Take a Break from Drinking: Practical Tools to Drink Less & Change Your Relationship with Alcohol

Latest Episodes:

487: When you're trying to drink less but surrounded by temptation Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Being surrounded by alcohol can make drinking less feel almost impossible. When your partner drinks, your friends want another round, or so much of your social life revolves around alcohol, it's easy to believe you'd have more success if you could just get rid of the temptation.

This week, we're exploring why changing your environment can be helpful without making it responsible for your success. Avoiding certain situations may give you some much-needed breathing room, but believing you can only succeed when temptation disappears can create a different problem, especially when alcohol inevitably shows up again.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/487

486: Using the people you love as motivation to drink less Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

Wanting to drink less for the people you love can feel like powerful motivation. Maybe you want to be a better parent, a more present partner, or simply stop giving the people closest to you a reason to worry. But relying too heavily on those reasons can create a problem you might not see coming.

Tune in this week to discover why doing this work for the people you love can sometimes backfire. You'll learn how an invisible scorecard can start influencing your decisions, why resentment can make giving in suddenly feel more appealing, and how to find reasons for changing your drinking that remain compelling no matter what the people around you are doing.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/486

485: How Under-Fueling Leads to Drinking More Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

That mid-afternoon or end-of-day craving for a drink can feel incredibly predictable. Maybe you assume your brain has simply learned that this is when you drink, but what if there's something else turning up the volume on your desire for alcohol?

This week, we're exploring the connection between under-fueling and drinking more. What if some of the signals you interpret as wanting a drink are tangled up with something happening in your body? And what if years of rules about when, what, and how much you should eat have made that connection harder to recognize?

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/485

484: When family members don't support your decision to drink less Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

When family members don't understand your decision to drink less or stop drinking, their disapproval can feel especially difficult to shake. You may know that you're making the right choice for you and still find yourself wishing they would understand, accept it, or simply stop commenting on it.

This week, we're exploring why a family member's reaction can feel so much more charged than someone else disagreeing with your choices. What if their judgment doesn't mean quite what your brain thinks it means? And what might become possible if you stopped trying to get them to understand your decision?

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/484

483: Why can't I just have one drink and be satisfied? Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Having one drink can seem like the obvious way to satisfy a craving. You scratch the itch, your brain gets what it wants, and then you move on. Except sometimes having one drink seems to do the exact opposite, and suddenly you want another, and then another.

This week, we're exploring why satisfying a desire doesn't always make that desire disappear. What if wanting more after that first drink doesn't mean you haven't had enough? And what if it also doesn't mean you can't trust yourself to have that first drink in the first place?

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/483

482: When people want you to drink less—but don't want you to stop Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Sometimes the same person who worries about how much you drink can turn around and feel uncomfortable when you decide not to drink at all. It can feel contradictory, frustrating, and even unsupportive, especially when you're still trying to figure out what you want your own relationship with alcohol to look like.

This week, we're exploring what might be happening when someone wants you to drink less, but doesn't want you to stop.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/482

481: Wanting to prove you can drink less Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

So many people say they just want to drink normally or stop after a couple of drinks. But beneath that goal, there can be something much bigger driving the desire to prove you can handle alcohol.

This week, we're exploring why the desire to prove you can drink less deserves a closer look. What if the pressure you're putting on yourself isn't actually helping you change? And what if there's something much more useful to pay attention to instead?

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/481

480: Tolerating the discomfort of not having another drink Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

It might feel like the hardest part of drinking less is forcing yourself to stop, but what if the discomfort isn't coming from wanting more at all?

This week, we're taking a closer look at what really happens in the moment you decide not to have another drink. You'll discover why wanting and liking aren't the same thing, why pleasure naturally fades whether you keep drinking or not, and how your brain's running commentary can trick you into believing that stopping is what feels so uncomfortable.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/480

479: How do I get back on track after I slip up and drink too much? Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Making progress with your drinking doesn't mean you'll never have another night where you drink more than you intended. But what happens next can either keep you stuck or become the most valuable part of the learning process.

In this episode, we're exploring why the idea that you need to "get back on track" after drinking too much may actually be keeping you trapped in the same cycle.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/479

478: I've made so much progress with my drinking. So why doesn't it feel any easier? [Listener Q&A] Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Have you ever wondered why, even though you've made so much progress with your drinking, it still feels like alcohol takes up way too much space in your mind?

Tune in this week to learn why feeling stuck doesn't mean you've stopped making progress. You'll hear the difference between drinking less and needing alcohol less, why anticipation and worry can keep alcohol at the center of your thinking, and how measuring progress by what occupies your attention can be far more meaningful than simply counting drinks.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/478

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