My Story with Alcohol
My story with alcohol is a bit complicated, and I honestly wasn’t sure whether I was going to share this publicly.
But women are drinking more than ever before, and if this episode helps even one person to change, shift or clarify their relationship with alcohol in a positive way, no matter what that looks like, then it’s worth it.
Like many with similar stories, I began drinking underage in my mid-teens at parties.
I would do/say/become someone else when I drank, and it wasn’t always a version of myself that I liked.
Sometimes I felt like it made me more fun, extroverted, hilarious (at least in my own mind). Other times I would become moody, angry and depressed.
It took me years to have major breakthroughs with becoming observant to the effect alcohol was having, not just on my body but on my life in general, and today I’m opening up.
In this very personal episode, I’m sharing:
- One of the situations I got into with alcohol that scared me enough to start to reconsider how much I was drinking
- How alcohol was the basis for friendships, as well as the wedge that drove many of my friendships apart
- The effects of alcohol on athletic performance, fat loss and muscle gain
- How I used the amount of alcohol I could physically drink as some sort of bizarre badge of honour
- The single factor in my life that drastically shifted my perspective and decreased my consumption over 8 years ago
- My own set of personal rules that I’ve implemented around alcohol and what drinking looks like for me today.
Another issue discussed is peer pressure, because contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t go away after high school. People will regularly insert themselves into your experience in the world and want you to conform for their own various personal reasons, potentially to make them feel more comfortable about their own drinking. You have to find ways to be comfortable with your own choices and be prepared for others not to be.
If the peer pressure makes you uncomfortable, I can tell you as someone who bartended for many years that quietly asking your bartender or server to bring you a non-alcoholic beverage without letting anyone in your party in on the secret is a very common request, and no one else is going to notice.
There are a few questions that I want you to ask yourself about alcohol.
- Notice how alcohol makes you feel physically, emotionally, mentally and otherwise.
- Are you drinking to achieve a particular feeling? If so, why?
- How do certain types of alcohol make you feel or behave?
- Do you like yourself when you drink?
- If you feel as though you like yourself more when you drink as opposed to when you’re sober, why is that? Who do you need to become to embody who you want to be in your everyday life without alcohol?
Bear in mind that your own personal body chemistry, preferences, lifestyle and choices are going to influence how alcohol affects you, so it’s up to you to pay attention to what’s working and what isn’t.
I’d love it if you would share a screenshot of this episode on Instagram, or pop into the Room to Grow Podcast Facebook group to share your thoughts and how you feel about your own relationship with alcohol today.
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REFERENCES
Ravine Vineyard Estate Winery in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario
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DON’T MISS…
Want to chat more and do a deeper dive into this topic and get access to live videos, exclusive guest appearances and discussions? The Room to Grow Podcast Facebook group is a judgement-free safe space to open up, and I’d love to welcome you in with the other amazing women in the group. It’s the best place to go for a little extra support. See you over there!
You can also email me at [email protected], or DM me over on Instagram @emilygoughcoach with any questions, comments, or takeaways! Plus, I would absolutely love to connect with you and thank you for listening in real life. It makes me day to see you listening to the podcast and fills me up with pure joy. Seriously. See you on the ‘gram!
Questions? Comments? If Instagram and Facebook aren’t your jam, send me a good old fashioned email! [email protected]
