Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gill discusses what to expect when you stop drinking. She walks you through the physical and mental improvements you can expect from the first few days up to the first few years. You’ll learn how in some areas of our health, things may get worse before they get better, and what challenges to expect in early sobriety that might throw you off and trigger you to drink.  Episodes mentioned: E38: Withd...

Gill discusses cancer. She explains what a carcinogen is, how it causes cancer, and what component of alcohol causes cancer. There’s some misinformation circulating in the sober community on that topic, so she clears that up. You’ll learn how alcohol causes cancer, how our genetics contribute to our risk of developing cancer from heavy drinking, and how the way the body handles chronic heavy drink...

Gill discusses how alcohol affects our looks. You’ll learn the impact that alcohol has on our hair, skin and nails, dental health, facial aging, body odor, and on our ability to build and maintain muscle mass. Resources I offer: Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meetings, and a private community to get su...

Gill discusses high functioning drinkers/alcoholics. She explains the common characteristics of someone who is high functioning, how denial fits into this, and how a high functioning drinker can have a much more difficult time accepting that they need to stop drinking. You’ll learn about functional tolerance, which is a type of tolerance that high functioning drinkers develop that allows them to a...

Gill discusses what to do when horrible things happen in your life and all you want to do is give up. She experienced something pretty bad recently, and has had similar experiences twice when she was drinking. In this episode, she walks you through how she handled this situation in all 3 occasions, how she handled it differently now that she is sober, how she resisted the urge to give up and drink...

Gill discusses using alcohol to escape. You’ll learn about instant gratification versus actually working for stress relief, tips to deal with stress without drinking, and a couple of interesting studies about how brain differences in social versus problem drinkers influence our desire to escape, and how alcohol relates to overall happiness.  Resources I offer: Membership: Living a Sober Powered L...

It's the 1 year anniversary of the Sober Powered podcast! In this special anniversary episode I'm going over my top 5 things I've learned in the past year of researching addiction. If you enjoy the podcast and it's been helpful for you, then the best thing that you can do to support the show is to share your favorite episodes and get this information out there. Thank you for all of your support an...

Recently, a member of the Sober Powered Facebook group passed away due to complications from cirrhosis. The hope for this episode is that this helps someone to quit drinking a little bit sooner or to go to the doctor a little bit sooner if they are experiencing symptoms. This is a full, extensive guide on cirrhosis. You'll learn the stages of liver disease and how cirrhosis develops, what cirrhosi...

Gill discusses cravings. She explains what cravings are, why we have them, and how our beliefs about alcohol influence our cravings. You’ll learn about how cravings contribute to relapse, and what you can do to identify and manage your triggers. Resources I offer: Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you gain access to weekly episodes about navigating life without alcohol, weekly meeting...

It's episode 50 of the podcast! This is a special episode featuring some friends from the sober community to tell you about what has had the biggest impact on their recovery. I hope that you take away a few different tips and perspectives that you can apply to your own journey, plus that you discover new resources and people who inspire you. In this episode, Odette Cressler, host of Recovery Eleva...

Gill discusses boundaries. She explains what boundaries are, why some of us have trouble setting them, and 5 consequences of not having boundaries. You’ll learn the real motivation behind people pleasing and having no boundaries, and how boundaries connect to emotional sobriety. At the end of the episode, she gives you some tips for creating boundaries and some easy ones to start with.   Resource...

Gill discusses what increases our risk for developing a problem. You’ll learn if there is a specific gene for alcoholism, how genetics influences your risk for developing a problem, and how your life experiences influence the risk. By the end of this episode you will have a good understanding of what factors could potentially align in someone’s life to create a problem, one reason why we can’t bec...

Gill discusses addiction treatments throughout history. If you’re wondering what snake pits, lobotomies, LSD and gold injections have in common, then you’ll enjoy this episode. This episode only covers treatments from ancient times up to the 1950's when pharmaceutical treatments were developed. Gill ends the episode by giving a brief explanation of how the 3 FDA approved drugs for alcohol abuse (A...

Gill discusses neuroplasticity. She explains what neuroplasticity is, how this affects addiction and recovery, what the purpose of dopamine is, and parts of the brain that are key for coping with stress and staying sober. You’ll learn more about how neuroplasticity affects our ability to stay sober and to learn new methods of dealing with stress. Resources I offer: Membership: Living a Sober Powe...

Gill discusses overwhelm. She has experienced powerful overwhelm a few times in her life, and after doing some research, feels like she has a better understanding of why she felt that way. Since quitting drinking, she has been completely free of overwhelm so in this episode she explains how she was able to do that and what emotional overwhelm really is.  Resources I offer: Membership: Living a So...

Gill talks to Kevin who is an alcohol-free accountant, husband, and father. You may know him from his personal Instagram account, @TheSoberGinger, or because he leads 1000 hours dry. Kevin quit drinking when his daughter was 11 years old, so she remembers what it was like before. In this episode they discuss his journey to quitting drinking, what his relationship with his daughter was like before...

Gill discusses drinking to cope. Many problem drinkers will drink to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, past trauma, or loneliness. When we try to stop drinking, we’re not used to handling our problems and feelings so each one becomes a major trigger. There is a big connection between drinking to cope and developing a drinking problem. In this episode, you'll learn about some studies on drinki...

Gill discusses relapse. She explains how common it is for people to relapse, some different perspectives on sobriety, and some things that increase the chance of relapsing. You’ll learn about her experiences with going back to drinking, and a few things you can work on if returning to drinking or relapsing is an issue for you. Resources I offer: Membership: Living a Sober Powered Life where you g...

Gill discusses sugar. When she stopped drinking, all of a sudden she had a desire for sweet stuff. There are some misconceptions around why this happens and some interesting research on problem drinkers and sugar. In this episode we'll break down 3 myths about sober people and sugar. You’ll learn why sober people tend to want to eat all the sugar, how your genetics and childhood influence sweet pr...

Gill discusses anger. There is a strong connection between anger, substance abuse, and relapse. You'll learn what happens in the body when we feel anger and what it really means when you're angry. Gill explains her experience with anger in sobriety and gives you some tips for how you can start working on your own anger. Resources I offer: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://...

Gill discusses body image. She struggled with disordered eating and body dysmorphia before she started drinking, which is why she started drinking so late in life. When she began recovering from these issues, she started drinking, and just swapped one problem for another. Gill explains how common it is to struggle with both eating disorders and alcohol abuse, how common it is to trade one problem...

Gill discusses the central nervous system and alcohol withdrawal. She explains how alcohol affects the central nervous system, what bodily functions this impacts, and how the central nervous system rebounds after we stop drinking. You'll learn what's going on in the brain to cause withdrawal symptoms like night sweating and the more serious symptoms of delirium tremens. Resources I offer: Members...

Gill discusses hormones. She explains how alcohol affects insulin and how it affects our reproductive hormones. She discusses how hormones send messages, how insulin works to maintain blood sugar levels, and how humans go through puberty. You’ll learn how alcohol affects fertility for both men and women, and how drinking during infertility treatments impacts the success of the treatment. Resource...

Gill talks to Laura from Your Sober Pal about AA. Laura will explain why she went to her first AA meeting, what to expect when you first start going or when you return after a relapse, her experience having a sponsor and sponsoring others, and how to handle shame. They discuss the common barriers people have about attending AA- calling yourself an alcoholic and the higher power aspect. This episod...

Gill discusses emotional sobriety. She explains the idea of emotionally staying the same age you were when you started drinking, and how to work on becoming more emotionally mature. You’ll learn about distress tolerance, how it impacts our sobriety, but especially how it impacts the first few weeks of sobriety. Emotional sobriety ebook https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered/e/48675 Resources I...