I'm Not Alcoholic Enough to Stop
Sober Awkward
Victoria Vanstone
4.8 • 533 Ratings
🗓️ 15 June 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Vic and Hamish dive headfirst into one of the most common and dangerously convincing excuses in the drinking world:
“I’m not alcoholic enough to stop.”
It’s the idea that if you haven’t hit rock bottom, you haven’t earned your sober stripes. That unless you’re swigging whiskey at 10am or shouting at a toaster in a wine-stained dressing gown, your drinking “isn’t that bad.”
In this episode, Vic and Hame finally get to be the experts—sharing their own experiences of going sober before things totally fell apart. They explore why people cling to this excuse, the outdated stereotype of what an “alcoholic” looks like, and how the stigma, denial, fear of change, and cultural acceptance of booze all play a part in keeping people stuck.
There’s also some fascinating research, a bit of self-deprecating truth telling, and yes—a shame-prevention schemes, and an Australian slang battle that proves even ChatGPT might be an alcoholic.
By the end of this one, you’ll be asking:
– Do I really have to wait until everything breaks to make a change?
– What if I just skip the crash and start feeling better now?
Packed with laughs, science, stories, and serious wake-up calls, this is the episode for anyone who’s ever said:
“I’m not that bad.”
🎧 Show Notes
💛 Resources & Links
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
🚨 Helplines & Support
🇦🇺 Australia
– Alcohol & Drug Foundation (ADF) – 1300 85 85 84
– Lifeline – 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
– Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak App – hellosundaymorning.org
🇬🇧 UK
– Drinkline (NHS) – 0300 123 1110
– Alcoholics Anonymous UK – www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
🇺🇸 USA
– SAMHSA National Helpline – 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
– AA USA – www.aa.org
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The cattle's boiled, Vic. |
| 0:03.7 | Great, perfect timing. Just a dash of milk for me, please, mate. |
| 0:09.5 | Here you go. Should we get started then? |
| 0:17.3 | Have you ever woken up on a Sunday morning and said, I'm never drinking again, |
| 0:21.4 | and then found yourself waving 50 bucks at a barman by happy hour? |
| 0:25.1 | Are you wondering why everyone else can stop at one, |
| 0:27.8 | while you head to a dodgy after-party with a weird bloke called Disco Dave? |
| 0:31.6 | If so, it might be time to take a deeper look at your relationship with your reliable social crutch, alcohol. |
| 0:38.1 | On each episode, we'll investigate our own dysfunctional dealings with booze |
| 0:42.1 | and find out if it's possible to stop this deeply ingrained habit |
| 0:45.4 | before things get too messy. |
| 0:47.5 | Yep, we're going to open up a shame shed of humiliating drinking stories |
| 0:51.1 | to help you understand why waking up from a booze coma each weekend with a |
| 0:54.9 | kebab sticking out of your top pocket might actually be negatively impacting your health. |
| 0:59.9 | Hamish and I are here to delve into what it's like being sober, an unwanted warts and all look |
| 1:05.3 | into why giving up those cheeky pints or putting down those mummy wines will make you feel happier, |
| 1:12.5 | help your anxiety in mental health and turn you into the most sparkly authentic version of you. |
| 1:16.5 | Won't that mean I become boring though, Vic? |
| 1:18.3 | Well, Hamish, we'll just have to wait and see. |
| 1:20.9 | I'm Victoria Vanstone. |
| 1:22.5 | I'm Hamish Adams Cairns. |
| 1:24.1 | And this is sober awkward. |
... |
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