Journey to the Sunnyside | Mindful Drinking & Alcohol Health

Latest Episodes:

Choosing Again: A Mid-January Reset Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

We’re a few weeks into January — past the excitement of starting, but still early enough to choose again. In this episode, I share how I’m structuring a personal experiment this year, not as a rule or resolution, but as a way to support what I want more of: energy, clarity, consistency, and presence. Using examples straight from my journal, I walk through a simple framework you can use at any point in the year:

Clarifying your “why” by category
Turning it into purpose statements
Choosing a meaningful container without forever language

Whether you’re right on track or already feeling off course, this episode isn’t about restriction or perfection. It’s about paying attention to what supports you, and what quietly takes from you, and choosing from there.

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CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:

Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

ABOUT SUNNYSIDE:

Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol health app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.

We now offer Sunnyside Med, a new program that provides access to compounded naltrexone, a medication that can reduce alcohol cravings at the brain level, offering a more clinical pathway for people who need it. Sunnyside Med is a complete, holistic approach to help you drink less or quit, including coaching, community, habit change, education, and more to help you create longterm change while the medication does its work.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.

The First 30 Days and That “I Feel Amazing” Phase w/ Marci Hopkins Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Marci Hopkins, host of Wake Up with Marci and author of the upcoming book Wake Up, You’re Not Broken, joins me again to talk about what actually happens after you make a big change. We unpack the first 30 days — including that first-month “I feel amazing” phase — and why things can feel harder once it fades. We talk about identity, spirituality, community, and how to move forward without shame when progress isn’t linear. This episode is about rediscovering yourself, not fixing something that was broken.
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RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:

Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

From Chaos to Clarity and the Moment Everything Shifted w/ Marci Hopkins Jan 14, 2026

Show notes

Marci Hopkins is the host of Wake Up with Marci, a speaker, and the author of Chaos to Clarity. But her work didn’t come from theory — it came from living through years of trauma, chaos, and using alcohol to cope. In part one, Marci shares what chaos actually looked like growing up, how drinking slowly became normalized, and the moment she realized that trying to “manage” alcohol wasn’t going to work for her. We talk about self-awareness, nervous system survival, and why real change starts when you stop pretending something is working when it isn’t.
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RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:

Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

The Real Reason Hangovers Don’t Change Drinking Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

You’d think a hangover would be enough to stop drinking. For most people, it’s not. In this episode, we look at why delayed consequences don’t change behavior, how the brain prioritizes immediate relief, and what cravings are really responding to. Once you understand the timing problem at the center of drinking habits, a lot of things start to make sense.

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:

Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

Why “Just Quit Drinking” Never Worked for Me w/ Claudia Christian Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Claudia Christian is an actress, author, and leading advocate for evidence-based approaches to alcohol use disorder. She’s best known for her roles on Babylon 5, NYPD Blue, and 24, as well as for her widely viewed TEDx talk on alcohol recovery, which has been watched by millions of people worldwide.

In this conversation, Claudia shares why being told to “just quit drinking” never worked for her, despite years of trying. We talk about cravings, relapse cycles, and why willpower alone often isn’t enough to change drinking habits. Claudia explains how naltrexone helped quiet the mental and physical noise around alcohol, and what most people misunderstand about medication, side effects, and consistency.We also go beyond the biology.

Claudia reflects on trauma, learned coping patterns, and why the deeper work matters once cravings begin to fade. This episode is about expanding options, reducing harm, and offering a more realistic and compassionate way to change your relationship with alcohol.

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:

Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

Why Constant Self-Improvement Can Quietly Wear You Down Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

We’re surrounded by advice on how to do better, be better, and optimize every part of life. But what if the constant effort to improve is part of what keeps us feeling tense? In this episode, I talk about my own habit of always learning, always doing, and what happened when I finally made space to stop fixing myself. We explore why easing pressure can lead to calmer choices, clearer thinking, and more sustainable change.

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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
- Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside

ABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol moderation app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.

My Top 5 Resources for Dry (or Dryish) January Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

If you’re starting Dry January or Dry(ish) January today, this episode is about support, not pressure. We talk about how to approach the month with kindness instead of correction, what to expect in those first couple of weeks, why an off night doesn’t undo progress, and how to set yourself up with tools that actually help once January is underway. We walk through practical support like the Dry(ish) January Challenge with Sunnyside, medical and physical support options, urge surfing, and motivating resources that make this feel doable in real life. This episode builds on Monday’s conversation about planning ahead, but it stands on its own as a grounded way to start the year feeling clear, steady, and supported.

My Top 5 Resources for Dry (or Dryish) January

1. Dry(ish) January Challenge with Sunnyside
Join the free challenge, choose your goal, track your drinks, and earn rewards.
https://get.sunnyside.co/january

2. Sunnyside Med
Medical support designed to help when cravings feel bigger than intentions.
https://www.joinsunnysidemed.com/

3. Cloud9 – Daily Restore (Sunnyside Edition)
Physical support for sleep, nervous system recovery, and liver health during alcohol reduction.
https://trycloud9.com/products/daily-restore-sunnyside

4. Urge Surfing (Behavioral Psychology Tool)
Clinical overview:
👉 https://ssihi.uci.edu/news-and-media/blog/urge-surfing-in-the-new-year-resolving-to-ride-the-waves-of-change/

5. SoberishMom on Instagram
Motivating, real-life support that makes Dry(ish) Jan
👉 https://www.instagram.com/soberishmom/

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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

9 Things to Decide Before January Starts Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

January 1 is symbolic, not magical. In this episode, we walk through nine decisions to make before January starts if you want change to actually stick. We cover why waiting for the calendar flip often backfires, how the “get it out of your system” mindset keeps patterns in place, and why planning for stress, fatigue, and social pressure matters more than motivation. Whether you’re considering Dry January, Dryish January, or just drinking differently in the new year, this episode shows how starting earlier can turn January into a real starting point instead of another reset.

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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

How to Do Dry(ish) January Without the Rebound w/ Katie Nessel Dec 26, 2025

Show notes

Dry January doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. In this episode, Katie Nessel from Soberish Mom and I talk through what Dry(ish) January really looks like in real life, why flexibility works better than white-knuckling, and where people tend to get stuck when they try to force change. We unpack the difference between Dry and Dry(ish), why slip-ups don’t undo progress, and how the Sunnyside challenge supports planning, awareness, and community without pressure. We close with how to think about success in January and how to carry that momentum forward instead of rebounding in February.

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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

Why Drinking Less Feels Different This Year W/ Katie Nessel Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

Katie Nessel from @soberishmom is back, and a lot has shifted since we last talked. In this conversation, we catch up on what the past year has really looked like inside the mindful drinking space, what parents are reaching out about most right now, and where pressure still shows up, especially for moms. We talk about social situations, identity, exhaustion, and the growing gap between how alcohol is marketed and how people actually feel. And we close with what feels more normalized, less taboo, and why drinking less feels different than it did even a year ago.
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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4

RELATED ARTICLES FROM THE SUNNYSIDE BLOG:

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