This Naked Mind Podcast

Laura had her first drink at 16. Flunked out of college due to partying. Saw firsthand the effects of drinking in her father’s alcoholic girlfriend. Got stuck in the server/bartender lifestyle, spending many mornings “gut rot hungover.” Yet, Laura’s goal was never to stop drinking. She just wanted to make her life better. From getting sober behind a bar to starting a business to discovering her se...

How do you balance your desire to remain private about your decision not to drink with the openness you know will bring you freedom? Is there any way to honor your need for privacy and still participate in online support communities for motivation, inspiration, and accountability? And, can the label alcoholic actually empower you? Annie Grace explores all these questions.  Did you miss This Naked...

On today’s episode, Annie Grace welcomes Rob Bell, New York Times bestselling author and named by TIME Magazine in 2011 one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. They talk about Bell’s deeply profound and personal new book EVERYTHING IS SPIRITUAL: Who We Are and What We’re Doing Here in which he explores the endless dynamic questions and connections that have shaped his life, providing...

The term “pink cloud” is generally used to describe a state in which a someone abstaining from drugs or alcohol manifests euphoria, overconfidence, and a false sense of wellbeing, therefore making them more vulnerable to relapse. However, there has been very little scientific research done on the pink cloud. On today’s episode, Annie Grace explores what happens to the brain and the body when you s...

Emily never had a problem giving up alcohol during her pregnancies. However, each time she started drinking again, she noticed she drank more than she used to. She made rules for herself and broke them. Again and again. Then she began having health issues and was arrested for driving drunk. Having to explain the breathalyzer in the car to her five children and answer their questions about her drin...

Today’s question is simple but has a lot of depth to it. A reader asks: How do you manage angry family members when you’ve had a setback? In her answer, Annie Grace explains her process for achieving the outcome you desire, shares the five stages of feeling an emotion, and describes a gutsy move to help manage the relationship moving forward. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to s...

In this month’s coaching episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard answers four amazing questions: 1) Why do really happy occasions trigger my need for alcohol? 2) I'm waking up with some really unsettling dreams that feel true to life and freak me out before I realized it was just a dream. Any thoughts? 3) What are your opinions on alcohol-free wines and beers? 4) I feel like I'm obsessin...

Today’s question from a mom is near and dear to Annie Grace’s heart. Even if we raise our kids differently than our parents raised us, teaching them lessons about alcohol we wish our parents had taught us, how do we navigate the inevitable years where they will rebel and experiment with alcohol and make mistakes. As a mom of three herself, Annie often thinks about what her kids’ experiences with a...

As a kid, Kelly watched her mom struggle with alcohol. There was physical and emotional abuse. Although her own relationship with alcohol started out “just like everyone else’s” and she was well aware of what alcohol could do to a person, Kelly found herself drinking to manage emotional waves and blackout. Though Kelly never missed work or got a DUI, red flags popped up as she tried to moderate an...

On today’s episode, a reader who has been alcohol free for three weeks is struggling to cope with a stressful situation and wondering how to avoid relaxing with a glass of wine. What really happens when you use alcohol to relax? Do you feel better? How long does that feeling last? What are some other ways to manage your emotions in super difficult times? Annie Grace explains.  Let me ask you a que...

Amy didn’t pick up alcohol until college. After graduation, she put it down again. People often found it curious that she didn’t drink. However, when she became a parent to special needs children, everything changed. Though well-intentioned, the moms with whom Amy connected supported one another by encouraging drinking and she began using alcohol to cope with life’s stresses. The logic that drinki...

Annie Grace answers a phenomenal question today. A reader asks, “Now that I know the truth about alcohol, how do I not force it on others who are doing the same thing I was?” When you have removed alcohol from your life and learned so much from your experience and you’re watching people you love continue doing something that’s harmful to them, how do you reconcile those things? What can you do to...

When she began the process of deciding whether to try to moderate her drinking or completely remove alcohol from her life, Victoria took a quiz to figure out her core values. The results didn’t tell her anything new - she was already aware of her core values. However, what she realized is that when she had alcohol in her system, she was not living with integrity. From anxiety to marriage to divorc...

