Speaker 1: Why is it so hard to get real answers about
Speaker 1: your health? If you've been told that everything looks fine,
Speaker 1: but you know that something is off, we're not imagining it.
Speaker 1: That's why I created Vitality three sixty to help you
Speaker 1: better understand what's going on inside your body so that
Speaker 1: you can take the targeted action needed. With a functional
Speaker 1: health approach plus testing, we go beyond the guesswork to
Speaker 1: uncover the root causes of your symptoms. I've teamed up
Speaker 1: with doct Esmina, an incredible integrative GP, and together we
Speaker 1: will help you decode your body's signals and answer questions
Speaker 1: like why am I always exhausted? What's really causing my
Speaker 1: stubborn weight? Am I inflamed? Insulin resistant? Or maybe missing
Speaker 1: key nutrients? Because when you understand your body better, you
Speaker 1: can transform your health. Visit v three sixty dot health
Speaker 1: or check out the show notes for more. Welcome to
Speaker 1: this week's mini motivation episode. These are shorter, more targeted
Speaker 1: episodes where we tackle one challenge head on it in
Speaker 1: a very practical way. So today we're diving into some
Speaker 1: of the most effective strategies to help you drink less alcohol.
Speaker 1: Whether you're looking to cut back for your health, your energy,
Speaker 1: your sleep quality, or simply just because alcohol has become
Speaker 1: more of a habit than a choice. Then this episode
Speaker 1: is for you. Now, the goal with this episode it
Speaker 1: isn't perfection. It's not about giving up alcohol forever. It's
Speaker 1: more about understanding why we drink, what makes change easier,
Speaker 1: and the small strategies that can make a surprisingly big difference.
Speaker 1: So I recently discussed these strategies with Susanna Myerson, who
Speaker 1: is my sister in law and now is seven years sober. Wow,
Speaker 1: what an achievement. Susanna is an executive producer based in
Speaker 1: Sydney and now runs The Sober Curious Reset, which is
Speaker 1: a four week guided online program for women questioning their
Speaker 1: relationship with alcohol. So it's not about needing a label
Speaker 1: or waiting until you've hit that qt am moment. It's
Speaker 1: really more of a peer led space where women can
Speaker 1: get honest, feel less alone, get curious and really explore
Speaker 1: what's going on underneath. Because, as Susannah discovered, giving up
Speaker 1: alcohol wasn't the end of her story, it was actually
Speaker 1: the beginning. So here's what Susanna has to say about
Speaker 1: top tips for drinking less so I've got a few
Speaker 1: friends who have decided to give up alcohol for the month,
Speaker 1: and I am going to as well. You've inspired me, sus.
Speaker 1: I would just love some tips. Firstly, like, what are
Speaker 1: your practical tips for actually giving up alcohol?
Speaker 2: Well, I think two things that generally helped me. The
Speaker 2: first is replace the ritual. So after dinner, what I
Speaker 2: used to do is I'd jump in the bath, put
Speaker 2: my PJS on and go straight to bit. Just get
Speaker 2: just not yourn so even you know, just get your
Speaker 2: head on the pillow, go watch a documentary or whatever
Speaker 2: it is, but remove the noise and the temptation before
Speaker 2: it even has a chance to show up. I think
Speaker 2: that that helped. And secondly, join something that gets you
Speaker 2: out of your comfort zone, so a community run club,
Speaker 2: a swim club, a polities class, and when you get
Speaker 2: there actually talk to people, introduce yourself, tell your story,
Speaker 2: listen to theirs. The connection you build, even with strangers
Speaker 2: is more powerful than you think.
Speaker 1: Because you got into the four forty club.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's the four forty run Club. And actually it's
Speaker 2: a ten year anniversary tomorrow, So I'll be going tomorrow
Speaker 2: at five am down to Bronte and running ten laps.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and like, if you've got to get up at
Speaker 1: four forty in the morning, you are not wanting to
Speaker 1: be drinking the night before, I can imagine.
