It's Not About the Alcohol

• EP300 Healing burnout: Small steps that cause big change with Cait Donovan

  I recently hit a wall. Not the kind where you're tired—the kind where you wake up and genuinely don't care anymore. About your business. About your goals. About any of it. And here's what scared me: I saw it coming. I knew I was running on fumes. I just didn't stop. In this conversation, burnout expert Cait Donovan helps me understand why. And it's not what I expected. It's not about workload or boundaries or self-care Sundays. It's about shame. It's about not believing you deserve to have needs in the first place. And it's about rebuilding trust with your own body—starting with something as basic as peeing when you need to pee. In this episode, we cover: → Why shame is the first barrier to meeting your own needs (before finances, before time, before anything else) → Strategic disappointment: how to practice letting people down in small, safe ways so your nervous system learns you won't die → The difference between hyperindependence and strength—and why asking for help feels impossible → How foundational self-care builds emotional intelligence automatically → Why we mistake alignment with that feeling of having "a firecracker up my ass" and what alignment actually feels like (spoiler: it's a settling, not an urgency) This episode is for you if: You're exhausted but can't seem to stop You've ignored your body's signals for so long you don't know what they are anymore You feel guilty resting, asking for help, or disappointing people You've tried to "fix" your burnout by changing external circumstances and it didn't work You suspect the problem isn't your schedule—it's something deeper If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.  Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript  

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• EP299 Minisode: Why hasn't my drinking changed?

  In this episode, Colleen unpacks one of the most common and misunderstood experiences women face in this work: the moment you look up, take inventory, and think, "My drinking hasn't changed." Instead of treating that as evidence of failure, she reframes it as a signal from your nervous system, a window into your thinking habits, and an invitation to expand your internal capacity. She breaks down why consistency with alcohol doesn't shift just because you're "doing the work," how perfectionism and overwhelm hijack your perception of progress, and why your drinking is an output of deeper emotional patterns—not the root problem to be fixed. From there, she offers a clear five-question framework that helps you reclaim agency, rebuild momentum, and reconnect to your power without relying on willpower, shame, or urgency.   🔑 Key Takeaways • Why "my drinking hasn't changed" is a nervous-system cue, not a character flaw • How setbacks function as essential data points in emotional sobriety • The three nervous-system states and how they influence your drinking decisions • Why you can't think your way out of overwhelm… and what to do instead • A 5-question coaching process to uncover your real blocks and build momentum • How to define your ideal drinking pattern in a way that feels empowering, not punitive • Why progress is built through iteration, capacity, and compassion—not perfection This will remind you that your drinking doesn't change when you finally "get it right." It changes when you expand your capacity, shift your thinking habits, and learn to make decisions from the calm, grounded version of you who knows exactly what she wants.   If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript  

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• EP298 Minisode: The importance of completing the stress response

  In this episode, Colleen shares a simple moment from her morning — a single unexpected email — that shows exactly how the nervous system can hijack your day before you even know what happened. What could've turned into urgency, frustration, and spiraling worst-case scenarios instead became a real-time example of emotional sobriety: noticing the startle, interrupting the stress response, and choosing from capacity instead of panic. She breaks down the subtle physiological chain reaction that happens long before overwhelm hits — the jolt, the mental spin, the internal "wall," the freeze — and shows how quickly your brain starts catastrophizing when your capacity is low. Colleen also explains why even tiny stressors feel massive when you're depleted, and how honoring your body's limits (instead of bulldozing through them) changes everything about how you show up. 🔑 Key Takeaways • The five stages of the trauma response and how to spot them as they unfold • Why capacity changes daily — and why ignoring that reality leads straight to overwhelm • How your brain hijacks your perspective when you're tired, stressed, or depleted • Why completing the stress response is non-negotiable if you want to stay effective • How to shift from "fix it now" urgency to grounded, strategic problem-solving • A simple litmus test to know whether something expands your capacity or drains it • How emotional sobriety turns small moments into opportunities to build resilience This is a reminder that your power isn't in outrunning stress — it's in noticing it sooner, responding with compassion, and restoring your capacity before you take action. That is what makes you truly unstoppable. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript

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• EP297 What human design reveals about your chronic symptoms with Hope Pedraza

  As middle aged women, we all know what it's like to be exhausted. Not the kind of exhausted where you need a nap—the kind where you've been running on fumes for so long you forgot what actual energy feels like. You're already doing everything you can to eat well, exercise, get better sleep and cut back on the wine. You've probably got rows of supplements lined up on your counter like little soldiers. You do lots of research and see  holistic practitioners because your health is important to you. And it's not so much that something is wrong–it's that something isn't right. Here's what you're missing: you can't expect your symptoms to improve if you haven't corrected the root cause–which is energetic. It's the patriarchal programming that makes you feel like your self-worth is tied to your productivity. It's the part of you that doesn't know how to relax because relaxing literally doesn't feel safe. My guest today is Hope Pedraza. She's a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner who uses human design as a diagnostic tool—and before you roll your eyes, stay with me. She combines the labs, the data, the science, with your energetic blueprint to show you exactly where the disconnect is. How you're designed to operate versus how you're actually living.  In this episode, you'll learn: → What human design actually is (and the science behind it—yes, there's science) → The connection between your energy centers and specific organs—and how emotional patterns literally show up on your labs → Why it's physiologically impossible to change your habits when you're in survival mode → The two-step process to start repatterning your operating system   If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Connect with Hope Pedraza: Podcast: Hopeful and Wholesome Website: hopefulandwholesome.com Instagram: @thehopepedraza Transcript  

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• EP296 Minisode: Embracing Overwhelm

  In this episode, Colleen pulls the curtain back on overwhelm and names it for what it really is: a trauma response living in your nervous system, not a personal failing or lack of willpower. She walks through the five stages your body moves through when the demands on you exceed your capacity, and why trying to "push through" that wall only drives you deeper into shutdown. Instead of treating overwhelm as something to beat, Colleen shows you how to use it as a litmus test that tells you exactly when to stop, step back, and tend to your nervous system first. You'll learn a simple five-minute reset practice you can use anytime you feel yourself hit the wall, so you can move forward from compassion instead of self-criticism.   🔑 Key Takeaways Overwhelm isn't weakness or drama; it's a physiological trauma response in your nervous system The five stages of the body's trauma response: startle, stress activation, hitting the wall, freeze, and shutdown Why trying to "power through" overwhelm keeps you stuck and deepens shame, anxiety, and self-doubt How chronic internal narratives (people pleasing, perfectionism, fear, guilt) quietly drain your capacity long before the "last straw" A simple litmus test and five-minute pause practice to respond to overwhelm with compassion instead of pressure If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript

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