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In this deeply personal reflection, Colleen opens up about her own history with bulimia and the years she spent trying to control her body to manage her emotions. Inspired by Jennette McCurdy's memoir I'm Glad My Mom Died, she explores how disordered eating, drinking, and perfectionism all share the same root: unprocessed emotion and the desperate need to feel safe, seen, and in control. Through her story — and Jennette's — Colleen reframes recovery as a compassionate, iterative process. True healing isn't about getting it right; it's about breaking the shame cycle that turns a slip into a slide. She reminds us that slips are part of rewiring the brain, not proof of failure. Shame is what cements the pattern — compassion is what breaks it. This episode invites listeners to soften around their own humanity, to stop waiting for perfection, and to practice self-acceptance as the foundation for lasting change.

You know that feeling when you're thinking about drinking later and your stomach drops because you're already worried about overdoing it? Or when you come home from vacation and you're genuinely afraid you won't be able to stop with the daily drinking? That's reentry syndrome. And it's not what you think it is. Most people think if they could just be stronger, more disciplined, or finally "get it together," they wouldn't feel this way. But what if I told you that reentry syndrome is a straight up trauma response? The reason you feel out of control is because you're overwhelmed? In this episode, you'll discover:

In this reflective episode, Colleen shares how a single morning meditation changed the trajectory of her entire day — and became a living practice for emotional sobriety. Waking early with her mind already spinning, she found herself caught in the familiar loop of pressure, striving, and self-imposed urgency. Instead of chasing a better plan, she chose presence. The phrase "I'm available to be here now" became a reset — a nervous-system gear shift that moved her from fight-and-fix into calm and clarity. From treadmill runs to team decisions, Colleen explores how availability opens the door to peace, creativity, and intuition. When we stop trying to escape discomfort and allow ourselves to be with it, we reclaim our power to respond differently — to build a business, a body, and a life that feels aligned instead of forced.  

In this reflective episode, Colleen shares a deeply personal moment—learning she couldn't qualify to assume the mortgage on her own home—and how that realization became a masterclass in emotional sobriety, choice, and self-trust. What begins as a financial obstacle unfolds into a powerful teaching on energetic alignment and cognitive reframing. When life tells you "you can't," your mind begins to collapse into fear, scarcity, and victimhood. But when you pause to challenge that narrative, you remember: you always have a choice. She walks through the process of shifting from agitation to awareness—examining her story line by line, regulating her emotions, and reclaiming her sense of agency. Through this lens, even discomfort becomes data, showing where your thinking needs to evolve. She shares how: Victim and survivor often face the same reality—the difference is in the response. Feeling "stuck" is always a story, not a sentence. Manifestation isn't magic; it's energetic coherence between thought, feeling, and choice. Power begins when you care more about how you feel now than what you think should happen next. Ultimately, this episode invites listeners to practice self-leadership—to stop, drop, and feel what's true before reacting, and then rewrite the story from a place of grounded power. 

What if the biggest problem in your high-conflict relationship isn't your ex—it's that you keep handing them your power? In this conversation, Amy Armstrong breaks down why conflict is a skill deficit, not a character flaw, and how focusing on what you're willing to do (instead of what the other person is doing wrong) changes everything. In this episode, we cover: → The critical difference between boundaries and requests (and why most people are just begging for change) → Why it only takes ONE person to end a conflict—and how to be that person without becoming a doormat → The uncomfortable truth about drama addiction and stress hormones (are you actually attached to the chaos?) → How to stop reading those texts that ruin your entire day (and why you keep opening them anyway) → The "of course" method for instant self-compassion when you're triggered → Why saying "no" keeps you stuck in resentment—and what to focus on instead   This episode is for you if: You're co-parenting with someone who pushes every button you have You feel like you're constantly defending yourself and still losing You're exhausted from trying to change someone who refuses to change You want your power back but don't know where to start You're ready to stop being a victim to someone else's bad behavior   Amy's approach: Practical, no-BS skills for handling high-conflict relationships without losing yourself in the process. Want to Learn More About Coaching in The "High Octane Moments"  Click Here for A Free Guide that includes 3 Self-Mastery Tools to help you show up fully, care deeply and stay grounded when working with clients, even in the most explosive situations and toughest rooms. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.  Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!  Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

In this episode, Colleen revisits a recording in which she introduces a powerful tool that continues to help women interrupt autopilot and reconnect with their bodies — The Full Body Reset. She originally shared it on a morning when she didn't use it — a reminder that growth isn't about perfection, it's about awareness, compassion, and reconnection. When we're tired, stressed, or overstimulated, the brain will always reach for what's easy. The Full Body Reset helps you pause, remember what's true, and let your body cast a vote for what you really need. Through this story, she normalizes what it means to be human — to miss cues, to wish you'd chosen differently, and to repair with yourself instead of spiraling into shame. It's a simple, embodied practice that anchors emotional sobriety: building trust, honoring truth, and returning to yourself one pause at a time.  

The truth is, you can't out-think a thinking problem. And yet, that's what so many women try to do—reading, journaling, "working on themselves"—all while staying quietly trapped inside their own minds. In this episode, Colleen reveals why the real work of emotional sobriety doesn't happen in isolation. It happens in connection. Through years of observation, data, and lived experience, she's found that the single most powerful predictor of lasting success inside The Next Chapter isn't perfection or willpower—it's participation. When women join accountability groups and actually show up, something profound shifts. They start learning faster, healing deeper, and rebuilding trust in themselves through the simple act of reflection. That's not luck—it's neuroscience and emotional regulation working together in real time. If you've been trying to "figure it out" alone, this episode will help you see why connection is not a luxury in recovery—it's the catalyst. You'll understand how community accelerates self-trust, quiets shame, and helps you live from power instead of performance. Because emotional sobriety isn't about never falling down—it's about finally having the support, skills, and structure to rise in a different way.

Here's what nobody tells you when you're trying to change your drinking: Your alcohol cravings at happy hour are not just about needing a break after a hard day. And they're definitely not about how much you "just love wine." In reality, you haven't eaten since noon and your blood sugar is in the basement. This is about what you ate for lunch–or more accurately, what you didn't eat. What I've learned doing this work—and what my guest today is going to blow your mind with—is that you can't white-knuckle your way through a nutritional deficiency. You cannot mindset your way around a physiology problem. And yet most of us try to do exactly that, and then beat ourselves up when it doesn't work. Today I'm sitting down with Dr. Brooke Scheller, Doctor of Clinical Nutrition and author of "How to Eat to Change How You Drink." And she's going to explain why your evening drinking habits are not a sign that you lack willpower. You lack protein, vitamins and minerals. This conversation will give you easy, simple ideas for how to bridge the gap between where you're at and where you want to be. Spoiler: You don't need to try harder. You need to eat breakfast. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL. Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air! Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc Connect with Dr. Brooke Scheller: Website: Brooke Scheller Instagram: @drbrookescheller Substack: @drbrookescheller Book: "How to Eat to Change How You Drink" (Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible)

In this minisode, Colleen distills emotional sobriety into its simplest form: learning to recognize when you're operating from your primal state versus your power state. Most of us spend our lives reacting to the world from old programming—patterns shaped by fear, pain, or the need for control—without realizing that we can pause, interrupt, and return to presence. She explains how to move from being controlled by your mind to consciously using it as a tool, how emotional energy drives every “problem,” and how the act of letting go—physically and mentally—is the real path to peace. This is more than nervous system regulation; it's a full reclamation of agency over your inner world.  

In this minisode, Colleen unpacks the hidden link between insecurity and control — and how most of us try to manage our anxiety by managing other people's opinions. Through a grounded, body-based perspective, she reframes confidence not as something you “earn,” but as something you practice by returning to yourself again and again. She challenges the myth that insecurity means something is “wrong” with you. Instead, she explains that it's a call to turn inward — to redirect your energy from controlling perception to cultivating presence. The goal isn't to eliminate self-consciousness, but to move the needle toward self-possession, one thought, one feeling, and one moment at a time.  

When I was in my 30s and 40s, I thought health was something you earned with discipline. I ate clean, drank tons of water, ran marathons and swallowed whatever supplements were trending. And even though I appeared to be doing everything right, my stress was through the roof and my body constantly ached. I was always looking for the next thing to fix. But here's what I didn't realize:  I wasn't broken, or even unhealthy. I just wasn't listening to my body. I cared more about how things looked than how they felt.  I thought I had to prove that I was healthy by doing hard shit–taking on more than I could actually handle. I didn't understand that relaxation isn't something you earn after you check all the boxes. It's an essential ingredient to success.  In today's episode, I'm talking with Courtney Townley, host of Grace & Grit and author of The Consistency Code. Courtney helps women navigate the health maze of midlife—when your resilience to stress is naturally lower, and the load you're carrying has never been heavier, and the old strategies you've used to just keep going are no longer working. In this episode, you'll learn: Why doing more often makes you less healthy—and how your definition of self-care needs to change How to identify “integrity pain,” the tension between who you are and how you're living What to do when your motivation disappears and you literally don't have the energy to keep up with your damn self Being healthy isn't about external metrics…it's when you learn how to experience unconditional love for your body. If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q&A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    You can find Courtney at Grace & Grit ---> Grab Her NEW Book, The Consistency Code, launching November 5th!   Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc  

In this episode, Colleen introduces “future casting” — a mindset tool that helps you move from emotional reactivity into grounded awareness. She reframes every “problem” as an emotional one, reminding us that what keeps us stuck isn't the circumstance itself, but the stress response and beliefs we attach to it. Through this lens, future casting becomes a way to access perspective: to pause, regulate your nervous system, and imagine yourself on the other side of the obstacle — already having moved through it. From that calmer, wiser version of you, the next right thought and action become clearer. This practice is both deeply practical and profoundly empowering. It invites you to stop fighting your emotions, reconnect with the body, and use imagination not for worry or control — but for possibility and calm.  

