Episode 26 | Dry January: Giving Up Alcohol | Guest: Karolina Rzadkowolska, Alcohol-Free Expert & Coach

Let this sink in for a moment: Most of us have no idea what our adult bodies feel like without the effects of alcohol. Even if you only have 1-2 drinks a week, your body is still processing out the alcohol instead of focusing on what it's meant to do: THRIVE. That's what I wanted to do but more and more, even my casual relationship with alcohol felt like it was getting in the way.

Over the past few years, my body hasn't tolerated alcohol nearly as well as it used to, leaving me with awful side effects even after 1-2 "clean" or "low sugar" drinks like a martini or skinny margarita. I'd wake up in the middle of the night pumped full of anxiety and adrenaline, dry-mouthed, replaying the previous nights' innocuous events over and over in my head even though I only had one drink. The next day I'd feel sluggish, slow and gross from lack of sleep, but most of all I'd feel disappointed in myself because I didn't want to drink, BUT I gave in. Again.  

On January 1, 2023, I woke up and something had completely changed in me. I was done drinking alcohol. As in, I did not want one sip. I had HAD IT and didn't want it to occupy space in my brain anymore. So, I completed Dry January without a second thought, but then the pressure came back. I had two drinks with friends in February and it was abundantly clear to me: I don't want to do this or feel this way anymore. So I stopped, but that's where the real journey began. I had fewer than 10 drinks all year but really let loose over the holidays, and I can't tell you how big of a difference I feel... and not in a good way. 

I'm officially back on the no booze train, and I can't wait to see where my alcohol-free life takes me in 2024.

My guest is Karolina Rzadkowolska, an alcohol-free certified coach, speaker, and author of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You. Karolina not only inspired me to give up alcohol, she enlighted me on so many things I thought I knew (but really didn't) about what happens when you give up alcohol. This conversations dives into all of it:

• What really happens to your body when you drink 
• Why alcohol is a 48-hour experience for your body
• Why so many of us "detox just to retox"  
• Why our society is obsessed with alcohol 
• Identifying the real reasons we drink
• Physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual changes that occur when you stop drinking
• Why giving up alcohol can change your relationships
• Limiting beliefs and emotions behind why we turn to alcohol
• Research behind the "first sip" stress response
• Tools you can use to stop drinking, even just to take a temporary break