmotivated for years. What she eventually discovered is that tiredness isn't just physical—it's an emotional signal t...

In this episode, Colleen gives an update on the behind-the-scenes of what happened after being suddenly cut from a program she'd once called home. At first, she carried the weight of unfairness and betrayal, convinced it would take a long time to heal. But what started as a sting that clung to her body and mind turned into something radically different: a live demonstration of releasing the story...

You know that sinking feeling of disappointment or even disgust you get when you're looking at yourself in the mirror and wishing you were thinner? That feeling is actually wrecking your metabolism.  My guest today is Sarah Haas, host of the Boss Body podcast. She's here to share her story of how, after years of being thin and fit and looking like she had it all together, she found herself as a si...

In this episode, Colleen pulls back the curtain on a personal "bitch slap from the universe" that arrived in the form of a sudden, unexplained expulsion from a coaching program she once considered family. What could have been a spiral into shame became something else entirely—a masterclass in emotional sovereignty. She walks you through the shock, the grief, and the moment she realized: this wasn'...