Mental Battles of Moderation: Your Path to Alcohol Freedom / EP. 37 (Part 2)

Welcome to the Feel Lit Alcohol Free Podcast, where your hosts, Ruby Williams and Susan Larkin, guide you through the transformative journey of breaking free from alcohol and embracing a vibrant, healthier life. This is part two on moderation, a loaded topic!

Have you ever wondered why moderation feels like an endless struggle, even when you’re disciplined in other areas of your life? In today’s episode, Susan opens up about her personal battle with the concept of moderation after being alcohol-free for 8 months. She shares the raw and real challenges she faced, the negative spiral of returning to drinking, and the mental tug-of-war that comes with trying to control alcohol consumption.

What are the hidden emotional and mental burdens of moderation? Ruby and Susan delve deep into this question, exploring the importance of self-acceptance and the profound difficulties in shifting subconscious beliefs about alcohol as a coping mechanism.

Join us as we uncover the true impact of alcohol on our lives and discuss the invaluable support available within the alcohol freedom movement. Are you ready to challenge the myths of moderation and discover a path to lasting freedom? Stay tuned for powerful insights and personal experiences that will inspire and empower you.

Don’t forget to join our thriving alcohol-free community on Facebook, where you can connect with others on this incredible journey. Let’s dive in!

Time stamp
00:00 The podcast hosts discuss the moderation myth.
06:13 Stressful juggling of job and music studio.
10:14 Struggled to control drinking due to impulses.
11:16 Navigating present and past, alcohol as coping.
15:24 Alcohol use coping mechanism, spectrum disorder.
18:09 Subconscious urges to drink, habit loop explained.
21:30 Three drops under the tongue, immediate mental effects.
24:52 Discover real coping mechanisms for lasting peace.

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and ask us any questions you have about breaking free from wine or living an alcohol-free lifestyle. Your question could be the highlight of a future episode!

Grab our Feel Lit Weekend Guide! https://feellitpodcast.com/Guide

Join our Feel Lit AF Facebook Community for amazing support and connection!

Watch Episode on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@FeelLitAlcoholFreePodcast/videos

Websites:
Susan Larkin Coaching https://www.susanlarkincoaching.com/
Ruby Williams at Freedom Renegade Coaching https://www.freedomrenegadecoaching.com/

Follow Susan: @drinklesswithsusan
Follow Ruby: @rubywilliamscoaching

It is strongly recommended that you seek professional advice regarding your health before attempting to take a break from alcohol. The creators, hosts, and producers of the The Feel Lit Alcohol Free podcast are not healthcare practitioners and therefore do not give medical, or psychological advice nor do they intend for the podcast, any resource or communication on behalf of the podcast or otherwise to be a substitute for such.

Transcript

Sick and tired of your love-hate relationship with wine?
Welcome to the feel it alcohol free podcast. Hi. I'm coach Ruby Williams. And I'm coach Susan Larkin. We are 2 former wine lovers turned alcohol freedom coaches exposing the lies about alcohol and giving you, our listeners, the tools to break free so you can feel lit. And when you're lit, you'll feel healthier, freer, and more in control of your life. So relax, kick back, and get ready to feel lit alcohol free. And don't forget, grab a copy of our wine free weekend guide after the show.


Ruby [00:00:32]:
Welcome back to the Feel It Alcohol Free Podcast, and this is part 2 of our moderation talk. We just had such a great conversation, actually, just a couple hours ago. So now we're coming back to record part 2. So moderation truly is one of the reasons that people end up getting back into that drinking cycle if they believe they wanna moderate in the future. And, so we had an interesting discussion. I hope you'll maybe listen to part 1 first. If you catch this one, go back, listen to part 1, and then go to part 2.

Ruby [00:01:20]:
But we're, we're going to ask it in a different way. We have a listener's question. Slightly, it's the same sort of, idea, but, like, here's the question. Can you help me get to a comfortable place where I can drink occasionally? And, again, that's where so many people come in. I relate, and I'm sure you relate, Susan. Yeah. Do you wanna tell a little bit about your story?

