This Naked Mind Podcast

What if the signs you’ve been ignoring are leading you toward change? Alcohol was a big part of Jane’s first marriage, with weekend get-togethers and drinks shared with her husband and friends. After her divorce, her drinking gradually increased. As a medical rep, drinking often felt like the norm, but over time, she noticed more anxiety and a shorter temper, which affected her relationship with h...

Would you still appreciate your progress, even when it’s not perfect? Lisa and Rae have spent years trying to find balance in their relationship with alcohol. Lisa has tried many ways to regain control but struggles to trust herself after past setbacks. Rae, after decades of drinking, has gone days without it and felt the difference, but breaking old habits isn’t always easy. Now, both women are r...

What might change if you let yourself feel every emotion without running from it? Agnes grew up in a "work hard, play hard" family, where alcohol was a way to ease stress. After a childhood filled with trauma, she carried so much pain into her teenage years, struggling to connect socially. Drinking made her feel alive and fun, becoming her go-to for managing stress, social situations, and intimacy...

How might your past still be shaping the choices you make today? Eliza feels unworthy of living without alcohol and is afraid to discover who she truly is without it. Growing up, she learned to hide her true self to earn her parents’ love. Meanwhile, Lacey grew up feeling unheard, which made it difficult for her to share her feelings. Her husband’s recent cancer diagnosis has brought up deep fears...

Can one brave choice give you the strength to transform your relationships? Brent turned to alcohol in high school to cope with his parents’ divorce. This choice hurt his grades, led to car accidents, affected his health, and nearly ended his marriage. After undergoing major surgery and realizing the impact of his habits on his family, he decided to make a tough but necessary change. He worked har...

What thoughts are you holding on to, and are they still serving you? Souren has been on The PATH but is afraid of falling behind and not making it. This brings feelings of loneliness and not belonging. Meanwhile, Deanna has had a 40-year relationship with alcohol. She used it to deal with stress, anxiety, and trauma but realized it wasn’t helping her feel better anymore. Now, after nine months of...

Can you create space for the simple moments that bring you the most joy? Stephanie first tried alcohol at age 14 but she didn’t react well to it. However, seeing people enjoy drinking at her dad’s bar later shaped her idea of fun. As a young wife, she often attended parties to have a good time. What started as social drinking grew into drinking more often at home, especially during challenging tim...

What if the fear of change is just a sign of how much it matters? Caterine has gone 27 days without alcohol, which is the longest she’s ever gone in the past 20 years. With all the extra free time, she’s unsure how to fill her days. She feels she should be doing more but the fear of failure has held her back. Belinda, who has also had a long relationship with alcohol, believes her meals are incomp...

Does your current identity reflect who you truly are? Marc worked in sales and often used alcohol to connect with colleagues and clients. As he got closer to his forties, he noticed that it took him longer to recover from hangovers. At that point, he realized he needed to make healthier choices. Since his last conversation with Annie on the podcast, Marc has left his sales career to focus on build...

Is your fear of being judged holding you back? Molly grew up relying on people’s opinions to feel good about herself. As a physician, she struggles to talk about alcohol use without fear of being misunderstood and judged. She worries that people will think something is wrong with her for choosing to live alcohol-free. Since her self-worth has relied heavily on external validation and appearing per...

What if change is always possible, no matter how many times you try? At 25 years old, Jana was married and living in Hawaii, where she began exploring alcohol after losing access to marijuana. Three years later, her husband asked for a separation, which brought up deep feelings of rejection, especially from not having her dad in her life. To cope with the pain, Jana began drinking more. Later, she...

What steps can you take today to get closer to the life you imagine? Meri started drinking regularly in her twenties after a tough breakup. Since then, she has struggled to maintain a healthy relationship with alcohol. Now, in her late forties, she hopes to build a future where alcohol takes up less space in her thoughts and daily life. Lola is a busy mom who often feels tired and stressed at the...

