Show Notes
In the episode I have the honour of speaking with Dr. Anna Lembke about why addiction is everyone's business and dive into the neuroscience of why this is the case and how we can tackle the dopamine response we all have give ourselves the best chance of avoiding and escaping addictive behaviours., be it alcohol, shopping, smartphone. Anna Lembke, MD is professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she is the author of more than a hundred peer-reviewed publications, has testified before the United States House of Representatives and Senate, has served as an expert witness in federal and state opioid litigation, and is an internationally recognized leader in addiction medicine treatment and education.In 2016, she published Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016), highlighted in the New York Times as one of the top five books to read to understand the opioid epidemic (Zuger, 2018). Dr. Lembke appeared in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, an unvarnished look at the impact of social media on our lives. Her latest book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence (Dutton/Penguin Random House, August 2021) was an instant New York Times bestseller and explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world. Grab a cuppa and let's chat. Kate x
More from Love Sober Podcast
As the seasons change, so do our needs. In this episode, we are talking about moving into autumn — sober, resourced and with a little more intention. The darker evenings, changing routines and shift in energy can affect our mood, nervous system and sobriety. Rather than pushing through or expecting ourselves to operate exactly as we did in summer, autumn can be an invitation to pause and ask: what do I actually need now? We share some of the things I’m thinking about as we move into the darker half of the year, including: The Autumn Edit Journaling prompts — what can you stop, simplify, postpone or let go of? Sober-proofing the darker evenings — noticing the times, places and feelings that might make alcohol seem appealing and creating new rituals around them. Building your autumn resource list — the people, practices, places and small pleasures that help you feel grounded and well. 🍂 Supporting your mental health and nervous system as daylight reduces and our natural energy begins to shift. Creating an autumn that has space for rest, connection, movement, nourishment and pleasure — rather than simply adding more things to the list. Sobriety isn’t just about taking alcohol away. It’s about learning how to support ourselves through the changing seasons of our lives. The questions for autumn: What can I edit?What will resource me?And what do I want to make room for this season? 🎧 Grab a cuppa, pull on a jumper and join us for an autumn reset. Love Kate + Helen x Work 1:1 with Kate: Book a free discovery call : https://calendly.com/kate-824/discovery-call
In this episode of the Love Sober Podcast, Kate and Helen unpack that end-of-summer exhaustion and the strange, wobbly transition into autumn. They explore liminal spaces – the in‑between times when we’ve outgrown an old version of ourselves but aren’t yet anchored in the new – and how this shows up in midlife, sobriety, grief, and the changing seasons. Kate shares the inspiration behind her new program Midlife Alchemy (starts September 21st 2026) , created for sober and sober‑curious midlife women who are navigating hormones, identity shifts, and life’s big rites of passage. They talk about why rest is radical, how nervous system literacy can be a superpower, and the magic of women’s circles as trauma‑informed, neuro‑inclusive spaces for support and growth. If you’re feeling tired, and wondering how to tend your nervous system instead of pouring a drink, this conversation offers compassion, practical tools, and a little midlife magic. Find out more about Midlife Alchemy and book a discovery call at LoveSober.com → Circles → Midlife Alchemy. https://www.lovesober.com/midlife-alchemy DISCOVERY CALL WITH KATE for 1-2-1 COACHING OR PROGRAMS
In this episode of the Love Sober Podcast, Kate and Helen explore summer sobriety and how to build a realistic, compassionate summer toolkit using ideas from Kate’s book “Love Your Sober Year.” They talk about seasons, hormones, grief, parenting, and why women need a softer, cyclical approach to recovery – plus lots of very practical tools for getting through summer alcohol-free. We cover:
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