E271: Alcohol, Career Stress, and the Lie of “I Function Just Fine”

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

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

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“I function just fine, it’s not like I’m missing work”, I said until I started missing work. “I have a masters degree, I couldn’t have gotten this far if I was an alcoholic.” Have you ever thought things like this to yourself? Most drinkers are able to function. Most will never reach the stereotypical alcoholic that we think of. High functioning doesn’t mean not a problem, and in this episode we’ll discuss drinking to cope with career stress, when drinking feels like it’s a part of the job, and the identity shift that is required when we link our self-worth to external things like career success. You’ll learn about 2 models for alcohol and the workplace: the culture/availability model and the alienation/stress model. What to listen to next: E204: Can Anyone Get Addicted to Alcohol? 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 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	I function just fine. It's not like I'm missing work.
0:04.0	I said until I started missing work.
0:06.4	I have a master's degree. I couldn't have gotten this far if I was an alcoholic.
0:11.1	Have you ever thought these things to yourself?
0:14.0	Most drinkers are able to function though.
0:16.7	Most will never reach the stereotypical alcoholic that we think of.
0:22.0	High functioning doesn't mean not a problem.
0:25.1	And in this episode, we'll discuss drinking to cope with career success, when drinking
0:30.3	feels like it's a part of the job, and the shift that's required when we link our self-worth
0:35.9	to external things like career success. You'll also learn
0:39.6	about two models for alcohol in the workplace, the culture availability model and the alienation
0:46.4	stress model. And before we dig in, I'd like to say a quick thank you to my sponsors who made this
0:51.8	episode possible. Life can feel like a full contact sport sometimes, and when we're sober, that can feel overwhelming.
1:00.5	Now the stress and anxiety can start to build up while we're working on our tools to self-regulate,
1:06.3	but it can feel like a lot.
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1:18.5	uneasy about your sobriety. Tenassi is unique because of its CBD-C-BDA formula, which is twice
1:24.8	as effective as CBD alone. Tenassi helps me relax and get to sleep when I'm too stressed or I can't quiet my mind.
1:31.7	My husband has even said that he's never seen me sleep deeper.
1:35.5	So whether you prefer soft gels, gummies, tinctures, or a soothing lotion, Tenasi makes it easy
1:41.4	to find what works best for you.
	...

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