66 Days - Sober Challenge

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Audio support every day to get you through 66 alcohol free days - that's long enough to build new and healthy habits! Tips, tools and motivation as well as regular updates on the healing taking place in your body and brain as you move through the challenge.

Episodes

Saturday Sep 26, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 26

Saturday Sep 26, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Increase your dopamine - naturally !

If you have been a regular drinker for years then your body will have got used to relying on alcohol to flood your brain with dopamine – the “feel good” hormone.

That’s why you may feel a bit “flat” as you progress through this alcohol-free period. Although the body produces dopamine naturally it will get lazy if you have been relying on alcohol to give you that “quick hit”.

It may take a few weeks for your natural dopamine to click back in but here are 3 things you can do to increase your dopamine levels naturally:-

Checklist small tasks
Dopamine increases when we are organized and finish tasks – regardless if the task is small or large. So, don’t allow your brain to worry about things that need to be done. Instead, write these tasks down and then check them off one at a time.

Create something
When we’re in creative mode, we can become hyper-focused. As a result, we can enter a state called flow. Dopamine is the brain chemical that allows us to achieve this state. The lesson is this: take up a hobby or activity in which you actually create something tangible.

Exercise
Not only does exercise help us relieve stress, achieve better physical health and make us more productive; it boosts our dopamine levels. More specifically, exercise increases multiple neurotransmitters – serotonin and endorphins, besides dopamine, receive a boost.

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to specialize in alcohol-free drinks.
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

Friday Sep 25, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 25

Friday Sep 25, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Alcohol and sleep

Have you noticed any differences in your sleeping patterns during your alcohol-free time?

When a non-drinker starts getting ready for bed their brain will start to “dampen things down” to get them feeling sleepy.

However, if you are a regular drinker your body won’t do that because it will rely on the artificial effect of alcohol to get you to sleep.

That’s why for the first 4 or 5 nights you might not sleep so well – your body is just not used to doing that natural “winding down” thing..

The good news is that after just 5 nights your brain will re-adjust – and your sleep will improve.

However long you have been drinking you have not really been getting good quality sleep – daily fatigue may be the norm for you – relying on morning coffee and evening drink(s) to “pick you up..

So the other good news is that you are going to get the boost of more energy during your alcohol-free time– not just when you wake up in the morning – but for the whole day and evening!

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Thursday Sep 24, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 24

Thursday Sep 24, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

How alcohol brings us down...

Ever wondered what actually happens in your brain when you drink that much anticipated glass of wine after work?

Well the first glass stimulates the pleasure centre of your brain.

There are two main chemicals that work in the pleasure centre:-

Dopamine, which is responsible for desire and craving and

Seratonin which is responsible for the feeling of satiety and inhibition.

In a healthy brain there is a delicate balance between these two chemicals but alcohol throws off that balance and lots of dopamine gets dumped into our system, making us want more of what gave us pleasure (the alcohol)

Our brain must keep the body in balance so to counteract the artificial stimulation from alcohol it will send out a chemical downer, called dynorphin.

This dynorphin actually suppresses the euphoric feelings, and as the effects of that first glass start to wear off, our sense of well-being actually falls BELOW where it was when we started drinking.

Leaving us LOWER than when we got off work after a hard day!

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Wednesday Sep 23, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 23

Wednesday Sep 23, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website www.worldwithoutwine.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Are you in a state of "cognitive dissonance"?

Are you aware of some kind of “inner struggle” going on inside your head during this alcohol free time?

Your conscious mind is well aware that you need to give your liver a holiday and you had no hesitation in signing up for this challenge.

However did your subconscious get the memo?

Your subconscious has been conditioned by years of marketing, socializing and peer pressure – it now fully believes that alcohol is essential for a happy and full life.

That’s the source of your “inner struggle” or “cognitive dissonance” and it feels like anxiety.

Here is an exercise you can do to reduce those uncomfortable feelings.

Make a list of “why” you drink. (these are your “beliefs” around alcohol)

Take a long hard look at each of those beliefs and unpack them – are they really true?

As you are being a scientist in your own life, get on google and do some research…

Here is an example…

“I drink because I love the taste” your belief

Think back to that first drink you took – it tasted horrible! – we have to work at “acquiring” the taste of alcohol because our bodies naturally reject it – recognizing it as poison!

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Tuesday Sep 22, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 22

Tuesday Sep 22, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Who will you be in 2030?

Your time off alcohol may be plain sailing so the thought of making any permanent major changes around alcohol may not even occur to you.

So long as you know that you will be able to stick to the “safe” limits of a bottle and a half of wine a week then no reason to stress.

However if you are struggling a bit and longing for the end of this challenge(!) then maybe you need to do a "future self meditation"

Take a big sheet of paper and visualise your life in 10 years time

Where do you see yourself, what would be your ideal life, dream a little...

