This Naked Mind Podcast

Does alcohol-free life get better, or does the early glow eventually fade? Martha spent 25 years in the wine business, and she's back to share why her alcohol-free life has never once felt ho-hum.

Martha first shared her story on EP 267 Naked Life Story – Martha. Now she sits down with Coach Hayley to talk about what's happened since. She explains how one better question changed everything, how she brought her love of food, wine and hospitality into the world of alcohol-free drinks, and why people from inside the industry now reach out to her for coaching. She also takes us to her first all-night rave in Paris, explains why sensory pleasure turned out to be a form of mindfulness, and shares the question she'd invite anyone starting out to ask.

Why losing her identity as the go-to wine resource was Martha's biggest fear

The question that replaced "Do you think I drink too much?" and changed everything

How she doubled down on what she loves about food, wine and hospitality, without the alcohol

What an all-night rave in Paris taught her about how often our brains get it wrong

Why paying attention to your senses is a form of mindfulness that can help with cravings

Why a break from drinking should feel like a pleasure, not a punishment

"I have not stopped for one minute being in love with this freedom." — Martha

Episode page: https://thisnakedmind.com/does-alcohol-free-life-get-better-where-are-they-now-ep-956/

Ready to take the next step? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

Hayley Scherders is a certified This Naked Mind Senior Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration, Quince, AG1, and Primal Queen:

Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠⁠⁠⁠quince.com/naked⁠⁠⁠⁠

Instant Hydration: Save 40% on your first subscription order at instanthydration.com/nakedmind CODE: NAKEDMIND

AG1: Save 25% on your first AG1 subscription, including AG1 Next Gen or Pro. DrinkAG1.com/NAKEDMIND

Primal Queen: For a limited time only, you can shop their biggest sale of the year! Just visit primalqueen.com/NAKEDMIND.

Trigger warning: This episode mentions an eating disorder and a childhood shaped by a parent's drinking.

What if the craving you keep fighting isn't your enemy? In this episode, two members of The Path stop running from hard feelings and learn to sit with them instead.

Karen grew up the youngest of eight, in a house where no one could make a sound for fear of setting off her father. With Coach Zoë, she sees how wine became a secret way to cope almost the moment her eating disorder ended, and she meets the little girl who never got the care she needed. Amy's witching hour starts mid-afternoon, and the back-and-forth in her head can last for hours. With Coach Cole, she tries something new: getting curious about the discomfort instead of battling it. If you may be physically dependent on alcohol, please speak with a medical professional before cutting back or stopping.

What You'll Hear

Why Karen's daily wine started almost the same moment her eating disorder ended

How a childhood spent bracing for danger can keep you running as an adult

The two-chair exercise that helps Karen connect with her younger self

A simple way to disrupt the drinking habit by changing what you drink and how

Why fighting a craving for hours can make giving in feel like relief

How Amy uses curiosity and compassion to sit with sadness, and what it told her

"I've never really sat with a discomfort on that deep of a level. So it just… it's giving me hope." (Amy)

Episode page: https://thisnakedmind.com/why-cant-i-sit-with-discomfort-alcohol-freedom-coaching-ep-955/

Ready to take the next step? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

About Your Host

Zoë Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoë taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.

Learn more about Coach Zoë: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Cole Harvey is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration, Quince, AG1, and Hungryroot:

Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠⁠⁠quince.com/naked⁠⁠⁠

Hungryroot: Save 40% on your first order PLUS a free item at ⁠⁠⁠hungryroot.com/mind⁠⁠ CODE: mind⁠

Instant Hydration: Save 40% on your first subscription order at instanthydration.com/nakedmind CODE: NAKEDMIND

AG1: For a limited time get a free Immune Support Bundle, including a bottle of Omega-3 fish oil and a bottle of Vitamin D3K2, with your first subscription order. DrinkAG1.com/NAKEDMIND

For Nan, drinking started young, as a way to prove she was grown up and could handle anything. Decades of nightly wine later, she found that letting go of drinking also meant letting go of an identity, and it gave her a quiet mind.

Nan built a financial advisory practice she loved, and for decades a glass or two of wine closed out every evening. It was how she wound down, and it felt like who she was. A 10-day break with her partner felt like pure deprivation. Then a colleague asked Nan to support her through a 30-day alcohol experiment, and Nan started reading along. Her sleep improved, and she later joined The Path, where the nonstop chatter about drinking finally went quiet. If you may be physically dependent on alcohol, please speak with a medical professional before cutting back or stopping.

