Why we get Hangxiety - William Porter explains

Tribe Sober - inspiring an alcohol-free life!

My guest this week is William  Porter - a lawyer with a passionate interest in the science behind alcohol dependency.  He has written two books on the subject - Alcohol Explained and Alcohol Explained 2.

In this Episode

• William started drinking and smoking at the tender age of 14!
• He managed to give up smoking by reading the book by Alan Carr - he was impressed by the methodology in that book
• He managed to quit drinking after delving into the science of dependency - and discovering just how harmful alcohol is
• We talked about "hangxiety" and how it's caused by chemical changes in our brain - when it becomes over-sensitised
• If you drink a bottle of wine every night then your brain will take the first glass as a signal that the rest of the bottle is coming!
• That's why moderation is so difficult - and it's exhausting as we are thinking about it all the time
• Cravings happen when we have a thought about drinking and then we start fantasising about that drink
• The joy of giving up altogether is that we don't entertain the idea of a drink so the cravings fade away
• Dependency happens once we learn (consciously or subsconsciously) that another drink will quell the anxiety caused by the first
• William explained FAB - Fading Affect Bias - when we think back fondly about our drinking days - and forget how bad we were
• FAB is responsible for many people falling off the wagon as they think they can now have "just one" - which is not sustainable
• Rather than worrying that we are an "alcoholic" William suggests we consider whether alcohol is taking away more than it gives us
• We both agreed that "sober socialising" is tough but that the best way to cope is to "feel the awkward and do it anyway"
• He explained why it's a complete myth that alcohol helps you sleep - the truth is that it ruins our sleep!
• His advice to people who want to stop is to write down all the reasons they want to drink - and realise they are all false beliefs
• You can purchase Williams books from his website - alcoholexplained.com - download first five chapters for free
• Joining Tribe Sober is also a great way to start your Sober Curious journey
• 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
  
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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 
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Thank you for listening! 

Till Next Week

Janet x