Advertise on podcast: How to Drink Less

Ever found yourself thinking, “Why can't I drink like normal people?” Why can other people have one glass of wine and stop? Why do they seem to be able to take it or leave it, while you spend so much time thinking about drinking? But here's a question worth asking: What does “normal drinking” actually mean? In this Listener Q&A episode of How to Drink Less, you'll learn: why comparing yourself to others can be misleading;why drinking less isn't necessarily the same as having a healthier relationship with alcohol;what it really means to have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward alcohol;why you have to practice leaving it if you want alcohol to become less important in your life.If you've ever felt frustrated that other people seem to drink effortlessly while you're constantly negotiating with yourself, this episode will help you stop comparing yourself, understand what's keeping alcohol so important, and start changing your relationship with it. 👉 FREE CLASS ON ZOOM: "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol"! Save your seat here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Have you ever set rules about your drinking—only to find yourself constantly thinking about when you're allowed to drink again? Setting limits might help you control your drinking. But following the rules doesn't necessarily mean you're changing your relationship with alcohol. You could stick to your rules perfectly and still feel deprived, obsess about drinking, or rely on willpower to get through the evening. In this episode, you'll learn: why following drinking rules doesn't necessarily mean you're making real progress;why focusing on numbers can stop you from paying attention to what you actually want.why rules can turn drinking into a pass-or-fail test—and how that gets in the way of change;how to use rules and tracking to build awareness instead of shame.If you're tired of constantly negotiating with yourself about how much you're allowed to drink, this episode will help you move beyond counting drinks and start changing the habits that drive your drinking in the first place. ===  👉 Come to my FREE CLASS "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol" if you want to actually change your desire for alcohol so you don't have to rely on willpower to stay away from it. Sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Have you ever wanted a drink so badly that it felt like something you needed—and saying no felt like depriving yourself? Here’s the thing: Wanting something and needing something are not the same thing. And learning to tell the difference can change the way you experience cravings. In this episode, you’ll learn: why a strong desire for alcohol can feel like a need;how the language of “deprivation” makes saying no harder;why you don’t have to stop wanting a drink in order to choose not to have one;how to recognize the other things you want in that moment;one simple reframe to use the next time you think, I need a drink.You already have wants that go unmet every single day. Wanting a drink doesn’t have to be any different. *** Come to my FREE class "HOW TO STOP WANTING ALCOHOL" if you want help reducing your desire! Sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/    ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Have you ever poured yourself a drink, taken a few sips, and realized: I don’t even like this. So why am I still drinking it? It can be confusing to keep reaching for alcohol when you don’t particularly like the taste—or maybe don’t even enjoy how drinking makes you feel anymore. In this Listener Q&A episode, you’ll learn:  why drinking can become an automatic, conditioned response;  how rituals keep you reaching for a drink even when you’re not enjoying it;  why alcohol may represent something you want, like relaxation or connection;  how to figure out what’s actually driving you to drink;  one simple way to start interrupting the pattern. If you’ve ever wondered why you keep drinking something you don’t even particularly enjoy, this episode will help you understand what’s really driving the behavior—and what to do differently. =========  🎉 Come to my FREE Zoom class: "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol": https://acloudcoaching.as.me/   ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Have you ever noticed that when you really want a drink, your brain shows you the best 30 seconds of the experience and conveniently leaves out everything that comes next?  You picture the first sip, the relaxation, the buzz. But you don’t picture the second or third drink, the 3 a.m. wake-up, the foggy morning, or the disappointment and regret you might feel the next day. In this episode, you’ll learn: why cravings tend to focus on the immediate reward of drinking while editing out what happens afterward; how to tell yourself the whole story instead of making a decision based on the highlight reel; the difference between liking part of drinking and liking the whole experience a simple question that can change the way you think about a drink.If you keep thinking, "But I like drinking," this episode will help you look beyond the first sip and decide whether you actually want the whole package that comes with it. =======  Sign up for my FREE CLASS “How to Stop Wanting Alcohol”: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Do you keep promising yourself you won’t drink tonight—only to change your mind when 5 p.m. rolls around? The problem may not be your willpower. The problem is that “I’m not going to drink tonight” is an intention, not a plan. If the situations that usually derail you are predictable, you can prepare for them before they happen. In this episode, you’ll learn: how to identify the specific situations that are most likely to make you change your mind about drinking;how to anticipate the predictable excuses your brain will offer when temptation hits;why having one simple first move can interrupt the automatic sequence that leads to drinking;how to choose one thought you want to remember when your brain is focused on immediate relief. If you keep making plans not to drink and then abandoning them when the craving shows up, this episode will help you prepare for the moment you’re most likely to change your mind—before you’re in it. ===  Want more help to build a better relationship with alcohol? Come to my free class "HOW TO STOP WANTING ALCOHOL." Save your spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

