It's Not About the Alcohol

In today's episode, Colleen peels back the curtain on one of the most radical shifts we can make: recognizing that we are not our thoughts—we're the observer behind them. What starts as a reflection on managing the energy in your body becomes a masterclass in emotional authorship, reminding us that our thoughts, not our circumstances, are what create our lived reality. Using the metaphor of a self...

In today's episode, Colleen walks us through a high-stakes moment with one of her clients—standing at the emotional fork in the road between old habits and radical self-responsibility. After a tense night at her childhood home, surrounded by triggering family dynamics and judgment, this client found herself spiraling into shame after a single shot of tequila… and a familiar pattern of self-attack....

Click here to register for the neural rewrite masterclass! How to escape your negative self-talk. Click here to watch this episode on YouTube!  What happens when you're the person everyone counts and you're secretly falling apart? In this episode, Colleen sits down with tech founder, entrepreneur and coach Mike Hardenbrook for an honest conversation about what it looks like when high-functioning p...

In today's episode, Colleen shares a real-life moment of emotional sobriety in action—when an old blog post, a rogue email, and a morning scroll tried to hijack her peace before she even got out of bed. What begins as a minor tech task quickly spirals into a stress response… until she catches it. Instead of reacting from urgency, she pauses, reconnects with her intention for the day, and remembers...

In today's episode, Colleen reveals the sneaky way our own thoughts quietly become emotional abuse—and how to interrupt the habit of thinking things that hurt. From bedtime mirror pep talks to buried beliefs about being "a hot mess," this episode explores how subconscious thought loops create the feelings that sabotage your confidence, relationships, and self-trust. Colleen explains how your nervo...

Click here to register for the Rewrite Neural Pathways to Escape Negative Self-Talk Workshop on July 12th Click here to watch this episode on YouTube   Do you have confidence and discipline in most areas of your life, and feel befuddled as to why your drinking feels so hard to control?   If your drinking feels out of alignment with your values, your goals, or your sense of self, this episode will...

In today's episode, Colleen unpacks why your background alarm is going off—and how to finally turn it off. You're not lazy. You're not broken. And your bedtime resistance, your anxious spinouts, your self-sabotage? They're not random. They. Are. P atterns. Habits formed by younger versions of you who were just trying to stay safe. This episode dives into how childhood beliefs shape your nervous sy...

You've probably heard me say the common phrase "the call is coming from inside the house" — but what if every judgment you make about someone else is too? In this episode, Colleen unpacks the concept of The Black Mirror — the idea that your emotional reactions to other people are often projections of the stories, beliefs, and insecurities you hold about yourself. You'll learn how to flip the scrip...

Click here to watch the full interview with Carley on YouTube In Part 2 of Carley's story, we dive into the healing that began once she joined the program. You'll hear how she learned to regulate her nervous system, rewire her brain, and change the story she told herself about who she was. Carley shares how she finally stopped chasing external validation, started putting herself first without guil...

Most women don't realize how uncomfortable they are with feeling good—until things start going  too well. That's when the sabotage creeps in. A snappy comment. A skipped workout. An unnecessary glass of wine. In today's episode, Colleen breaks down the concept of the "upper limit problem" from The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks—and explains how perfectionists and people-pleasers unknowingly block joy,...

In today's episode, Colleen shares a powerful one-on-one coaching conversation with a client who was dreading a weekend trip with her judgmental, high-maintenance mother-in-law. What started as a fear of overdrinking turned into something much deeper—a real-time lesson in emotional ownership, boundaries, and what it means to become unfuckwithable . This episode isn't about family dynamics —it's ab...

Click here to watch the full interview with Carley on YouTube In this raw and relatable conversation, I'm joined by one of my incredible clients, Carley — a driven healthcare professional, mom of two, and former daily drinker who once believed her only two choices were to either quit drinking forever or keep white-knuckling it with shame and regret. Carley opens up about what her drinking looked l...

In today's episode, Colleen unpacks a subtle but powerful mindset that can completely shift how you experience stress, pressure, and time. Whether it's a packed calendar, an airport sprint, or your own inner critic barking about everything you should be doing, the real problem isn't your to-do list—it's your nervous system. This episode explores how urgency is often just emotional dysregulation in...

