E269: Running on Autopilot Mode

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

Science, Self-improvement, Education, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Regular drinking and early sobriety often feel like living on autopilot, where we are repeating the same routines without conscious awareness. Alcohol changes the brain to increase mindless activity, which can lead to rumination, excessive self-focus, anxiety, and addiction-related thought loops. In this episode, you’ll learn about how alcohol affects the brain and puts us on autopilot, how this keeps us stuck, and when this recovers in sobriety. Many people mistake life stress as the main source of overwhelm, but a lot of it actually comes from how alcohol disrupts brain function. What to listen to next: E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations E191: Going Back and Forth Makes Your Cravings Stronger E238: Why Moderation Doesn't Work Sober Support: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Weekly emails on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email Work with me: Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching Courses: The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course Sober milestones: what to expect when you quit drinking https://sobermilestones.supercast.com/ Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more: https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast. This is a one woman show! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Regular drinking and early sobriety can often feel like you're living on autopilot, where we repeat the same routines without conscious awareness.
0:10.7	Alcohol changes the brain to increase mindless activity, which can then lead to rumination, excessive self-focus, anxiety, and addiction-related thought loops.
0:23.6	In this episode, you'll learn about how alcohol affects the brain and puts us on autopilot,
0:29.3	how this keeps us stuck, and when this recovers in sobriety.
0:33.7	Many people mistake life stress as the main source of overwhelm, but a lot of it actually comes from how alcohol disrupts brain function.
0:43.5	And before we dig in, I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode possible.
0:50.2	I recently tried to be the kind of person who eats fruit every night after dinner.
0:56.0	And yeah, that lasted about five days.
0:58.0	Because let's be real, when it's between a bowl of berries and a cookie, I know what my brain is voting for.
1:04.0	And honestly, I'd even rather go with nothing over fruit sometimes.
1:08.0	But that's why I love field of greens.
1:10.0	Doctors created it because we're
1:12.5	human. Some days we eat like a nutritionist dream and other days, those sugar cravings get us.
1:18.6	A drink mix is so much easier for me to remember and actually stick with, especially when
1:24.1	life gets busy or I'm just not in the mood. Each scoop gives you a full serving of fruits
1:29.1	and veggies plus essential prebiotics, antioxidants, and vitamins to support your heart, lungs,
1:35.3	kidneys, energy levels, and metabolism. So if you also have good intentions but questionable follow-through
1:42.2	when it comes to eating enough produce,
1:44.5	Field of Greens has you covered.
1:46.2	They're offering my listeners 20% off your first order and they have a better health
1:50.9	promise money-back guarantee.
1:53.0	Just use the code power at fieldofgreens.com.
	...

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