In this minisode, Colleen reflects on the stories we grew up with — the ones where the lost princess or overlooked heroine is finally discovered and restored to her rightful place. These stories shaped how many of us learned to wait: for validation, timing, permission, or rescue. She'll reframe that pattern through the lens of emotional sobriety. True power isn't something that arrives once circumstances improve — it's a mindset and a way of being that can exist even in the middle of the mess. Transformation doesn't come from fixing yourself or performing worthiness, but from believing in the person you're becoming before your life catches up. You are invited to examine where you might still be waiting for rescue, and to practice showing up today as the version of yourself who already knows she's capable, worthy, and ready.

You don't have a willpower problem. You have a nervous system problem. In this episode, I'm breaking down the eight principles of self-directed neuroplasticity—how to actually rewire your brain so drinking less stops being a battle and starts becoming automatic. Here's what most people don't understand: You can't change your drinking habits while you're operating in overwhelm. Your brain literally doesn't have access to the circuits required for behavior change when you're in survival mode. Which is why all the rules, commitments, and white-knuckling haven't worked. You've been trying to force change from a state that makes change neurologically impossible. In this episode, you'll learn: Why alcohol use disorder is a stress response pattern, not a character flaw The 5 steps of the stress response (and why recognizing The Wall changes everything) Why shame makes change impossible—and what to do instead The 8 principles that make lasting brain change possible Why short, gentle daily somatic practices work better than dramatic or intense lifestyle changes How to build new habits without fighting the old ones This isn't fluffy self-help. This is neuroscience. And once you understand how your brain actually works, you stop blaming yourself and start solving the real problem. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer   Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with?  Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

In this episode, Colleen explores how hidden beliefs quietly shape our choices, limit our vision, and create the illusion of safety at the expense of growth. Most of the obstacles we face aren't outside of us — they're thoughts we've stopped questioning.  Through the lens of her own experience, she illustrates how well-intentioned reasoning can harden into self-protection, keeping us in familiar patterns that feel comfortable but constraining. This reflection challenges listeners to look beyond circumstances and into the conditioning that sustains them — and introduces a single, powerful question designed to reveal what's actually in the way of change.  

In this episode, Colleen traces a quiet, familiar fear that surfaces whenever we step into new territory — the fear of becoming “too much.” What begins as a loving message to stay safe or small can become an inherited boundary that keeps us from expansion. Through her own reflection, she reveals how deeply patterned beliefs about worth, service, and visibility shape the nervous system's response to growth. This isn't a story about trauma, but about awakening — seeing how the rules we once followed out of love can quietly hold us back from the life we're ready to create.  

Today I'm sharing a powerful conversation from The Period Whisperer podcast with host Bria Gadd. We talk about the hidden link between hormones, stress, and drinking—why so many high-achieving women end up using alcohol as a coping mechanism. You'll hear the truth about emotional sobriety, how the toxic cultural pressure to be “productive” leads to inevitable breakdown in midlife, and why you don't actually lose control of your drinking—you lose control of your thinking. If you use alcohol to quiet your mind or reward yourself for another exhausting day, this episode will shift your diagnosis of the problem so you can start working towards a solution that doesn't require you to stop drinking completely. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer   Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with?  Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

In this episode, Colleen exposes one of the most dangerous lies we tell ourselves: “Whatever. I don't care.” It's the phrase that sneaks in at the very moment you're about to follow through on what matters, pulling you back into autopilot. Habits feel easy not because they're better, but because they're familiar—and this thought is the detour sign that keeps you circling the same old roads. She shows how to catch that phrase in real time, flip it, and reconnect with your real intentions.  It's not about one big breakthrough—it's about interrupting the trance again and again until your brain learns a new path forward.

Your nervous system dictates how you think, feel, and act. The problem? The moments you most need perspective are the very moments your biology shuts it down. A racing mind, tense muscles, and cortisol surges aren't proof you're broken—they're proof your survival system thinks you're facing a predator, when in reality it's just an email, a bill, or a sideways glance at the grocery store. In this episode, Colleen explains how your sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight/freeze/fawn/flop) can hijack your focus in an instant—and why the real threat isn't the stressor, but your body's reaction to it. She shows how mindfulness gives you the skill to step into the observer role, notice the storm without fusing with it, and create the space to calm your body so your brain can come back online. True power lies in reclaiming your pause.

