431: Why Time Away From Alcohol Can Backfire

Take a Break from Drinking

Rachel Hart

Alcohol, Lifecoach, Alcoholicsanonymous, Self-improvement, Hungover, Society & Culture, Smartrecovery, Drinking, Cognitivebehavioraltherapy, Education, Cbt, 12steps, Sobriety, Drunk, Recovery, Personal Journals

4.8 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The floodgates metaphor captures exactly how it feels when you reintroduce alcohol after a break - like you've lost all control and are being swept downstream.

You watch your progress unravel, find yourself right back in old patterns, and wonder why you keep making the same mistakes. This experience leaves many people trapped in an exhausting on-again, off-again relationship with alcohol, convinced that something must be wrong with them or their brain.

Tune in this week to learn why reintroducing alcohol after periods of abstinence can feel so overwhelming and out of control. You’ll hear how to break free from this cycle by completely resetting your approach to periods of abstinence, and how to use curiosity to understand what your brain has learned from drinking.

Find a personalized approach that helps you change your habit in my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Drinking Less, here: https://rachelhart.com/guide/

Discover alternative approaches to drinking less inside our membership program, Take a Break: https://rachelhart.com/tab/

Get the full show notes, transcript, and more information here: https://rachelhart.com/431

Transcript

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0:00.0	In today's episode, I'm unpacking one of the most common and frustrating experiences people face
0:05.5	when they're trying to develop a healthier relationship with alcohol. And that's what happens
0:10.1	if you decide to reintroduce alcohol after a period of abstinence. Suddenly, it can feel like
0:16.4	all your progress has unraveled, like you've opened up the floodgates. I'm going to explain what's really
0:21.5	going on, how to break out of this cycle, and why the metaphor of opening up the floodgates is part of
0:26.9	the problem. This is episode 431, and if you've ever told yourself, I was doing so well,
0:32.7	what happened? Keep listening. Whether you want to drink less or stop drinking, this podcast will help you change the habit
0:40.9	from the inside out.
0:42.9	We're challenging conventional wisdom about why people drink and why it can be hard to resist
0:48.0	temptation.
0:49.4	No labels, no judgment, just practical tools to take control of your desire and stop worrying about your
0:56.2	drinking. Now here's your host, Rachel Hart.
1:04.1	We're talking today about something I was recently coaching on inside the membership, which is a really
1:10.1	common pattern that a lot of people
1:11.9	fall into around their drinking. So you stop drinking for a while and maybe you get to a point
1:17.6	where you start to question why you stopped or you wonder if you've finally learned your lesson
1:23.2	and if you start drinking, you'll be more responsible. And so you decide to reintroduce alcohol.
1:29.1	Many people have the experience that drinking after a period of abstinence can feel like they
1:37.2	have opened up the floodgates. So maybe you immediately drink way too much, or maybe you actually
1:43.7	kind of slowly bring it back in,
1:46.2	but at some point you look around and you realize that you're right back where you started.
1:51.7	You're drinking every day.
	...

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