Susan [00:01:44]:
Yeah. Well, I totally relate to that because that's exactly where I was when I left AA. Okay. So let's we're going far back. Like, I think I've told my story from the perspective of like 2019 where I was really doing a lot of 30 days, 30 days, 30 days, but I want to go further back. I want to go back. I left AA after 8 months, being alcohol free. I loved how I felt.

Susan [00:02:10]:
I did not want alcohol in my daily life. I knew that I felt better. I went to Las Vegas, and I told myself I was allowing myself 2 drinks a day. I stuck to that. So I came back going, okay. I can moderate. And I see this with people all the time. Right? And so I remember, but I it's really comes down to really being honest and going back.

Susan [00:02:38]:
And this is what we talk about all the time, not about the behavior, not about the number of drinks, but how you feel. Okay? So I wanted to moderate. I did not want alcohol in my daily life, but I was just winging it on my own. Like, I didn't have any I I'd got no education about alcohol in AA. So then I just came back to thinking, okay. I can be a normal drinker. I can have 2 drinks. But but what the what I failed to learn or become aware of, and looking back now, I can see this, is all of the head space that was taken up around those 2 drinks.

Susan [00:03:14]:
When we were in Vegas, I was like, okay. I'm allowing myself 2 drinks. And my husband was like, I really wanted to go to a nice restaurant and have some nice wine, and my husband didn't wanna do that. And I was getting very irritable and was all about when am I gonna get my good wine? I'm allowed my 2 drinks and all of my head space about that and getting really upset, having, like, a martini or something. Well, I do remember the first time I drank after, being off for 8 months. So it was this the 2 drink thing. So I had this glass of wine. It tasted bad.

Susan [00:03:47]:
My initial reaction was like, like, I could be tasted toxic, but I'm like, well, I'm just keep I'm just gonna keep drinking it. You know what I mean? Like, it'll taste better if I keep drinking it, which is true, unfortunately. You know, I just kept drinking it and

Ruby [00:04:03]:
get I'll get used to it. I remember waking taste it numbs your taste buds.

Susan [00:04:07]:
Yes. So then I wake up the next morning feeling like crap because, you know, 8 months and then two glasses of, you know, I don't remember what it was. Kendall Jackson, probably. Chardonnay, which is what I was drinking at the time. But and I just felt off like, toxic. I felt like, oh, that feels toxic in my body. Oh, well, like, I just thought that, but then I just kept going. Like, oh my gosh.

Susan [00:04:30]:
So so that experience, but then just the lack of awareness and this and the quest to being a to see myself as a normal drinker. So then I did moderate, quote, unquote, okay, but I didn't have any good guardrails or anything. It was all behavior based. Was I sticking to 2 glasses, or did I really have 3? But back again, I would start fudging the numbers. It was only only for special occasions. But then again, a Tuesday, because I had a bad day, became a special occasion. Hey. Meet me out at at the saloon is the the name of the restaurant.

Susan [00:05:08]:
Meet me there and let's have wine, you know, because I was upset or I was anxious. And so, truly, even though I'm telling myself, oh, it's when it's we're we're out. That's good drinking versus I'm sitting at home drinking while I'm watching Netflix or drinking too much, drinking because I'm ripping the cork out with my teeth because I'm anxious and over drinking, but that's good bad drinking. So it was all this, you know, good drinking, bad drink. It was all labeled. It was about amounts versus really how I felt. And slowly so I did moderate for a while. Okay.

Susan [00:05:42]:
Or I wouldn't even say it was okay. It was all those things, you know, I just didn't know. Like, but I could go 4 days a week without drinking. I only pretty much drink on the weekends. Mhmm. And but is that social drinking? No. Or, you know, I didn't really stick to only special occasions because there's really wasn't a special occasion every freaking week and every weekend, but I was still Friday night was a special occasion apparently just because it was Friday night. So so that was that.

