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Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

E301: The Self-Worth Ceiling: How Low Self-Esteem Fuels Self-Sabotage

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

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

4.91.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2025

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you think you’re a loser and a failure, then you’re going to behave in ways that confirm these beliefs. We all have beliefs about our inherent worth and what we deserve, and when life starts getting too good, we’ll self-sabotage to bring ourselves back down. In this episode, I’ll explain the self-worth ceiling and where this comes from so you can get some insight on your own motivations behind your behavior. What to listen to next: E269: autopilot 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 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

If you think that you're a loser and a failure, then you're going to behave in ways that confirm

0:06.2

these beliefs. We all have beliefs about our inherent worth and what we deserve, and when

0:12.7

life starts getting too good, we will self-sabotage to bring ourselves back down. In this episode,

0:19.3

I'll explain the self-worth ceiling and where this comes

0:22.4

from so you can get some insight on your own motivations behind your behavior. And before we dig in,

0:28.4

I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode possible. Now that we actually

0:34.5

feel our stress instead of numbing it, the evenings can hit a lot harder.

0:39.7

You know that tired but wired feeling where you want to rest but your brain just will not slow down?

0:45.7

That's when I reach for TNasi.

0:47.7

Their CBD-CBDA formula has always helped calm my nervous system when anxiety is preventing me from falling asleep.

0:55.3

But now their soft gels just got an upgrade.

0:58.3

They added omega-3s which support brain health, mood, and inflammation.

1:03.3

As sober people, we spend so much time rebuilding our health from the inside out.

1:08.4

And while Tanasi can't help you with the emotional work that you

1:12.0

are doing in sobriety, they can help quiet stress so that you can rest, and the Omega-3s can

1:17.9

help your brain and body recover from years of running on fumes. And if you're not a soft-gill

1:23.1

person, then they also have gummies, tinctures, and more. They're THC-free, easy to take, and part of my

1:29.6

nightly wind-down routine. Go to tenasi.com and use the code power to get 25% off. That's

1:36.9

t-a-n-a-si.com to get 25% off your first order with the promo code power.

2:00.3

Have you ever noticed that when things start going too well,

2:02.6

you'll do something to mess it up? You skip the gym, you pick a fight, you start to feel restless and look for a reason to be

2:08.6

unhappy, or maybe you binge drink or convince yourself that it'll be different this time.

...

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