Today I'm back with Sunnyside podcast host Mike Hardenbrook for a conversation that pops the hood on why willpower isn't enough to change your drinking habits. We talk about what's really happening in your brain and nervous system when you reach for a drink, why your desire to drink has nothing to do with alcohol. Your body craves relief from stress and anxiety and the pressure of everyday life.  You'll walk away with the exact, science-backed shifts I teach my clients that make drinking in moderation a natural side effect of feeling more grounded and at ease. If you've ever wondered why wanting to change doesn't stop you from pouring another drink, this episode will show you how to break the cycle from the inside out. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer —Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

In this episode, Colleen draws from Keira Bobinet's Unstoppable Brain to unpack how perfectionism wires the brain for shame and shutdown. The real shift isn't about tallying wins and losses—it's about adopting an iterative mindset, where results are just feedback and every moment is a new chance to adjust. When you stop chasing the highs to avoid the lows, you stop living on a scoreboard and start reclaiming your power. One of the biggest mistakes women make when they start changing their drinking is believing early wins mean they've “arrived.” A mindful weekend or a stretch of moderation feels like victory—but if you tie your worth to performance, a setback feels like failure. And that's the trap.

In this final chapter of her West Virginia series, Colleen shares a mysterious story about her daughter Anna—and what felt like a sign from Laura, reminding them both that their needs matter. Whether coincidence or something more, it revealed a deeper truth: your voice is your lifeline back to yourself. Choosing to name what you need is not selfish—it's how you stop living by others' expectations and start living by your own. When you use your voice, the truths that once ruled you quietly from the shadows lose their power.

Today, I'm sharing a conversation that first aired on the Sunnyside podcast—home of the #1 mindful drinking app. I sat down with co-founder and host Mike Hardenbrook to talk about how to change your thinking about drinking so that you can trust yourself with alcohol again. We cover my own personal journey about why I overcorrected my heavy daily drinking with three years of full sobriety, and how I arrived in the balanced, less-is-more life I live now. You'll hear the exact mental shifts that I teach my high-achieving female clients who want to cut their drinking by up to 80% without shame, rules or life long commitments. Whether you're sober-curious or simply tired of promising yourself that you're going to change and then not following through, this conversation will change how you think about both the problem and the solution.  Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer —Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!   

Driving away from West Virginia, Colleen realized she no longer needs perfect conditions to feel like herself—because that version of her now lives within her. She explores how emotions are echoes of the past, and how clinging to them corrodes self-trust. Through the story of her sister-in-law Laura, she shares how denying your truth disconnects you from your voice—and how letting it surface is what makes healing possible.

After years of trying to fix her life by rearranging circumstances, Colleen finally stopped—and turned inward. This is the story of how admitting “I'm not okay” became the first real act of self-trust. Instead of solving her life, she began tending to herself like someone worth saving, and discovered that clarity comes from action, not overthinking.

I'd been a daily drinker for over a decade when somehow, I found the motivation to stay sober for an entire weekend. It was actually easy and felt so good that I took the whole next week off. And I remember feeling giddy, like, OMG, It's over. Apparently, I don't have to worry about that anymore! Sadly, habits don't just disappear overnight. I was soon back to drinking every day, wondering why I couldn't just snap my fingers and go back to being that version of myself who wasn't obsessed with alcohol. What happened to the willpower I had found that week and why couldn't I get it back? In today's episode, we're going to talk about the hidden habit that keeps you stuck in a cycle of overdrinking. I'll explain what actually causes alcohol use disorder—and why staying sober doesn't fix it. This isn't about willpower, or how much or how often you drink. It's how you respond to yourself when you make a mistake. Inside this episode, you'll learn: Why beating yourself up after a “bad night” locks the pattern in deeper How to retrain your brain to treat your hangovers with compassion instead of shame And what happens when you set realistic expectations and learn how to fail forward. This episode will give you a foundational perspective shift so you can finally make sense of why trying to rely on willpower doesn't work—and what actually does.   Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking.   Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer   Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!   

In this continuation, Colleen shares how West Virginia shifted her in ways she didn't see coming. She found herself in a community where image didn't matter, where people belonged by being present, not by performing. That freedom to be—messy hair, bare face, imperfect and real—awakened something deeper: the possibility of self-trust. The relationships and experiences from that time became a compass she carried forward. Even as life evolved, that season revealed what authenticity feels like, and how quickly it disappears when we chase approval instead of honoring ourselves.  

In this episode, Colleen begins a five-part mini-series by reflecting on a season of life where everything looked perfect on the outside—four children, big career moves, and daily discipline to name a few. But on the inside she was hollow, disconnected, and coping in ways that kept her stuck. The move to West Virginia became more than a change of scenery; it became a field trip into herself. It was here she first began to see the difference between living to perform and learning to be. What felt like upheaval at the time now stands out as a turning point—the beginning of finding her own voice beneath the roles and responsibilities.  

