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Health & Fitness

It’s Not About the Alcohol

Would you like to reduce your alcohol consumption by about 80 percent? Become the version of you who can just “take it or leave it” so that you can enjoy drinking socially without relying on alcohol to manage your stress, anxiety, loneliness and boredom when you’re by yourself?

Most high achieving women assume over-drinking is caused by a lack of willpower–or worse, the incurable disease of “alcoholism.” So they beat themselves up and avoid asking for help because they feel ashamed and out of control.

Whether you’re a daily drinker who can’t break the habit, or you’re still going to sobriety meetings even though you don’t drink anymore, the real problem is that you don’t trust yourself.

Which means it’s not about the alcohol. It’s about your relationship with yourself.

Colleen Freeland is a a mindful drinking coach helping professional women learn how drinking less (or not at all) is actually a superpower, even when the idea of giving up the only thing that helps them quiet their mind feels impossible.

The solution to alcohol use disorder is a FEELING. If you felt comfortable in your own skin and at ease in your life, you would drink like someone who is comfortable and at ease!

Join me each week for holistic, evidence-based strategies to fix your dopamine deficit, regulate your nervous system, cure imposter syndrome, manage sugar cravings, improve your sleep and reclaim your mental health so you no longer have the urge to escape your own body.

Get happy, not sober. Because happy people don’t drink themselves into a stupor.

Latest Episodes:

EP360 Why you drink more after bariatric surgery (and how to decide whether to quit or cut back) with Ruby Williams Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

If you've had bariatric surgery, and now you're drinking more than you ever have, you may be wondering if quitting is your only option. This conversation shows you why the answer is embedded in your own personal experience, not someone else's playbook, and why letting go of your alcohol identity opens the door to what you really want.

Guest: Ruby Williams, 20-year wine industry veteran turned alcohol freedom coach.

What you'll learn:

Why drinking can ramp up after bariatric surgery when food can no longer serve as a coping mechanism
Why your alcohol identity, drinker or non-drinker, can block what you really want
How to figure out whether you want to quit or cut back, based on your own experience
Why going back and forth between goals doesn't mean you failed

Get the Mindful Drinking Experience: a guided workshop you can do in the privacy of your own home while you're drinking, so you can learn what's true for you. Bonuses include workbook, hangover homework and 23 training audios from inside The Next Chapter.

If you're ready to do the deeper work of emotional sobriety and want to know how to start, Schedule your free discovery call with our enrollment team.

Connect with Ruby:

Social media: @rubywilliamscoaching

Podcast: Sober & Lit Sober and Lit podcast: [LINK] https://www.freedomrenegadecoaching.com/About-Ruby

EP359 The hidden reasons why you drink too much (and what really needs to change) Oct 14, 2026

Show notes

You've been negotiating new rules every time you break the old ones, and you still can't figure out why "just drink less" never sticks. The answer isn't in your glass. It's in your week. Three client stories show you exactly where the drinking is coming from, and the one question to ask instead of "what's wrong with me."

What you'll learn:

Why removing the one thing that gives you relief, in a week you haven't changed, backfires
The unspoken rules you follow for everyone else and never apply to yourself
Why you have plenty of motivation, it's just pointed in the wrong direction
What self-care actually is, and why it isn't pedicures and prosecco
The small, unimpressive changes that move the needle for high achieving women

Join Colleen live for Get Happy, Not Sober on October 23, 24 and 25. [REGISTER HERE]

If you'd rather talk to someone now, schedule a call with our enrollment team and they'll help you figure out where to start.

Check out our new program options! Emotionalsobrietycoaching.com/programs

EP358 Why you need wine when you're stressed (and how to reduce cravings without whiteknuckling) with Sian Cook Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

You eat clean, you handle everything, and by five o'clock you still feel like you need a glass of wine to calm down. Sian Cook, a former client trained in medicine, explains what stress is draining from your brain, why wine feels like the fix, and where to start to change your relationship with alcohol.

What you'll learn:

Why stress burns through the nutrients your brain needs to feel calm
Why wine makes you feel instantly better when you're stressed
Why eating clean isn't always enough to give your brain what it needs
What it looks like when wine shifts from a need to a want

Click here to learn more about Vital Mind Serenity. Type "Colleen" in the discount field for 10% off. (Colleen has no affiliation. She just thinks it's worth knowing about.)

Click here to join Colleen's next live Get Happy Not Sober event to uncover the real reasons why reducing your drinking feels harder than it should be. It's an ideal opportunity to work directly with Colleen without making a huge commitment.

Referenced in this episode: It's Not About the Alcohol Episode 193: How to use amino acid supplements to fix neurotransmitter deficiences that trigger alcohol cravings

EP357: Your drinking isn't self-indulgent. It's self-denial. Here's the difference. Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

You've been telling yourself you drink too much because you love it too much. That's not what's happening. This episode shows you the rules you've been following since childhood that make you say yes to everyone else and no to yourself, and why the drink at the end of the day is the only thing you actually let yourself have.

What you'll learn:

Why the same rule that makes you reliable for everyone else makes you unavailable to yourself
The difference between a Go rule and a No-Go rule, and how to spot both in one decisio
Why "I'll just tough it out" costs you more bandwidth, patience and momentum than you think
Why trying to reduce your drinking fails when the depletion underneath it doesn't change

Get Happy, Not Sober is a live three-day event starting Friday, September 11. Day one, you'll measure the gap between what you'll do for other people and what you'll do for yourself, find the rule causing it, and walk away with one sentence that explains why your relationship with alcohol is out of balance. Day two is the mindful drinking experiment, live with Colleen for VIPs or on your own with the workbook. Day three is coaching and integration. Sessions are Friday and Saturday at 3pm Eastern, Sunday at noon Eastern. Plan on 90 minutes each. VIP spots are limited. [REGISTER HERE]

EP356 The real reason you can't follow through on your promise to "not drink" tonight Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

You have discipline in every other area of your life. You follow through, you deliver, you keep everything running. So why is it that the one night you tell yourself no drinking, you pour that first glass like that was the plan all along? This episode explains what's actually driving that, and why willpower can't make it stop.

