The Truth About Alcohol (Why Quitting Feels So Hard)

Alcohol and the Anxiety of Waiting for an Answer That Never Comes

You go to bed hoping that by the time you wake up, you’ll have an answer about something that really matters.

You wake up, check your phone — and it’s still not there.

The day’s already started, people are relying on you, and your mind is already elsewhere.

This episode looks at a specific kind of anxiety that doesn’t show up in the body as panic, but as speed — racing thoughts, scenario-building, and the need to act before you’ve even oriented yourself.

• Why waiting for an answer can feel more unsettling than bad news
• How anxiety often gets replaced by usefulness, duty, and constant motion
• Why you can feel “fine” while busy — and restless the moment you stop
• How this same pattern quietly repeats in work, relationships, and everyday life

This isn’t about fixing the waiting.

It’s about recognising what happens inside you while you wait — and why alcohol can later feel like relief from a state you never noticed forming.

If this felt familiar, the deeper work lives at STRIVE. 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #AlcoholAnxiety, #AlcoholAndAnxiety, #WaitingForAnAnswer, #AnxietyAndAlcohol, #SoberCurious, #AlcoholFreeLife, #LivingAlcoholFree, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol

Dry January Didn’t Fail — February Just Scared You

Dry January didn’t fail — February just scared you.

A lot of people finish Dry January feeling better than they have in years… and still go back to drinking.

Not because they miss alcohol.

But because continuing starts to feel permanent.

This episode explores the moment Dry January ends — and the quiet fear that shows up when structure disappears, and choice becomes exposed.

• Why Dry January works so well — and why February feels destabilising
• The hidden fear behind “I’ll just go back to normal”
• Why alcohol often isn’t about pleasure, but certainty and safety

If Dry January changed something for you and you’re curious about expanding that experience beyond January, you can learn more about the deeper work at The Strive Method.

 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #DryJanuary, #AlcoholFreeCurious, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #QuitDrinking, #AlcoholAwareness, #SoberCurious, #LifeWithoutAlcohol, #MindfulDrinking, #AlcoholAndAnxiety

When You’ve Quit Drinking and Still Don’t Feel Seen

There’s a specific moment that catches a lot of people off guard when they stop drinking — or when they’re seriously trying to.

Someone close to you treats alcohol like it’s still a joke.

They send you a birthday card with an alcohol meme.

They hand you champagne at a wedding toast.

They offer you a drink at a family gathering and laugh it off when you say no.

They’re not being cruel.

They’re not trying to undermine you.

They just completely miss what this change actually means to you.

In this episode, we explore why that moment stings so much, why it often turns into self-doubt, and what’s really happening underneath when the people you expect to “see” you… don’t.

This isn’t about willpower.

And it’s not really about alcohol.

It’s about validation, recognition, and the quiet trap of letting someone else’s blind spot turn into your self-esteem problem.

 

In this episode, you’ll hear about

• The moment alcohol stops being casual for you, but not for the people around you
• Why jokes, offers, and “just one” comments hurt more than they should
• How family and close relationships amplify alcohol-related pressure
• Why this reaction isn’t weakness — it’s your nervous system reading meaning
• How the Liquid Lie keeps alcohol feeling natural, normal, and unquestioned
• The real danger: turning someone else’s misunderstanding into self-doubt

 

If this felt familiar and you don’t want to act on it yet, STRIVE Discord is where you can put this down.

It’s a private space to bring moments like this — without explaining them, defending them, or turning them into a decision.

Some moments don’t need fixing. They just need somewhere safe to land.

 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #AlcoholAwareness, #AlcoholFreeLife, #SoberCurious, #AlcoholCulture, #FamilyDynamics, #EmotionalTriggers, #SelfWorth, #Validation, #LivingSELFled

The Most Dangerous Lie: “I’ve Got This Under Control”

There’s a moment when someone questions your plan.

Suggests a safer option.

And something in you tightens and says, “I’ve got this under control.”

This episode explores why that sentence feels so convincing — and why it can quietly become one of the most dangerous lies we tell ourselves.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why “I’ve got this under control” isn’t confidence, but a nervous-system response
• How leaders confuse control with safety — and what they’re actually protecting
• Why alcohol often enters when the story we’re living by feels threatened
• The hidden cost of clinging to control instead of allowing adaptive truth
• Why the most dangerous moment isn’t failure — but refusing to check what’s working

This isn’t about fixing anything.

It’s about understanding the moment before things harden.