Susan [00:06:13]:
Then I rolled into a very stressful situation where we own this music studio. And every night, I was going to my full time job, and then I was going to the music studio at night. And, it was very stressful, and I started drinking to cope with overfunctioning, to cope with trying to learn social media and and marketing for this music studio, teaching voice lessons after I've already worked a full day's work, which I loved, but it was just too much. And so I would and I was also super crabby and mean, and so all the jobs I'd given alcohol were coming up, and I just wasn't aware of it. But I was I mean, I was aware of it, and I was aware that my drinking was escalating. But then I was also aware of how hard it was when I went to AA and not having any other option. And so I just kept shoving it out of my mind and just tried to keep trying to, you know, clamp down on that behavior. And so it was just so hard.

Susan [00:07:13]:
It was so miserable. Miserable. Miserable. Miserable. Miserable. And I would just keep shoving it into the back of my mind and go, I can't deal with this now. But knowing that it was it was, you know, keeping me stuck, feeling I was feeling terrible. I was feeling so bad about myself.

Susan [00:07:28]:
I mean, I would wake up and be hungover and, like, drive to work and, like, be crying. Like, what? I hate myself. I hated myself.

Ruby [00:07:37]:
Oh my gosh. Me too. Every morning, just complete beating myself up. I I mean

Susan [00:07:44]:
I know. I was so hopeless.

Ruby [00:07:46]:
Like, I'm so stupid. I'm so lame. I was a labeler and just like, I can't why can't I get this? Why can't I figure this out? And, you know, I really, really relate to your story and, like, this this headspace. You mentioned headspace and and this, like, when you when you want to try to normalize or moderate your drinking, it's taking up so much headspace. It's the yeah. It's all day long. When am I gonna drink? How much am I gonna drink? What time will I start drinking? Will yeah. And then rules.

Ruby [00:08:19]:
Will I drink with friends? So then I end up going out more thinking that's I I had the same sort of thing. That's okay if I'm out at happy hour drinking, but that always meant I was end up drinking at home even more. So it wasn't really true. Like, getting honest with yourself really is one of the first things because if you like you said in the last, episode around just you you might had 2 glasses, but were they 2, like, huge glasses?

Susan [00:08:47]:
Yeah. Exactly.

Ruby [00:08:48]:
You know, is there all these little mind tricks? Oh, it's only 2 glasses. And, you know, I'm only drinking out or just so much headspace. When when when I when I explain, like, what alcohol freedom is, I really think it's that mind opening. You just I have so much more room in my mind that was wasted on alcohol. It was just wasted on all of the thinking and then beating myself up and just recovering from alcohol. It's just so much wasted in my my head space. My head space is now clear to think about the things I really want. Yeah.

Ruby [00:09:25]:
And feel the things. Yeah. So we which we talk about in the feel lit part. Yeah. Yeah. What yeah. But,

Susan [00:09:32]:
And hating myself. And so fast forward, then 2019, I'm like, I really gotta do something about my drinking. So then I do a program, reset. That word reset. Okay. You know, do that. Then I just, at that point, you know, then I went back to drinking when we went on vacation that time, and then then I did another 30 days because I was, you know, you know, because then I did okay, and then I would over drink. And I just see this with and it's this illusion of, again, this illusion of go trying to get back to normal, and that is and I don't know how to say this without peep making people mad because I'm pretty sure I would have felt like, oh, screw them.

Susan [00:10:14]:
I'm not listening to this podcast anymore if I heard it at the time, but I'm just gonna say it. It's like, if you're if you're the kind of person who, like, I knew like, I used to say to myself, it's like my shutoff valve is broken. You know what I mean? Once I start, it's really hard for me to stop, and that's not necessarily true. Like, if there's a fire in the building, of course, I could stop drinking and run out of the building. Like, I wasn't but it was just sort of this. It was just once I got a little tipsy, it was like all bets were off. It was like, oh, more would be better. Like, that's just what my brain was, and I wasn't really resisting that necessarily.