What you'll learn:

Why "not drinking" feels harder than anything else on your list What your nervous system is actually reacting to when you sit still Why cutting back so you can get more done backfires every time Why three years of perfect abstinence didn't fix a damn thing The difference between acting like a woman who can take it or leave it and feeling like her

Join Colleen this weekend, Aug 21-23 for Get Happy Not Sober, a live three-day event. [Click here to register now.]

EP355 How to be truly free from the desire to drink (without willpower) Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

You've done a lot of work and you've definitely improved. But you're still drinking more than you want. And there's a critical voice in your head that keeps insisting you should be doing more–working harder and changing faster. This episode explains why the desire to drink won't lift until you deal with the emotional patterns that are driving it, and what it actually feels like to be free.

What you'll learn:

Why the "not enough" feeling keeps coming back no matter how much you improve
How to stop chasing the outcome and focus on the state of being you want to embody
What it will feel like to be able to "take it or leave it"
Two reflection questions to help clarify what really needs to change

Take the 3-minute quiz to find out which of the four drinker types is running your nervous system, so you know exactly which version of "not enough" you're working with. [Take the Quiz Here]

Book a free discovery call with Colleen's team so you can walk away with a new goal (that has nothing to do with alcohol). [Book Your Discovery Call with One of Our Certified Coaches]

EP354: If it feels like your drinking hasn't changed, track this metric instead Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

You're still drinking more than you should, and you want to know if real change actually is a slow process, or if you're just making excuses so you don't have to quit. Here's the honest answer, plus a reliable metric to track so that you can feel more confident about your progress.

What you'll learn:

Why your drinking is usually the last thing to change, not the first
Why counting drinks is counterproductive to your progress
Why you lose motivation to "drink less," and the perspective shift that helps you stay consistent
What to do when you wake up and realize you "did it again"
How to tell whether your discomfort is a sign that you're failing or growing

Nervous system regulation is the missing puzzle piece for most high-performing women. Register for the free masterclass, The Science Behind Take It or Leave It: Why Some Women Can and How You Can Too. [Watch the Masterclass Here]

One conversation won't change your drinking. But it can change your perspective on what you need to focus on. If you want to bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be, book a free discovery call. [Book Your Discovery Call Here]

EP353: Your brain talks you into drinking. Here's how to talk back. Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

You wake up asking the same question you asked yesterday. What the hell is wrong with me? But you've already decided the answer is that you're drinking is out of control. This episode shows you how the story you keep telling yourself becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and gives you three moves to shift your perspective of what's going on (and what really needs to change).

What you'll learn:

Why the way you describe your drinking becomes the reality you live in
The difference between a real threat and a false alarm
Why trying to control or quit drinking backfires, and what actually causes change
The three moves that rewrite the story that keeps you stuck in the cycle of overdrinking

There are four types of drinkers. Take the free 3-minute quiz to find out which language pattern is running your habit. [Take the Quiz Here]

Ready to change your drinking without labeling it a drinking "problem?" Book a free discovery call with one of Colleen's certified coaches to find out if this approach can work for you. [Book Your Discovery Call Here]

EP352: Drinking turns off your brain. Planning to quit turns it back on. Here's how to break the cycle. Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

You wake up feeling rough and decide, "I'm not drinking tonight." For a few hours, that plan feels solid. But evening comes and you pour one anyway. And now your brain has even more evidence that you're not in control. Which makes you less motivated to try again (because what's the point?) This episode shows you why planning to "not drink" often backfires and what to do instead.

What you'll learn:

Why high achieving "planners" also tend to drink too much
How planning to control your drinking builds pressure in your nervous system
The one-word pattern-interrupt that shifts you from "planning for later" into action (right now)
How to figure out what you really need (it's never a drink)

[Click Here] for the Take it or Leave it Roadmap Series. Before you can change your drinking, you have to understand how it's actually helping you. These 5 videos walk you through the whole process of change, starting with why your drinking makes perfect sense. Watch one a day or binge all five in under an hour.

[Click Here] to book a free discovery call with Colleen's enrollment team if you know you need guidance, support and accountability. You'll leave with a clear action plan for giving yourself more of what you need, whether you end up working with us or not.

EP351: Why joy is key to drinking less (not discipline) Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

You've been telling yourself that if you were more disciplined, then you wouldn't drink as much as you do. But the problem isn't that you need more control. It's that giving yourself permission to relax means that you're wasting time or falling behind. Which is why you need alcohol. This episode explains why expanding your capacity for peace and joy is what actually reduces alcohol cravings, and gives you one small goal to help you get started.

What you'll learn:

Why GLP1 drugs reduce alcohol cravings (and how to get the same effect on your own)
Why motivating yourself with shame and fear makes cravings worse
The difference between wanting more from yourself and wanting more for yourself
What to do when peace and joy aren't available to you (yet)

Not sure why you drink the way you do? Take the quiz to find out which of the four drinker types is running your patterns. [Take the Quiz Now]

Ready to stop figuring this out alone? Schedule a free discovery call with the enrollment team. You'll walk away with a customized action plan, your patterns named, and the specific skills you need to build. [Book Your DC Here]

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