This is Annie Grace and you're listening to this naked mind podcast where without

judgment, pain or rules, we explore the role of alcohol in our lives and culture.

Hi, this is Annie Grace and welcome to this naked mind podcast. Today I want to talk to you

about moderation. It is a topic that is so talked about. I mean, it is probably the default

where we want to stop drinking. We want to do something matter-drinking. We are starting

question our drinking and the first time we start to ask is, can I moderate? Can I drink

less? What does that look like? The information that I want to share with you today is invaluable.

I mean, I literally was in the moderation limbo for years. I would actively try and drink

less. I'd find myself drinking more and all the self-loathing and discussing everything

came with it. But a lot of that started after I decided to try to moderate. That's what's

really interesting. It was when I tried to control alcohol and couldn't easily do it that

the real misery which drinking actually began. I talk all the time about this concept of cognitive

dissonance or inner conflict and we're reversed to conflict as humans. Just witnessing us

will make us sick to our stomach, even worse if we fight with our families, but the worst

kind of conflict with ourselves. It's this inner conflict. That comes from both wanting

to do more of something and less of something at the same time. It's incredibly painful.

It's this stress that can quickly take over everything in our lives and make us miserable.

The irony is that that specific pain comes directly from trying to moderate. The truth

is we didn't actually feel that internal conflict or turmoil before we started to put limits

on our drinking. We just drink what we want when we wanted to. Sure, we had hangovers,

probably not as much energy as we could have had, but we certainly didn't walk around regretting

everything we did in say and we didn't have this pain of wanting to change and not being

...