This Naked Mind Podcast

Have you ever done everything "right" and still felt like alcohol had the upper hand? You're not alone — and there's a really good reason for that. Coach Hayley coaches M through the fear and doubt swirling around her upcoming break, while Coach Zoe helps Lawrence see that his drinking is actually rooted in a rebellious 15-year-old who never got to grow up. When you understand why willpower fails with alcohol, everything starts falling into place.

M discusses:

Why willpower fails with alcohol when “just one” never feels like enough

Fear of forever, and why one day at a time feels safer

Drinking alone, hiding, and the pain of not feeling like herself

Using experiments and data instead of shame

Wanting peace, sleep, and self-trust more than wine

Learning to meet her authentic self with curiosity

And more…

Lawrence discusses:

The childhood roots of rebellion and how they shaped his drinking

Why alcohol stopped feeling freeing and started feeling costly

Health, sleep, and relationships taking the hit

Realizing rebellion was hurting him, not helping him

Moving from survival mode into wise-adult choices

Letting go of old stories and building a life he doesn’t want to escape

And more topics…

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Zoe taught Pilates for 15 years. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.

Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

Willpower Doesn’t Work | Interview | EP 619 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-619-guest-expert-willpower-doesnt-work-with-dr-ben-hardy/

Ways To Rebel Without Alcohol | Reader Questions | EP 268 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-268-reader-question-sneaking-drinking-rebel-withouot-alcohol/

Sleep, with Michael Gradisar | Interview | EP 253 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-253-sleep-with-michael-gradisar/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

What happens when the thing you're most afraid to lose is also the thing quietly costing you everything? Anne grew up in a home where five o'clock cocktails were as reliable as the sunset. Drinking was culture, celebration, and comfort, and for a long time, it felt completely earned. But through two pregnancies, her parents' declining health, and eventually losing both of them, a bottle a night became two. A blackout fight with her husband, one she has zero memory of, became the moment she couldn't look away anymore. She found This Naked Mind, joined The Path in October 2023, and started doing the unglamorous daily work. "Looking back, I can see how I rewired my mindset around drinking," Anne says. "It was subtle. It just got a little easier and a little easier." Two and a half years later, she's present, she's lucid at 11:30 PM when her kids need her, and she's collecting memories she actually gets to keep.

In this episode, Anne and Coach Cole talk about:

The family culture that made drinking feel normal, necessary, and completely deserved

Losing both parents, leaning harder on wine, and the night a blackout broke through the denial

Why Anne chose The Path over rehab — and what drew her to TNM's nonjudgmental approach

How journaling and questioning her own thoughts slowly dismantled beliefs she'd never examined

Being the parent who's awake and present at 11:30 PM — and why that changed everything

Open, honest conversations with her teenage sons about alcohol and family history

Natural highs from tennis wins, ski trips, and family dinners that beat any buzz she remembers

And more on trading old problems for ones she's genuinely glad to have...

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

How To Rewire Your Brain To Stop Drinking| Meet Our Coaches | E827 - https://thisnakedmind.com/how-to-rewire-your-brain-to-stop-drinking-e827/

 How To Talk To Your Kids About Alcohol | Interview | EP523 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-523-how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-alcohol-with-scott-pinyard-and-tnm-parents/

 What Do You Do About Missing the “High” from Drinking? | Reader Question | EP 20 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-20-reader-question-what-do-you-do-about-missing-the-high-from-drinking/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

Does it ever feel like you know everything there is to know about why you drink, and none of it is enough to make you stop? You're not alone in that. In this episode, Coaches Hayley and Cole each sit with a Path member who's been carrying that exact weight. Audrey has 20 years of binge drinking, a ton of quit lit under her belt, and a shame so deep she's not sure she deserves to feel better. Savannah is eight days in and quietly discovering that figuring out how to stop drinking when you're lonely gets a little more possible when you stop white-knuckling it alone and actually lean into the community around you. 

Audrey discusses:

Why shame and isolation kept her stuck in the drinking cycle

The belief that alcohol was the only way to numb emotional pain

Reframing fear and staying open to new tools

Why community matters when learning how to stop drinking when you’re lonely

Moving from self-judgment toward self-compassion

Building a life that feels more aligned and less escapable

And more topics…

Savannah discusses:

Friday night cravings, loneliness, and the urge to check out

What she learned from experimenting with alcohol-free evenings

Why drinking brought only short relief and longer emotional lows

New insights around sleep, anxiety, and nighttime urges

Football games, routines, and breaking old drinking patterns

How community, curiosity, and small wins helped her practice how to stop drinking when you’re lonely

And more…

Hayley Scherders is a certified TNM Coach with training from the Canadian Addiction and Mental Health Association. Drawing from personal experiences, Hayley understands how tough change can be and provides a safe, compassionate, and judgment-free space where her clients can feel supported. She believes that with the right mindset, anyone can change their life at any time.

