In this month’s coaching episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard answers the following questions: 1) I stopped drinking for a month then started again due to stress; now I’m struggling to stop again - did this happen to you and is it normal? 2) I feel like I’m competing with others who have already quit drinking; I have only backed off on my drinking and not let go - thoughts? 3) How do you deal with stress now that there's no alcohol to take the edge off? 4) It seems like my husband d...
Aug 28, 2020•31 min
Despite all the studies and articles touting the health benefits of drinking, one thing is true: By not drinking at all, we can dramatically improve our health in so many ways. Listen as Annie Grace takes a trip through the body, detailing how removing alcohol from our systems helps everything from our brains and hearts to our skin and bones to our gut and sleep patterns to fertility and sexual performance. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to start another live alcohol experime...
Aug 22, 2020•16 min
We say it all the time, and there’s nothing better than showing you proof! It’s never, ever too late to stop drinking. On today’s episode, Annie Grace talks with Barbara whose drinking career spanned more than 60 years, through motherhood, marriages, and loss. Now alcohol free at 83 years old, Barbara has rediscovered the joy of morning coffee, has lowered her blood pressure, and is enjoying life like never before. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to start another live alcohol ...
Aug 21, 2020•37 min
Does it feel like you cannot live without “The Alcohol Buzz?” How do you challenge that belief? How do you rationalize with yourself that you can replace alcohol with something else? Can anything else really replace alcohol? In today’s episode, Annie Grace shares the science behind the “buzz” and how to navigate trade-offs. Have you tried The Alcohol Experiment? Okay, if not, drop everything and go to thisnakedmind.com/experiment. This free 30-day challenge is designed to interrupt your patterns...
Aug 15, 2020•14 min
The first time Wendy got drunk, she was 15 years old. She vomited on a police officer and her parents. In college and law school her drinking looked like everyone else’s - partying once or twice a week, bingeing from time to time. Casual drinking didn’t begin until she started practicing law. And, when she and her husband had trouble conceiving, drinking shifted from being an enjoyable social pleasure to a coping mechanism, using wine to relax, unwind, and escape. Wendy talks about how she was a...
Aug 14, 2020•1 hr 5 min
Are you confused about blackouts? Annie Grace was, too. Today’s episode, she takes a super scientific look at this scary topic and answers the following questions: What are blackouts? How do they happen? Are there different kinds of blackouts? What does alcohol do to the different types of memory in our brains? Who gets blackouts? What makes someone more susceptible to them? Hey, it’s Annie Grace. I want to tell you about the most important book that I never wrote. I mean that. This is This Nake...
Aug 08, 2020•12 min
Jackie had her first sip of alcohol at the age of 13. Despite binge drinking and blacking out all through college, she earned a 4.0. After graduation, her heavy weekend alcohol use continued, ultimately becoming much worse following the unexpected death of her father. Deeply depressed, Jackie never felt the need to moderate her drinking, however it was important to her that others not suspect she had a problem with alcohol. In today’s episode, Jackie talks about how she became suicidal during bl...
Aug 07, 2020•53 min
The first step in changing your relationship with alcohol is to stop trying to stop drinking. Wait. What? It’s counterintuitive. It’s controversial. It’s what makes This Naked Mind - the book, the methodology, everything - so different from anything else. There’s a very good reason we do things this way. So, take a breath, let yourself off the hook, and listen as Annie Grace busts the myths and clarifies what exactly she means when she says, “Stop trying to stop drinking.” If you asked me about ...
Aug 01, 2020•16 min
Friends since they were kids, Annie Grace and Darcy Gaechter reconnect in this episode. Things they have in common: they have both chosen to live alcohol free, and they have both written books. Darcy’s book, Amazon Woman, is a memoir about the expedition that led her to become the first and only woman on the planet to kayak the entire Amazon River from source to sea. Listen as she shares about her experience on the Amazon as well as her path to stop drinking and how the two journeys intersected....
Jul 31, 2020•52 min
“Dear Annie: Today I was feeling pretty good about myself and what I was accomplishing and suddenly I had a craving. Normally I crave when I'm trying to avoid or numb a negative emotion, so I was confused. Acknowledging how good I was feeling, and my own goodness and beauty, makes me uncomfortable and I wanted to numb out those good feelings. When I realized it's easier to believe the negative things about myself than it is to believe the positive things about myself, I got really sad.” In today...