Susan [00:10:46]:
And then and I didn't have any tools at all. And so but to think about just this idea that, like, if that's how you are and you take a significant break from alcohol, you're not gonna, like, grow a new shutoff switch. Like, that's just how you are, and that's okay. We're you know what I mean? Like, just coming to accept that. Like, again, it's like, you are here. It's not your fault, but it is your responsibility. I see that. Sort of help me a lot.

Susan [00:11:16]:
Like, okay. This is where I'm at, And then now where am I gonna go from here versus going back and trying to get back to some place in the past? And, like, scientifically, what's happening, like, I think about this and this isn't like I'm not gonna use science speak, but think about this in terms of your subconscious brain. So this whole year in 2019, I'm putting myself on 30 days. So it's my subconscious I'm depriving my myself from alcohol for 30 days, then I reintroduce it. So my subconscious and I but I still I'm I'm using it as a coping mechanism. Right? I'm using it to self medicate, and my subconscious is like, oh, good. Oh, good. We got our medicine.

Susan [00:12:01]:
Yay. We needed this. Oh, finally, we're calm. Right? And so I feel like our subconscious digs in, and people feel this. Yes. It's like you you take a break, and then you go back to drinking. And then the next time you try to try to take a break, it's, like, feels harder. And you're like, what the heck? What's going on? It's like because think about your subconscious is, like, going kicking and screaming even more.

Susan [00:12:22]:
Like, no. Don't go back to bad deprivation.

Ruby [00:12:25]:
Your your subconscious believes you need it to cope too. It actually, it can be it you need it on a on a survival level even. It's so powerful that you really think you need it to survive. Not consciously. Consciously, you know, alcohol, you can, you know, you don't need it. You need water. You need food. You need air, but you don't need alcohol.

Ruby [00:12:48]:
But, subconsciously, you've trained your brain to think you need it after a hard day at work. You need it to have fun. You need it to all those things. Right? So Yeah. If you if I was coaching you at that point, you know, Susan Yeah. I I I actually love when people actually have a couple of cycles where it actually makes me feel like a little bit like, okay. They they've had the cycle where they've tried, like, 30 day break or even a week break. Whatever it is, you feel better that you go back to drinking.

Ruby [00:13:20]:
And if if someone has at least done that once, they they kinda realize or even if you've done it for years, but for you, it's like we wanna work we would work together. Okay? If you were my client and, like, we would work on your beliefs and thoughts and have other start introducing other coping tools. Accountability, like, we meeting weekly is so important to, like, keep building.

Susan [00:13:44]:
Mhmm.

Ruby [00:13:45]:
And then if something hap data points happen or life gets lifey and you you got these weekly coaching sessions where you really can be vulnerable and you're not alone. It feels like, we are linking arms. And, and I'm a you know, we we both in coaching are cheerleaders. So, it's really, really yes. It you would've, back then. You know? I know. I wish I had

Susan [00:14:12]:
I had you know, I could've saved myself a lot of pain for an entire year of 2019 or even before that. I feel like some of these options other than AA weren't really around yet. They were. They were. This is a beautiful time. If you were trying to change your drinking, there are so many other options. And this whole there's a movement. There is an alcohol freedom movement where you don't need to hit rock bottom.

Susan [00:14:39]:
You could just choose it as a lifestyle, Just like your gluten free or dairy free or whatever, alc if alcohol is just not serving you, if it's keeping you stuck, taking way too much brain space, you're working way too hard to try to moderate this addictive substance. Sometimes I use the comparison with clients. Would you if you smoked a cigarette, 1 cigarette a day for a few weeks, would you be surprised if you became addicted to smoking and wanted to smoke more?

Ruby [00:15:07]:
Of course.

