The Truth About Alcohol (Why Quitting Feels So Hard)

Lee Davy
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Welcome to The Truth About Alcohol. I’m Lee Davy. This podcast is for people who know something about their drinking doesn’t quite add up — and want to understand why stopping can feel so much harder than it should. No labels. No judgement. No “rock bottom” stories required. We talk about what alcohol really does to the body, brain, and nervous system, why cravings and rituals are so persistent, and why willpower isn’t the issue most people think it is. You’ll hear calm, honest conversations that reduce shame, make the confusion make sense, and help you see your next step more clearly — whether you’re still drinking, trying to stop, or have stopped but don’t feel settled. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m intelligent, capable, and functional… so why can’t I just stop?” you’re in the right place.

  1. 2D AGO

    Why You Get So Angry When Your Child Criticizes You

    When your child criticises you, it doesn’t just feel annoying. It feels threatening.   In this episode, we explore why criticism from your son or daughter can trigger anger that feels instant, justified, and uncontrollable — and why the drink afterwards can feel like relief rather than indulgence.   This isn’t about being a bad parent. It’s about understanding what’s actually happening inside your nervous system.   Inside this episode:   • Why criticism from your child hits deeper than criticism from colleagues or strangers • The microscopic space between stimulus and response — and how to actually find it • How fatherhood identity gets threatened in seconds • Why the silence after conflict is often more dangerous than the argument itself • The “After the Argument Loop” and how alcohol quietly becomes emotional anaesthetic • How to widen the gap before anger decides for you   If you’ve ever snapped, justified it, then sat alone replaying the argument in your head — this episode is for you.   If this felt familiar, the deeper work lives here.   And if this episode resonated, please rate the show on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It helps more men find these conversations.   Much Love & STRIVE On! Lee.

    15 min

  2. FEB 13

    Why Friday Night Drinking Feels Earned

    Why Friday Night Drinking Feels Earned    It’s Friday afternoon. The emails slow down. The meetings thin out. People start saying, “Have a good weekend.”   And something changes. Not in the room. In you.   All week you’ve been bracing. Holding it together. Performing. Tolerating.   By Friday, your nervous system is ready to drop.   And alcohol starts to look less like pleasure… and more like permission.   In this episode, we explore why Friday drinking doesn’t actually start on Friday — it starts on Monday morning when you tighten up and tell yourself to just get through the week.   We look at how effort quietly accumulates, how Friday becomes the release valve, and why collapse feels like reward — even though it isn’t restoration.   There’s nothing dramatic about it. It’s predictable. Week. Build. Release. Repeat.   If Friday night is your only relief point, then Sunday carries tension and Monday begins slightly depleted. The loop continues.   This episode names the moment just before you leave work… or just before you walk through your front door. That drop. That exhale. That shift from holding it together to “I’m done.”   If this moment feels familiar, there’s a short guided After-Work Reset designed specifically for that transition — so effort can end without collapsing into numbing.   You can explore it here.    #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #FridayDrinking, #AlcoholAwareness, #AlcoholHabits, #WorkToHomeTransition, #AfterWorkDrinks, #SoberCurious, #AlcoholAndStress, #WeekendDrinking, #AlcoholPattern, #NervousSystemRegulation, #STRIVE, #LeeDavy

