E281: Why Your Brain Makes Drinking Look Better Than It Was

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

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

4.9 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When the sun comes out, so do the memories of “fun” drinking days, but are those memories even accurate? In this episode, I break down how your brain edits the past to make alcohol look better than it really was. I’ll explain how dopamine, emotional memory, and the fading affect bias distort your perception of your drinking life, and why the “good times” are often more fantasy than fact. You’ll learn how to interrupt the craving cycle before it starts and I’ll share a personal story about my own distorted alcohol memories around drinking on vacation. If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for a version of drinking that never really existed, this episode will help you ground yourself in the truth. What to listen to next: E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations E269: Autopilot mode Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching Weekly email: You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free Courses: The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course Anger Management https://www.soberpowered.com/anger Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors 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	When the sun comes out, so do the memories of the fun drinking days.
0:06.0	But are those memories even accurate?
0:08.3	In this episode, I break down how your brain edits the past to make alcohol look better than it really was.
0:15.2	I'll explain how dopamine, emotional memory, and the fading affect bias distort your perception of your drinking life
0:23.3	and why the quote good times are often more fantasy than reality. You'll learn how to interrupt
0:31.2	the craving cycle before it starts and I'll share a personal story about my own distorted alcohol
0:37.1	memories around drinking on vacation.
0:40.2	If you've been feeling nostalgic for a version of drinking that never really existed for you,
0:46.1	this episode will help you ground yourself in the truth.
0:50.0	And before we dig in, I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode possible.
0:56.6	Ever felt like your body's running on chaos and caffeine?
1:00.1	Sometimes it's not always just you.
1:02.1	It could be your hormones too.
1:03.7	If you're wondering why you feel like a moody swamp witch one minute and a sad tortilla the next,
1:09.2	don't worry, you're not broken.
1:16.5	It's hard enough being a woman, but then throw in PMS, perimenopause, menopause, and all of a sudden, your husband's breathing fills you with a deep rage.
1:20.4	Don't even get me started on their chewing.
1:23.3	Happy Mammis is dedicated to making women's life easier, and that's why they created hormone
1:28.9	harmony for women of all ages who are struggling with hormonal symptoms like mood swings,
1:34.5	low libido, poor sleep, and bloating.
1:37.2	Many women struggle with cravings for alcohol from PMS, perimenopause, or menopause,
1:42.4	and that's because these symptoms make us want to drink to cope.
	...

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