Ever used drinking to cope with grief and felt like it wasn’t even a conscious choice but rather a reflex? Jonathan knows that feeling exactly. He'd been living alcohol-free for two and a half years when he lost his father-in-law and then his dad, just months apart, during the pandemic. On the drive home from the funeral, he stopped at a Mexican restaurant and ordered a margarita. He thought he'd have one and go back to his life. Instead, the door that had been closed swung open, and the whole cycle started over. This conversation with Coach Cole is about grief, identity, and what it really takes to find your way back to yourself. Jonathan and Coach Cole discuss: How a scuba trip at sixteen taught Jonathan that alcohol was the price of admission for real connection, and how that belief quietly ran the show for twenty-five years Building his identity around being the life of the party through the service industry years, and the first time he realized he had no off switch Spending an entire Renaissance Festival doing alcohol math in his head, calculating drinks instead of making memories with his wife The fight, the blackout, and the tearful run in the rain that brought him to the This Naked Mind audiobook How reading This Naked Mind produced what felt like an overnight shift, and the anger he felt at never having been told what alcohol actually was Going two and a half years alcohol-free during the pandemic, then losing his father-in-law and his dad within months of each other The single margarita at a Mexican restaurant that cracked the door back open, and how the whole cycle restarted without a single conscious choice Going through the TNM Institute as his own first client, uncovering twenty-five years of people-pleasing, and finally stepping into who he actually is And more on IFS parts work, somatic experiencing, rebuilding self-trust, and what it means to show up in your own truth... Episode Links: Start your journey at nakedmindpath.com  https://www.thisnakedmindinstitute.com/tnmi-home Related Episodes: How Do I Deal With Death and Grief Without Alcohol | Reader Question | EP 262 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-262-reader-question-grief-without-alcohol/ How Quitting Drinking Saved My Life | Kay B.’s Naked Life | EP 717 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-717-naked-life-story-kay-b/ Alcohol and Grief | Coaching Questions with Pam McRae | EP 382 - https://thisnakedmind.com/ep-382-coaching-questions-with-scott-pinyard/ Ready to take the next step on your journey? Visit https://learn.thisnakedmind.com/podcast-resources for free resources, programs, and more. Until next week, stay curious! This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, Green Chef, Quince, Shopify, Zazzle, and OSEA. BetterHelp: BetterHelp is offering our listeners 10% off at ⁠betterhelp.com/nakedmind ⁠Green Chef: Get 50% off your first month, then 20% percent off for 2 month at ⁠greenchef.com/NAKEDMIND ⁠Quince: get free shipping and 365-day returns at ⁠quince.com/naked⁠Shopify: Sign up for $1 month trial at ⁠shopify.com/mind⁠ Zazzle: Save 25% on your first order at ⁠zazzle.com⁠ OSEA: Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code NAKEDMIND at ⁠OSEAMalibu.com⁠