356: A Raw Conversation About Sobriety with Laura McKowen
The Adult Chair Podcast with Michelle Chalfant
Michelle Chalfant
4.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 March 2023
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cheers. Salud. Skol.
Wherever you are in the world, it seems like alcohol punctuates every celebration.
But have we stopped to ask if alcohol is really good for us? Or have we paused to get curious about why we drink – and when it moves from genuine enjoyment to unhealthy numbing out?
Recently, I've noticed more people having conversations about sobriety, from giving up drinking entirely to swapping a few cocktails for mocktails, and I thought it was time we talked about alcohol through the lens of The Adult Chair®.
In this episode, I'm chatting with Laura McKowen, who has written extensively about getting sober and runs a global sobriety support community. She openly and vulnerably shares her story of using alcohol to numb her emotions, why and how she got sober and what her life looks like now.
We talked about how our culture normalizes excessive drinking, all the emotions that come up when getting sober and ways to tell if you might have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. If you're at all "sober curious," you're going to love hearing her perspective!
Listen to discover:
● Laura's story of getting sober and why she chose to stop drinking
● How drinking culture normalizes excessive drinking
● Busting health myths about alcohol
● The connection between alcohol and anxiety
● How Laura's life got better when she got sober
● The way we use alcohol to numb our emotions
● How to develop a healthier relationship with alcohol, whether you choose to cut it out completely or enjoy it in moderation
Like everything in The Adult Chair, we aren't talking in terms of "do" or "don't" or "good" or "bad," but about bringing consciousness into the decisions we make.
My goal for this show is not to tell you to stop drinking, but to encourage you to take a closer look at when you drink, why you drink and how you drink so you can truly live life to the fullest: present, awake and alive!
"I knew I liked to drink a little too much. I loved it a little too much." - Laura McKowen
[When offered a drink after a bad day] "I don't want a glass of wine. I would like to come talk to you about my emotions though." - Michelle Chalfant
"We end up recreating our life in a way that decenters alcohol...my life is still my life." - Laura McKowen
"When you are drinking even a little more than you want to, it keeps you from facing the truth." - Laura McKowen
"Alcohol provides a really great shield to just sort of skim across the top of life." - Laura McKowen
"I was in a lot of emotional pain. I know that's exactly why I reached for alcohol." - Michelle Chalfant
"We don't get away with not feeling things. It goes somewhere." - Laura McKowen
"Shame disconnects us from our humanity and the humanity in other people." - Laura McKowen
"The not drinking wasn't the cure....it was actually connecting with other people in a meaningful way and healing in relationship with people that allowed me to heal." - Laura McKowen
LINKS & RESOURCES
Laura McKowen Website
Laura McKowen Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/laura_mckowen/
"Push Off From Here" (Laura McKowen Book)
https://www.lauramckowen.com/books
The Self-Worth Meditation Bundle
https://theadultchair.com/worthy
MORE ADULT CHAIR
The Adult Chair® Website
The Adult Chair® Events
https://theadultchair.com/events/
The Adult Chair® Coaching Certification
https://theadultchair.com/certification
STAY CONNECTED
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themichellechalfant
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMichelleChalfant/
The Adult Chair® Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theadultchair/
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Michelle Shelfand, psychotherapist, holistic life coach, and human just like you, |
| 0:09.4 | learning to navigate life challenges. |
| 0:11.8 | With over 25 years experience, I teach people how to get healthy using the adult chair model. |
| 0:17.6 | The adult chair model is where simple psychology meets grounded spirituality, and it teaches |
| 0:23.0 | us how to become healthy adults. |
| 0:26.2 | From anxiety and depression to codependency and relationship issues, you can use the |
| 0:30.5 | adult chair for just about anything. |
| 0:33.8 | Each week, I share practical tips, tools and advice from myself and a wide range of experts |
| 0:40.0 | on how to get unstuck, how to live authentically, and how to truly love yourself, all while |
| 0:45.8 | sitting in your adult chair. |
| 0:48.8 | Welcome to the adult chair podcast. |
| 0:55.8 | Hello, everybody, and welcome to the adult chair podcast, happy March. |
| 1:02.2 | We are here today in March on this lovely March 2nd. |
| 1:06.1 | Hope you all are having a wonderful, I almost said spring, we're not quite there yet, |
| 1:11.4 | but it sure looks that way, at least here in North Carolina, it's been in the 80s in February, |
| 1:17.9 | which doesn't ever happen, but kind of crazy. |
| 1:20.7 | Anyway, hope you all are having a great day. |
| 1:23.9 | Today on the show, we are talking about sobriety, and I got to tell you, I love when people |
| 1:32.2 | come on and they are willing to be vulnerable, and truly share their story about where they |
| 1:41.5 | were, where they are today, it is just so authentic, I love this, and today's guest, Laura |
| 1:47.3 | McCowne, does just that. |
| 1:49.2 | She shares her story today of how she became sober, why she became sober, and what she discovered |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Michelle Chalfant, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Michelle Chalfant and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.