You are listening to the Take a Break podcast with Rachel Hart episode 266.

Whether you want to drink less or stop drinking,

this podcast will help you change the habit from the inside out.

We're challenging conventional wisdom about why people drink

and why it can be hard to resist temptation.

No labels, no judgment, just practical tools to take control of your desire and stop worrying

about your drinking.

Now, here's your host, Rachel Hart.

All right, everyone. Welcome back.

So today, we are talking about what to do when you have tried a million things to change your

drinking. I will tell you, I understand this very well. This was my situation for a long time.

I tried so many things over the years. I tried setting rules about when,

so telling myself, listen, no drinking during the week, only do it on the weekends.

I would set rules about how much, you know, don't have more than two,

or I would set rules about how long, right? So I would tell myself, okay, only one drink in an hour,

or I would try to make a drink last for a certain amount of time. I'd try to pace myself

with a friend who was a slower drinker. I had all these rules about not drinking on an empty

stomach or only drinking when I was eating food or alternating with water. I would sometimes try to

enlist other people in my own commitment. So I would kind of announce at the beginning of the

night, you know, I'm going to be good tonight. I'm only going to have three rounds or something,

or I'd try to enlist my best friend or my partner and say, like, listen, just like, make sure I'm

not crazy, make sure I'm good tonight. I also, at one point, I remember trying to switch to things I

...