Show Notes
Every Friday night, Victoria Vanstone made the same promise to herself. Just one or two drinks. Home early. No hangover. No anxiety. No regrets. This time would be different.
It never was.
In this episode of MAMA, Vic explores the exhausting cycle of trying to moderate alcohol during motherhood. Like many mums, she didn’t want to stop drinking completely. She simply wanted to drink like everyone else seemed to. One glass of wine, a little relaxation, then home to bed feeling refreshed and in control.
Instead, one drink often became several, followed by anxiety, broken promises and the familiar vow to do better next time.
Vic shares her personal experience of spending years trying to find the magic formula for moderation, while quietly ignoring the fact that alcohol was causing many of the problems she was drinking to escape.
Along the way, she explores the science of cravings, why our brains become wired to expect alcohol at certain times of day, and why the first drink often makes decisions about the second. She explains why cravings can feel so powerful, but also why they don’t last forever.
This episode is packed with practical tools for navigating urges, including urge surfing, delaying decisions, playing the tape forward and learning how to interrupt automatic habits before they take over.
Most importantly, Vic reflects on the hidden cost of always thinking about alcohol. The mental energy it consumes. The moments it steals. The precious years of motherhood that pass by while we’re waiting for the next drink, recovering from the last one or negotiating with ourselves about whether we’ll have one at all.
If you’ve ever promised yourself you’d only have one, wondered why moderation feels so difficult, or found yourself spending far too much time thinking about alcohol, this episode is for you.
No judgement. No shame. Just an honest conversation about cravings, moderation and discovering that life becomes much simpler when alcohol is no longer taking up so much space in your head.
Warning! - there are a few tears in this one!
Resources & Links About MAMA
MAMA (Motherhood. Alcohol. Mental Health. Anxiety.) is a special podcast series from Sober Awkward, created to complement the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub program.
Developed in partnership with researchers from The University of Sydney and supported by funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), MAMA aims to help mums feel less alone, more informed and better supported as they navigate the challenges of early motherhood.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, struggling with anxiety, or questioning the role alcohol plays in your life, you’re in the right place.
Healthy Mum Healthy Bub healthymumhealthybub.org.au https://www.sydney.edu.au/matilda-centre
Sober Awkward Podcast, books, courses, community, events and support soberawkward.com
Victoria’s Books Mumming - A Year of Trying (and Failing) to be a Better Parent - https://amzn.asia/d/08E0CLyS A Thousand Wasted Sundays - https://amzn.asia/d/0eK3l8Bd
Sober Awkward Retreats Join Victoria and the Sober Awkward community for alcohol-free retreats, workshops and unforgettable adventures in Australia and overseas. Find out more at: soberawkward.com
MAMA: Motherhood. Alcohol. Mental Health. Anxiety.
Hosted by Victoria Vanstone, author, speaker and co-host of the award-winning podcast Sober Awkward, MAMA is an honest, funny and reassuring podcast about the realities of modern motherhood.
From anxiety and overwhelm to wine o’clock culture, identity, relationships and mental health, Victoria explores the conversations many mums are thinking about but rarely say out loud.
Created in association with Healthy Mum Healthy Bub, researchers from The University of Sydney, and funded by the Medical Research Future Fund, MAMA combines lived experience, expert knowledge and practical tools to support mums through the challenges of parenting, mental health and alcohol use.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in
More from MAMA - Motherhood. Alcohol. Mental Health. Anxiety
As we reach the final episode of MAMA, Victoria reflects on one of the most important lessons she has learned through motherhood, anxiety and eight years of sobriety:
When you change your relationship with alcohol, nobody really prepares you for the question that comes next:
There comes a point when you’ve read the articles, made the promises, created the rules and sworn that this time things will be different.
Motherhood is hard. Not the cute Instagram version with matching outfits and homemade baby purées. The real version. The sleep deprivation, the self-doubt, the endless responsibility and the overwhelming feeling that everyone else somehow knows what they’re doing except you.
When Victoria Vanstone became a mum, she thought she was prepared. She imagined she’d simply add a baby to her already lovely life, pop them in a sling and carry on being herself.