1000 Days Sober Podcast

The Shocking Truth About Life: We Are Going to Die And We Don’t Know When...

... So Develop a Sense of Urgency And Stop Drinking Alcohol Now In the BBC documentary, Drinkers Like Me, the British TV and radio presenter, Adrian Chiles, discovers that his consumption of alcohol is physically damaging his liver after undergoing a scan. If you watch the documentary, you will see that Chiles is wracked with cognitive dissonance over his decision to continually drink more than the government health guidelines. Did the trip to the doctors help him stop drinking? No. He still drinks, today. I remember the first time I told my son that one day he would die. To say it was a lot to take in is an understatement. I believe from that moment his subconscious buried any thought of death, because, emotionally, it’s too painful. We become immortal. I will spend most of the day sitting on my arse, writing. Last night, I slept less than six hours. I have not come out of the house prepared, so I may eat something that’s not optimal for my health. I skipped my meditation so I could get to work quicker. All of these choices are negative towards my health, and accumulatively they become a problem over time, but it’s not enough to change my behaviour. If a doctor told me tomorrow that I would die if I didn’t run two miles a day for the rest of my life, then two miles I would run. Jen Sincero says a sense of urgency is important, and when someone tells you that you’re going to die, then that’s urgency. But why are we waiting? We know we are going to die. Why isn’t that sense of urgency here now? That’s the topic of today’s podcast discussion. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous Join Us & Our Community TTAA Taster: http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster TTAA Intensive: https://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAAIntensive Strive Community: https://strive.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/

Can We Really Trust Our Belief That We Drink Alcohol Because We Like The Taste?

There is a strange looking device in my room. It says to pour the water into ‘here’, and then somehow, the water heats up and drips out of ‘there.’ My choices: Pike Place Roast - A smooth blended Latin American beans with subtly rich flavours of cocoa and toasted nuts. Tazo’s Awake - English Breakfast - A breakfast-style black tea of malty boldness & bright flavour, invigorating any time of day. I choose the tea, not because I believe the narrative of the malty boldness and bright flavour, and I know it’s not going to invigorate me, but I choose it because people like us do things like this. People who grew up on a council estate in Reddish, Stockport in the 1970s/80s drank tea. It began as a yearning. As a child, you weren't trusted to drink tea because it was too hot. When you were, you felt terrific. You filled the cup with plenty of milk, emptied two, maybe three sugars into the cup, and voila. You were an adult. As you got older, you stopped having the sugar and the milk, for the same reasons you took them when you were a child. People like us do things like this. People like us don’t eat sugar because it fucks you up, as does cow’s milk. So you end up drinking black tea. A malty boldness & bright flavour? Don’t make me laugh. So, why am I drinking it? And that’s the topic of today’s podcast. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous Join Us & Our Community TTAA Taster: http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster TTAA Intensive: https://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAAIntensive Strive Community: https://strive.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/

The Evaporating Thought

It’s 7.30 am, a blink ago it was 4.01 am. Walkie-talkies crackle into life. Someone pounds on the breastplate of a beaten door. A can hear a frog leaving a lily pad a mile away. A thought appears. “Don’t they know it’s 7.30 am!” The drilling begins. “Don’t they know it’s 7.30 am!” And. Now. The. Thought. Is. In. My. Head! It's handcuffed to my limbic system; it’s elbow leaning on the valve labelled anger. It pours into my mind. I can’t stop it. It’s on a loop. “Don’t they know it’s 7.30 am!” The noise outside stops. The noise inside doesn’t. And that’s what we talk about in today’s episode. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous Join our community at strive.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/ Join our Taster course at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster Join our Intensive course at www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAAIntensive

Loyal

This one is a poem from Rupi Kaur's collection, 'The Sun And Her Flowers.' "I remained committed long after you were gone I could not lift my eyes to meet eyes with someone else looking felt like betrayal what excuse would I have when you came back and asked where my hands had been." Rupi Kaur - Loyal - The Sun and Her Flowers. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous Join our community at https://strive.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/ Join our Taster course at http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster Join our Intensive course at https://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAAIntensive

How to Not Drink Alcohol And Not Feel Isolated When Out in The Places You Like

“You’re a hack.” It hurt. Not a stabbing knife in the guts hurt; more the gradual suffering of being placed on a baking tray and put into the oven type of pain. I don’t like it when someone doesn’t like me. I want to be loved by everyone. I don’t want them to know that I watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom on my second-hand black and white TV. I don’t want them to know that I used to eat jelly cubes as a dessert. I don’t want to be vanilla. I want to be mint chocolate chip. I want the whole world to make me feel like I have ice cubes running down my spine. I am gravy - get your bread and mop me up. I am Wedgewood - lick me until I am clean. "How do I quit alcohol but not feel isolated from going out to the places I like and hanging out with the people I love?" That’s what I talk about in today’s episode. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous Join Us & Our Community www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk https://strive.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk

Nathan Simpson on Becoming Someone That Doesn't Drink Alcohol

In December, I received the following email from Nathan Simpson. Lee, I just wanted to drop you and email to say thank you for all you do. I found your podcast a little under a year ago when I decided I had to stop drinking alcohol. I had my last drink on the 27th December 2017. I have listened to you religiously ever since. Over the past year my life and health has transformed and it was all a result of me finding you and then finding the Allen Carr Book. The photo attached is me in Amsterdam in November 2017 and of me just this week. Your no nonsense, straight to the point approach really resonates with me. I tell people about your podcast as much as I can. Keep doing what you are doing, I am eternally grateful. The photo that he saved me was remarkable. The transformation, incredible. I asked him to come on the show, and he agreed. It was a poignant moment because the podcast took place on the date of his 365th day without alcohol. Nathan is 34 years old, married with two young children (a boy aged 2 years and a girl aged 10 months). He was born and grew up in Carlisle, Cumbria, UK. Nathan left Carlisle aged 17 to join the Army where he spent the next 14 years living in the South of England. After leaving the Army in 2016 Nathan moved back to Carlisle where he now works as a Field Service Engineer. Nathan's hobbies are running ultra-marathons, hiking, fitness and spending time with my family in the outdoors. Enjoy. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous February Taster If you want to learn how to relax in social situations without drinking alcohol, then you need the February Taster. The Taster is your peek under the skin of the TTAA Philosophy. An opportunity to feel what it’s like to experience one month as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol. You work in a peer group setting with me as your guide. 27-daily coaching videos and assignments. Lots of love. A few kicks up the arse. Registration remains open until January 31st, and here’s how the money side of it works. The cost of the program is £99 (GBP), but you can get as much as 25% off if you sign up early. Sign up before 5th Jan, and the price is £75 Sign up before 12th Jan, and the price is £80 Sign up before 19th Jan, and the price is £85 Sign up before 26th Jan, and the price is £90 http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster

Personality Transplant Part II

My daughter needs a smoothie. My wife asks me to get it. 40-minutes there, and 40-minutes back. Selfie-stick in my hand. A defenceless mobile phone, my fifth limb, shivering without its armour. “I can’t...” Excuses fly from my mouth like moths from horror movie corpses. Me. Mine. Ego. First. Winner. I sat on the bench once. I was nine-years-old; in bits. The coach didn’t pick me. I wasn’t good enough. I needed someone to pick the bits up, stick them in an envelope and post them to me, so I glue them back together again in the safety of my personal, private hell. I don’t want to be this person. Nine doesn’t go into 43. It’s an imperfect fit. Should I accept who I am, quirks and all? Pick up the broom and sweep the imperfections underneath the mouse mat? Hope that nobody steals my tunes and plays them on the radio? I want one of those jackets that the cub scouts wear with pride. Decorate me like a Christmas tree. The only thing I can accept is I need to change. I need a personality transplant. I said it once, and I am about to say it again. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous February Taster If you want to learn how to relax in social situations without drinking alcohol, then you need the February Taster. The Taster is your peek under the skin of the TTAA Philosophy. An opportunity to feel what it’s like to experience one month as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol. You work in a peer group setting with me as your guide. 27-daily coaching videos and assignments. Lots of love. A few kicks up the arse. Registration remains open until January 31st, and here’s how the money side of it works. The cost of the program is £99 (GBP), but you can get as much as 25% off if you sign up early. Sign up before 5th Jan, and the price is £75 Sign up before 12th Jan, and the price is £80 Sign up before 19th Jan, and the price is £85 Sign up before 26th Jan, and the price is £90 http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster

How To Relax In Social Situations

Charlotte asks: “How do you relax in social situations?” Lee Davy answers the question in today’s podcast, covering the following points. - How alcohol creates anxiety, and how that affects your ability to relax. - How becoming someone that doesn’t drink alcohol increases your confidence. - How the addiction creates a bias in our brain leading us to believe our social occasions are more fun than they are. - How to experiment when socialising. - The joy of 6 - 9 pm. - The darkness of 9 pm+ The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous February Taster If you want to learn how to relax in social situations without drinking alcohol, then you need the February Taster. The Taster is your peek under the skin of the TTAA Philosophy. An opportunity to feel what it’s like to experience one month as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol. You work in a peer group setting with me as your guide. 27-daily coaching videos and assignments. Lots of love. A few kicks up the arse. Registration remains open until January 31st, and here’s how the money side of it works. The cost of the program is £99 (GBP), but you can get as much as 25% off if you sign up early. Sign up before 5th Jan, and the price is £75 Sign up before 12th Jan, and the price is £80 Sign up before 19th Jan, and the price is £85 Sign up before 26th Jan, and the price is £90 https://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster

The Revolving Door

“You cannot walk in and out of me like a revolving door I have too many miracles happening inside me to be your convenient option - not your hobby.” Rupi Kaur. February Taster The Taster is your peek under the skin of the TTAA Philosophy. An opportunity to feel what it’s like to experience one month as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol. You work in a peer group setting with me as your guide. 27-daily coaching videos and assignments. Lots of love. A few kicks up the arse. Registration remains open until January 31st, and here’s how the money side of it works. The cost of the program is £99 (GBP), but you can get as much as 25% off if you sign up early. Sign up before 5th Jan, and the price is £75 Sign up before 12th Jan, and the price is £80 Sign up before 19th Jan, and the price is £85 Sign up before 26th Jan, and the price is £90 http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster

Christmas Presence

I would be slightly buzzed. Not enough to need the bucket, but enough to make it difficult to rise from the pit. My boy had barely slept 2-3 hours but was bouncing on his bed like Tigger. Watching him open his presents was always one of my favourite times of the year. The anticipation. The joy. The gratitude. I loved it all. After cleaning away the wrapping, it was off to his grandparents. More presents. More love. More joy. And. Then. The. Clock. Struck. Noon. Off I went with my Dad to the pub, leaving my son and his toys behind, and the women to deal with the dinner. There was something strange about Christmas Day drinking. The alcohol felt more potent. We would stick six pints down our throat before heading home. The dinner soaked up most of the alcohol, but I was never present. I couldn’t drink more during my lunch, so my head began to hurt. Then came the tiredness. My son wanted to play. I needed sleep. After waking up, it was time to go to the pub for my cousins birthday. I couldn’t even tell my son that I would play with him on Boxing Day because that was Yard of Ale day down the Non-Pol. If my boy wanted to play with me, he would have to wait until the 27th, two days after Santa had delivered the goods. This year, as someone that doesn’t drink alcohol, I woke up with a clear head, more excited than my two-year-old daughter. I was entirely present for her, as was my wife. In the afternoon, we went to my sister-in-law’s house. Nobody drank alcohol, we had fun, ate grub, played with our toys, and then all went to watch a movie before coming home and doing it all again. It will be like this forever, because I am someone that doesn’t drink alcohol, and I talk about it during today’s podcast episode Christmas Presence. The Truth About Alcohol We Are Not Alcoholics, and We Refuse to Be Anonymous January Taster Rhonda has just finished the December Taster, and she wanted to share her feedback with you. “The Taster provided me with the opportunity to uncover the reasons I was drinking. With Lee’s guidance and compassion, I’ve learned that alcohol has no place in my life. Allowing myself to be vulnerable here has set me free to become a better version of myself. I’m very grateful to be a part of the Strive community where I’m no longer alone. Thank you so much for opening my eyes!” If you want to become a better version of yourself, then registration for the January Taster remains open until Monday, December 31: http://www.thetruthaboutalcohol.co.uk/p/TTAA%20Taster