How can you embrace who you are without needing to fit in? Madison didn’t realize how shy she really was until she got to college. She turned to alcohol as a way of finding confidence and making friends. She seemed to be having a great time, but after a while, she was no longer drinking just to fit in. Alcohol became a way to cope with life’s struggles, including trauma, depression, and a bad rela...

Would you feel more confident if you could trust yourself every step of the way? Jan struggles with how she sees herself with and without alcohol. While it helps her feel fun, it also leaves her dealing with shame and low energy after drinking. She’s afraid of making big decisions without it and facing the difficult emotions tied to her past. Meanwhile, Susan panics when there’s no alcohol at home...

What if the first step to change is just being honest with yourself? Amy grew up in a family where alcohol wasn’t a big part of life. She didn’t drink in high school and was teased for it. During college and law school, she began drinking to fit in. Later, wine became part of her career as a lawyer. Over time, she used alcohol to deal with stress, lack of sleep, and feelings of guilt as a mom. Hea...

How do you face your fears and make changes when your partner isn’t ready yet? Charlotta grew up with a parent who struggled with alcohol and drugs, which shaped her views on drinking. As an adult, wine became a way for her and her husband to bond, but over time, she began to feel trapped and unhappy with her life. Meanwhile, Donni has been married for 26 years, and drinking played a big role in h...

What happens when you start questioning a habit you’ve known your whole life? Michaela grew up in a family where alcohol was always a part of life. Her parents owned a winery, and drinking was normal at every meal. Seeing her dad become happier after a drink, she began to link alcohol with fun. At age 14, she started drinking and continued until her thirties. Over time, Michaela began to black out...

How can we rebuild our sense of self when we let go of the things that define us? Bek is learning how to live without alcohol, which has been part of her life since she was 14. She feels sad and unsure of who she is without it. Jeanette is also figuring out who she is after growing up with the feeling that she has to fight for love and self-worth. She turned to alcohol as a way to numb those feeli...

Is your way of coping still working for you? Cari grew up in a religious home where alcohol wasn’t a part of her life. In her twenties, she started drinking from time to time because her job was very stressful, and she felt anxious. She wanted to do well at work. Over time, the more she worked, the more she drank. She soon noticed that as she did better at work, she drank more. After losing her mo...

What if joy was already here, waiting to be embraced? Joanne has been working on building a healthier relationship with alcohol for the past eight months. Through this journey, she’s noticed that her joy feels different. It’s sometimes unpredictable, but also more hopeful. She finds it hard to balance work, daily tasks, and future worries with the joy she feels in the moment. In this episode, Coac...

How much of your happiness is tied up in habits that no longer serve you? Brandi’s parents divorced three times, which made her teenage years hard. Back then, she turned to marijuana to cope. As she got older, she also struggled in her relationships, with both of her marriages ending because of problems with alcohol and emotional distance. Her turning point came when her third husband admitted to...

Why is it so hard to ask for help, even when we need it the most? After being diagnosed with tonsil cancer, eating became very painful for Debra because of the radiation treatment. So, she turned to alcohol to help her get the calories she needed, which seemed like the easiest solution at the time. She couldn’t work because she was sick, and her bills kept piling up, leaving her in debt. As someon...

Could celebrations feel complete even without alcohol? Lauren's journey with alcohol began in eighth grade at a concert, where she had her first beer because drinking seemed cool. What started as casual drinking soon turned into binge drinking and blackouts. When she realized that alcohol was hurting her marriage and making it hard to be a good parent, she searched online for help and found This N...

Are you trying to change for yourself or are you doing it for your loved ones? For years, Wendy turned to marijuana to escape the hurt in her heart. When she realized it was affecting her life and her loved ones, she decided it was time to make a change. But more than anything, she wanted to do it because of her daughter who struggles with her relationship with alcohol. In this coaching session, C...

What small actions can help you make big changes in your life? Heather still struggled with anxiety, even as she learned to live without using alcohol to cope. It felt overwhelming at first, but she started to face her feelings head-on. She found healthier ways to work through her emotions, like therapy, journaling, and talking things out with friends. Over time, she built new habits that brought...