How to Drink Less

Adriana Cloud

You don’t have to hit rock bottom. You don’t need to call yourself an alcoholic. And you definitely don’t have to commit to never drinking again if that feels too scary.  How to Drink Less is for anyone who’s ready for a healthier, more intentional relationship with alcohol—whether you’re just starting on your sober-curious journey, trying to cut back on drinking, or looking for a new way to control alcohol cravings without relying only on willpower.  Hosted by sobriety coach and hypnotist Adriana Cloud, this podcast combines practical neuroscience, psychology, and mindset coaching to help you: —understand why you drink (and sometimes overdrink); —retrain your brain’s reward system and habit loops; —stop drinking on autopilot; —manage cravings without feeling deprived; —build confidence and emotional resilience as you drink less; —feel more in control around alcohol. No judgment, no scare tactics, and no pressure to be perfect—just practical tools and compassionate support from someone who’s been there.  As a former daily drinker, Adriana knows firsthand how challenging it can be to break a habit that's been decades in the making. Now, as a certified Gray Area Drinking coach and hypnotist, she uses her training and personal experience to help others take the leap and build the beautiful sober (or sober-ish) life they truly want.  Ready to change your drinking habits and feel better—for good? Start listening today. Learn more at www.adrianacloud.com.

  1. 27 Aug

    74. What Are You Practicing When You Drink?

    Every time you drink, you're practicing something. Drink after a stressful day—you're practicing using alcohol to escape stress. Drink because everyone else is drinking—you're practicing letting the group influence your decision. Drink whenever you're bored, anxious, or celebrating—you're reinforcing the association between those experiences and alcohol.  But here's the good news: Every time you choose not to drink, you're practicing something too. In this episode, I offer you one simple question that can completely change the way you think about both your drinking nights and your sober ones. You'll learn:  how repetition turns drinking patterns into automatic habits;  what you're actually practicing when you reach for alcohol in response to stress, boredom, FOMO, or uncomfortable emotions;  why a sober evening isn't simply an absence of drinking—it's practice for a new way of responding;  one question to ask yourself the next time you're deciding whether to drink. Every repetition gives your brain new evidence about what you're capable of. And if you want not drinking to eventually feel easy, you have to give yourself opportunities to practice it while it still feels hard.  If you keep finding yourself repeating the same drinking patterns even though you genuinely want to change them, this episode will help you understand why—and show you how every small choice can become practice for doing something different. 🎓 Want help getting better at not drinking? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you three skills to help you feel in control around alcohol and stop constantly negotiating with yourself about when and how much to drink.  Grab your spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: adriana@adrianacloud.com Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

  2. 20 Aug

    73. Do This to Stay Sober Tonight

    Are you trying not to drink tonight? Don't make it harder by worrying about whether you'll drink at Christmas, on your next vacation, or for the rest of your life. Your only job right now is to figure out tonight.  In this practical episode, I walk you through a simple plan for getting from the end of the workday to bedtime without drinking—without white-knuckling your way through the evening or getting sucked into an exhausting debate with yourself. You'll learn:  why thinking too far into the future can make staying sober tonight feel overwhelming;  how to plan your evening instead of simply hoping you'll resist temptation;  why you should anticipate your craving before it arrives;  how to handle wanting alcohol without fighting the desire or giving in to it;  and how thinking about tomorrow morning can help you make a different choice tonight. You don't need to decide whether you're quitting forever. You don't even need to feel confident that you can do this long term. You just need a plan for tonight. Try it as an experiment. See what comes up. And when you wake up tomorrow morning with one alcohol-free night under your belt, you'll have something you didn't have yesterday: evidence that you can do it. 🎓 Want to go beyond getting through tonight and actually stop wanting alcohol? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol.  I'll explain why cravings happen, why willpower doesn't work, and what actually helps you stop relying on alcohol.  Sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: adriana@adrianacloud.com Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