If this episode named something familiar and you don’t want to act on it yet,

STRIVE Discord is a private stabilisation space for moments that feel charged but unresolved.

It’s not a community.

It’s a place to put the moment down before it turns into self-control, conflict, or drinking.

You can find the deeper work here

 

#TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #AlcoholAwareness, #AlcoholAndControl, #HighFunctioning, #LeadershipPressure, #NervousSystemSafety, #SoberCurious, #AlcoholReliance, #EmotionalSafety, #BehaviourChange, #SelfLeadership

Why Alcohol Feels Like a Reward (And Why ‘I Deserve This’ Is So Hard to Argue With)

Why Alcohol Feels Earned at the End of the Day

There’s a moment at the end of the day when a voice cuts in.

Not gentle. Not negotiable.

“We deserve this.”

In that moment, alcohol doesn’t feel optional — it feels owed.

This episode explores why drinking is so often tied to reward, not pleasure, and why stopping can trigger anger, resistance, or a sense of deprivation that feels completely out of proportion.

We’re not talking about willpower.

We’re not talking about discipline.

We’re talking about what your nervous system is trying to protect.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why alcohol becomes the primary reward after effort, stress, and emotional labour
• What’s really happening when stopping drinking triggers anger or outrage
• Why willpower fails when alcohol is wired in as relief, not desire
• How deprivation — not alcohol itself — drives resistance
• What it actually means to redesign your reward system from a SELF-led place

This episode isn’t about taking anything away.

It’s about understanding what alcohol has been doing — before you decide what comes next.

If this stirred something and you don’t want to act on it yet, that’s okay.

There’s a private STRIVE Discord space where people bring moments like this — especially the end-of-day reward moment — and let them settle without fixing or forcing anything.

No advice.

No pressure.

Just a place to put the moment down.

If you want access, email me at thestrivemethod@gmail.com, and I’ll point you in the right direction.

#TheTruthAboutAlcoholPodcast, #AlcoholAndReward, #EndOfDayDrinking, #AlcoholRelief, #AlcoholHabits, #AlcoholAwareness, #NervousSystem, #SelfLedLife, #STRIVE, #LeeDavy

How Media Quietly Gives You Permission to Drink Alcohol

You’re not craving a drink.

You’re not stressed.

You’re not planning anything.

And then you hear a story.

Someone you respect talks about a big night, a celebration, a “we earned it” moment — and alcohol is quietly framed as part of a life done properly.

Nothing dramatic happens.

But something gets installed.

In this episode, we explore the subtle moment where media doesn’t tell you to drink — it simply shows you who belongs.

We talk about:

• How podcasts, comedy, sport, and lifestyle media quietly normalise alcohol
• Why alcohol is often framed as a symbol of status, belonging, and legitimacy
• The difference between temptation and permission
• How drinking becomes a badge of being “inside the circle”
• Why this moment slips past your defences without you noticing

This isn’t about willpower.

It’s about the story alcohol is wrapped in — and why that story is so persuasive.

If this moment feels familiar, you’re not broken — you’re noticing something real.

If you want to explore these moments more deeply and understand why alcohol keeps showing up, click here.

And if this episode helped you see something more clearly, consider following or subscribing so these conversations are there when you need them.

Sunday Drinking, Monday Risk: Why Alcohol Lies to You About Being “Fine”

Sunday drinking doesn’t usually fall apart on a Sunday night.

It falls apart quietly on Monday morning — on the drive to work, sitting on a train, or opening a laptop while already running at half capacity.

This episode looks at the moment most people miss:

the promise you make before drinking, the reassurance you repeat once the first pint lands, and how alcohol quietly rewrites what “a few” actually means.

We talk about:

• Why Sunday drinking is culturally protected — especially around masculinity, football, and tradition
• How rounds accelerate drinking without anyone intending to overdo it
• The difference between absenteeism and the far riskier problem of presenteeism
• Why “I haven’t had a drink for 8–12 hours” is not the same as being unimpaired
• How safety, leadership, and responsibility quietly erode long before anything looks dramatic

This isn’t about blame.

It’s about seeing the moment where safety is decided — and why alcohol makes that moment harder to see.

If this episode feels familiar, don’t rush to change anything.

Just notice the Sunday promise the next time it appears — and what happens when structure and alcohol take over.

If you want help interrupting the moments before they spiral, you can explore the Work-to-Home Protocol at thestrivemethod.com — a practical reset for the most dangerous transition of the day.

If this resonated, consider subscribing, sharing it with someone who works on Mondays and feels flat, or leaving a short review. It helps this reach the people who quietly need it.