Jul 25, 2020•16 min
In this month’s coaching episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard answers the following questions: 1) I am on day 20 without alcohol and I am so angry and grouchy. I am a nice person but don’t feel nice anymore. Is this normal? 2) I’m in the PATH and have been told we’re not going to be asked to quit drinking in the first eight weeks. Now I am drinking more on a daily basis. Is that bad? 3) During the first year of sober experiences, what are the best tools for those classic drinking ev...
Jul 24, 2020•27 min
Is not drinking really the best thing since sliced bread? Is it as amazing as people say? How can not drinking possibly be more fun than drinking? Annie Grace shares her own experience as well as some of the reasons why we feel we need alcohol for fun. If you asked me about the one thing that makes This Naked Mind so different from anything else, I would have to say emotion. It is the emotion when people feel really ready to make a change, when they’ve had that mindset shift, when they’ve gone t...
Jul 18, 2020•13 min
From a very young age, Rob assumed drinking would be a normal part of his life forever. He drank socially and on special occasions, and from time to time he drank way too much. But, he never felt alcohol was a problem. Then, about eight years ago, he let down his guard. The idea of drinking more was presented to him and, combined with his feelings of disappointment and some pain and fear that had shown up, Rob began drinking to cover up and numb the stuff that didn’t feel good. After lots of sea...
Jul 17, 2020•51 min
Just because you get curious about your relationship with alcohol, does it mean you need to stop drinking for the rest of your life? How can you tell if you need to quit forever? In this episode, Annie Grace explores the concept of being 100 percent alcohol free - what the science tells us, the role of forgiveness and compassion when it comes to changing your drinking, and her personal experience in finding freedom from alcohol. Hey, it’s Annie Grace. I want to tell you about the most important ...
Jul 11, 2020•16 min
On today’s episode, Annie Grace talks with Irene, a police officer, wife, and mum from England. Now more than a year into her life without alcohol, Irene talks about how her drinking went from nothing extreme as a teenager to a bad habit of big drinking sessions on her days off from work and, ultimately, progressed into a coping mechanism for dealing with sadness and grief after having a stillborn child. Irene and Annie talk about human pain and emotion and how we suffer as well as the awkwardne...
Jul 10, 2020•40 min
On today’s episode, Annie Grace answers a question from an alcohol free reader who recently found herself sipping sparkling water surrounded by people discussing and romanticizing the wine they were all drinking. How could she not feel uncomfortable and attacked? Is there any way to appreciate someone else’s passion when it doesn’t align with your own? Have you tried The Alcohol Experiment? Okay, if not, drop everything and go to thisnakedmind.com/experiment. This free 30-day challenge is design...
Jul 04, 2020•17 min
A self-described “messy drinker” from the start, Julia grew up in the middle of nowhere on the England/Scotland border and had her first taste of alcohol around 14 years old. While she often worried about alcoholism and whether or not she was drinking too much, she easily calmed her fears and assured herself she was alright when she watched those around her drinking the same way she did. By the time she turned 40, Julia was living in a big loop of drinking, hangovers, and generally getting in he...
Jul 03, 2020•36 min
Today’s question comes from a reader who doesn’t want to drink but is worried about FOMO at an upcoming girls’ weekend. What do you do when you’re planning to attend the kind of event where alcohol has historically been a linchpin for celebration? Annie Grace offers four ways to manage your expectations and set yourself up for success - from holding onto your power to finding the magic in your thoughts to using the ACT Technique to practicing “Duck Mode.” I'm so excited you guys, because we are ...
Jun 27, 2020•16 min
It’s time for this month’s coaching questions with This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard! In today’s episode, Scott talks about dealing with the temptation of drinking to celebrate as we emerge from quarantine, getting past the “brick wall” that keeps showing up at five days alcohol free, why some people are addicted to alcohol and others can control it, and whether or not the lessons we learn to stop drinking can be used for other things. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to...
Jun 26, 2020•30 min
How do you deal with all the drinking that goes on when the weather gets nice and everyone’s enjoying the outdoors and drinking beer? What happens in your brain when you know you want to remain sober but the FOMO shows up and you feel triggered to drink? Can you make the trigger go away? Annie Grace explains. I'm so excited you guys, because we are just about to start another live alcohol experiment. If you do not know about the alcohol experiment, you need to literally drop everything right now...
