It's Not About the Alcohol

You've been told your drinking is the problem. That if you could just control the behavior — stay sober long enough, count your days, follow the rules — the shame would go away.
But what if it's the other way around?
In this episode, Colleen gets personal about her three years of sobriety and what she discovered underneath all that "perfect behavior" — a lifetime of shame that started long before she ever picked up a bottle of wine. She breaks down why shameful behaviors come FROM shame (not the other way around), why sobriety can become just another form of performing your way around the real problem, and what actually works to break the cycle.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The critical difference between guilt and shame — and why most women are living in shame and calling it guilt

Why the shame driving your drinking didn't start with your drinking — it started in childhood

How perfectionism, people-pleasing, over-functioning, and control are all shame management strategies that require more coping mechanisms like drinking

Why sobriety motivated by shame is built on a fault line — and what happens when it cracks

Colleen's personal story of trading one escape hatch (alcohol) for another (perfectionism and productivity addiction) — and what finally broke the pattern

Key takeaway: Your drinking isn't driving the shame cycle. Shame is driving the drinking cycle. And until you address the shame underneath, no amount of willpower, sobriety challenges, or rule-following will create lasting change.
Watch The FREE Masterclass: The science behind take it or leave it–why some women can and how you can too. 
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 schedule a discovery call

In this episode, Colleen shares a coaching moment that started with a simple scheduling mistake and turned into a powerful lesson about belief systems.
When a client didn't get her breakthrough session as planned, she chose to see the delay differently: not as something happening to her, but something happening for her. That mindset opened the door to a deeper coaching conversation about leadership, standards, and the discomfort that comes with owning your power.
Colleen uses that moment to explore something bigger...
The beliefs we carry shape how we interpret everything that happens in our lives.
Instead of assuming that delays, setbacks, or mistakes mean something has gone wrong, what if they're actually creating the exact conditions you need for the next step?
She shares three Colleen-isms that have fundamentally changed the way she moves through life:
I am always exactly where I'm supposed to be.



This is happening for me, not to me.



If I didn't get what I wanted, I got what I needed.



These beliefs don't eliminate pain or difficulty. But they do transform how you experience them — shifting you out of victimhood and back into agency.


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
 
Find me on:
YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer
TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer
Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer 
X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

What do your drinking and your bank account have in common? More than you think.
In this episode, I sit down with mindset coach and Mystic Millionaire Danielle Amos to explore the hidden connection between your money beliefs, your scarcity mindset, and why you reach for the wine at the end of the day. Danielle went from $100K in credit card debt to a million-dollar business — without a website — using the same identity and nervous system work that transforms your relationship with alcohol.
If you've ever felt stuck financially and also stuck in a drinking pattern you can't seem to break, this episode connects the dots.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why the beliefs about money that were programmed into you before age seven are running your drinking today

How shame blocks both financial abundance and your ability to take or leave alcohol

The difference between spending money and investing money — and how that reframe changes everything

Why the law of opposites means setbacks are actually confirmation you're on the right track

What happens when you stop telling yourself "I don't have enough" and start appreciating what you do have

How identity work and nervous system regulation are the common denominator between financial freedom and freedom from alcohol

Connect with Danielle Amos: Instagram: @thedanielleamos Podcast: The Mystic Millionaire
🎥 Watch The FREE Masterclass— The Science Behind Take It or Leave It:
Why Some Women Can and How You Can Too

Where To Find Me:
BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer

TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer

Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer

X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc

For two years, "reduce your drinking by 80%" was my signature phrase. It's on my website, my ads, my podcast — everywhere. In this episode, I tell you why I retired it, what I replaced it with, and what this shift means for you — whether you're in my program or hearing my voice for the first time.
This is a behind-the-scenes episode pulled from Coffee with Colleen, my daily internal podcast for clients inside The Next Chapter. You'll hear me talk about how my own messaging accidentally did the thing I teach women not to do — and how catching that blind spot led to a complete rebrand, a new masterclass, and a brand new way into this work.
In this episode:
Why "drink less" is a negative goal — and what your brain actually does with it
The real reason it gets harder to stay on track once you feel better
What "take it or leave it" means and why those four words change everything
The counterintuitive first step that sets my approach apart from every other program
New ways to work with me at every level 
Links mentioned in this episode:
📞 BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL — $2,000 tuition discount on The Next Chapter expires Feb 28. As long as you book the call before the 28th, we'll honor the discount. [LINK]
🎥 Watch The FREE Masterclass— The Science Behind Take It or Leave It: Why Some Women Can and How You Can Too  [LINK]
🎧 Get the Starter Bundle ($444) — RISE + Skills for Mindful Drinking. The complete Take It or Leave It methodology. Nothing held back. [LINK]
Know someone who needs to hear this? Send her this episode. You don't have to say anything — just send the link.

Most women measure alcohol consumption by how much and how often they drink. But the research says the most important predictor of whether your drinking becomes a real problem isn't about the amount you drink — it's why you drink.
In this episode, I tell the story of the exact day I became a daily drinker — and why I didn't even know it happened. I break down the neuroscience of why drinking to reduce stress is the fast pass to addiction, even if you're not drinking more than anyone else.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why your reason for drinking matters more than how much you drink

The neurological shift that turns a social drinker into a dependent one — and why it's invisible from the outside

How your brain works like an algorithm that quietly narrows your options one drink at a time

The science of why alcohol actually creates stress instead of relieving it (and the cortisol cycle that explains your 3am wake-up)

Why "tolerance" isn't a flex — it's a symptom of something you need to understand

The litmus test that reveals whether you can actually take it or leave it

What the largest study of its kind (43,000+ people) says about how fast stress drinkers develop dependence

If this episode resonated with you:
Watch The FREE Masterclass → The science of take it or leave it–why some women can and how you can too.
Book A FREE Discovery Call→ It's not a sales pitch. It's a coaching conversation to help you figure out where you are, where you want to be, and how to get there. Right now through February 28th, I'm offering $2,000 off of my year-long program, The Next Chapter.
I've never done a discount like this and I won't be doing one again.
 
Connect with me:
Watch The FREE Masterclass

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL.

YouTube: @HangoverWhisperer

TikTok: @hangoverwhisperer

Instagram: @thehangoverwhisperer

X (Twitter) : @NotAboutTheAlc