8 years alcohol-free!

23 Mar

A quick reflection

When I started on this journey I could not imagine a time where it would not feel utterly impossible to experience a birthday, a weekend, a Christmas, a holiday, a date, a social gathering, a BBQ, a night out, a tough conversation, an airport, a meal out, a loss (I could go on), without alcohol or without feeling the most brutal FOMO.

Neuroplasticity is truly a wonderous thing; something you once thought was inconceivable becomes your new normal. Through repitition, those previously held associations weaken and eventually cease all together.

Unbeknownst to me, when I was repeating the new behaviour (ditching the booze) over and over again I was retraining my brain in real time to an updated default operating mode. Alcohol was no longer centre stage.

We are capable of much more than we realise, particularly when we realise the power of neuroplasticity. It's never too late to make any changes you want, and I'll drink (an AF beer) to that!

Blog

The transformation when people just get you

What I’ve noticed after running groups for years is that the vibe of a group where everyone’s ADHD and stuck in the same loop with alcohol is genuinely different.

This is about identity shift, not just behaviour change

So when you start making changes in your relationship with alcohol you're not just changing behaviour. You're reorganising your entire sense of who you are.

When Your Brain Works Differently, So Does Your Relationship with Alcohol

Neurodivergent brains use alcohol differently. It’s less about fun and more about coping. If you've ever felt like alcohol is the only thing that quiets the noise, makes social situations manageable, or just helps you finally feel "normal" for a few hours, you're not alone.

Sometimes the ADHD brain feels like a bucking bronco. And when I say sometimes, I mean almost all of the time.

For many people with ADHD, drinking is less about a lack of willpower and more about a nervous system trying to regulate itself.

Your brain is trying to solve a real problem. Alcohol just happens to be the solution your brain found.

The trap of knowing what you ‘should’ be doing

I wanted to share one of the main things that used to drive me mad when I was still drinking.

It was knowing exactly what I “should” be doing about drinking - and still not being able to do it.

You don't have to be the ‘A word’ to need help

Your own unhappiness with your drinking is enough. You can just realise it’s no longer working for you, and that’s a valid reason.

From ‘it’s a me problem’ – to understanding what your brain is up to!

One thing I hear over and over from clients is “everyone else can stop at two or three drinks, what’s wrong with me?”.

And I get that it’s tempting to think that there’s something fundamentally wrong with you.

After all, ‘why can’t I just’ is such a familiar internal narrative when you’ve got ADHD… we become world class experts at that game.

When the only way you know how to switch off is alcohol

Did last night end in a quick drink-or-three to decompress after a stressful day? No judgement here. That used to be me.

I hear this daily from single mums running on empty.

From high-fliers in careers that take everything they’ve got.

Accountability: the secret sauce in behaviour change?

Accountability. Does the word make you cringe? Instantly conjure up feelings of unwanted control or pressure?

If you’ve got a rebellious streak with a side of ADHD (ahem, guilty) then you probably really don’t like being told what to do and might already be side-eyeing me.

But the kind of accountability I’m talking about is different. And I’ve found it’s often the missing piece in making sustainable change including my own.

Why ‘just having one’ feels impossible with ADHD

If you've ever wondered why your relationship with alcohol feels harder than it seems to be for everyone else, it’s because with ADHD it is.

You’re not imagining it, you’re not making excuses, it is.

This makes ‘just having one’ often feel impossible. Here’s why and what to do.

What decades of brain imaging shows about the impact of alcohol on your brain

When drinking becomes a habit, the brain changes in measurable ways. For ADHDers, the stakes are even higher.

A 2019 major research review published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research pulled together decades of brain-imaging studies to show what actually happens in the brain when drinking becomes a struggle …

8 years alcohol-free!

8 years alcohol free - and the utter magnificence of neuroplasticity!

A quick reflection

When I started on this journey I could not imagine a time where it would not feel utterly impossible to experience…

HALT! and alcohol cravings

The H.A.L.T. method is simple, but powerful. It’s about pausing long enough to check in with yourself: Am I Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired?

These four states can quietly run the show if we don’t notice them — and they often explain why we make choices that don’t serve us. Here’s how it can help you with alcohol cravings.

Designing Your 2026: the simple process I use …

As we approach the end of another year, you might be feeling that familiar mix of relief, exhaustion, and perhaps a determination that next year is not going to be so ‘stressful’, ‘hectic’, ‘disorganised’ ……. (insert your relevant adjective here).

Are you in an abusive relationship - with alcohol?

Ever look at women or men in terrible, toxic relationships and wonder why they don’t just end it? Or why those who experience abuse from their partner might leave only to return again and again?

It doesn’t make any logical sense. Often, we can look at those situations from the outside and it’s unfathomable to us.