    6 min

  3. FEB 12 · VIDEO

    When You Walk Through the Door and Feel Absolutely Nothing

    When You Walk Through the Door and Feel Absolutely Nothing   Your daughter is talking. You’re nodding. You’re even smiling. But inside, there’s nothing.   No warmth. No lift. No sense of “this is what I’ve been working for.”   Just a kind of internal grey.   In this episode of The Truth About Alcohol, we explore one of the most uncomfortable moments fathers rarely admit out loud — feeling emotionally flat in front of the people they love most. Not angry. Not resentful. Just switched off.   If you’ve ever sat at the dinner table and wondered, “Why can’t I feel this properly?” — this conversation will feel uncomfortably familiar.   This isn’t about being a bad dad. It isn’t about loving your family less. It’s about nervous-system depletion, role switching, and the hidden pressure men carry from work into home life.   You’ll hear:   • Why emotional flatness after work is often collapse, not indifference • How shame quietly enters when you think you “should” feel more • Why alcohol seems to create warmth — but is actually masking depletion • The invisible identity shift from performance to presence • How transition, not willpower, is the real missing piece   Most men don’t drink because they want to party. They drink because they don’t know how to land.   If this 4–6 pm switch keeps repeating, don’t try to fix it with willpower. Build a transition instead. The After-Work Reset is a short, structured downshift designed specifically for this moment. Start here.   #1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #AfterWorkReset, #AlcoholAwareness, #SoberCurious, #StopDrinking, #MindfulFatherhood, #WorkToHomeTransition, #EmotionalRegulation, #HighFunctioning, #DadLife, #NervousSystem, #AlcoholFree, #MenAndEmotions

    8 min

  4. FEB 11

    Why the Drive Home Is the Most Dangerous Part of Your Drinking Day

    Why the Drive Home Is the Most Dangerous Part of Your Drinking Day You finish work. Not a bad day. Not a great day. Just a day. This episode explores why the journey home can quietly become the highest-risk moment of the day for drinking — even when nothing has gone wrong. It looks at what actually happens in your body when work ends but your nervous system hasn’t landed yet, and why alcohol starts to feel less like a choice and more like relief. Why the drive home creates a hidden gap between work and family life How effort and self-control quietly collapse at the end of the day Why “I deserve this” is about ending effort, not reward How alcohol becomes associated with switching the day off Why this moment keeps repeating at the same time, in the same way If the work-to-home transition is where things often start to slip, there are resources designed specifically around that moment — not to fix you, but to reduce how often it takes over. #1000DaysSoberPodcast #LeeDavy #STRIVE #alcohol #drinkinghabits #endofdaydrinking #worktohometransition #alcoholandstress #alcoholandexhaustion #whyquittingalcoholfeelshard #alcoholrelief #sobercurious #nervoussystem #alcoholawareness

    6 min

  5. FEB 10

    Why Alcohol Feels Like Relief When You’re Already Empty

    Why Alcohol Feels Like Relief When You’re Already Empty It’s late afternoon. Nothing’s gone wrong. You’re not stressed — you’re just empty. This episode explores a quiet moment that often shows up at the end of the day. On the drive home. Standing in the kitchen. When alcohol stops feeling like pleasure and starts feeling like relief. Not relief because you want more. Relief because your body has reached its limit. We look at why willpower collapses here, why “I deserve this” isn’t about reward at all, and why exhaustion trains the nervous system to reach for the fastest off-switch it knows. There’s no fixing in this episode. No advice. Just a slower explanation of what’s actually happening when nothing feels wrong — but you can’t keep going like this. If this moment feels familiar, you’re not broken. Your system is depleted. If you want a place to put moments like this down, there’s a private space designed to hold them quietly. And if you want to explore this pattern more deeply, there are resources built around the work-to-home transition — not to fix you, but to reduce how often this moment takes over. You can also reach out directly at thestrivemethod@gmail.com Alcohol often isn’t about reward. It’s about relief that never got replaced. This is The Truth About Alcohol. Much Love & STRIVE On! Lee. #alcohol #drinkinghabits #endofdaydrinking #worktohometransition #alcoholandstress #alcoholandexhaustion #whyquittingalcoholfeelshard #alcoholrelief #sobercurious #alcoholawareness #nervoussystem

