It's Not About the Alcohol

If you've been stuck in a job that's slowly draining you—and using wine to cope with the Sunday scaries—this episode is your permission slip to start thinking about what's next. Career coach Michelle Schafer has been through two major career reinventions herself, and she's spent the last decade helping people figure out what they actually want and build a plan to get there. But here's what makes this conversation different: we get into the real stuff. The limiting beliefs that keep you playing small. The shame that makes you hide your job loss from your own family. And the tactical, right-now advice on how to use AI to actually get hired—without getting screened out by the same technology. This episode is for you if: You're languishing in a job that's draining you but feel too stuck to move You've been numbing the career dissatisfaction with wine and wondering if there's another way You're curious about using AI in your job search but don't know where to start You've been applying to jobs and hearing nothing back You need a kick in the ass to stop overthinking and start taking action Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleschafercoaching/  Free offer #1: A free chapter from Michelle's book - sign up here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/cultivatingcareergrowth/  Free offer #2: Download the reflection tool Career Focus Framework here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/gain-clarity-and-confidence-in-your-job-search/  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  

Why do we buy gifts we can't afford for people who don't need them and over-schedule ourselves to the point where we only have the energy to drink and complain about how stressed we are? This episode is dedicated to your inner rebel—the part of you that wants to pour a drink, flip the bird, and Thelma-and-Louise yourself out of the insanity. Because she's not the problem. She's the part of you that knows something is wrong.  I'm also sharing how I've completely reinvented Christmas in my own family over the last 10+ years—no gifts, no stress, no obligation—and what I'm doing this year to create connection and joy.   🔑 Key Takeaways → The "waiting room" social experiment that reveals our true nature → Why the real culprit is your inner rule follower who can't tolerate going against the group → The evolution of my family's approach to Christmas gifts (and why my kids love it) → How to accept a gift without feeling obligated to reciprocate → How to audit your schedule, budget, and obligations—and have the courage to opt out   This episode is for you if: You're stressed and overwhelmed because "tis the season" You're on track to wake up broke and hungover in January You've been numbing your way through the holidays instead of enjoying them You're ready to stop following rules that weren't designed for your happiness Your inner rebel deserves more than another drink   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

Katie Herzog spent 15 years trying everything: AA, therapy, CBT, SMART Recovery, moderation management, swapping booze for weed. Nothing stuck. And in the back of her mind, she always knew she'd start drinking again. It was just a question of when. Then she found the Sinclair Method—a protocol where you take a medication called naltrexone, wait an hour, and drink. It sounds too simple. It sounds like cheating. But is it? Katie's been completely sober for three years. In this conversation, we dig into the science of how naltrexone rewires your brain, why the first three months don't look like much, and why realistic expectations might be the most important factor in whether this works for you. In this episode, we cover: → Katie's 15-year journey through AA, therapy, misdiagnosis, and desperation—and why the idea that abstinence is the only path kept her stuck for years → What the Sinclair Method actually is and how naltrexone blocks the endorphin rush that makes drinking feel good → The difference between "reward drinkers" and "relief drinkers"—and who TSM is best suited for → Why Katie's first attempt with naltrexone failed (and what she did differently the second time) → AND MUCH MUCH MORE. This episode is for you if: You've tried AA or other programs and they didn't stick The idea of "never drinking again" feels impossible You're curious about medication-assisted approaches but don't know where to start You're exhausted by the mental chatter—always thinking about drinking whether you're drinking or not You want to understand ALL the options, not just the abstinence-only path About the book: Drink Your Way Sober: A Science-Based Method to Break Free from Alcohol releases September 30th and is available on Amazon and at independent bookstores. Connect with Katie Herzog: Website: drinkyourwaysober.com Podcast: Blocked and Reported 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.  Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript  

In this episode, Colleen speaks directly to the women who live and die by the checklist, the ones who can run circles around everyone else at work, keep ten plates spinning at home, and still collapse into bed wondering why they feel exhausted, behind, and overwhelmed. If you're a high-achiever who secretly depends on stress chemistry to function, this one is going to land. Colleen breaks down why the "box-checking brain" is so addicted to dopamine, adrenaline, and cortisol… and why that system eventually stops working. You'll hear how even the most capable women fall into the dopamine trap: chasing the almost done feeling, attaching worth to productivity, and burning themselves out while ignoring their actual needs. But instead of asking you to slow down, shrink your life, or pretend to be someone who "can't handle much," she shows you how to work at a higher level. A way of operating that protects your nervous system, restores clarity, and still lets you be a woman who gets things done.   🔑 Key Takeaways • Why high-achieving, Type-A women confuse adrenaline with capability • How the dopamine trap keeps you chasing productivity but never feeling satisfied • The difference between what your brain "wants" and what your body actually needs • Why a new job, new schedule, or new boss won't create lasting relief • The five steps to building an emotionally sober checklist that actually restores capacity • How values-based decisions rewire your motivation from the inside out • Why internal validation is the only sustainable path to feeling accomplished and at peace This episode is a reminder that you don't need to do less to feel better — you need to anchor yourself in who you're becoming. When you shift your checklist from achievement to alignment, you stop chasing worth and start embodying it. 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  

In this episode, Colleen shares a real moment from her life a few weeks ago. The kind of moment everybody encounters but rarely names. On a Thursday flight, she felt calm, grounded, and uninterested in drinking at all. Forty-eight hours later, on the way out of New York, she couldn't wait for the flight attendant to serve her Chardonnay. Nothing "mysterious" happened in between. Her capacity changed. She unpacks how travel, lost work, accumulated stress, and zero real recovery time pushed her from a green-light nervous system into overwhelm — and how quickly old neural pathways stepped in to compensate. This isn't a story about self-control. It's a lesson in how the brain protects you when you've ignored your own needs for too long. You'll hear what drinking too much actually signals, why overwhelm is a physiological state (not a character flaw), and what changes when you stop treating your habits as moral failures and start treating them as data. Colleen also shares how she recalibrated afterward — not with rules, punishment, or vows, but with space, compassion, and a return to her actual needs.   🔑 Key Takeaways • Drinking "too much" is a symptom of depletion, not a sign you're broken • Stress is activating; overwhelm is the shutdown that happens when demands exceed capacity • Old habits reappear when you haven't left space to process emotions or care for yourself • You cannot think your way out of overwhelm — you have to restore capacity first • Nervous-system literacy is more useful than willpower when it comes to changing your drinking • Emotional sobriety isn't about perfection. It's about paying attention early enough to respond, not react   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