If you’ve ever reached for a drink when you're stressed or sad or frustrated because you just wanted to feel better, this episode is for you. Because sometimes the thing that makes you feel better right now is the exact opposite of what will help you get better in the long run. Alcohol offers fast relief from anxiety, boredom, loneliness, and other uncomfortable feelings. But if you want to feel genuinely in control around alcohol, you also need opportunities to practice handling those moments without drinking. In this episode, you’ll learn: the difference between temporary relief and building your capacity to handle discomfort; why alcohol can make you feel better without helping you get better; how repeatedly escaping discomfort can reinforce the belief that you need alcohol to cope; why getting better can sometimes feel harder before it feels easier;  how delayed gratification helps you build self-trust and feel more in control around alcohol; a simple question to ask when you want a drink: “Do I want to feel better right now, or do I want to get better at handling this?”If you keep reaching for alcohol when you're craving relief, this episode will help you practice choosing what you want in the long term—even when your brain is asking for the quick comfort right now.  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

What if telling yourself “I can’t drink” is actually making alcohol more desirable? When alcohol feels forbidden, not drinking can start to feel like deprivation. But the truth is, you can drink. The more useful question is whether you actually want everything that comes with that choice. In this episode, you’ll learn:  why “I can’t drink” can make you feel restricted and deprived;  how to shift from “I can’t drink” to “I can drink, but I’m choosing not to”; how to stop focusing on the first glass and consider the whole experience of drinking;  the simple question that can help you make more intentional decisions around alcohol. If you’ve ever felt deprived when you don’t drink, wished you could drink like everyone else, or found yourself thinking, “I wish I could have another one,” this episode will help you shift out of restriction and start making decisions about alcohol from a place of choice. ***  Want more help to build a better relationship with alcohol? Come to my free class "HOW TO STOP WANTING ALCOHOL." Grab your free spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Every time you drink, you're practicing something. Drink after a stressful day—you're practicing using alcohol to escape stress. Drink because everyone else is drinking—you're practicing letting the group influence your decision. Drink whenever you're bored, anxious, or celebrating—you're reinforcing the association between those experiences and alcohol.  But here's the good news: Every time you choose not to drink, you're practicing something too. In this episode, I offer you one simple question that can completely change the way you think about both your drinking nights and your sober ones. You'll learn:  how repetition turns drinking patterns into automatic habits;  what you're actually practicing when you reach for alcohol in response to stress, boredom, FOMO, or uncomfortable emotions;  why a sober evening isn't simply an absence of drinking—it's practice for a new way of responding;  one question to ask yourself the next time you're deciding whether to drink. Every repetition gives your brain new evidence about what you're capable of. And if you want not drinking to eventually feel easy, you have to give yourself opportunities to practice it while it still feels hard.  If you keep finding yourself repeating the same drinking patterns even though you genuinely want to change them, this episode will help you understand why—and show you how every small choice can become practice for doing something different. 🎓 Want help getting better at not drinking? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you three skills to help you feel in control around alcohol and stop constantly negotiating with yourself about when and how much to drink.  Grab your spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Are you trying not to drink tonight? Don't make it harder by worrying about whether you'll drink at Christmas, on your next vacation, or for the rest of your life. Your only job right now is to figure out tonight.  In this practical episode, I walk you through a simple plan for getting from the end of the workday to bedtime without drinking—without white-knuckling your way through the evening or getting sucked into an exhausting debate with yourself. You'll learn:  why thinking too far into the future can make staying sober tonight feel overwhelming;  how to plan your evening instead of simply hoping you'll resist temptation;  why you should anticipate your craving before it arrives;  how to handle wanting alcohol without fighting the desire or giving in to it;  and how thinking about tomorrow morning can help you make a different choice tonight. You don't need to decide whether you're quitting forever. You don't even need to feel confident that you can do this long term. You just need a plan for tonight. Try it as an experiment. See what comes up. And when you wake up tomorrow morning with one alcohol-free night under your belt, you'll have something you didn't have yesterday: evidence that you can do it. 🎓 Want to go beyond getting through tonight and actually stop wanting alcohol? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol.  I'll explain why cravings happen, why willpower doesn't work, and what actually helps you stop relying on alcohol.  Sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