    5 min

  6. FEB 9

    Why Sitting in the Car Feels Safer Than Going Inside

    Why Sitting in the Car Feels Safer Than Going Inside You’ve finished work. You’ve driven home. You’ve pulled up outside your house. And instead of getting out, you just sit there. Engine off. Key still in your hand. Not because anything’s wrong — but because something in you isn’t ready to go inside yet. This episode explores a moment many men recognise but rarely talk about: sitting in the car outside the house because it’s the only place no one is asking you to be anything. In this episode, we explore: Why work can feel easier than home — even when you love your family What’s really happening when home starts to feel exposing instead of relaxing How boredom, depletion, and quiet self-doubt build under the surface Why alcohol so often shows up here — not for pleasure, but for fast relief The unspoken resentment that grows when there’s no space to land between roles This isn’t about not wanting your life. It’s about never being given space to arrive inside it. If this moment feels familiar, there’s a short After-Work Reset designed specifically for this transition — not to fix you or change you, but to help you arrive home before you walk through the door. You can explore it at STRIVE.  And if you don’t want to do anything with this yet, that’s fine. Sometimes just naming the moment is enough for today. You can also reach out directly at thestrivemethod@gmail.com. #TheTruthAboutAlcohol #1000DaysSoberPodcast #LeeDavy #STRIVE #AlcoholAwareness #AfterWorkDrinking #MenAndAlcohol #DrinkingHabits #EmotionalExhaustion #AlcoholFreeLife #QuestioningAlcohol

    8 min

  7. FEB 6

    Why Friday Feels Wrong When You Stop Drinking

    Why Friday Feels Wrong When You Stop Drinking Friday used to come with a promise. Not just that the week was ending — but that something would finally switch off. This episode looks at why Friday afternoons can feel strangely uncomfortable when you’ve decided not to drink. The anticipation is still there. The excitement still flickers. But the thing that used to end the week, quiet your system, and make Friday “work” is gone. Instead of relief, there’s a gap. And that gap can feel confusing, lonely, and louder than any weekday. This isn’t about willpower. It’s about what alcohol was really doing for your nervous system — and why Friday exposes that more than any other day. Why Friday afternoon triggers anticipation before anything has happened Why stopping drinking can make Fridays feel harder, not easier How alcohol became the signal that the week was finally over Why this feeling keeps coming back — and what it’s actually asking for If this Friday feeling is familiar, you don’t need to fix it or push through it. Just noticing when it starts — often earlier than you think — is already a shift. And if you want a place to put this moment down, rather than battling it every week, the deeper work lives at STRIVE.  #1000DaysSoberPodcast, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #STRIVE, #AlcoholAwareness, #QuitDrinking, #SoberCurious, #FridayTriggers, #AlcoholAndMentalHealth, #LivingAlcoholFree

    5 min

  8. FEB 5

    When You’re Doing Everything Right and Still Feel On Edge

    When You’re Doing Everything Right and Still Feel On Edge You’re doing everything right. You’ve read the books. You’ve had the conversations. You’ve apologised, repaired, and reflected. And somehow, you still feel on edge. This episode explores the quiet, confusing place where insight hasn’t brought ease yet — where you can understand your patterns, care deeply, and still feel tense, irritable, and close to the edge. Not because you’re failing, but because effort alone isn’t creating safety. Why self-awareness doesn’t automatically settle your nervous system How alcohol sneaks in when effort collapses, not when you “don’t care” Why doing everything right can still end in relapse, conflict, or self-blame The hidden pattern behind being fine in public and falling apart alone If this episode felt familiar and you don’t want to rush to fix it, the deeper work lives in STRIVE  #1000DaysSoberPodcast, #LeeDavy, #STRIVE, #TheTruthAboutAlcohol, #AlcoholAwareness, #AlcoholFreeLife, #SoberCurious, #QuitDrinking, #NervousSystemRegulation, #EmotionalSafety, #HighFunctioning, #InnerWork, #SelfLeadership

    6 min
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4.4
out of 5
90 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Truth About Alcohol. I’m Lee Davy. This podcast is for people who know something about their drinking doesn’t quite add up — and want to understand why stopping can feel so much harder than it should. No labels. No judgement. No “rock bottom” stories required. We talk about what alcohol really does to the body, brain, and nervous system, why cravings and rituals are so persistent, and why willpower isn’t the issue most people think it is. You’ll hear calm, honest conversations that reduce shame, make the confusion make sense, and help you see your next step more clearly — whether you’re still drinking, trying to stop, or have stopped but don’t feel settled. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m intelligent, capable, and functional… so why can’t I just stop?” you’re in the right place.

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