Speaker 2: And that actually helped me my early sobriety days, knowing
Speaker 2: I had to get up at that time on a
Speaker 2: Saturday morning. I'm not going to go out on a
Speaker 2: Friday night.
Speaker 1: I used to do a really hard, like two and
Speaker 1: a half hour session on a Saturday morning, and so
Speaker 1: my friends and I that used to do this, we
Speaker 1: dubbed Friday tidy Friday, and we'd say, we don't commit,
Speaker 1: we have to have a tidy Friday because we can't
Speaker 1: turn up hungover to our hard workout on a Saturday.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that idea. So it's like, okay, well,
Speaker 1: if we are going to stop for the month, is
Speaker 1: there something we can do. When you're saying if it's
Speaker 1: got some kind of a social element to it and
Speaker 1: even connecting with strangers, why do you think that is
Speaker 1: an important part.
Speaker 2: Of it, because I just think connection and community is
Speaker 2: so important. It definitely helped me so much in the
Speaker 2: early days. It's so funny you say hello to a stranger,
Speaker 2: you start chatting, even down at the four forty there's
Speaker 2: a lot of people down there that have quit drinking,
Speaker 2: and you just start hearing their story and listening, and
Speaker 2: then you tell yours. And then the next week you
Speaker 2: see them down there again and you have a coffee
Speaker 2: or whatever, and it's just like you don't feel alone
Speaker 2: in what you're doing. Plus you've you being healthy, you're
Speaker 2: getting out. It's movement, and I think, yeah, there's just
Speaker 2: something around the community and the connection that really helps.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I really love that. And you know, thinking of
Speaker 1: the alternative like a massive sleep in walking around your house,
Speaker 1: you know, whether it's an empty house or whether you're
Speaker 1: not feeling connected to the people in your house and
Speaker 1: feeling a bit sorry for yourself and feeling a bit
Speaker 1: sluggish versus you know, bouncing back at seven am with
Speaker 1: a coffee in your hand and you've just, you know what,
Speaker 1: a different chalk and cheese the best feeling. Yeah. I
Speaker 1: want to circle back to the other tip you gave,
Speaker 1: which was about essentially kind of changing the ritual around
Speaker 1: and how powerful that is as well. I think that
Speaker 1: I know, for me, one of my biggest issues has
Speaker 1: been like sugar and desserts, and I've spoken quite a
Speaker 1: bit on this podcast about how hard it was for
Speaker 1: me to give up that habit, and you're so right,
Speaker 1: similar to your story about having your bath going straight
Speaker 1: to bed, I had to change my whole nighttime ritual.
Speaker 1: I could not sit on the couch because I would
Speaker 1: have to I was so trained to sit on the
Speaker 1: couch and eat that I needed to remove from that situation.
Speaker 1: I've heard some people do things like, for example, a
Speaker 1: different approach, which is, oh, yeah, you still get the
Speaker 1: wine glass or the crystal you know, the lovely like
Speaker 1: crystal glass, heavy glass that sits in the cabinet. You know,
Speaker 1: the men have the whiskey, and you still get those,
Speaker 1: but then you create a mocktail or a non alcoholic
Speaker 1: treat drink. What's your thoughts on that as a strategy.
Speaker 2: I guess it just depends at what level you are.
Speaker 2: That could be you know, a bit of a temptation.
Speaker 2: If it's you know, it looks like you know, you're
Speaker 2: having an alcoholic drink, but it's whatever works. You know,
Speaker 2: if that's what works for you, go for it. I know,
Speaker 2: for instance, some people, because you are giving up alcohol,
Speaker 2: you are still craving that sugar. So maybe it's having
Speaker 2: a scoop of Yoshi ice cream instead, even though it's
Speaker 2: still not one hundred percent healthy at least, it's just
Speaker 2: replacing it with something and it's better than the alcohol.
