The Truth About Alcohol (Why Quitting Feels So Hard)

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

Why Finishing Work Makes You Want to Drink (Even When the Day Was Fine)

There’s a moment most people miss.

You finish work.

Nothing bad has happened.

The day wasn’t stressful.

And yet… something feels off.

This episode explores the uneasy gap between stopping one role and entering the next — whether that’s stepping out of the car, closing a laptop in the spare room, or standing in the kitchen wondering what to do with yourself.

For many people, this is the moment alcohol quietly enters the picture — not because they “need a drink”, but because their nervous system is searching for safety, certainty, or relief.

In this episode, I explain why that transition can feel so uncomfortable, why willpower isn’t the issue, and how this moment becomes one of the most predictable pressure points in alcohol reliance.

This is not about stopping yourself.

It’s about understanding what’s actually happening before the urge appears.

What this episode covers

• Why the work-to-home transition is one of the most overlooked triggers for drinking

• How unfinished stress carries forward even when you think the day is “done”

• Why working from home can make this moment harder, not easier

• The difference between external pressure and internal nervous-system discomfort

• How alcohol becomes a shortcut to safety, not pleasure

• What to do in the moment instead of reacting on autopilot

If this moment feels familiar, don’t fix it — notice it.

I’d love you to reflect on this one question and reply by email, DM, or message:

What time of day does this transition usually happen for you — and where are you when you feel it?

That awareness alone is where change starts.

PS: If this episode speaks directly to you, you’ll find more grounded support and practical tools at STRIVE.

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #AlcoholAwareness, #WorkToHome, #NervousSystem, #AlcoholReliance, #BehaviourChange, #SelfLedLife

When Drinking Doesn’t Quite Add Up

When Drinking Doesn’t Quite Add Up

This episode is a short pause.

It’s for people who don’t think they drink “that much” — but still find themselves thinking about alcohol more than they expect to.

Nothing dramatic has happened.

No rock bottom.

No clear line crossed.

And yet, something about drinking doesn’t feel as neutral as it’s supposed to.

In this episode, we name that quiet confusion.

The mental bargaining.

The comparison with others.

The sense that stopping feels harder than it should — even when life looks fine from the outside.

There’s no advice here.

No plan.

No pressure to change anything.

Just space to recognise what’s been difficult to explain — and to realise you’re not the only one who feels this way.

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail

Most New Year’s resolutions don’t fail because you’re weak, lazy, or lack willpower.

They fail because they’re built on the wrong level of choice.

 

In this end-of-year monologue, I challenge the entire idea of waiting for January to change your life. Calendars don’t create transformation. Identity does.

 

Inspired by Sam Harris and grounded in the STRIVE Method, this episode breaks down why resolutions collapse under pressure—and what actually creates lasting change when it comes to alcohol, health, habits, and self-leadership.

 

If you’ve ever promised yourself “this year will be different” and ended up back in the same patterns, this episode will help you see why—and what to do instead.

 

Key moments in this episode:

• Why most New Year’s resolutions sit at the wrong level of choice

• The difference between secondary choices, primary choices, and the fundamental choice

• Why willpower collapses without a sovereign anchor

• How identity and SELF-leadership remove negotiation with alcohol

• Why any day—not January 1st—is a real beginning

 

This episode is for anyone who wants to stop outsourcing authority over their life—to alcohol, habits, or old conditioning—and start living from SELF instead of force.

 

If this lands, subscribe to the 1000 Days Sober Podcast, leave a rating, and share this episode with one person who keeps saying “next year.”

 

Much love & STRIVE on!

Lee

 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #STRIVEMethod, #AFAF, #SelfLedLife, #AlcoholFreeLife, #FundamentalChoice, #NewYearsResolution, #PersonalLeadership, #IdentityBasedChange

How to Calm the Nervous System When Alcohol Is Calling

How to Calm the Nervous System When Alcohol Is Calling

 

When alcohol calls, it rarely announces itself as a craving.

It shows up as stress. Restlessness. A tight, buzzing body that wants relief now.

 

In this episode, I’m joined by Danica Eakman — a sound bath practitioner and reiki master who trained under one of the pioneers of sound healing — to explore something most people overlook when trying to change their relationship with alcohol: the nervous system.

 

This isn’t a soft, abstract conversation about vibes or spirituality.

It’s a grounded, practical discussion about why willpower collapses when the body feels unsafe — and why learning to regulate your nervous system may matter more than trying to think your way out of drinking.

 

We talk about sound baths not as a luxury experience, but as a training ground for stillness. A place to practise safety, presence, and “the pause” — especially for people who live at full speed and use alcohol as a way to switch off.

 

If you’ve ever understood what to do intellectually, yet still found yourself reaching for a drink, this episode will land.

 

Key moments from the episode:

• Why alcohol isn’t the real problem, but a solution to unprocessed pain — and how that reframes alcohol-reliance

• How sound and vibration calm the nervous system and create a genuine pause between trigger and action

• Why willpower fails when the body feels unsafe, no matter how strong your intentions are

• How to practise “the pause” in real time when stress, anxiety, or urges spike

• Why embodied practices can help people who live at 100 miles an hour learn how to feel safe without escape

 

This episode is for anyone who’s tired of fighting themselves — and ready to learn how to feel safe without reaching for alcohol.

 

👉 If this episode resonated, subscribe to the 1000 Days Sober Podcast and leave a rating — it helps more people find these conversations.

👉 You can also find Danica on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/liora.kirkland/

 

Much Love & STRIVE On!

Lee

 

#1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #STRIVEMethod, #AFAF, #AlcoholAwareness, #NervousSystemRegulation, #SoundHealing, #Embodiment, #AlcoholFreeLife, #SelfLeadership