If you're drinking more than you want to, but every time you try to cut back it feels like one more thing to do… this episode is for you. Today, I'm sharing the real story that kept me stuck in the drinking cycle for years—the one that has nothing to do with alcohol: 🙋🏼‍♀️ "I don't have enough time." From the liquor store parking lot to the 87-item to-do list that ran my life, I walk you through...

In today's episode, Colleen shares a personal reflection on what it means to stay emotionally sober when things are going really well. W hen the business is booming, the boxes are checked, and it feels like everything is finally clicking. Most of us assume that emotional work is about learning how to handle   hard   moments—grief, anxiety, cravings, conflict, etc. Though that's true in it's own ri...

In this episode, Colleen breaks down the difference between thinking your feelings and actually feeling them— and why most high-achieving women get stuck in a loop that keeps them stressed, stuck, and searching for answers in the wrong places. You'll learn a simple, body-based skill that helps you shift out of emotional overwhelm and back into clarity, presence, and personal power—without needing...

Today's episode is for the woman who's doing everything right—and still feels like she's falling apart.   Colleen sits down with Laurie James, somatic coach and author of Sandwiched: A Memoir of Holding On and Letting Go to talk about what happens when your nervous system hits a breaking point. Laurie ended up in the hospital—twice—after leaving a toxic marriage, raising four daughters, dating aga...

Most of us see anxiety as a personal flaw—something to fix, medicate, or avoid. But what if anxiety isn't the problem at all? What if it's the invitation ? In today's episode, Colleen breaks down the two types of anxiety as explained by Dr. Russell Kennedy— foreground alarm and background alarm —and shares a personal story of how unresolved fears and childhood programming were quietly driving Coll...

In today's episode, Colleen dismantles one of the most common mindset traps she see's in her clients: the belief that anxiety is something to get rid of. If you've ever said, "I'm just an anxious person," or used alcohol to calm your nerves before a flight, presentation, or party— you're not alone. But what if anxiety itself isn't the problem? She'll walk you through a real client breakthrough whe...

After 10 months of consistent progress, one of my clients recently found herself drinking every day for two weeks. In this episode, I walk you through the private coaching conversation we had—what really caused the setback, how she responded, and why it had nothing to do with alcohol. If you've ever told yourself "I should be farther along by now," or felt the crushing weight of shame after slippi...

In today's episode, you'll hear a deeply personal story about the night Colleen's college-age kids brought home a big bottle of vodka— and invited her to join them. Years ago, this would've been the moment she feared the most. But something powerful has shifted. You'll hear how self-trust changes everything, how desire—not discipline—is what drives real transformation, and why the solution to alco...

If the solution to alcohol use disorder isn't a behavior, but a feeling — HOW THE HELL DO YOU PRACTICE A FEELING? In today's episode, Colleen breaks down the mindset shift that will completely change the way you think about manifestation. Not the toxic, glittery, vision-board version. But the grounded, neuroscience-backed practice of training your body and brain to feel powerful on purpose— so you...

Most women assume their drinking habit is a willpower issue. But what if your body is actually sounding an alarm?   In today's episode, Colleen sits down with functional medicine expert Dr. Meg Mill to unpack the hidden connection between histamines, hormones, and alcohol. If your wine tolerance has changed, your moods are all over the place, or you're feeling bloated, anxious, or inflamed—this co...

In today's episode, Colleen shares a story about a client who unsubscribed from her email list—and how that one glitch almost triggered a cascade of false assumptions, unspoken tension, and missed opportunity. It's a reminder that the smallest emotional reactions (the ones that barely register) are often the most dangerous. Because they go unchecked. Unquestioned. Unchallenged. This episode will h...

In today's episode, Colleen shares the most powerful skill you can develop on your emotional sobriety journey: how you respond to yourself when you slip into old habits. Whether you drank more than you planned or simply feel like you've lost your way again, this episode will rewire how you think about failure—and help you stop reinforcing the very pattern you're trying to break. Colleen walks you...