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Episode 8, Alcohol & Sleep with Professor Michael Gradisar

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In today’s episode, we talk to sleep psychologist Professor Michael Gradisar from Wink Sleep all about alcohol & sleep.  Not only do people fear not being able to fall asleep when taking a break from alcohol but this fear can often be a reason for not staying the course. So we thought let’s get an expert on to answer our questions and learn some tips! We discuss how the first week of removing alcohol can resemble insomnia and how it can take a week or two to transition into a restorative sleep pattern. Michael explains how being forearmed with this knowledge minimises your fear of falling asleep by empowering you to know this is normal and that steps are available to make it easier, including cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, improvements to your sleep environment and bringing in your screen to help you doze off to a calming show (yes you heard that right!). We also discuss how drinking dreams actually help us remain alcohol free. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  Look out for Wink Sleep’s eBook, How to Ride the Wave: Sleep and Alcohol, How to Make it Easier when Making a Change which can be found at https://winksleep.online/ as well as links to daily videos discussing what you can expect in the early days of going alcohol free together with some tips to ride the wave.

Episode 6, Burnout – Mimmo’s Lived Experience

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In this episode, Bella talks to Miranda, a close high-school friend, about Mim’s  experience with burnout and her recovery from it.  Bella and Mim chat about the bizarre moment they each discovered that their lives had “imploded” at the very same moment. Mim discusses how her brain quite literally went into “safe mode” and she could no longer do basic things like send a text, how she recovered slowly but surely over 2-years and how one day she woke up and thought “I’m back!”.  Finally Bella and Mim reflect on how these life-implosion-moments can lead to a more purposeful and resonant life on the others side.

The Two Big Lists & Visualising Future You

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In this episode, Meg and Bella discuss two very important lists that identify the beliefs that we all develop over the course of our lives around alcohol and which creates a road map for the reframing process that will lead you to a new mindset around alcohol.  Meg and Bella then share the original content of a visualisation exercise that they independently did at the start of their own alcohol free journeys.  It’s vulnerable stuff today, yet empowering and hopeful.

Episode 3, Bella’s Story

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In this episode, Bella shares her personal story which lead to her becoming an alcohol free woman and a This Naked Mind Certified Coach.    Bella’s story addresses her experiences with alcohol in her legal career, in becoming a mum and step-mum and how she leapt into mummy wine culture with wild abandonment only to hit rock bottom and end up with a wake-up call in rehab.  Bella opens up about the 4 themes that have been ever present in her life involving confidence, finding her tribe, her voice and anxiety which she believes she drank alcohol to overcome but which she then had to deal with head-on in order to successfully become alcohol free.  Bella is the founder and counsellor and coach of Isabella Ferguson Counselling & Coaching.  She supports women in mid-life and parents and teenagers in relation to issues involving alcohol, life balance and diet culture.

Episode 2, Meg’s Story

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In this episode, Meg shares her personal story behind her decision to become an alcohol free woman and a This Naked Mind Certified Coach.  Meg opens up about her generalised anxiety disorder and social phobia, the 3 things that happened in her childhood that contributed to her anxiety and how she found that alcohol initially helped her manage her anxiety at the start but later exacerbated it.  Meg discusses how ditching the booze substantially reduced her anxiety and also made her feel happier and calmer, so much so that she now helps other people do the same.

Meg is the founder and a certified coach at Glass Fulfilled and can be found at www.glassfulfilled.com.au.  Meg welcomes all enquiries.

Welcome to She’s Sober Sydney! Podcast

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In this first episode of She’s Sober Sydney Meg & Bella briefly touch on their personal experiences around becoming alcohol free women and how they met training to become This Naked Mind Certified Coaches.  Meg & Bella also share their vision for this podcast and discuss their excitement at sharing their personal stories and the stories of amazing individuals who have struggled and triumphed over alcohol.