It's Not About the Alcohol

✦ February Bonus ✦
Join The Next Chapter by February 28, 2026 and receive $2,000 off. 

In this episode, Colleen reframes one of the biggest misunderstandings about drinking: it's not one behavior — it's a collection of hundreds of habits shaped by context, environment, relationships, and emotional states.
Many women believe their drinking defines who they are because they identify with their worst moments. But emotional sobriety requires a more nuanced understanding. The way you drink when you're alone may be completely different from how you drink socially, with family, or during high-stimulation environments — and each context activates different neural pathways, roles, and protective patterns.
Colleen shares a personal example from a recent holiday gathering where old habits resurfaced despite years of progress. Instead of interpreting it as failure, she approached it as data — an opportunity to reconnect with a younger protective part of herself and practice intentional, mindful drinking strategies.
 
🔑 Key Takeaways
Why drinking is not one habit, but hundreds of context-driven behaviors



How identifying with your worst drinking moments keeps you stuck



Why old neural pathways don't disappear — they reactivate in familiar environments



The difference between mindful drinking and autopilot drinking



How roles and code-switching influence alcohol use around specific people



Why positive goals ("drink mindfully") work better than avoidance goals ("don't overdo it")

 
Click here to Book A Discovery Call. Enroll before February 28, 2026 and receive $2,000 off! Calls book up fast. Don't miss your chance! 
 
Find me on:
YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer
TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer
Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer 
X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

You think your cravings are a willpower problem. They're not. You think if you could just think differently, you'd drink differently. And that's exactly why nothing has worked.
In this episode, I'm breaking down why the urge to drink starts in your body — not your brain — and giving you three red flags that your drinking is actually a symptom of something most high-achieving women refuse to look at.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The litmus test that reveals whether you can actually "take it or leave it" (be honest with yourself on this one)

Why saying you're "not an emotional person" is the most dangerous thing you can believe about yourself

Three everyday behaviors that are quietly dysregulating your nervous system — and setting you up to overdrink by evening

The science of why you can't stop at two (it's called the biphasic line, and once you understand it, everything clicks)

Why you wake up at 3am full of self-loathing — and why that voice isn't really you

What's actually happening in your body between 6am and 6pm that makes evening-you a completely different person than morning-you

Why "trying harder" is aimed at the wrong part of your brain

 
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

In this episode, Colleen continues sharing takeaways from her retreat with Dr. Amanda Hanson (midlifemuse) — and she names something that sits underneath so much of women's drinking, overgiving, perfectionism, and burnout: conditioning.
Not just childhood conditioning — cultural conditioning.
Colleen explains how patriarchy functions like an invisible rulebook: the expectations women follow without ever agreeing to them. Be good. Be pleasant. Be grateful. Don't be angry. Don't be too much. Don't embarrass anyone. Don't need too much. Don't take up space. Don't make people uncomfortable.
And over time, those rules don't just shape behavior — they create trauma. They train women to silence their truth, distrust their instincts, and prioritize everyone else's emotional experience over their own. And when a woman is disconnected from her needs, her voice, and her power, escapism becomes inevitable.
That's why Colleen connects this conversation directly to emotional sobriety: freedom isn't just about alcohol. It's about ending self-abandonment, taking radical ownership of your emotional life, and becoming the kind of woman who can handle discomfort without shrinking, pleasing, or numbing.
🔑 Key Takeaways
How culture trains women to abandon themselves to stay safe



Why patriarchy is a trauma system, not a debate topic



How women unconsciously enforce the rules by judging other women



Why "going along to get along" is survival, not character



How escapism becomes the nervous system's only outlet



Why emotional sobriety requires self-trust more than self-control



The reframe: not "tear it down," but rise into power



This is a reminder that you're not here to become a "better woman."
You're here to become a Free woman.
You don't need to be "ready." You just need to be honest with yourself about where you are. Start With A Discovery Call ~ CLICK HERE. 
 
Find me on:
YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer
TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer
Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer 
X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

You told yourself this morning you weren't going to drink tonight. But now that it's time to make that decision, it feels impossible to say no. That moment is exactly what Colleen breaks down in this episode — because the path forward requires you to understand that this is not a lack of discipline and it's not a willpower problem. The relief you feel when you take that first sip has nothing to do with alcohol. It's about what's been happening inside your body all day long — the dumpster fire of stress and anxiety that has chronically become your state of normal. In this episode, Colleen teaches you the foundational skill that changes the way you move through your entire day, so that by evening, instead of telling yourself no, you're telling yourself yes — and there are a lot more options on the menu than just drinking.
In This Episode:
The two versions of you: regulated vs. dysregulated, and why you're a completely different decision-maker in each state

Why your body isn't craving alcohol — it's craving relief

The difference between skills and strategies, and why strategies fail without this foundational skill

Practical strategies that work when you're regulated: Delay Don't Deny, mental rehearsal, talking to your tomorrow self, and extracting the lesson instead of spiraling in shame

The RISE framework: Recognize, Integrate, Strategize, Embody

What it takes to become the version of you who can take or leave alcohol

 
You don't need to be "ready." You just need to be honest with yourself about where you are. Start with a Discovery Call. CLICK HERE.
Uncover just how supportive a community of women can be when we are all co-creating positive change with intention and clarity.
 
Find me on:
YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer
TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer
Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer 
X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

Do you want to know what's different about the women who can genuinely take or leave alcohol? And why it feels impossible for you to be "more like them?"
In this episode, I'm giving you a sneak peak of my new masterclass: The science behind take it or leave it--why some women can and how you can too.
The masterclass isn't even on my website yet--you'll watch it right on YouTube. 
Click Here to WATCH The Masterclass
Also, I'm running a Love Yourself campaign in honor of Valentine's Day.
If you book a call and decide to join The Next Chapter, you'll get $2,000 off !
Click Here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL
The call is how you lock in the discount — and it's a real conversation, not a sales pitch. Even if you just have questions, book it. That's what it's for.