A Poison Disguised as a Remedy: Ericka Andersen on Christian Drinking Culture and How It Harms Women

“Alcohol is a poison disguised as a remedy.”

That’s the wisdom Ericka Andersen brings to this conversation—wisdom that developed after years of a quiet struggle that slowly took ahold of her and wouldn't let go. Like many evangelicals nowadays, she assumed drinking was neutral, normal, and largely harmless. But over time, she began to notice a widening gap between what alcohol promised and what it actually delivered.

In this episode, Ericka shares how drinking slowly moved from social habit to something she felt unable to control—even though she knew early on that something was off but kept overriding that inner voice. She opens up about hiding alcohol, waking up in the middle of the night consumed by compulsion, and living with the tension of appearing fine on the outside while unraveling internally.

Ericka also names the loneliness of not seeing stories like hers reflected in church spaces, where alcohol is increasingly treated as a non-issue or even a virtue and especially harms women. Rather than calling for rules or ultimatums, though, she makes a compelling case for curiosity—asking better questions about why we drink, what it costs us, and who it quietly harms.

This conversation is for anyone who doesn’t look out of control but knows something is wrong; for those who don’t resonate with “rock bottom” narratives but still feel unsettled; and for Christians who are ready to examine cultural assumptions and get curious.

We Explore:

— How alcohol functions as a socially acceptable coping mechanism
— Why early internal warnings are so easy to ignore
— The gap between outward control and inner compulsion
— How secrecy quietly reshapes drinking habits
— Why many Christians don’t see their stories reflected in church culture
— The myth that a problem has to look extreme to be real
— How alcohol promises relief but delivers diminishing returns
— Why asking better questions matters more than forcing behavior change
— The difference between legal and harmless
— What freedom begins to look like when denial ends

Ericka's new book: Freely Sober

Follow Ericka: @ericka_andersen

Ericka's writing: https://erickaandersen.substack.com

Follow me: @jonseidl

Order my new book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic.

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