Show Notes
You woke up on the bedroom floor swearing this was the last time, and by Friday you were hovering over that party invite knowing exactly how the night would end. This is the episode about the moment you finally step off the merry-go-round.
I sit down with my dear friend Victoria Vanstone, host of the award-winning Sober Awkward podcast. Vic shares the raw truth of her journey from binge-drinking party girl to eight years alcohol-free, including the "one hangover too far" that changed everything and the therapy visualisation that finally set her free.
Timestamps Introduction (00:00) The Morning Everything Changed (01:56) Why "I Can't Do This Anymore" Hits Home (04:11) Parenting Present, Not Hungover (09:10) How Mummy Wine Culture Targeted Us (14:23) Alcohol Is Addictive By Design (24:23) The Merry-Go-Round That Set Her Free (28:22) Losing The Party Girl Identity (30:09) The Rejection That Started It All (38:49) The Coping Strategy That Stopped Working (49:55) Finding Joy In The Simple Life (54:26) Why Sober Retreats Change Everything (59:00) Final Words For The Woman Questioning (01:04:50)
Victoria Vanstone is the host of Sober Awkward, the award-winning comedy podcast that follows two former party animals navigating life without booze, now with more than 7 million downloads. She started writing the day she gave up alcohol and became a much-loved over-sharer through her blog Drunk Mummy Sober Mummy. She is the author of the memoir A Thousand Wasted Sundays and Mumming: A Year of Trying and Failing to Be a Better Parent, and she is now on a mission to help others break free from normalised social binge drinking.
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/sober-awkward/id1565657975
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drunkmummysobermummy/
If Vic's story resonated with you, grab her memoir A Thousand Wasted Sundays 👉https://a.co/d/080IDnnV
Check out her sober retreats over at 👉https://www.soberawkward.com/
***
Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.
Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit? Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.
Get your free guide → https://sarahrusbatch.com/free-guide-100-things-to-do-instead-of-drinking
Follow along and see the behind the scenes over at https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch/
Join my latest Alcohol Free Challenge here - https://programs.sarahrusbatch.com/alcohol-reset-challenge?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=organic%20social&utm_campaign=april+reset+challenge&utm_content=promotional
and find out more about my other programs here - https://sarahrusbatch.com/
If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don’t always say out loud and connect with others going through the same as you, join my free Facebook group, Women’s Wellbeing Collective here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067
And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here - https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze
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Taking 30 days off alcohol in midlife rarely feels the way social media promises. Boredom, flatness and broken sleep often come first, and none of it means you're doing it wrong.In this video I share the five most unexpected things women discover in their first 30 days without wine, from the 5 to 7pm boredom to the friend who suddenly goes quiet. I explain why your brain can feel flat once alcohol stops lighting up your dopamine reward centre, and why sedation is not the same as restorative sleep. Most importantly, I explain why all of it settles.Key Topics Covered- Why boredom hits hardest between 5 and 7pm when you stop drinking, and why taking alcohol out means adding something in, like an evening walk, a class or a hobby.- Feeling flat after quitting alcohol: how years of drinking dysregulate your dopamine receptors, and why it evens out with time.- What to do when friends get weird about you not drinking, and why talking to your closest friends first helps.- Why sleep without alcohol can get worse before it gets better, and how to ride the emotional rollercoaster of the early weeks.Timestamps What Happens When You Stop Drinking For 30 Days (00:00) Thing 1: Boredom Between 5 And 7pm (00:40) Thing 2: Feeling Flat After You Stop Drinking (02:01) Thing 3: When Friends Get Weird About You Not Drinking (02:44) Thing 4: Why Sleep Gets Worse Before It Gets Better (03:37) Thing 5: Feeling Emotional Over Nothing (04:40) Free Support To Change Your Drinking (05:20)Also Watch My Previous Episodes:- Seven Signs You Are a Grey Area Drinker- Six Reasons Successful Women Are Quietly Quitting Alcohol- Three Reasons Women Cannot Metabolise Alcohol as Effectively as Men***Struggling to know what to do when stress, boredom or big emotions hit?Download my free guide "100 Things to Do Instead of Drinking", a toolkit for sitting with those feelings instead of reaching for a glass of wine.Get your free guide → https://bit.ly/4qOiGUw***Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast, Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze
Nobody walks into a marriage planning to leave it, yet so many midlife women are quietly asking whether to stay or go. Your body often knows the answer first.