Susan [00:15:07]:
It's the same thing with alcohol. It's an addictive substance, and we are taught that it's not. It's only addictive to some people, but it truly is addictive to humans all period.

Ruby [00:15:21]:
Human beings. Exactly. Yeah. And especially if you're using

Susan [00:15:24]:
it as a coping mechanism. That is proven scientifically that it moves you further along the alcohol use disorder spectrum. So when I work with clients, you know, it depends. I I've gotten a little bit bolder, honestly, because I when I, you know, do an introductory, you know, assessment with somebody depending on their story and where I think based on their story, they're falling on the on the spectrum, and their goal is to moderate. I will say, I don't know that that's a realistic goal for you based on this, this, this, and this, and and and normalize it with my own story. And Mhmm. Because sometimes, like, I wish somebody maybe would have said that to me, although I don't know that I would have wanted to hear it. So I get that.

Susan [00:16:11]:
You kinda have to experience it yourself. And this is where you and I kind of went, like I know. You have to experience it yourself. But it I have to use my intuition and go, does this person really need to hear this? You know? I don't know.

Ruby [00:16:24]:
What you're saying is what I say is I'm putting on my, my hard hat coaching hat. Like, I I Mhmm. In in a gentle way, but I as a coach, you we what we do is we shine a mirror back. Things that you cannot see Yes. From being, you know even a coach needs a coach. Like, we can't you can't see, what's the phrase I heard? Was it, one of our guests recently, you're on a you're in a bottle, and you can't see the label, on the outside.

Susan [00:16:54]:
And I

Ruby [00:16:55]:
thought that was so cool because you it's yeah. You can't you cannot see, where you're stuck oftentimes. And, I so a coaching session might look like you you start to tell a story about what's going on and and I can see maybe a belief that's underlying. And then we start being and Yeah. What happens is you very well may have the, the goal to moderate or to drink normally or to reset, like, that was definitely me. But over time, the thinking that you have now as you work with a coach or start to get alcohol free, you have absolutely different thinking. I can't repeat that. It's like you can't say it, like, for example, you say, oh my gosh.

Ruby [00:17:43]:
I have a a vacation in 2 months, and I can't imagine having an alcohol free vacation. But when you get to that time, things unfold, you learn new things, you have new thoughts, you start to turn around your beliefs, and you actually can maybe go, wow. I can't even imagine drinking on vacation because I feel so good. Again, back to how you feel.

Susan [00:18:05]:
Yeah.

Ruby [00:18:05]:
How do you wanna feel on vacation? This is just an example.

Susan [00:18:09]:
Yeah. But that's something your subconscious is trying to bring up in order to get you to drink again now. Like, well, you may as well drink now because you're gonna drink on your vacation in 2 months. It's crazy how our subconscious is so sneaky. Alcohol is very sneaky and the way our body tries to keep going back to getting that reward, because it's all around about the habit loop. It's about the trigger, the craving, the reward. It's about what it what is the job that you're given alcohol that then now your brain sees as a reward, right, as a reward as well as something that soothes your nervous system. So when I also work with clients, I ask them to just put the forever question aside.

Susan [00:18:50]:
That is too hard to get your brain around. And how do

Ruby [00:18:52]:
you know

Susan [00:18:52]:
if you're ever gonna be successful until you're dead? Just think

Ruby [00:18:55]:
about it later.

Susan [00:18:56]:
Yeah. Think about it and put it aside. Even your vacation, put it aside. Guess what? We'll coach on that in 2 months. You know, just try to put that aside and do you know, they do say, you know, one day at a time, and there is something a little bit to that. There is something. Definitely. It resonates with some people, and other people are like, nope.

Susan [00:19:13]:
I just wanna make this decision, the big d decision. And you it is important to make a a firm decision. It's important to make a commitment, in my opinion, to go all in and really but in with curiosity and experimental mindset, like

Ruby [00:19:30]:
you said. Go all in. Yourself.

