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Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

E303: “I Should Be Further Along By Now”

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Gillian Tietz, MS, CPRC

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

4.91.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This fear hits so many people between 6–18 months sober. In this episode, we’ll look at the deeper roots of this thought: identity lag, internalized criticism, perfectionism, shame, and the brain’s inability to feel progress early on. I break down why everything feels slow, and why “being behind” is almost never about sobriety itself. This episode helps you understand what’s really going on underneath that pressure and how to interpret it without spiraling or beating yourself up. E270: Cravings Increase After Quitting Drinking and Peak Around 60 Days Sober and 6 Months Sober E302: Feeling Like a Normal Person Again After 8-10 Months E252: How Many Attempts Does it Take to Quit Drinking for Good 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 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

This fear hits so many people between six and 18 months sober.

0:05.6

In this episode, we'll look at the deeper roots of this thought.

0:09.5

Identity lag, internalized criticism, perfectionism, shame, and the brain's inability to feel

0:17.0

progress early on.

0:18.7

I break down why everything feels slow and why being behind is almost

0:24.4

never about sobriety itself. This episode helps you understand what's really going on

0:30.3

underneath that pressure and how to interpret it without spiraling or beating yourself up.

0:35.8

And before we dig in, I'd like to take a moment to thank my sponsors who made this episode

0:40.5

possible.

0:42.2

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

0:48.3

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

0:53.4

slow down?

0:55.4

That's when I reach for Tennessee. There Their CBD-CBDA formula has always helped calm my nervous system when anxiety is

1:02.0

preventing me from falling asleep. But now their soft gels just got an upgrade. They added

1:07.5

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

1:11.9

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

1:17.0

And while Tanasi can't help you with the emotional work that you are doing in sobriety,

1:21.7

they can help quiet stress so that you can rest, and the omega-3s can help your brain and body recover from

1:28.6

years of running on fumes. And if you're not a soft gel person, then they also have gummies,

1:33.8

tinctures, and more. They're THC-free, easy to take, and part of my nightly wind-down routine.

1:40.1

Go to tenasi.com and use the code power to get 25% off.

1:45.2

That's t-a-n-a-s-I dot com to get 25% off your first order with the promo code power.

...

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