What if the craving you're feeling isn't actually for alcohol? In this episode, I challenge one of the biggest assumptions we make about drinking: that when we think "I need a drink," what we really want is alcohol.  That's not really true. Alcohol is simply the strategy your brain has learned to use to get something else—relaxation, confidence, connection, relief, belonging, or a break from the noise in your head. Once you understand what you actually need, you stop fighting the drink and start solving the real problem. In this episode, you'll learn: why alcohol is always a means to an end;how to uncover the deeper need hiding underneath your craving;why your brain keeps offering alcohol as the solution (and why that's completely normal);how to start finding other routes to relaxation, confidence, connection, and comfort;and one simple question that can completely change the way you respond to cravings.This episode will help you pause, get curious, and discover what you really need next time your brain says "I need a drink." 🎓 Want to stop wanting alcohol instead of constantly trying to resist it? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you how to change the way your brain thinks about alcohol so that drinking stops feeling like the only answer. The class is completely free, and you can sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Have you ever promised yourself you'd only have one drink... and then found yourself pouring a second, a third, or finishing the whole bottle? You're not alone. In this episode, I explain why stopping at one drink is so much harder than it seems—and why it has far less to do with willpower than you might think. We'll explore what alcohol does to your brain after the first drink, why one drink  creates the desire for another, and why it's often easier to have no drinks at all than to stop after one. In this episode, you'll learn:  why your brain makes different decisions before and after the first drink;  how alcohol shifts your attention from long-term goals to immediate rewards;  why some people can stop at one while others struggle;  and why the most important decision happens before the first drink, not after it. If you've ever wondered, "Why can I never stop at one?" this episode will help you understand what's really happening inside your brain—and that awareness will help you make more intentional choices. ----  Come to my free class "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol": https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Do you ever feel like you're relying on sheer willpower to get through the evening without drinking? What if the problem isn't that you need more self-control... but that you're making the decision much harder than it needs to be? In this episode, I share simple, practical ways to change your environment so that saying no to alcohol becomes the easier choice. Because successful habit change isn't about constantly resisting temptation—it's about stacking the odds in your favor. In this episode, you'll learn:  why your environment has a bigger influence on your drinking than you realise;  how tiny changes can reduce cravings and interrupt autopilot;  simple strategies like changing your route home, creating a new after-work ritual, and making alcohol-free alternatives easier to reach;  why making sobriety easier isn't cheating—it's smart habit change. If you've ever wondered why your resolve seems to disappear at 5 p.m., this episode will help you understand what's really happening—and give you practical tools you can start using today. 🎓 Want to stop relying on willpower altogether?  Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you the three-step process I use with my coaching clients to eliminate the desire for alcohol. Save your FREE spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Are nonalcoholic drinks keeping you hooked, or can they actually help you stay sober? In this episode, I answer one of the questions I get asked constantly: Are non-alcoholic drinks okay to rely on or are they just perpetuating the dependence?  I break down why I think they're one of the most useful tools available to you, how to choose what to drink, and the thing worth watching for as you look for replacements for your old alcoholic favorites. You'll learn: why so much of drinking was never really about the alcohol, but the ritual around it;the real math behind trace alcohol (and why a 0.5% beer isn't likely to get you drunk);why some people find certain non-alcoholic drinks triggering, and what to reach for instead;how to stop chasing the "perfect replacement" and start asking what you're actually looking for;the one pattern to stay curious about, so a helpful tool doesn't quietly develop into a new dependence.If you've been avoiding nonalcoholic drinks because you were worried that would be cheating at sobriety, this episode will put that worry to rest. ***  Join my free class "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol" to learn how to rewire your brain so it stops craving alcohol in the first place: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Do you wake up determined not to drink... only to reach 6 p.m. and think, "I'll just have a drink tonight, but I definitely won't drink tomorrow"? If that cycle feels painfully familiar, this episode is for you. Today I'm answering a listener question about one of the biggest lies our brains tell us when we're trying to change our drinking: that tomorrow will somehow be easier. In this episode, we'll explore:  why "tomorrow" is such a tempting promise;  the hidden beliefs underneath "I'll start tomorrow";  how to flip the script and take the pressure off tonight's decision;  and why every choice you make is teaching your brain what to expect tomorrow. If you're tired of promising yourself tomorrow you'll be different, this episode will help you understand what's really happening—and how to finally break the cycle. 🎓 Want to learn how not just to quit drinking but how to stop craving alcohol? Join my free class, Never Want Alcohol Again: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/   ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: [email protected] Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_