Susan [00:19:33]:
Yeah. Yeah. Not necessarily against alcohol. Just on yourself. Try the resources. Working together to find the resources that replenish your body, you know, and doing the mindset work with a coach, making a commitment for a certain period of time, and then reevaluate. So it's like, okay. Then I can put that off.

Susan [00:19:55]:
I'm gonna do this, and then I'm gonna reevaluate. Yeah. And what I say, honestly, is is and always put it off to the next day. That's a great way to deal with a craving. Like, oh, Just you know what? Maybe tomorrow, not today, lady. And then I say, the day I wake up wishing I had drank the night before is the day I'll drink again.

Ruby [00:20:16]:
Yeah. Nobody ever ever wishes that they would have drank the night before. When you wake up, you always are so glad you didn't drink. Like, always. I can't think of one person that's like, thank god I drank last night. I feel so good. Like, I mean, I just don't think that happens really. I do wanna go back to one point that you made around okay.

Ruby [00:20:39]:
It's from the previous episode. We were talking about a cucumber cannot go back. Did I just say it backwards again? Yes. A pickle a pickle cannot go back to being a cucumber. And I actually have an example where I feel like those brain, neural pathways are are still there, but they're they're, like, diminished or there's but they're still there. Because one time, I was, at a Christmas festival with my sister, and we they were selling tinctures. And I did not know what a tincture was, but she was like, oh, this is, healthy. It's l elderberry tincture.

Ruby [00:21:22]:
It's very good for your immune system. And she bought it, and she goes, try it and put 3 drops under your tongue.

Susan [00:21:30]:
Mhmm. And

Ruby [00:21:30]:
so I put 3 drops under my tongue, and immediately, Susan, my brain lit up like a Christmas tree. It was the craziest thing with with 3 dots under my tongue, 3, like, little my brain went boom. And I literally the next thought was, I wanna buy the tincture. I, within 30 seconds, put my $10 down or whatever and bought it that fast. Then I said to my sister, what's in this? I've I and then she's like, it's pure alcohol. That's how they make tinctures. I guess this kind. I well, there's a a data point.

Ruby [00:22:11]:
Like, I learned something on my brain. So this is how I know that if I reintroduce alcohol, I have to be my brain just lit up like a like a like I said, like a like, it was, like, I want and it and it said I would subconsciously, it said, I want this. This feels good. I remember the it just and I bought the thing without even thinking. And I had been, like, 8 months alcohol free or something at that point. So be very careful of you guys. Don't Yeah. Yeah.

Susan [00:22:42]:
Yeah. I had that experience, with a mocktail. I ordered the mocktail. It came. I drank it, and I'm like, I think there's alcohol in this. It was supposed to be, like, a raspberry something something, and I they gave me, like, a raspberry it had alcohol. That's all. But I but it wasn't obvious.

Susan [00:23:01]:
It wasn't like a glass of wine or something like and I'm and I wasn't a huge mixed drink drinker. So I'm, like, tasting it. I'm passing it around to everybody at the table. Is there alcohol in this? You know? And I'm tasting it again. And then all of a sudden, I got this flush feeling, and I was like, there's definitely alcohol in this. And so we brought over the and she goes, oh my gosh. You know, the waitress. Oh my gosh.

Susan [00:23:21]:
I'm so sorry. Yes. I took it back. She looked at me. She goes, no. It's definitely the mocktail. And I'm like, I don't think so. So she took it back to the bar and she came back and she's like, I'm so sorry.

Susan [00:23:30]:
I picked up somebody the wrong drink, and, yes, this was. And yeah. So being careful. I know other people have gotten, like, alcohol free beers, and it comes to the table. It's like, bring the can, pour it at the table so I can see the can that says it's alcohol free. You know? Just to be careful of, yeah. I mean, I didn't go raid the liquor cabinet at the mini bar, you know, in our hotel room. We were visiting my son in Maine.