You know that feeling after you push through a big event or deadline—the letdown that leaves you tired, unmotivated, and maybe even sick ? Most women assume it's either “burnout” or “laziness.” But according to my guest, Dr. Aimee Apigian, it's actually a trauma response. Dr. Aimee is a medical physician, trauma expert, and host of The Biology of Trauma podcast is here to explain why our bodies store trauma and how that trauma quietly drives brain fog, fatigue, autoimmune disorders, and even nightly drinking habits. In this conversation, we unpack: How to tell the difference between a stress and trauma response based on what you're thinking Why extended periods of stress without recovery cause trauma What it actually looks like to complete the trauma response instead of storing it Simple ways to give your body time, safety, and energy so it can reset I'm also going to share my own story of the crash I had after a recent retreat I hosted,  and what changed when I treated my trauma response with compassion instead of my usual bullwhip. You'll hear Dr. Aimee break it down in real time. If you've been blaming yourself for not having enough willpower, for being “too tired,” or for never getting it together… you need to hear this. Your body isn't broken, it's protecting you. You just have to learn how to return the favor.    Click here to order Dr. Aimee Apigian's book The Biology of Trauma: How the Body Holds Fear, Pain and Overwhelm, and How to Heal It.    Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hangoverwhisperer —Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!   

In this episode, Colleen explores the powerful intersection of science and spirituality—from dopamine research and environmental design to Michael Singer, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Bruce Lipton. Drawing on both brain science and lived experience, she makes a simple but life-changing point: reality isn't what's “out there.” It's what your brain chooses to notice. Out of millions of possible inputs, your brain filters just a few—and those choices shape your emotions, your energy, and your life. Truth is not abstract dogma or moral code—it's the felt sense that opens your heart and mind. When you learn to notice what you're noticing, you reclaim the power to create a reality that feels expansive, joyful, and true.    

In this episode, Colleen shares a personal story of missed flights, expired licenses, stolen wallets—and how choosing bat-shit positive over bat-shit negative turned each obstacle into an unexpected gift. With humor and honesty, she reframes setbacks not as evidence that life is against us, but as opportunities to practice trust, adaptability, and creativity. Through this lens, even a canceled car rental or lost wallet becomes training ground for a deeper truth: the problem is never the problem. It's the mindset that labels it as wrong that keeps us stuck. When we shift into curiosity—asking, “How is this happening for me?”—the very circumstances we once resented become portals to wisdom, resilience, and growth. This is more than a pep talk. It's a lived reminder that shit makes the best fertilizer—what looks like a mess today might be the soil for everything you've been waiting for.    

What if the struggles you face today as a woman didn't start with you—but with your mother, and her mother before her? In this powerful conversation, therapist and certified mother-daughter coach Erica Thomas shares how our earliest identity as “daughter” shapes our personality, our relationships and even how we show up at work.   We're breaking open the cultural and familial scripts that keep women small—silencing our voices, worrying more about how things look than how they feel, and losing ourselves in people-pleasing servitude. You'll hear Erica's personal story, why she believes the patriarchy often lives inside us, and how healing the mother-daughter wound creates generational change that ripples both forward and backward in time.   This episode is part truth-telling, part blueprint: a call to every woman who wants to stop carrying the emotional weight she inherited, and start living with authenticity and personal power.   Erica Thomas is a licensed psychotherapist of over 20 years and a mother-daughter relationship expert driven to create generational change for women. As the founder of Vita Nova Counseling and Vita Nova Mother-Daughter Coaching, Erica guides women to heal past hurts and growth into their God-given potential and helps mothers and daughters transform generational legacies into ones that leave healing, hope, reconnection, and empowerment.    Find Erica on social media Facebook: @vitanovaLHTX Instagram: @vitanovacounseling LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ericagthomas Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer —Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!   

In this follow-up episode, Colleen shares a personal holiday stumble—an experience she originally recorded in late 2024, but one that still rings true as we look ahead to the upcoming season. She names it a “relapse,” not because of how much she drank but because of the disconnect between what she wanted and what actually happened. Instead of hiding it, she walks through the three-question framework from Part One, showing in real time how to turn what looks like failure into data, compassion, and next steps. Through honest reflection, she reframes her week of drinking with family as a learning lab: noticing where it could have been worse, expanding the timeline to see real improvement, and uncovering the lesson that unrealistic expectations set her up to struggle. What emerges is a radically different take on relapse—not as proof you're broken, but as proof you're still learning. This isn't just a confession—it's a model of how to meet yourself in the mess, stay curious, and come back stronger.  

