The Sober Truth: Why a Whole Generation Is Quitting Alcohol

The Sober Truth: Why a Whole Generation Is Quitting Alcohol

Fifteen months ago, I made a decision. Not because I hit rock bottom. Not because I had a problem. Because alcohol didn't align with who I was becoming — and I was done letting it cost me the one thing I wanted most: clarity. In this episode, I get personal about why I stopped drinking, what I was actually afraid of losing, and what I gained when I got to the other side. This isn't a lecture. It's an honest conversation about a cultural shift that's already underway — and an invitation to get curious about your own relationship with alcohol, wherever you are on that spectrum. In this episode: * The moment I realized that almost every bad or traumatic thing in my life had alcohol in the background — from me or from other people — and the question I finally asked myself: is this worth it anymore? * Why I wanted to give my kids the healthiest, clearest version of myself I could * How my Reiki One certification and energy work deepened my need for total clarity — and how even one glass of wine was robbing me of that * The WHO's landmark statement: there is no safe amount of alcohol. Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen — the same category as asbestos and tobacco — and causes at least seven types of cancer * Gallup data showing adults under 35 who drink dropped from 72% to 62% in two decades — and why an entire generation is walking away from alcohol not because of rock bottom, but by choice * Gen Z is 20x more likely to abstain from alcohol than Baby Boomers * My plan for getting through social settings early in sobriety (Athletic Brewing NA beers, and why I eventually stopped needing even that) * The mindset shift from "what am I missing out on?" to "God, I'm so glad I'm not hungover" * My hangover history — the kind that was debilitating — and the moment I got the flu and thought, I can't believe how many times I self-inflicted this feeling on myself * The workout cycle that was silently holding me back: drinking on weekends, spending the first half of every week detoxing, finally feeling strong by Thursday — and then doing it all over again * What I actually gained: sleep, presence, emotional access, athletic gains, and the version of myself I'd been burying every Friday night A note from me: This episode is not about judgment. It's not a call for everyone to quit drinking. Maybe you're curious. Maybe you want to cut back. Maybe you just want to understand why so many people are quietly stepping away from something that used to be a given. Whatever brought you here, you have a seat at this table.

Always Tired? You're Not Lazy — You're Overstimulated

You slept eight hours. You ate your protein. You got your steps in. You did everything right — and you're still standing in your kitchen at 9 AM completely depleted. In this episode, I'm getting honest about the kind of exhaustion that no supplement, sleep schedule, or morning routine can touch. The kind that lives in your bones. The kind that comes not from what you're not doing — but from what you're not allowing. We talk about the daily performance of looking like you have your life together, what constant stimulation is doing to your nervous system, and why the answer to this kind of tired isn't more information. It's less of it. I share the practices that have helped me and the people I coach with soul-level exhaustion — Reiki, yoga, movement, silence, just lying on the floor with no agenda — and why the healing is always in the subtraction, not the addition. You already know what you need. Not Instagram. Not another reel. You. This episode is about learning to trust that again. If you've been running on empty and can't figure out why, this one's for you.

You Didn't Choose Your Life. You Inherited It.

When was the last time you tried something you'd never tried before? Not a variation of something you already know — something genuinely new. If you can't remember, you're not alone. And it's not because you're boring or lazy or small-minded. It's because somewhere between building a life that works and protecting the one you built, you stopped being a student of your own existence. You started deciding what you think before you've experienced it. You started calling your fear a personality trait. And you started calling that living. In this episode, I'm talking about the boxes we inherit — the routines, preferences, identities, and self-narratives that were never actually chosen. They were handed to us. And we've been carrying them so long we forgot they weren't ours. This isn't about throwing everything out. It's about knowing what's yours and what's not. It's about learning the difference between your intuition and your fear. And it's about burning the boxes that were never built for you in the first place. You don't have to have it figured out. You just have to stay willing to be surprised by yourself. Be a student in this life. Always. Stay curious. Stay open. Stay compassionate. Stay yours.

You're Building the Thing You're Most Afraid Of (Here's How to Stop)

What if the thing you are working the hardest to prevent is the exact thing your mind is quietly helping to build? In this episode of Inward, Katie Edmonds gets into one of the most important — and most misunderstood — truths about the human mind. The brain does not distinguish between a fear you rehearse in your head and a reality you are living in. Whatever you consistently give your energy to, your nervous system begins to treat as home. And for a lot of high achievers, that home has been built out of worry, vigilance, and a deep belief that if you think about the worst-case scenario hard enough, you can keep it from happening. You can't. And this episode is going to show you exactly why. Katie walks through the neuroscience of neuroplasticity — how the brain physically rewires itself based on what you repeatedly think and feel — and what that means for the patterns you've been running on autopilot. She breaks down two real and raw examples: the person who is so afraid of being cheated on that their fear slowly dismantles the very relationship they're trying to protect, and the person so consumed by fear of illness that chronic stress begins to suppress the immune system they're trying to keep safe. Fear, it turns out, is not a shield. It is a blueprint. But this episode isn't just about what's going wrong. Katie also walks through the reverse — what it actually looks like when someone builds their life from a place of consistent, practiced gratitude. Same circumstances. Completely different world. Because that's what a real gratitude practice does. Not the check-the-box, write-three-things-and-close-the-journal version. The kind that drops into your body. The kind that actually changes your biology, rewires your prefrontal cortex, dials down your threat response, and begins to shift what you create in your life. This episode also sits with one of the most powerful things ever said about the human mind — a line from the Buddha that reframes everything: "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world." You are already making a world every single day. The only question is — are you building what you want, or what you're afraid of? In this episode: * The neuroscience of neuroplasticity and how your brain rewires itself through repeated thought and feeling * Why chronic worry doesn't protect you — and what it costs your body and your relationships * The fear-creates-fear cycle: jealousy, health anxiety, and what they actually build * The reverse example — what consistent positive thinking looks like in a real life, over real time * What the Buddha's words mean for the life you are creating right now * What a genuine gratitude practice actually looks like — and why feeling it matters more than listing it * How to start small when life feels hard and positivity feels fake If this episode lands for you, share it with someone who needs it. And if Inward has meant something to you, leaving a review is one of the most powerful ways to help this show reach the people who are quietly looking for something real. You always have a seat at my table.

Nobody Knows What The F*ck They're Doing

Have you ever looked around at your life and had the distinct, sinking feeling that you are just winging it? This episode tackles the universal fear that we're all just tall kids with credit cards, pretending to have it figured out. We explore how the pressure to be perfect—the perfect parent, the perfect friend, the life of the party—is a cage. Through two deeply personal stories, one about navigating a teenage daughter's five-alarm emotional crisis and another about standing sober in the middle of a music festival, we discover a liberating, universal truth: Nobody knows what the f*ck they're doing. And the sooner we admit that, the sooner we can all take a deep breath and find freedom in the mess. In This Episode, You'll Learn: Why the feeling that you're "winging it" is a universal human experience, not a personal failure. How admitting "I don't know" during a parenting crisis can be the most powerful and connecting thing you can do. A lesson from a sober rave on the difference between performing confidence and finding genuine, quiet peace. How to redefine confidence not as knowing everything, but as the courage to handle not knowing. The freedom of "good enough" and how to stop fighting the season of life you're in. The secret isn't to finally have all the answers; it's to realize that nobody else does either, and we're all just walking each other home. Join the Conversation I'd love to hear from you. What's a moment that made you realize nobody really has it all figured out? Drop your story in the comments. Let's remind each other that we're not alone in this beautiful, chaotic mess.