Susan [00:23:55]:
It wasn't like that kinda thing, but, you know, I could tell from that feeling that, like, again, just to be clear.

Ruby [00:24:04]:
With yourself. And that's the same thing that I say with NA drinks. I think I've had some NA drinks where I felt like they maybe they have a percent or 2 of alcohol or something in them because I know I felt that feeling sometimes with some NA drinks. So or kombucha. I've heard that too. Kombucha can have, like, 4%. It can have alcohol. So just be careful.

Ruby [00:24:27]:
Be honest with what what is does your brain say, like, mine was with that tincture, I want more. And, like, instantly, that was a huge no. I didn't go out and in fact, I returned that tincture. I just was, like, excuse me. I need to return this. But, like, I'd no. I didn't go out and, I just but I was so aware of it. Like, okay.

Ruby [00:24:46]:
This is what I need to be aware of. This feeling, this, you know, Watch for that.

Susan [00:24:52]:
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But and there's other things that can bring you, peace. You know, bring the feeling you know, like I said, we resource our clients in order to where you don't need to use alcohol as a coping mechanism. We give you real coping mechanisms that work, to to learn how to relax properly, to learn how to deal with stress in your life, to to have daily practices. And those are the things, you know, like pillars in your life that also those are the things that I wouldn't that I learned that I wouldn't have wanted to give up when I, you know, I gave the analogy in the last, episode about if a fairy godmother could just go, okay. You're back to you know? No.

Susan [00:25:37]:
Those are the things they they were so empowering to know that I can go anywhere and do anything alcohol free. I can go through anything without needing to numb myself by using alcohol is so empowering. It's like like well, we use the word badass.

Ruby [00:25:54]:
We are badasses. Yeah. And you could be a badass too. And it's we all have this, like, superpower within us. Like, picture a little wonder woman within our ourselves, and she's just battling against alcohol. And she can't be that superwoman that's you have all the answers inside. You already are a superwoman, and alcohol's just kinda shoving that part of you down. And when you get alcohol free I mean, I started meditating.

Ruby [00:26:25]:
I have a new career. I am confident. I lost weight. My skin looks better. Speaking of skin looking better, you look gorgeous, Susan. You always do. Oh, thank you. This is a great time to segue to, what do you do to feel lit, alcohol freak, since we're talking about this? Yeah.

Susan [00:26:45]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well so, you know, we save a lot of money not drinking. Right? So I decided, at my was it 1 year anniversary? Yes. A little over 1 year anniversary of being alcohol free that I was going to get facials on 1 once a month. And so I found a spa that I really like and started getting facials. And, yeah. So, like, it is a self care thing, but it's also really good, like, for for for women.

Susan [00:27:17]:
I'd never had a facial before. Some people, you know, I just didn't do those regularly. No. I'd had facials. I'd had facials and spa treatments here and there, but I it wasn't a regular practice. Yeah. Right? To go in and and just have an aesthetician, like, look at my skin and give me suggestions of different serums. I've a serum, like, junky.

Susan [00:27:36]:
I buy anything off the Internet. Oh my gosh. During COVID, I literally had my credit card number memorized because I was just constantly buying, like, serums and creams and da da da and just to, like, stop the madness.

Ruby [00:27:50]:
But you were drinking back then. Right? So

Susan [00:27:53]:
The beginning of COVID, then the rest of COVID. I'm saying, like Yeah. Yeah. The rest of COVID, I stopped June 1, 2020. So that's and then, yeah. I just yeah. So it was just to get to even stop that madness and to just go, okay. These are the things I need to keep my skin healthy.

Susan [00:28:11]:
I have I have this, you know, aesthetician that is the gal that I go to. Uh-huh. And she's also alcohol free, so I love that. So we chat about our skin, and she's like, oh, your skin is so easy to work with because you don't drink. It's so amazing. I don't have to, like, repair any damage and, like Yeah. And so it's been a really fun practice for me and a treat for me that is, yeah. It's a treat.