Speaker 1: And I guess for those that are read sent to
Speaker 1: give up alcohol because they're losing that, you know, the
Speaker 1: one thing I look forward to at the end of
Speaker 1: every day. Like that was my big argument about sugar.
Speaker 1: I was just like, are you serious, Like the one
Speaker 1: thing that I really look forward to, You're going to
Speaker 1: take that away from me. I guess your approach of well,
Speaker 1: replace it with something you know that's also equally nourishing.
Speaker 1: You know, you could argue as a nutritionist whether it
Speaker 1: is or not, But like for me, that's why a
Speaker 1: bath and bath salts and a candle and aromatherapy and
Speaker 1: all of that suddenly became this nourishing replacement which worked
Speaker 1: for me. So I love that idea of like, you're
Speaker 1: not just removing that one thing you look forward to,
Speaker 1: You're actually trying to find an alternative that works for you. Yeah, exactly,
Speaker 1: why is it so hard to get real answers about
Speaker 1: your health? We've been told that everything looks fine, but
Speaker 1: you know that something is off we're not imagining it.
Speaker 1: That's why I created Vitality three sixty to help you
Speaker 1: better understand what's going on inside your body so that
Speaker 1: you can take the targeted action needed. With a functional
Speaker 1: health approach plus testing, we go beyond the guesswork to
Speaker 1: uncover the root causes of your symptoms. I've teamed up
Speaker 1: with Doctasmina, an incredible integrative GP, and together we will
Speaker 1: help you decode your body's signals and answer questions like
Speaker 1: why am I always exhausted? What's really causing my stubborn weight?
Speaker 1: Am I inflamed? Insulin resistant? Or maybe missing key nutrients?
Speaker 1: Because when you understand your body better, you can transform
Speaker 1: your health. Visit v three sixty dot health or check
Speaker 1: out the show notes for more. In your Sober Curious program,
Speaker 1: I know you go a whole lot deeper than simply
Speaker 1: the habit of giving up alcohol. Can you give us
Speaker 1: one example of how we might use this as an
Speaker 1: opportunity to also go a little bit deeper and to
Speaker 1: learn more about ourselves.
Speaker 2: Sure, so most women come into the reset thinking it
Speaker 2: is all about alcohol, but by week three we're talking
Speaker 2: more deeply than that. So Week three is called radical honesty,
Speaker 2: and the question that we sit with is who are
Speaker 2: you underneath all the noise? Not who your kids need
Speaker 2: to be, or who your partner needs you to be,
Speaker 2: not who you are at work, not the mask you're wearing,
Speaker 2: just you And when was the last time you asked
Speaker 2: yourself that? And doing that work in a group with
Speaker 2: the other women who are asking themselves the same question
Speaker 2: is honestly one of the most powerful things I've witnessed.
Speaker 2: There's something that happens in that room when you really
Speaker 2: dig deep and answer that question yourself.
Speaker 1: That's a really, really hard question. I don't know when
Speaker 1: you asked that, and I was like, who am I.
Speaker 2: All these masks you're wearing? Who are you underneath?
Speaker 1: I have no fricking idea. I think I've forgotten.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I recommend that you sit down and you
Speaker 2: journal that for some time and really think about it,
Speaker 2: because I asked myself that on a retreat and Byron,
Speaker 2: that was the question that was asked to me is
Speaker 2: what is the mask you've been wearing and what has
Speaker 2: it cost you? And that's when I realized that the
Speaker 2: mask that I was wearing, that it cost me a
Speaker 2: lot because the mask I was wearing when I was
Speaker 2: drinking cost me everything. And then I realized the mask
Speaker 2: I was wearing when I was sober cost me being fun,
Speaker 2: cost me being sociable, And I realized who am I
Speaker 2: without a mask? I'm Susannah and I do not need
Speaker 2: to be defined by alcohol at all. And it's such
Speaker 2: a powerful question.
Speaker 1: Do you think that someone who is using alcohol is
Speaker 1: either a coping mechanism or a way to numb some
Speaker 1: of the pain in their life? Do you think that
Speaker 1: for those people alcohol has made it a lot harder
Speaker 1: for them to answer that question of who am I
Speaker 1: underneath all of this?
Speaker 2: Oh, because that's where I was, you know, That's exactly
Speaker 2: where I was. You know, I wasn't asking myself those
Speaker 2: questions until I got sober. So that's why I'm asking
Speaker 2: these questions in this group. Yeah, because it's it's so
Speaker 2: powerful and so much comes out of it.
Speaker 1: For those of us that use alcohol as a way
Speaker 1: to manage stress or to you know, numb some of
Speaker 1: the pain that we might be feeling, it might seem
Speaker 1: daunting to have that taken away. What are some of
Speaker 1: the other tools that we can use for the month
Speaker 1: to better manage our stress and our overwhelm. If we're
Speaker 1: not reaching for that gin and tonic at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, what are we going to do to
Speaker 1: just have that reset at the end of the day.
Speaker 2: I just think there's so much available now, like more
Speaker 2: than there used to be. You know, you've got bath houses,
Speaker 2: you've got infrared sornets, you've got ice bas sound healing meditations,
Speaker 2: you can do from the comfort of your own home.
Speaker 2: You know. It's it's trying to find what regulates your
Speaker 2: nervous system, not what numbs it. And honestly, if you
Speaker 2: just do some research, you'll find some amazing things. So
Speaker 2: that's what I did.
Speaker 1: I love that differentiator between numbing versus regulating your nervous system,
Speaker 1: like we need to learn how to better regulate our
Speaker 1: nervous system. I love that. Yeah, oh my gosh, I
Speaker 1: need that right now. Well, look, SU's finally. For a
Speaker 1: woman listening who feels really daunted at the thought of
Speaker 1: giving up alcohol for a whole month, what words of
Speaker 1: wisdom would you have for her?
Speaker 2: I'd reframe it completely. You're not taking away something from
Speaker 2: your life. You're running an experiment. It's just thirty one
Speaker 2: days and at the end of it, ask yourself, how's
Speaker 2: my sleep, how's my energy, how's my relationships? And what's
Speaker 2: actually changed? Because when you stop thinking about what you're
Speaker 2: giving up and start getting curious about what you might gain,
Speaker 2: the whole thing becomes less daunting and a lot more interesting.
Speaker 1: Oh, Sue's that's just so powerful. And look, I really
Speaker 1: recommend it. If you're listening to this episode and you
Speaker 1: are really on the fence and thinking about giving up
Speaker 1: alcohol for a month, please do check out Susan's Sober
Speaker 1: Curious four week online program because it just sounds like
Speaker 1: it's the support and that we need, and also that
Speaker 1: we're going to get so much more out of it
Speaker 1: than just stopping alcohol for a month. Sus thank you
Speaker 1: so much.
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me meal Zi. I love you,
Speaker 2: Love you.
Speaker 1: Why is it so hard to get real answers about
Speaker 1: your health? If you've been told that everything looks fine,
Speaker 1: but you know that something is off, well, you're not
Speaker 1: imagining it. That's why I created Vitality three point sixty
Speaker 1: to help you better understand what going on inside your
Speaker 1: body so that you can take the targeted action needed.
Speaker 1: With a functional health approach plus testing, we go beyond
Speaker 1: the guesswork to uncover the root causes of your symptoms.
Speaker 1: I've teamed up with Dottyesmina, an incredible integrative GP and
Speaker 1: together we will help you decode your body's signals and
Speaker 1: answer questions like why am I always exhausted? What's really
Speaker 1: causing my stubborn weight? Am I inflamed? Insulin resistant? Or
Speaker 1: maybe missing key nutrients? Because when you understand your body better,
Speaker 1: you can transform your health. Visit V three sixty dot
Speaker 1: Health or check out the show notes for more