Jun 20, 2020•11 min
Leah knew her life looked great on paper, but she just couldn’t understand why everything felt so awful. On today’s episode, she shares her story - from loving her first drink as a high school freshman to a college party girl who didn’t graduate to a married mother of three who believed everyone would be better off without her. Leah talks about her bipolar diagnosis, champagne in the hospital after the birth of her third child, and how The Alcohol Experiment gave her a second chance at life. I'm...
Jun 19, 2020•48 min
What can we say when we just want our drinking to be a non-issue? How do we turn down alcohol without making it a big deal for everyone around us? Can we use our tone of voice and facial expressions and body language to adjust the message we want to deliver? How can we tap into a powerful energy and shut down any further dialogue when we refuse a drink? Annie Grace answers. Did you miss This Naked Mind Live? Do you maybe have a little bit of FOMO? Don't worry. I've got you covered. In fact, I ha...
Jun 13, 2020•10 min
A self-described “closet nondrinker,” Carolyn is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in working with people-pleasing perfectionists who struggle with anxiety. She uses brainspotting, a technique that leverages the close connection between our brains and our vision to bring relief from symptoms of anxiety, shame, overwhelm, trauma, and many other ways we, as humans, can feel emotionally and physically stuck. On today’s episode, Carolyn opens up about how she tried to keep her decisi...
Jun 12, 2020•1 hr 2 min
“Annie, are you sober,” asked a journalist. It was the first time Annie had been asked the question. The assumption is that Annie Grace is sober. Right? But, what does sober really mean? And, does Annie consider herself sober? Let me ask you a question. What is better than change? Lasting change, of course. If you've had trouble making change stick, either with alcohol or in any other area of your life, you are in for a treat. I created the 100 Days of Lasting Change to ensure that we don't just...
Jun 06, 2020•14 min
Growing up in Australia, Melissa had no idea how powerful alcohol was. Drinking first popped onto her radar screen around age 17 and she began partying the same way all her friends did - blacking out, getting sick, being hungover. It was what they did and no one questioned their behavior. Melissa loved the fun and always found people who wanted to drink. At 35, she decided to try moderating her drinking. A few years later she realized she was an “I’ve had too much, give me another” drinker who n...
Jun 05, 2020•51 min
What can a wife to do support her husband who set a goal to stop drinking for a year, gave up alcohol for two months, and then she came home to find him drinking? Should she get angry? Give him tough love? Encourage him to keep trying? Leave him alone to wallow in his judgment and self-doubt? Annie shares her thoughts on what exactly constitutes success and how we can take what we interpret as failure and use it to our advantage. Right now, for the first time ever, I am doing something that I th...
May 30, 2020•13 min
On today’s episode, This Naked Mind head coach Scott Pinyard dives into four terrific questions, some specific to not drinking during the COVID-19 pandemic - they are: The longer we stay home, the more intense my cravings become; what can I do to stray strong? I think I’m ready to quit drinking but with the pandemic am I just setting myself up to fail? I was 30 days alcohol free when we started quarantining and I caved when I got anxious; how can I turn my anger into motivation? I did the Live A...
May 29, 2020•33 min
We hear it all the time. It must suck not to drink. Life must be so boring. But, did you know there is definitive evidence that removing alcohol does not strip away our ability to have fun? Did you know that it’s actually alcohol that steals the brain’s ability to have fun? Annie Grace explains. Are you ready for a deep dive into truly lasting change? If so, you might consider my Intensive Program. It’s a 9-week, self-led program that you can do in the complete comfort of your own home. It will ...
May 23, 2020•7 min
Andrew had his first sip of sherry at the age of three. He loved it. It wasn’t until he was nearing his forties in a job with a strong drinking culture where booze equaled camaraderie and a way to let off steam and ignore problems that Andrew began to question his drinking. He was a “happy drunk” but also found alcohol turning him into a person he didn’t like. Yet, he continued justifying his drinking by telling himself it could be worse. Now alcohol free, Andrew reminds himself he can drink if ...
May 22, 2020•41 min
If alcohol is addictive, why doesn’t everyone become addicted to it? Who are these magical beings who can drink without becoming addicted? Or not drink at all? Is it genetic? Does it have something to do with their personality? Are some people just broken and others are not? And, what is the one thing we can point to when a relationship with alcohol pivots from being mostly in control to very much out of control? Are you looking to connect with like-minded people? Sometimes maybe you feel like y...
May 16, 2020•14 min