As the holiday season approaches, this episode—originally recorded after Thanksgiving 2024—offers perspective that's just as relevant now as it was then. Colleen pulls apart one of the biggest myths of change: that it's the behavior itself that's hard. The truth? It's the act of change—the moment you take your brain off autopilot—that feels so uncomfortable. From holiday chaos to daily overwhelm, she shows how perfectionism and constant performance keep you stuck, and why setbacks are not proof of failure but invitations to learn. She reframes relapse, stress, and “slip-ups” as tests—opportunities to gather information instead of self-destruct. She makes the case that baby habits can't yet compete with old, well-worn patterns in times of stress, and that setting realistic expectations is the most compassionate, powerful strategy for lasting growth. This is more than a pep talk. It's a playbook for walking through the holidays (and any high-pressure season) without letting setbacks steal your progress—or your self-trust.  

Our culture teaches that when someone is struggling with substance use, the correct response is tough love. It's better to let them hit rock bottom than to enable their behavior.   My guest today is Heather Ross, host of the Living While Loving Your Child Through Addiction podcast. She's also a dear personal friend. We're letting you eavesdrop on one of the many raw conversations we've had about the devastating impact the “tough love” mindset has on both the giver and the receiver. And why compassion is not the same as enabling.  You'll hear Heather's first-hand account of what happened when she shifted her goal from controlling the situation to connecting with her daughter. Her story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, because despite losing her daughter to a fentanyl overdose, she will never regret that she was a safe place for her daughter–and a source of unconditional love.   Buckle up, because this one's a tear jerker. But whether you're a parent, partner or just wondering how to show up for someone you love, you'll walk away with a clear understanding of how to release fear, find your ground and support your person without losing yourself.    Click here to get Heather's free guide: A New Perspective about “Enabling”--A guide for parents who want to help their kids but aren't sure how.  Find Heather on social media @HeatherRossCoaching, and listen to her podcast Living While Loving Your Child Through Addiction.   If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.  Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q& A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript

In this episode, Colleen unpacks one of the most common struggles in early sobriety and beyond: bone-deep exhaustion. She shares her own experience quitting alcohol (and much more) all at once, and how the “post-acute withdrawal syndrome” myth left her believing she'd be tired and unmotivated for years. What she eventually discovered is that tiredness isn't just physical—it's an emotional signal tied to how you're thinking, what you're carrying, and how you're responding to your body. She reframes fatigue as a feeling, not a fixed fact. She lays out the calls to action—hydration, movement, thought work, environment shifts—that help you recharge in real time instead of waiting for some mythical “dopamine reset.” This episode will show you how to trust your body as the litmus test for truth and to respond in ways that restore energy, purpose, and hope.    

In this episode, Colleen gives an update on the behind-the-scenes of what happened after being suddenly cut from a program she'd once called home. At first, she carried the weight of unfairness and betrayal, convinced it would take a long time to heal. But what started as a sting that clung to her body and mind turned into something radically different: a live demonstration of releasing the story that was holding her hostage. Through an unexpected NLP exercise with her coach, she revisits the childhood wound at the root of her pain and dismantles the old belief that others get to decide her worth. In real time, you'll hear how her body shifted, her brain rewired, and her story transformed from “I've been wronged” to “I'm free.” What looked like rejection became a clean slate, a wider horizon, and a reminder that freedom comes when you reclaim the pen and rewrite your own narrative. This isn't just an update—it's a case study in emotional sovereignty, showing how quickly you can drop a heavy story and walk away lighter.    

You know that sinking feeling of disappointment or even disgust you get when you're looking at yourself in the mirror and wishing you were thinner? That feeling is actually wrecking your metabolism.  My guest today is Sarah Haas, host of the Boss Body podcast. She's here to share her story of how, after years of being thin and fit and looking like she had it all together, she found herself as a single mother dealing not only with her young son's type 1 diabetes, but also breast cancer–which included radiation, chemo and a double mastectomy. She had to learn that loving your body is not about working harder to look better. It's about releasing the emotional heaviness that is figuratively and literally weighing you down. In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, Sarah Haas, host of the Boss Body podcast, shares how the stress of being a single mom and battling breast cancer–including radiation, chemo and a double mastectomy, taught her that loving your body is not loving how you look, it's releasing the emotional heaviness that is figuratively and literally weighing you down. Highlights: Why body love often feels impossible when you've let yourself go—and where to start instead The toxic role of the inner critic (and how to change the voice in your head) How midlife can become a catalyst for deeper self-worth and vibrant health Practical steps to boost metabolism in perimenopause and beyond   Whether you're trying to lose weight or simply ready to feel more comfortable in your own skin—this conversation will give you the mindset shifts you need to begin.   If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Click here to get Sarah's Rev Up Your Metabolism Guide. Find her on social media: @sarahhaaswellness   Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q& A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc   Transcript  

In this episode, Colleen pulls back the curtain on a personal “bitch slap from the universe” that arrived in the form of a sudden, unexplained expulsion from a coaching program she once considered family. What could have been a spiral into shame became something else entirely—a masterclass in emotional sovereignty. She walks you through the shock, the grief, and the moment she realized: this wasn't actually about her. Instead of chasing fairness or demanding explanations, she chose action over rumination, redirecting her energy toward opportunities that actually align with her values. With candor, humor, and zero self-pity, Colleen models what it looks like to process hurt without handing away your power—and to see a painful ending as a door swinging wide to something better. This is more than a story about rejection; it's a real-time demonstration of the freedom that comes from owning your emotional narrative and refusing to let someone else's decisions define you.    