Susan [00:28:36]:
Right? It's a treat that is in alcohol, and it's not food, and it's not shopping. It's it's a self care treat that I really enjoy.

Ruby [00:28:44]:
I love that. I treat myself to, a monthly massage. Yeah. Oh. I'm not really good about it. You sound way better with your facials. I it's more like I I'll call it a quarterly massage because

Susan [00:28:57]:
I forget

Ruby [00:28:57]:
a lot. But, yeah. I think having the self care because we're saving money not drinking. Keep forgetting that.

Susan [00:29:03]:
Like, I'm

Ruby [00:29:03]:
saving 100 of dollars not drinking. Yeah. A month.

Susan [00:29:08]:
So 100. 100. Yeah.

Ruby [00:29:10]:
When I yeah. 100. Oh my gosh. Well, you your skin looks beautiful. And we, a few episodes ago, we talked about if you haven't listened to it, it's a really good episode. We uncover that being alcohol free is, like, you get a fountain of youth. You don't have to necessarily spend so much on creams and serums if you're alcohol free. You just Right.

Ruby [00:29:33]:
Plumper.

Susan [00:29:34]:
Yeah. Or they actually work. Or yeah. Because you're not undoing you're not, you know, doing the damage and all the stuff you're doing for your skin isn't just undoing the damage that you're doing to it on a regular basis. So Yeah. Yeah. You start to see some improvements and, yeah. Yeah.

Susan [00:29:49]:
So

Ruby [00:29:50]:
It's awesome. I love that feel lit. Yeah. So what a great episode. This is such an important topic, and I'm so glad we took 2 episodes and, you know, to do this because it truly is something that, we work almost with every single client on is the moderation piece.

Susan [00:30:09]:
And so Absolutely.

Ruby [00:30:10]:
We want to invite you to our feel it alcohol free Facebook community. That's where we're creating connection community. We go live sometimes. We, we sometimes have freebies. We sometimes have giveaways.

Susan [00:30:25]:
Giveaways of mugs. Here's our

Ruby [00:30:27]:
Yeah. And, so we'd love to invite you there. Please just, well, you the link will be in the show notes. But also join our YouTube channel. You can subscribe to that if you wanna see our our mugs, our our faces, or our our our young looking skin.

Susan [00:30:43]:
Our young looking skin or my goofy faces. Like, sometimes when I'm, like, finding clips or pictures, like, I'm like, oh, let's find the darkest face that I can find of myself. You always look great, Ruby, but, oh, it's kind of fun.

Ruby [00:30:57]:
Yeah. So yeah. Please and we also have a freebie, meaning. We have this we think it's a great, asset. Like, you can totally do this. Try it's to dip your toe in. Have a weekend wine free, alcohol free. Like, try it out.

Ruby [00:31:14]:
Like, that's the a first, like, step just to try. Yeah. And we focus a lot on self care. Mhmm. So, anyway, what a great episode. Thank you so much, Susan. I love your story. Yeah.

Ruby [00:31:27]:
Yeah.

Susan [00:31:27]:
Oh, thank you. I love your story too. I love how we relate to each other's, and and there's so many similarities because the common denominator is alcohol. So if you're, like, nodding along, it's because of alcohol. It's nothing wrong with you, and we would love to help you. And we're so glad you're listening.

Ruby [00:31:45]:
Alright. Have a great day. Thank you. Thank you. Bye bye. 


Thanks so much for listening to the Feel Lit Alcohol Free Podcast. Do you have a question you'd like us to answer on the show? All you need to do is head over to Apple Podcasts and do 2 simple things. Leave a rating and review telling us what you think of the show. And in that review, ask us any questions you have about breaking free from wine or living an alcohol free lifestyle. That's it. Then tune in to hear your question answered live. Don't forget to grab your copy of a wine free weekend at www.feellitpodcast.com
And remember, do something today that will help you feel lit. See you next time!