Episode Details

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!

This week my guest is Dr Loretta Breuning.  Loretta is the author of an excellent book called the "Habits of a Happy Brain" and she shared many fascinating insights with me.

In this Episode

• The world of neuroplasticity is an exciting one - no longer do we have to believe that our brain shrinks and loses its capacity as we age - if we keep exercising and keep learning we can keep our brains healthy and active for longer
• Although most of our neural patterns are set in early life we can build new neural pathways as we get older - if just takes a bit more effort and a lot of repetition. 
• Thats why our 66 day challenge can help you to build a new neural pathway and change your drinking habits for good.
• Loretta explained that we need to develop many different coping mechanisms to deal with life's ups and downs - we become dependent on alcohol when we have been using it as our only coping mechanism. 
• That's why it makes sense to build a "distraction list" of all the things that we could to do - instead of drinking.
• We need to discover what gives us a "natural high" rather than the chemical high which alcohol has been giving us
• She explained that the Sober members of our community provided powerful inspiration because of the effect of  "mirror neurons"
• My discussion with Loretta led me to a personal lightbulb moment which will change the advice we give to our community
• A few months into sobriety I suffered from a long period of anhedonia - my mood plummeted and I felt miserable
• However I kept going and after a couple of months my mood finally lifted - I thought this was because my brain had been relying on alcohol to make me feel good for so long that my natural "happy chemicals" were taking time to return
• Loretta helped me to understand that the reason my low mood had finally lifted was because I had set a new goal
• Getting sober had been my goal for the first few months of sobriety but then I needed another one
• Setting and achieving goals trigger the happy chemicals and keep them flowing 
• So if you are suffering from the blues in early sobriety set a goal and start working towards it
• If you can't think of a goal then book a coaching session to explore possibilities
• New tribe sober members are entitled to a complimentary coaching session as well as many other benefits
• Joining Tribe Sober is a great way to start your Sober Curious journey - find out more on tribesober.com
• We'll put you on a 30 day alcohol free challenge so you can test your dependency
• Membership also allows you to find your people as we welcome you into our supportive community
• Just go to tribesober.com and hit the "join our tribe" button to read more about the benefits of membership
  
  More info
  
  Subscription membership for Tribe Sober join up HERE
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  To access our website click HERE
  
  
• If you would like a free copy of our "Annual Tracker" or our e-book "66 Days to Sobriety" please email janet@tribesober.com
  
  
• If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@tribesober.com
  
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  Episode Sponsor

          This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today

          Read more about our 7-step program a