It's Not About the Alcohol

What if the biggest problem in your high-conflict relationship isn't your ex—it's that you keep handing them your power? In this conversation, Amy Armstrong breaks down why conflict is a skill deficit, not a character flaw, and how focusing on what you're willing to do (instead of what the other person is doing wrong) changes everything. In this episode, we cover: → The critical difference between...

In this episode, Colleen revisits a recording in which she introduces a powerful tool that continues to help women interrupt autopilot and reconnect with their bodies — The Full Body Reset. She originally shared it on a morning when she didn't use it — a reminder that growth isn't about perfection, it's about awareness, compassion, and reconnection. When we're tired, stressed, or overstimulated, t...

The truth is, you can't out-think a thinking problem. And yet, that's what so many women try to do—reading, journaling, "working on themselves"—all while staying quietly trapped inside their own minds. In this episode, Colleen reveals why the real work of emotional sobriety doesn't happen in isolation. It happens in connection. Through years of observation, data, and lived experience, she's found...

Here's what nobody tells you when you're trying to change your drinking: Your alcohol cravings at happy hour are not just about needing a break after a hard day. And they're definitely not about  how much you "just love wine." In reality, you haven't eaten since noon and your blood sugar is in the basement. This is about what you ate for lunch–or more accurately, what you didn't eat. What I've lea...

In this minisode, Colleen distills emotional sobriety into its simplest form: learning to recognize when you're operating from your primal state versus your power state. Most of us spend our lives reacting to the world from old programming—patterns shaped by fear, pain, or the need for control—without realizing that we can pause, interrupt, and return to presence. She explains how to move from bei...

In this minisode, Colleen unpacks the hidden link between insecurity and control — and how most of us try to manage our anxiety by managing other people's opinions. Through a grounded, body-based perspective, she reframes confidence not as something you "earn," but as something you practice by returning to yourself again and again. She challenges the myth that insecurity means something is "wrong"...

When I was in my 30s and 40s, I thought health was something you earned with discipline. I ate clean, drank tons of water, ran marathons and swallowed whatever supplements were trending. And even though I appeared to be doing everything right, my stress was through the roof and my body constantly ached. I was always looking for the next thing to fix. But here's what I didn't realize:  I wasn't bro...

In this episode, Colleen introduces "future casting" — a mindset tool that helps you move from emotional reactivity into grounded awareness. She reframes every "problem" as an emotional one, reminding us that what keeps us stuck isn't the circumstance itself, but the stress response and beliefs we attach to it. Through this lens, future casting becomes a way to access perspective: to pause, regula...

In this minisode, Colleen reflects on the stories we grew up with — the ones where the lost princess or overlooked heroine is finally discovered and restored to her rightful place. These stories shaped how many of us learned to wait: for validation, timing, permission, or rescue. She'll reframe that pattern through the lens of emotional sobriety. True power isn't something that arrives once circum...

You don't have a willpower problem. You have a nervous system problem. In this episode, I'm breaking down the eight principles of self-directed neuroplasticity—how to actually rewire your brain so drinking less stops being a battle and starts becoming automatic. Here's what most people don't understand: You can't change your drinking habits while you're operating in overwhelm. Your brain literally...

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...