Swapping “Why did you stop drinking?” to “Why did you start?”
Sober Awkward
Victoria Vanstone
4.8 • 533 Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This sober thingymijig is not about why you stop drinking - It's all about why you started in the first place!
It's a croaky episode today. Vic sounds like a frog after a week in bed but pushes through to join Hamish in asking a big question. Instead of always being asked why they gave up booze, they flip the script and try to figure out why they started drinking in the first place.
Was it just about trying to fit in, copying older kids, or chasing confidence in a bottle? Or was there something deeper going on that neither of them understood at the time? They both go back to their teenage years to try and pinpoint the moment it all began, and reflect on how those early choices shaped the way their drinking developed later in life.
To help them understand what it’s really like to grow up in an alcohol-free house, Vic invites on a very special guest - her own teenage son George. He offers an honest perspective on booze, having an alcohol free house, why talking about it openly makes a difference and what could entice him to take his first drink.
This episode is funny, thoughtful and a little emotional. It’s about looking back at where it all started and realising that maybe the most important question isn’t why you stopped drinking, but why you ever felt you needed to start.
🎧 Show Notes
For more information on Clean Slate just head to www.cleanslateclinic.com
💛 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
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The cattle's boiled, Vic. |
| 0:03.7 | Great, perfect timing. |
| 0:05.7 | Just a dash of milk for me, please, mate. |
| 0:09.5 | Here you go. |
| 0:10.9 | Should we get started then? |
| 0:17.3 | Have you ever woken up on a Sunday morning and said, |
| 0:19.9 | 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, |
| 1:12.0 | 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. |
... |
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