Learn more about Coach Hayley: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/hayley-scherders/

Cole Harvey is a certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol as a way to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

How To Deal With Loneliness | Reader Question | EP 130 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-130-reader-question-deal-loneliness/

Healing From Using Alcohol to Numb Emotional Pain | Coaching Questions | EP 564 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-564-coaching-questions-how-to-start-healing-from-numbing/

How to Break Routine Drinking Patterns | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP 889 - https://thisnakedmind.com/breaking-routine-drinking-patterns-alcohol-freedom-coaching-ep-889/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

What is gray area drinking for women – and what happens when “drink less” slowly turns into “I don’t even want this anymore”? In this Where Are They Now conversation, Calley returns after first appearing on the podcast in October 2019 to share what seven years alcohol-free really looks like. Talking with Coach Hayley, she reflects on motherhood, moving, social discomfort, and the quiet but powerful shift from worrying about what was in her glass to simply living free. It’s an honest, encouraging look at what changes when curiosity replaces shame and alcohol stops taking up so much space in your mind.

Calley and Hayley discuss:

Motherhood, moving, and realizing wine was taking up more space than she wanted

What is gray area drinking for women—and why curiosity matters before things feel “serious enough.”

From social discomfort to feeling fully at home in her alcohol-free skin

Honest conversations with kids about alcohol, pressure, and awareness

Why community, compassion, and knowledge matter more than shame

How freedom from alcohol opened the door to deeper healing around sugar, caffeine, and self-trust

And more on confidence, connection, and building a life that feels good without alcohol

Episode links: thisnakedmindapp.com

Related Episodes:

Naked Life Story – Calley | EP 219 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-219-naked-life-story-calley-2-2/

How are alcohol cravings similar to sugar? | Reader Question | EP 516 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-516-reader-question-how-are-alcohol-cravings-similar-to-sugar/

Gray Area Drinking with Jolene Park | Naked Life Story | EP 47 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-47-naked-life-story-jolene-park/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!

What if the fun was never actually in the drink? What is the best way to stop associating fun with alcohol? Zion called alcohol the "jewelry" of life, the thing that made every moment glitter, and spent years believing that celebrations, friendships, and good food just needed a cocktail to feel complete. Audra built her whole identity around being the bold one who drank scotch and bourbon and never said no to a good time. Now both are exploring living alcohol-free and finding the fun in that. Coaches Cole and Zoe are right there with them.

Zion discusses:

Why alcohol became the “jewelry” on dinners, concerts, holidays, & friendships

The wake-up call of planning a great night & not remembering any of it

How people-pleasing & fear of “rocking the boat” kept drinking tied to fun

What trivia night & Thanksgiving taught him about being alcohol-free in real life

Why awkward moments do not have to mean something is wrong

What is the best way to stop associating fun with alcohol? For Zion, it starts with curiosity, patience, & new evidence

And more topics...

Audra discusses:

How going out, pub culture, quiz nights, & routine made alcohol feel like part of the experience

When drinking alone started to feel easier than connection

The mental exhaustion of hiding, planning, & calculating every drink

Why she was shocked to feel freer on her break than she expected

Passing on favorite champagne, staying present, & waking up proud

What is the best way to stop associating fun with alcohol? Audra explores that through curiosity, ACT work, & learning to feel instead of escape

And more...

Cole Harvey is a certified Naked Mind Senior Coach. For years, he felt lost and used alcohol as a way to cope, until he decided to go alcohol-free and focus on finding his purpose. Through curiosity, self-compassion, and adventure, he transformed his life. As a habit change and mindset coach, Cole helps young men understand themselves, build better habits, and find meaning.

Learn more about Coach Cole: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/cole-harvey/

Zoe Ewart is a Certified Naked Mind Senior Coach who brings her experience and understanding to help with the tricky parts of life’s big changes. Her coaching gives you an enjoyable, light-hearted, and safe environment to effortlessly take back control of alcohol so you can feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. She has four adult children and more animals than the Ark ever had.

Learn more about Coach Zoe: https://thisnakedmind.com/coach/zoe-ewart/

Episode links: nakedmindpath.com

Related Episodes:

Why do we desire alcohol for celebration? | Reader Question | EP 266 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-266-reader-question-why-do-we-desire-alcohol-for-celebration/

 How To Have Fun Without Drinking | Reader Question | EP 362 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-362-reader-question-will-i-ever-have-fun-without-drinking-alcohol/

Why You Know Better But Still Drink | Alcohol Freedom Coaching | EP869 - https://thisnakedmind.com/tips-to-stop-using-alcohol-to-avoid-feelings-afc-e869/

Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious!