Picture this: you’ve hit some semblance of midlife. You’re older, wiser and squishier around the middle. You have a career that pays the bills, little or big babies, good friends and bad habits, but all in all, life is fine. You’re also caring for aging parents, worrying about the economy, wondering if your kid has ADHD and everything hurts when you lay down wrong but… you’re fine. Especially when you get a drink in your hot little hand to ceremoniously flick your internal status to: off duty.
But lately you’ve noticed that your favourite salve for the poky, jabby stresses of everyday life isn’t doing the job like it used to. Even a couple of glasses of wine messes with your sleep more. Eases your anxiety less. And it takes you (way) longer to recover after a few too many.
But still, you persist. After all, you’re an ADULT. And adults deserve adulty rewards for making it through another day.
Grey area drinking coach Sarah Rusbatch says we’ve been sold an impossible dream when it comes to 'having it all' and that the solution we’ve been offered, and willingly accepted, isn’t rewarding us at all. At best it’s dulling our light and at worst… it’s standing between us and everything we want.
One thing I know to be true is that sobriety takes us back to our most authentic selves and allows us to step into the body and life of the person we were always meant to be. From Beyond Booze by Sarah Rusbatch.
Our relationship with alcohol is far from simple – it’s a complex mix of psychology, history, genetics, habits, identity and emotion. Untangling that is equally complex, but in this chat Sarah and I give it a red hot go. We explore…
[02:45] Grey area drinking vs alcoholism
[04:55] The Australian drinking landscape - winners and losers
[06:38] Am I a grey area drinker? Here’s how to know
[10:00] Midlife stress and the dangers of mummy wine culture
[13:42] Bye anxiety! The #1 surprising side effect of life beyond booze
[17:10] How sobriety unlocked a new level of life for me
[22:28] When Sarah knew enough was enough
[25:03] ‘I still believed moderation was the goal’ - two years on the drinking Merry-Go-Round
[28:05] Something from Sarah’s book blows my tiny mind #WTF
[30:00] What The World Health Organization has to say and how our Aussie alcohol guidelines have set us up to fail
[32:21] Breast cancer, pyjamas and recommendations from The Lancet (our most respected medical journal) calling for the ban of alcohol advertising
[35:37] Emotional addiction vs physical dependence - why we keep coming back
[39:58] Alcohol’s link to relationships (and the only thing I miss about drinking)
[43:45] Ritual, connection and the one thing that saved Sarah’s marriage
[46:40] From black and white to living in colour, coming home to our most authentic selves
[49:00] Can we talk about THE FACE?! Booze’s big beauty secret
Love this chat?! Do someone you love a favour and share it with them. And - Sarah’s 30-Day Alcohol Free Challenge starts Monday 1 July! Why not join her for support on your first 30 days?! I’ll see you there…
Connect with us:
⚡️ Join Sarah’s 30-Day Alcohol Free Challenge: https://sarahrusbatch.com/af-challenge-jul24
⚡️ Buy Sarah’s book Beyond Booze: https://geni.us/BeyondBooze
⚡️ Stalk Sarah here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/
⚡️ And follow her adventures on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrusbatch/
⚡️ Follow Casey on Instagram: www.instagram.com/caseyberos/
⚡️ Find out more about Casey’s work: www.caseyberos.com
⚡️ Want more of Casey’s words? There are limited copies of The ‘Bad’ Girl’s Guide To Better out in the wild as well as Amazon, Booktopia and Audible, or hit this link for a signed copy sent to your door
Extra support
The Alcohol Drug Information Service (ADIS) provides confidential support for people struggling with addiction 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 1800 250 015.
If you need support, please know Lifeline is there 24/7 on 13 11 14 or you can call 13 YARN (13 92 76). Beyond Blue is available on 1300 224 636 and you can also access their online counselling service here.
Lastly, a reminder that Australia’s Griefline - free and confidential counselling and support to people experiencing grief and loss across Australia, inclusive of remote, regional, rural and metropolitan regions - is there for you on 1300 845 745 or here 24/7.
BUILDING A LIFE BEYOND BOOZE with SARAH RUSBATCH