What if recovery isn't just about changing your thoughts—but also about learning to work with your body?

In this episode of The Alcohol Recovery Show, we explore somatic practices and how they can support long-term recovery from alcohol dependence. You'll discover what the term "somatic" means, why the nervous system plays such an important role in addiction and healing, and how simple body-based techniques can help you manage cravings, stress, anxiety, and difficult emotions without reaching for a drink.

We'll discuss:

✓ What somatic healing is and why it matters in recovery
✓ The connection between alcohol, trauma, stress, and the nervous system
✓ Why cravings often begin as physical sensations
✓ Grounding techniques to calm the body and mind
✓ Simple breathing exercises and body-awareness practices
✓ Practical tools you can start using today

Whether you're newly sober, sober curious, or have years of recovery behind you, this episode offers gentle, practical ways to reconnect with yourself and build emotional resilience.

If you'd like to explore some of these techniques mentioned in this episode in more depth, check out:

📖 Mindfulness for Alcohol Recovery by Lewis David and Antonia Ryan

📖 Mindfulness for Stress and Anxiety by Antonia Ryan

Both books are available from Winspress and offer practical exercises, reflections, and mindfulness techniques to support emotional wellbeing and recovery.

Join Our Community

Recovery can feel lonely, but you don't have to do it alone. We'd love for you to join the conversation in the comments and connect with others on a similar journey. Whether you're on day one or year ten, you'll find support, encouragement, and understanding.

If you enjoyed this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who might benefit.

#AlcoholRecovery #Sobriety #RecoveryJourney #Mindfulness #SomaticHealing #SoberLife #AddictionRecovery #MentalHealth #NervousSystemHealing #AlcoholFree

Learn about an emotion that alcohol obliterated and more improatnatly learn about how to reconnect with this feeling that is a key element of recovery.

This podcast is ad free and subscription free. There are additional free resources on our website Winspress.com where you will also find a range of books to help you on your journey to gaining freedom from any form of alcohol dependency.

Many of us used alcohol as a shortcut to confidence — to feel braver, calmer, more social, or less afraid. But real confidence isn’t found in a drink. It’s built through self-trust, courage, and learning to face life as you truly are.

In this episode of The Alcohol Recovery Show, we explore how self-doubt, fear, and overthinking can keep people stuck in the drinking cycle — and how recovery gives us the chance to build lasting confidence from the inside out.

We also discuss the excellent book Stop Doubting Yourself by Lewis David, a practical guide to overcoming fear, making decisions, trusting yourself, and building resilience.

Available here:

📘 Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
🎧 Audible Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/

If you’re tired of second-guessing yourself and ready to grow stronger in sobriety, this episode is for you.

In this special episode of The Alcohol Recovery Show, Antonia discusses the audiobook The Ten Day Alcohol Detox Plan by Lewis David — a practical and encouraging guide for anyone ready to take a break from alcohol, reset their habits, and begin a healthier chapter.

If you’ve ever wondered whether drinking is affecting your sleep, anxiety, confidence, or wellbeing, this episode is for you. We explore why the first ten days alcohol-free can be life-changing, how structure helps where willpower often fails, and why recovery begins with small, manageable steps. This episode also includes a sample from the retail audiobook, so you can experience the tone, support, and motivation of The Ten Day Alcohol Detox Plan for yourself.

🎧 Listen to the audiobook on Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/

Whether you’re sober curious, starting again, or looking for hope, this episode offers practical encouragement and a reminder that change can begin today.

In this powerful episode, Antonia explores how sobriety is rarely built through a single dramatic moment—it’s built through the small choices that take seconds. Choices we make every day. From what you do after work, to how you prepare for vulnerable moments, to the tiny decisions no one else sees, these micro choices quietly shape your recovery.

You’ll learn how to set up your life so staying sober feels easier, safer, and more natural—through routines, environment, mental preparation, and practical systems that reduce stress and strengthen resilience.

We also talk about those unexpected moments when thoughts of a drink appear out of nowhere, and how to respond calmly without panic or shame.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the idea of “forever,” this episode is a reminder that lasting change often happens one wise small decision at a time.

Because sobriety isn’t won in grand gestures. It’s built in seconds...

Pausing, Not Pouring explores how mindfulness can become one of the most powerful tools in alcohol recovery. In this episode, we look at how learning to pause before reacting can help reduce cravings, manage stress, break automatic drinking habits, and build a calmer, stronger relationship with yourself.

You’ll discover how mindfulness helps create space between urge and action, why cravings come in waves, and how simple practices like breathing, body awareness, and urge surfing can support lasting sobriety.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, or rebuilding after relapse, this episode offers practical encouragement and real-world strategies for recovery—one moment at a time.

Inspired by the audiobook Mindfulness for Alcohol Recovery by Lewis David and Antonia Ryan.

🎧 Listen on Audible: Click here.

In this episode:

• How mindfulness weakens cravings
• Why pausing changes everything
• The urge surfing technique
• Managing triggers without alcohol
• Healing shame through self-compassion
• Creating peace in recovery

If today’s episode helps you, share it with someone who may need support. Recovery begins with one pause.

In this episode of The Alcohol Recovery Show, we explore one of the most powerful and overlooked tools for staying sober: self-acceptance.

So many people try to stop drinking while still battling a harsh inner critic, carrying shame, or feeling like they need to become someone else to feel “enough.” In this warm, honest, and relatable episode, we unpack how that internal pressure fuels cravings—and how learning to stand on your own side can take that pressure away.

With real-life insights, simple mindset shifts, and a few light-hearted analogies along the way, this episode shows how becoming your own number one fan can:

• reduce anxiety and emotional triggers
• ease shame and self-criticism
• strengthen resilience in recovery
• and make sobriety feel more natural and sustainable

If you’ve ever felt like you’re fighting yourself while trying to stay alcohol-free, this episode will feel like a breath of fresh air.

✨ Want to go deeper?

The Alcohol-Free Woman is available on Amazon:

Click here to order from Amazon.

You can find out more about the range of books, audiobooks and free resources on our website at: https://winspress.com/

Start building a recovery that feels supportive, empowering, and truly your own.

For too long, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has been misunderstood as a failure of willpower—but science tells a different story. In this episode, we dive into the neurological basis of addiction, exploring how AUD rewires the brain and why overcoming it requires more than sheer determination. We’ll debunk myths, highlight the role of medical and psychological support, and offer insight into what real recovery looks like. If you’ve ever wondered why quitting alcohol feels impossible for some, this episode is for you.

Find out about the free resources and all our books available at winspress.com.

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References for today's episode:

Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2016). Neurobiology of addiction: A neurocircuitry analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 760-773. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)00104-

Volkow, N. D., Koob, G. F., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). Neurobiologic advances from the brain disease model of addiction. New England Journal of Medicine, 374(4), 363-371. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra151148

Goldstein, R. Z., & Volkow, N. D. (2011). Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: Neuroimaging findings and clinical implications. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(11), 652-669. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn311

Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: A neurocognitive perspective. Nature Neuroscience, 8(11), 1458-1463. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn158

McLellan, A. T., Lewis, D. C., O'Brien, C. P., & Kleber, H. D. (2000). Drug dependence, a chronic medical illness: Implications for treatment, insurance, and outcomes evaluation. JAMA, 284(13), 1689-1695. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.284.13.168.

Marlatt, G. A., & Donovan, D. M. (2005). Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors. Guilford Press.