48. Why We Get ‘Hangxiety’ – William Porter Explains

Tribe Sober – inspiring an alcohol-free life!

My guest this week is William  Porter – a lawyer with a passionate interest in the science behind alcohol dependency.  He has written two books on the subject – Alcohol Explained and Alcohol Explained 2.

In this Episode

• William started drinking and smoking at the tender age of 14!
• He managed to give up smoking by reading the book by Alan Carr – he was impressed by the methodology in that book
• He managed to quit drinking after delving into the science of dependency – and discovering just how harmful alcohol is
• We talked about “hangxiety” and how it’s caused by chemical changes in our brain – when it becomes over-sensitised
• If you drink a bottle of wine every night then your brain will take the first glass as a signal that the rest of the bottle is coming!
• That’s why moderation is so difficult – and it’s exhausting as we are thinking about it all the time
• Cravings happen when we have a thought about drinking and then we start fantasising about that drink
• The joy of giving up altogether is that we don’t entertain the idea of a drink so the cravings fade away
• Dependency happens once we learn (consciously or subconsciously) that another drink will quell the anxiety caused by the first
• William explained FAB – Fading Affect Bias – when we think back fondly about our drinking days – and forget how bad we were
• FAB is responsible for many people falling off the wagon as they think they can now have “just one” – which is not sustainable
• Rather than worrying that we are an “alcoholic” William suggests we consider whether alcohol is taking away more than it gives us
• We both agreed that “sober socialising” is tough but that the best way to cope is to “feel awkward and do it anyway”
• He explained why it’s a complete myth that alcohol helps you sleep – the truth is that it ruins our sleep!
• His advice to people who want to stop is to write down all the reasons they want to drink – and realise they are all false beliefs
• You can purchase William’s books from his website – alcoholexplained.com – download the first five chapters for free
• Joining Tribe Sober is also a great way to start your Sober Curious journey
• We’ll put you on a 30-day alcohol-free challenge so you can test your dependency
• Membership also allows you to find your people as we welcome you into our supportive community
• Just go to tribesober.com and hit the “join our tribe” button to read more about the benefits of membership

More info

• Subscription membership  – you can join up HERE
• To access our website click HERE
• If you would like a free copy of our “Annual Tracker” or our e-book “66 Days to Sobriety” please email janet@nulltribesober.com
• If you would like to come to our Saturday afternoon Zoom Cafe as a guest and meet our community just email janet@nulltribesober.com

Episode Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by the Tribe Sober Membership Program.  If you want to change your relationship with alcohol then sign up today.

Read more about our program and subscribe HERE.

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Thank you for listening!

Till Next Week

Janet x