Ever hovered over the ‘book a call' button and then… closed the tab? This episode is for you if you've been curious about joining Magnetic : Marketing Accelerator but keep putting it off because you're not sure what to expect or whether you're even ready! I'm walking you through exactly what happens on a sales call with me before you join Magnetic. No awkwardness. Just a real conversation to help you get clear on where you're at and what's next. Whether you're scared it's too early, too late or too risky, this episode will help you feel calm, clear and (hopefully) ready to take the next step. In This Episode: What the call is really like (and what it's not) The most common reasons people book and what they say when they get there The mindset blocks that usually surface mid-way through How I help you figure out what's been missing and what needs to shift What you'll walk away with, even if you don't join the programme Thinking about joining Magnetic? If this episode made you feel seen or called out (in a good way), book a free call to talk about your brand and goals. I'll help you figure out if Magnetic is right for you.

In this episode, Colleen dismantles one of the most costly habits we carry through life: the obsession with figuring out whose fault it is. She makes a powerful distinction between fault—the cause of a problem—and responsibility—your power to choose how you respond. The moment you stop waiting for someone else to make things right, you stop handing them your power. With humor, wordplay, and grounded examples, she shows how clinging to blame keeps you stuck, resentful, and drained—while letting go frees you to act from a place of choice, not victimhood. Whether it's waiting on an apology, reimbursement, or just “closure,” the real cost is the energy you lose while holding someone else accountable for your own next move. Colleen invites you to reclaim your response-ability, stop making other people's actions the condition for your own happiness, and give situations “all the attention they deserve—none.” Because when you drop the weight of fault, you gain the freedom to create the life you actually want.    

When my client, Michele, told me she was going to reintroduce alcohol. I'll be honest — I was nervous. Actually, that's bullshit. I felt like a failure. She'd been sober for 10 months.  I was her sobriety coach. And at that time, I was still operating on the mindset that once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. Because everybody knows you can't unpickle a cucumber.  But as we learn in coaching school, the client is the expert on their own lives. Telling people what they should and shouldn't do is condescending, not coaching. So I checked my own fear and anxiety and held space for her. Michele is the first client I coached with a truly open mind — where there is no “right” way to drink, no moral high ground for whoever has the most sober days, and no starting over after you have a drink. Alcohol is neutral–it's not good or bad or right or wrong. It's not the problem and it's not the solution. Working with Michele completely changed the way I think about recovery from alcohol use disorder. She is my patient zero, if you will. This experience laid the foundation for the work I do now as a mindful drinking coach. And she's here today to share her story and talk about what it's really like to learn how to trust yourself again…to heal your relationship with yourself so you don't have to worry about your relationship with alcohol. It's raw. It's honest. It's messy. And for me, it's personal — because this opened my eyes, my mind and my heart to see what's really possible when you stop using the past to predict the future.    If you are ready to get support from a community of women who are co-creating this change with intention and clarity— Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.    Do you want help from Colleen with a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question for Colleen's NEW Q& A episodes. Your name will not be mentioned on air!    Find me on: YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer  X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

In this episode, Colleen shares a raw, behind-the-scenes moment from her own emotional funk and breaks down exactly how she worked through it—thought by thought, feeling by feeling. From vacation wine to love-bombing exes to that post-holiday productivity pressure, she shows how even seemingly minor emotional clutter can trigger deep, subconscious beliefs that hijack your nervous system. Instead of bypassing or blaming her mood, Colleen slows down and listens—uncovering the core belief underneath it all: I've done something wrong. What follows is a masterclass in emotional self-leadership. You'll hear how she clears the subconscious “rock in her shoe,” replaces it with a more empowering truth, and reclaims her mental space, energy, and creative flow. This isn't emotional perfectionism. This is radical presence—and it's how you clear the emotional backlog that's actually running your life.    

In this episode, Colleen reframes one of the most misunderstood experiences in recovery: anxiety. Far from being just a diagnosis or a quirk of personality, anxiety is presented as a signal—an embodied alert system that points to the quality of your thoughts. She breaks down the real reason alcohol feels impossible to control: not because you're broken, but because your brain, hijacked by stress, is obsessing over a problem it thinks it must fix. And when that problem is alcohol, you become trapped in a loop of overthinking, guilt, and trying harder—while your body begs for presence, stillness, and care. She offers a radical shift: your anxiety isn't something to be solved. It's something to listen to. Not with your mind, but with your body. This isn't a mindset hack—it's nervous system healing. And it starts by learning how to stop listening to your brain's recycled stories, and start thinking on purpose.    