The meditation itself will do a number of positive things, but most importantly, it will help you hold a vision of what direction you want your life to go, and who you want to become.

I am pretty sure that your dream doesn't include a vision of you stumbling out of bars or drinking alone every evening.

If you are holding some anxiety that alcohol is becoming too important in your life then it might just be worth making this the year that you create an alcohol free life - and make it awesome!

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Monday Sep 21, 2020

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 21

Monday Sep 21, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Be a scientist in your own life

Are you finding you have more time on your hands during your alcohol-free period?
Do your months usually fly by but this one seems to drag a little?

Well maybe that’s not a bad thing – make it a more “mindful” time and think about keeping a journal to analyse what’s going on. Be a scientist in your own life!

When most of our socializing involves alcohol we can find ourselves trapped in a cycle of planning the drinking, doing the drinking – and then recovering (!)

- leaving little time for discovering new interests or working on self-development.

Use this alcohol free time as an experiment. Go into meetup.com and check out all the hobbies and interests that people get up to – use Pinterest to create your vision board – if you are stuck grab one of your friends and brainstorm together!

You may find yourself with so many new ideas of how to have fun that alcohol will have to take a back seat !

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Sunday Sep 20, 2020

Sober Challenge 66 Days - Day 20

Sunday Sep 20, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Gratitude

We hear a lot about “gratitude” these days and you may well have tried keeping a “gratitude diary” in the past – or some people prefer to simply note “what went well today” in their daily journal.

A gratitude practice can be particularly useful when going through your alcohol free month when you may find yourself occasionally suffering from a touch of FOMO.

For example if you are out with friends for a meal and they are drinking cocktails you could spend the evening focusing on that and feeling sorry for yourself – or you could just order a mocktail and appreciate the fact that you are enjoying a great meal and spending time with your favourite people.

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Saturday Sep 19, 2020

Sober Challenge 66 Days - Day 19

Saturday Sep 19, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Alcohol is a calorie catastrophe!

No doubt you are aware of the calories in alcohol and that drinking a glass of wine is equivalent to eating a slice of cake. Most people wouldn’t dream of eating 3 slices of cake but somehow 3 glasses of wine just slips down ;-)

What you may not know is that your body is so anxious to get rid of alcohol that it won’t even think about burning up the calories that you have eaten for dinner until all traces of alcohol are out of your system. Alcohol is so toxic that your body has to act fast and make it a priority to get rid of it.

Your highly intelligent body just wants to keep you alive – and is less concerned with keeping you slim!

So if you are used to eating organic, exercising regularly but still drinking alcohol on a daily basis you may want to have a re-think when you come to the end of your alcohol-free time.

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Friday Sep 18, 2020

Sober Challenge 66 Days - Day 18

Friday Sep 18, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Meditate

I have been doing yoga since my twenties but when it came to meditation I just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.

I would sit there, legs crossed, eyes closed but mentally I would be veering from extreme boredom to planning what I was going to eat for dinner.

Over the years the evidence has been stacking up that meditation reduces stress, helps to keep us calm and enables us to sleep better.

It's a great coping strategy and your alcohol free period might just be a good time to give it a go.

When I first tried meditation we didn't even have cellphones never mind "apps" but these days technology is there to help us.

I go to a weekly class and use one of my meditation apps on a daily basis - and I think I am getting there

There are two apps that I love and use regularly - "Headspace" and "Calm"

So why not give meditation a try - there is nothing to lose but your stress

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - www.worldwithoutwine.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

Thursday Sep 17, 2020

Sober Challenge 66 Days - Day 17

Thursday Sep 17, 2020

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

10 Things you only know if you stop drinking

1.  Some people will not even notice you don't drink whereas others will give you a hard time and urge you to have "just one".  Spoiler alert - the ones who pester you to drink probably drink too much themselves!

2. Mocktails are great but two is usually more than enough. It's only alcohol which has been chemically designed to make you want more....and more.

3. Free alcohol seems to be everywhere - business conferences, supermarket promotions, charity runs - it takes special skills to navigate your way through.

4.  You become rich - well OK not billionaire rich but if you calculate the money you usually spend on alcohol you may be in for a surprise.

5.  You become thin - well OK then thinner - alcohol is a calorie catastrophe and will sabotage the most stringent diet.

6.  You have more time on your hands - no more planning the drinking, doing it, and then recovering taking up the whole week-end.

7.  You never lose stuff - remember those awful moments when you wake up looking around for your bag/keys/jacket

8.  You realise that you don't have to be the last one to leave the party - you came, you enjoyed yourself - and now you are going - end of.

9.  You will look fine in those Facebook pics your friends insist on posting the next morning.

10.  You will have moments of pride - you are going against the norm - that takes confidence and style!

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com