  3. 13 Aug

    72. You Don't Actually Want Alcohol

    What if the craving you're feeling isn't actually for alcohol? In this episode, I challenge one of the biggest assumptions we make about drinking: that when we think "I need a drink," what we really want is alcohol.  That's not really true. Alcohol is simply the strategy your brain has learned to use to get something else—relaxation, confidence, connection, relief, belonging, or a break from the noise in your head. Once you understand what you actually need, you stop fighting the drink and start solving the real problem. In this episode, you'll learn: why alcohol is always a means to an end;how to uncover the deeper need hiding underneath your craving;why your brain keeps offering alcohol as the solution (and why that's completely normal);how to start finding other routes to relaxation, confidence, connection, and comfort;and one simple question that can completely change the way you respond to cravings.This episode will help you pause, get curious, and discover what you really need next time your brain says "I need a drink." 🎓 Want to stop wanting alcohol instead of constantly trying to resist it? Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you how to change the way your brain thinks about alcohol so that drinking stops feeling like the only answer. The class is completely free, and you can sign up here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: adriana@adrianacloud.com Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

  4. 30 Jul

    70. Make It Easy to Say No to the Drink

    Do you ever feel like you're relying on sheer willpower to get through the evening without drinking? What if the problem isn't that you need more self-control... but that you're making the decision much harder than it needs to be? In this episode, I share simple, practical ways to change your environment so that saying no to alcohol becomes the easier choice. Because successful habit change isn't about constantly resisting temptation—it's about stacking the odds in your favor. In this episode, you'll learn:  why your environment has a bigger influence on your drinking than you realise;  how tiny changes can reduce cravings and interrupt autopilot;  simple strategies like changing your route home, creating a new after-work ritual, and making alcohol-free alternatives easier to reach;  why making sobriety easier isn't cheating—it's smart habit change. If you've ever wondered why your resolve seems to disappear at 5 p.m., this episode will help you understand what's really happening—and give you practical tools you can start using today. 🎓 Want to stop relying on willpower altogether?  Join my free live class, How to Stop Wanting Alcohol, where I'll teach you the three-step process I use with my coaching clients to eliminate the desire for alcohol. Save your FREE spot here: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: adriana@adrianacloud.com Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

  5. 23 Jul

    69. Nonalcoholic Drinks: Helpful Replacement or Slippery Slope?

    Are nonalcoholic drinks keeping you hooked, or can they actually help you stay sober? In this episode, I answer one of the questions I get asked constantly: Are non-alcoholic drinks okay to rely on or are they just perpetuating the dependence?  I break down why I think they're one of the most useful tools available to you, how to choose what to drink, and the thing worth watching for as you look for replacements for your old alcoholic favorites. You'll learn: why so much of drinking was never really about the alcohol, but the ritual around it;the real math behind trace alcohol (and why a 0.5% beer isn't likely to get you drunk);why some people find certain non-alcoholic drinks triggering, and what to reach for instead;how to stop chasing the "perfect replacement" and start asking what you're actually looking for;the one pattern to stay curious about, so a helpful tool doesn't quietly develop into a new dependence.If you've been avoiding nonalcoholic drinks because you were worried that would be cheating at sobriety, this episode will put that worry to rest. ***  Join my free class "How to Stop Wanting Alcohol" to learn how to rewire your brain so it stops craving alcohol in the first place: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/  ***   Grab my free guide "7 Steps to Kickstart Your Sobriety": https://www.adrianacloud.com/7-steps Book a free consultation: https://acloudcoaching.as.me/consult  Get in touch with questions or comments: adriana@adrianacloud.com Follow me on TikTok: @coach_cloud_

Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

You don’t have to hit rock bottom. You don’t need to call yourself an alcoholic. And you definitely don’t have to commit to never drinking again if that feels too scary.  How to Drink Less is for anyone who’s ready for a healthier, more intentional relationship with alcohol—whether you’re just starting on your sober-curious journey, trying to cut back on drinking, or looking for a new way to control alcohol cravings without relying only on willpower.  Hosted by sobriety coach and hypnotist Adriana Cloud, this podcast combines practical neuroscience, psychology, and mindset coaching to help you: —understand why you drink (and sometimes overdrink); —retrain your brain’s reward system and habit loops; —stop drinking on autopilot; —manage cravings without feeling deprived; —build confidence and emotional resilience as you drink less; —feel more in control around alcohol. No judgment, no scare tactics, and no pressure to be perfect—just practical tools and compassionate support from someone who’s been there.  As a former daily drinker, Adriana knows firsthand how challenging it can be to break a habit that's been decades in the making. Now, as a certified Gray Area Drinking coach and hypnotist, she uses her training and personal experience to help others take the leap and build the beautiful sober (or sober-ish) life they truly want.  Ready to change your drinking habits and feel better—for good? Start listening today. Learn more at www.adrianacloud.com.

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