Is Alcohol Keeping You Stuck? The Questions Every Woman Who Drinks Should Ask | Jen Hirst
Stronger Bolder WiserShow Notes
Feeling like alcohol has quietly become your default way to unwind, reward yourself, or take the edge off?
Join my October Reset Challenge, a supportive, guided reset to help you break the daily drinking habit, reconnect with yourself, and prove you can feel good without the glass of wine.
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What does it really take to walk out of the "sober closet" and let go of the shame we carry around drinking? In this episode of Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, I sit down with sobriety coach Jen Hirst to trace her journey from hidden, high-functioning drinking to lasting recovery, and to talk about the tools that actually work.
Jen shares how her drinking escalated from teenage experimentation to using alcohol to numb heartbreak, anxiety and the weight of perfectionism, and how wedding stress pushed her to rock bottom. She walks us through the secrecy, the failed attempts at moderation and recovery, the mouthwash and dangerous substitutes, the two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox, and the day she finally surrendered. We talk about how alcohol fuels anxiety, how perimenopause and hormones shape our vulnerability, and the practical tools that ease cravings and stress, from breathwork, walking and affirmations to protein, blood-sugar stabilisation and her bedtime "protein pudding" trick for those 3am wake-ups.
Key Topics Covered How Jen's drinking escalated from teenage experimentation to hidden, high-functioning dependence
Why perfectionism, heartbreak and wedding stress fuelled the drinking
What "coming out of the sober closet" meant, and how sharing her story dissolved shame
How alcohol worsens anxiety, and the role of perimenopause and hormones in midlife
Why blood-sugar stabilisation and a bedtime protein snack ease 3am wake-ups
The warning signs of cross addiction and why moderation so often fails
Jen Hirst is a sobriety coach who has been alcohol-free since 24 April 2013. After years of hidden, high-functioning drinking that escalated to job loss, two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox, she surrendered and rebuilt her life, then publicly "came out of the sober closet" on 7 September 2017. Website: https://www.jenhirst.com/
Timestamps: Getting sober and breaking out of the sober closet with coach Jen Hirst (00:00) Using alcohol to self medicate heartbreak, anxiety and wedding stress (04:23) Hiding drinking in marriage and early failed attempts to get sober (09:17) Two DWIs, hospitalisation and detox as the drinking spirals (14:12) Surrendering to sobriety and rebuilding life after rock bottom (18:29) How alcohol worsens anxiety and how perimenopause affects cravings (22:11) Building an early sobriety toolkit to handle cravings (28:07) Overcoming shame, labels and alcohol culture around drinking (31:59) How sharing your sobriety story kills shame (37:04) Why moderation fails and how alcohol changes brain chemistry (45:08) How protein and blood sugar balance reduce alcohol cravings (52:04) Cross addiction warning signs to watch for in sobriety (58:53) Regulating your nervous system without alcohol (01:05:00) *** 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?utm_source=sbw&utm_medium=ep28&utm_campaign=100+things&utm_content=list+building 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/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.