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #SundayDrinking, #MondayHangover, #DrinkDrivingRisk, #AlcoholAwareness, #WorkplaceSafety, #LeadershipUnderPressure, #Presenteeism, #AlcoholCulture, #UKDrinkingCulture

Alcohol Doesn’t Bring You Closer — It Keeps You From Being Seen

Alcohol Doesn’t Bring You Closer — It Keeps You From Being Seen

Alcohol doesn’t bring you closer.

It keeps you from being seen.

Most people believe they drink to relax, connect, or feel closer at the end of the day.

But what if alcohol isn’t creating intimacy at all — what if it’s helping you avoid the consequences of honesty?

In this episode, we explore how alcohol quietly replaces emotional safety with silence, how “keeping the peace” can last for decades, and why stopping drinking doesn’t magically fix relationships — it simply brings sensation back online.

This isn’t about blame or labels.

It’s about noticing the role alcohol plays in postponing truth, intimacy, and integrity.

What This Episode Covers

• Why alcohol doesn’t avoid conflict — it avoids the consequences of honesty
• How silence can masquerade as stability in long-term relationships
• The “morphine effect” alcohol has on emotional and physical intimacy
• Why sex, closeness, and desire often feel safer with alcohol involved
• What actually returns when alcohol is removed — and why that feels confronting

If evenings are when things go quiet — after work, after dinner, when you finally stop moving — that’s not accidental.

The Work-to-Home Protocol exists for that exact window.

It helps you interrupt the moment alcohol usually steps in to soften what hasn’t been said yet.

You don’t need to fix anything.

You just need a different way to land.

You can find the Work-to-Home Protocol at: thestrivemethod.com

Don’t act on what came up.

Don’t start a conversation tonight.

Just notice what alcohol has been carrying for you — and what becomes louder without it.

Awareness alone starts to change the relationship.

#1000DaysSoberPodcast

#LeeDavy

#STRIVE

#TheTruthAboutAlcohol

#AlcoholAndRelationships

#EmotionalIntimacy

#AlcoholAwareness

#WorkToHome

#NervousSystem

#AlcoholAndConnection

Why Alcohol Feels Like the Price of Belonging

Most people think they drink because they enjoy alcohol.

In this episode, we look at something far harder to admit.

That for many people, alcohol isn’t about taste, confidence, or relaxation at all — it’s about belonging.

Not being rejected.

Not being excluded.

Just… not being slightly outside the group.

This episode explores the one “value” of drinking that people struggle to let go of, and why it sits at the heart of so many failed attempts to stop.

 

What This Episode Focuses On

 

• Why “belonging” is the one reason people can’t cross off their value list

• How alcohol quietly becomes a social contract rather than a drink

• The fear of breaking your role in a group or relationship

• Why exposure isn’t just about settling your nervous system

• The moment you realise that without alcohol, the ritual itself stops working

• Why some relationships drift when alcohol leaves — and why that matters

• How predictability gets mistaken for connection

• The deeper fear underneath tribe: “If I don’t do this anymore, who am I — and where do I belong?”

 

If this episode hit close to home, don’t rush to change anything.

Just notice where alcohol has been doing the job of belonging for you.

That awareness alone changes more than most people realise.

 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #Alcohol, #Belonging, #SocialDrinking, #AlcoholAndConnection, #Tribe, #SelfLedLife, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol

Why the ‘Relief’ You Crave After Work Is Lying to You

Why the ‘Relief’ You Crave After Work Is Lying to You

That sense of relief you crave at the end of the day isn’t random — and it isn’t a personal weakness.

For many people, alcohol has quietly become the ritual that marks the transition from effort to rest, from work to home, from endurance to relief. Not because it works — but because it’s familiar.

In this episode, we look at the moment relief enters the conversation, why it shows up so reliably after long days, and how unexamined rituals can end up costing more than they give back.

This isn’t about willpower or stopping anything.

It’s about understanding what your nervous system is actually asking for — and learning how to meet that need without borrowing relief from tomorrow.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why the urge for “relief” often appears right after work finishes
• How alcohol became the default transition ritual between work and home
• The difference between relief that restores you and relief that just numbs
• Why removing a drink without changing the ritual leaves people feeling bored
• How to recognise the exact moment relief starts negotiating with you
• A simple question that helps you choose integrity over autopilot

#TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #AlcoholAwareness, #BehaviourChange, #Habits, #NervousSystem, #EndOfDay, #WorkToHome, #ReliefSeeking, #SelfLeadership