Foreplay Replay - Alcohol -- Gas Pedal or Brake?

Brave Love Great Sex – Couples Therapy Podcast

Cloud10

Sexuality, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.6 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"Sometimes popping two gummies on vacation helps us have really great sex!" "I really need that glass of wine to get me in the mood!" "Smelling alcohol on your breath is such a turnoff!" As couples and sex therapists, we've talked to thousands of partners about how alcohol and substances affect their relationships. Sometimes couples report that alcohol is a major block to sexual connection, others share that it can help them get out of their heads and make sex more enjoyable. In your relationship, is alcohol a gas pedal or a brake? Meaning it turns you on and helps with desire, arousal, orgasm or it shuts you down and you withdraw from sex. If seeing your partner drunk is a sexual brake, you may feel rejected by their advances because they wouldn't typically act like that sober. If alcohol is a gas pedal, you may feel your inhibition lower and it's more comfortable to access thoughts about sex and connection to your body. Listen to this episode as George and Laurie discuss the function of alcohol in sex and relationships and what you may need to explore underneath if it is a gas pedal or brake. Our hosts approach this topic with non-judgement and are explicit that alcohol and substance use runs on a wide spectrum and affects people in many ways. We know this may open up myriad reactions from our listeners and we welcome your feedback! As always, thank you for listening and keep it hot, y'all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Right, that's it. Come on. Lights out. You've got a test tomorrow. Just two minutes. I'm about to reach the next level. It's going off now. Yeah, whatever. Let's see. Where's the app? Oh, here it is. What? How? Oh, no. You're out. Better look next time. Mom! It's game over for late nights on school nights. EE Wi-Fi controls help you get them off the Wi-Fi and into bed.
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0:27.8	To verify, see EE.com.com.
0:30.0	Hey, 4Play fan, this is Dr. Lori.
0:32.5	Welcome to Forplay Replay.
0:34.3	This is where we bring back some of our favorite episodes, your favorite episodes, all to keep sex hot. Let's dive in.
0:42.7	The following content is not suitable for children. One of the things, George, that comes up with people, anybody, sexual pursuers and sexual withdrawers, is that they want to get drunk or they want to use a substance to kind of
0:55.9	loosen their inhibitions. And I think it's so important for us to talk about what this is about
1:02.7	and think about not necessarily a judgmental point of view, but just understand what they're
1:10.1	hoping for in that. So a lot of people
1:12.9	use alcohol to loosen up. Let's talk about it. Sounds good. Welcome to Fort Play Sex Therapy. I'm
1:22.1	Dr. Lori Watson, your sex therapist. And I'm George Valley, your's therapist. We are here to talk about sex.
1:28.8	Our mission is to help couples talk about sex in ways that incorporate their body, their mind,
1:35.6	and their hearts. And we have a little bit of fun doing it, right, G? Listen, and let's change some
1:41.0	relationships. Don't forget to check out uberlube.com with the coupon foreplay.
1:45.8	It really helps us to support the podcast and keep delivering free content.
1:50.0	Thanks so much.
1:51.5	All right, Lori.
1:52.5	So, again, put it in the context of gas pedals and brakes.
1:57.5	Things that turn us on, lower our inhibitions, allow us to be more engaged versus things that really
2:04.0	shut us down, make it harder to be present. This is such a clash between the two with so many
2:10.7	couples I work with, right? Where one person really needs to lower the inhibitions. We'll talk about the good
	...

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