It is very common for us to believe alcohol makes us more creative. But, does it really? Is there any scientific proof? In this episode, Annie Grace explains the one thing alcohol does to make us think we’re more creative when we drink, and how we can find creativity without alcohol. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to start another live alcohol experiment. If you do not know abo...

In this month’s coaching episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard answers the following questions: 1) I stopped drinking for a month then started again due to stress; now I’m struggling to stop again - did this happen to you and is it normal? 2) I feel like I’m competing with others who have already quit drinking; I have only backed off on my drinking and not let go - thoughts? 3) How do...

Despite all the studies and articles touting the health benefits of drinking, one thing is true: By not drinking at all, we can dramatically improve our health in so many ways. Listen as Annie Grace takes a trip through the body, detailing how removing alcohol from our systems helps everything from our brains and hearts to our skin and bones to our gut and sleep patterns to fertility and sexual pe...

We say it all the time, and there’s nothing better than showing you proof! It’s never, ever too late to stop drinking. On today’s episode, Annie Grace talks with Barbara whose drinking career spanned more than 60 years, through motherhood, marriages, and loss. Now alcohol free at 83 years old, Barbara has rediscovered the joy of morning coffee, has lowered her blood pressure, and is enjoying life...

Does it feel like you cannot live without “The Alcohol Buzz?” How do you challenge that belief? How do you rationalize with yourself that you can replace alcohol with something else? Can anything else really replace alcohol? In today’s episode, Annie Grace shares the science behind the “buzz” and how to navigate trade-offs. Have you tried The Alcohol Experiment? Okay, if not, drop everything and g...

The first time Wendy got drunk, she was 15 years old. She vomited on a police officer and her parents. In college and law school her drinking looked like everyone else’s - partying once or twice a week, bingeing from time to time. Casual drinking didn’t begin until she started practicing law. And, when she and her husband had trouble conceiving, drinking shifted from being an enjoyable social plea...

Are you confused about blackouts? Annie Grace was, too. Today’s episode, she takes a super scientific look at this scary topic and answers the following questions: What are blackouts? How do they happen? Are there different kinds of blackouts? What does alcohol do to the different types of memory in our brains? Who gets blackouts? What makes someone more susceptible to them?  Hey, it’s Annie Grace...

Jackie had her first sip of alcohol at the age of 13. Despite binge drinking and blacking out all through college, she earned a 4.0. After graduation, her heavy weekend alcohol use continued, ultimately becoming much worse following the unexpected death of her father. Deeply depressed, Jackie never felt the need to moderate her drinking, however it was important to her that others not suspect she...

The first step in changing your relationship with alcohol is to stop trying to stop drinking. Wait. What? It’s counterintuitive. It’s controversial. It’s what makes This Naked Mind - the book, the methodology, everything - so different from anything else. There’s a very good reason we do things this way. So, take a breath, let yourself off the hook, and listen as Annie Grace busts the myths and cl...

Friends since they were kids, Annie Grace and Darcy Gaechter reconnect in this episode. Things they have in common: they have both chosen to live alcohol free, and they have both written books. Darcy’s book, Amazon Woman, is a memoir about the expedition that led her to become the first and only woman on the planet to kayak the entire Amazon River from source to sea. Listen as she shares about her...

“Dear Annie: Today I was feeling pretty good about myself and what I was accomplishing and suddenly I had a craving. Normally I crave when I'm trying to avoid or numb a negative emotion, so I was confused. Acknowledging how good I was feeling, and my own goodness and beauty, makes me uncomfortable and I wanted to numb out those good feelings. When I realized it's easier to believe the negative thi...

In this month’s coaching episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard answers the following questions: 1) I am on day 20 without alcohol and I am so angry and grouchy. I am a nice person but don’t feel nice anymore. Is this normal? 2) I’m in the PATH and have been told we’re not going to be asked to quit drinking in the first eight weeks. Now I am drinking more on a daily basis. Is that bad?...