If you've ever been told you're “too sensitive,” this episode is for you.. Today, I'm talking with podcast host Tina Marx to explore the deep connection between being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and the tendency to use alcohol to self-soothe. This isn't a conversation about addiction or willpower. It's about how sensitivity without emotional safety often leads high-achieving women to drink in secret—while still keeping everything else together on the outside. We talk about why HSPs are more susceptible to overwhelm, anxiety, and perfectionism, and how alcohol becomes a temporary escape—not just from stress, but from the full-body experience of feeling too much. If you've ever said, “I just need to turn my brain off,” or “I wish I could stop overreacting,” this episode will help you reframe what's really going on—without shame, without labels, and without needing to commit to permanent sobriety.

In this episode, Colleen names the real culprit behind so many evening drinking spirals: not lack of willpower, but an overloaded nervous system weighed down by thought patterns we treat as facts. She challenges the idea that we need to “solve” our problems in order to feel better—and instead offers a radical invitation: what if the problems aren't the problem? What if it's our focus that's keeping us stuck? Through candid stories from her own life, Colleen models what it looks like to let go of the drama we're not meant to carry. From ex-spouses to global politics, she demonstrates the power of conscious disengagement—choosing presence over rumination, joy over justification, clarity over control. This isn't emotional avoidance. It's sovereignty. When we stop trying to manage what was never ours to fix, we finally free up the energy to create what we actually want.    

In this episode, Colleen shares a game-changing reframe about why we actually get stuck—even when we have the motivation, the clarity, and the plan. Building on fresh neuroscience from Dr. Kira Babinet, she introduces us to the habenula, a lesser-known part of the brain that slams the brakes on our behavior when failure is perceived—whether it's already happened or we're just afraid it might. Colleen unpacks how the brain's bias toward failure and loss doesn't just stall action—it can kill our momentum completely. But instead of forcing progress through pressure or willpower, she offers a gentler, radically effective solution: the iterative mindset. One that removes failure from the equation entirely, replacing it with curiosity, experimentation, and self-compassion. No more proving, no more perfection—just real change, one tiny tweak at a time. This isn't about setting better goals. It's about learning how to stop punishing yourself with the gas pedal when your brain's already hitting the brakes.    

If you've been trying to change so that you can feel ready, healed, better and in control, this episode will explain how it's possible to feel those things now–before you've figured everything out. I'm going to explain how to access your higher self—not as a future fantasy, or as someone you'll be someday when you get everything right, but as a real-time frequency shift grounded in neuroscience, nervous system regulation, and the principles of manifestation.. You'll learn: Why your higher self isn't someone you become—it's someone you tune into How to use quantum physics to attract positive thoughts and feelings that alter your reality The role your subconscious mind plays in your brainwave states and vibrational coherence between your heart and brain A simple daily practice using breath, emotion, and intention to align your internal frequency This episode blends science and soul. I'll show you how to reprogram your internal signal so that your reality reflects who you already are—not who you're still trying to become. Click here to BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL if you're ready to fully commit to your personal growth and do the work to get emotionally sober. Side effects include an 80 percent reduction in drinking. Want daily updates from me? TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer Twitter (X): @NotAboutTheAlc YouTube: @hangoverwhisperer —Do you want coaching from Colleen on a situation you're struggling with? Click here to submit your question. Your name will not be mentioned on air!

In this episode, Colleen shares a quiet but powerful moment from one of her recent coaching calls—where a client celebrated a huge win, and Colleen noticed her own body signaling that something was off. What unfolded wasn't a rupture, but a subtle shift: a reminder that even seasoned leaders can bypass consent in moments of well-meaning reflex. And that noticing the signal doesn't mean spiraling—it means listening. Through her own self-check-in, she unpacks what it looks like to be emotionally sober in the face of mild shame: not resisting it, not fixing it, just feeling it long enough to hear what it's pointing to. Rather than defending her role or projecting the discomfort outward, Colleen models the kind of internal pause that turns self-awareness into relational repair—and deeper self-trust. This episode isn't about coaching techniques. It's about what happens when we make space to feel the moment before we justify it. Because sometimes, the most responsible thing we can do is let the feeling teach us—before we write the story.    

In today's episode, Colleen walks us through a deceptively simple question that came up on a recent coaching call: How do I actually feel my feelings? The answer isn't mindset. It isn't a technique. It's presence. She explores the difference between thinking about emotions and physically experiencing them—without adding a story, a solution, or a label. With grounded metaphors and everyday honesty, she invites you to see emotions as temporary energy—not identity. You'll hear what happens when we resist that energy, and how easily it creates stagnation, self-protection, and shame loops that can shape entire patterns of behavior. If you've been trying to “work on yourself” without shifting how you relate to your emotional state, this episode may open a quieter, more embodied door.