What You'll Hear

Why drinking became Nan's way of proving she was grown up and could handle anything

Why a 10-day break felt like deprivation, and what made a 30-day experiment feel different

The afternoon chatter about drinking, and what finally made it go quiet

Why a year of “firsts” changed her mind about a 12-month program

What her first alcohol-free holidays with family were like

What Nan would say to someone a few days into their first break

“I don't think they're talking about the inner peace that comes from that first drink every evening.” – Nan

Episode page: https://thisnakedmind.com/letting-go-of-drinking-as-her-identity-nans-naked-life-ep-954/

Ready to take the next step? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

About Your Host

Cole Harvey is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration, Quince, AG1, and Hungryroot:

Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠⁠⁠quince.com/naked⁠⁠⁠

Hungryroot: Save 40% on your first order PLUS a free item at ⁠⁠⁠hungryroot.com/mind⁠⁠ CODE: mind⁠

Instant Hydration: Save 40% on your first subscription order at instanthydration.com/nakedmind CODE: NAKEDMIND

AG1: For a limited time get a free Immune Support Bundle, including a bottle of Omega-3 fish oil and a bottle of Vitamin D3K2, with your first subscription order. DrinkAG1.com/NAKEDMIND

Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 953

Trigger warning: this episode contains references to the death of a child and suicidal thoughts.

The lawn is mowed. The garden is weeded. And the stress is still there, with a voice in Sharon's head getting louder by the minute. Just have a couple glasses of wine. You'd feel better. Vera's voice says something else. You'll be boring. You won't fit in. For two years after her daughter died, a drink was the only way she could cry. Feeling your feelings without alcohol is scary when a drink has always been the thing that made them bearable. So what happens if you let the feeling stay? Coaches Cole and Hayley offer curiosity as the first step, and a way to feel safe taking it.

Sharon discusses:

- The work travel and family stress behind her loudest cravings

- Why "This will pass" works some days and not others

- How scary it feels to stop pushing the stress away

- What she finds under her heart when she finally looks

Vera discusses:

- Grieving her daughter without a drink

- The "romantic idea" of moderating that her heart won't let go of

- The kid in the house on wheels who still feels left out

- What it would feel like to fit in with herself

- And more…

Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

Cole Harvey is a Certified This Naked Mind Senior Coach. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Hayley Scherders is a Certified This Naked Mind Senior Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Episode links:

nakedmindpath.com

More on this episode: https://thisnakedmind.com/podcast/feeling-your-feelings-without-alcohol-alcohol-freedom-coaching-ep-953/

Related episodes:

How I Stopped Using Alcohol For Stress Relief | Naked Life Story | EP 715 – https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-715-naked-life-story-allison-b/

Is Life Boring Without Alcohol? | Reader Question | EP 342 – https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-342-reader-question-is-life-boring-without-alcohol/

Finding Your True Self and Building Genuine Connections Without Alcohol | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 821 – https://thisnakedmind.com/building-genuine-connections-without-alcohol-e821/

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Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0UB06sNguPjVvgAYFBcR9I?si=b7568f24c21249ff

This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration, Quince, AG1, and Hungryroot:

Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠⁠⁠quince.com/naked⁠⁠⁠

Hungryroot: Save 40% on your first order PLUS a free item at ⁠⁠⁠hungryroot.com/mind⁠⁠ CODE: mind⁠

Instant Hydration: Save 40% on your first subscription order at instanthydration.com/nakedmind CODE: NAKEDMIND

AG1: For a limited time get a free Immune Support Bundle, including a bottle of Omega-3 fish oil and a bottle of Vitamin D3K2, with your first subscription order. DrinkAG1.com/NAKEDMIND

Paul spent years drinking every day and waking up with harsh words for himself. In this episode, he shares how he stepped out of that cycle, filled his days with yoga, music and coaching, and found a life that feels like freedom.

What happens after the last drink? For Paul, stopping was only the start. Rebuilding your life after drinking, he says, takes more than removing the alcohol. Paul is a certified This Naked Mind coach in England who started drinking at 14. He talks with host Cole about weekends that turned into daily drinking, moderation rules that stopped working, and self-talk that wore down his self-esteem. Then he shares what came next: a yoga retreat weeks after his last drink, a creative outlet in music, and a life that feels like freedom.

What You'll Hear

How hotel stays for work turned weekend drinking into an everyday habit

What happened when the rules of an online moderation group stopped working

How a daily cycle of promises and self-criticism wore down his self-esteem, and how it lifted

The yoga retreat, weeks after his last drink, that brought him to tears on a beach

Why stopping drinking was only the first step for Paul

The two-column exercise Paul would hand his younger self

“You realize you're giving up nothing.” -Paul

Mentioned in This Episode:

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace: https://amzn.to/2Abuidd

This Naked Mind Coaching: https://thisnakedmind.com/coaching/

Episode page: https://thisnakedmind.com/podcast/rebuilding-your-life-after-drinking-pauls-naked-life/

Ready to take the next step?

Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

About Your Host

Cole Harvey is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning. Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

This episode is sponsored by Instant Hydration, Quince, AG1, and Hungryroot:

Quince: Get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠⁠⁠quince.com/naked⁠⁠⁠

Hungryroot: Save 40% on your first order PLUS a free item at ⁠⁠⁠hungryroot.com/mind⁠⁠ CODE: mind⁠

Instant Hydration: Save 40% on your first subscription order at instanthydration.com/nakedmind CODE: NAKEDMIND

AG1: For a limited time get a free Immune Support Bundle, including a bottle of Omega-3 fish oil and a bottle of Vitamin D3K2, with your first subscription order. DrinkAG1.com/NAKEDMIND