The Catholic Sobriety Podcast

Ep 171: How a Catholic Mom Quit Drinking After Years of Trying (232 Days Alcohol-Free)

Abby is a wife, mom, and Sacred Sobriety Lab member who has been alcohol-free for 232 days. But before that number, there were six attempts at cutting back — each one unraveling the same way, one exception at a time. In this episode, Abby walks us through what her drinking actually looked like at its peak, why moderation kept failing her, and what shifted when she stopped trying to manage alcohol on her own terms and instead responded to what she felt God asking of her. We talk about the mental chatter that follows a drinker everywhere — the planning, the negotiating, the stopping at three and being furious about it — and what it felt like when that chatter finally went quiet. We also get into the Kentucky Derby party where Abby caught herself smiling so hard she couldn't contain it. The mocktail called The Chauffeur. Going to Confession. And what happened in the eight months after her last drink that she never could have orchestrated on her own. This is the first time I've had a client on this podcast. It won't be the last. If you're a Catholic woman who's tired of the mental gymnastics and suspects this is about more than wine — this episode is worth your time. Drop us a Question or Comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087354/fan_mail/new] If you have ever... * Struggled with the social pressures associated with alcohol use. * Felt isolated, alone, and unsure of how to break the cycle. * Experienced shame and frustration after drinking. * Told yourself, “I’ll never get this. It’s no use.” Then this 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start is for you!  Each day, you’ll receive a short video with simple tasks to help you analyze your drinking habits with clarity. 👉🏻 Get started with my FREE 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start [https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start] 👉🏻 Book a Clarity Call https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683 [https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683] Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com [https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com]

Ep 171: The 4 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Stopped Drinking Nearly 30 Years Ago

Christie pulls back the curtain on her four coaching pillars — Catholic faith, neuroscience, inner healing, and identity in Christ — and shares the personal journey behind each one. Nearly three decades sober, she walks through why she built her coaching approach the way she did, what she wishes she'd known sooner, and why she believes this framework works. If you've ever felt like something was missing from your sobriety journey, this episode is for you. Resources mentioned: Encounter School of Ministry, Be Healed by Dr. Bob Schuchts, Unbound by Neal Lozano, John 10:10 Drop us a Question or Comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087354/fan_mail/new] 👉🏻 Get started with my FREE 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start [https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start] 👉🏻 Book a Clarity Call https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683 [https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683] Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com [https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com]

Ep 170: You Can Grieve What You're Letting Go — And Still Let It Go

Have you ever walked past something — a park, a pair of tiny shoes, a photo on the fridge — and felt that sudden ache of a season that's gone? That's where this episode starts. Christie was walking her dog when she passed a neighborhood park where her boys used to play, and the grief hit her out of nowhere. Not grief over something bad. Grief over something beautiful that simply isn't anymore. And then her brain did what it always does — it connected it to you. To the women she works with who are afraid to let go of alcohol because they're grieving it before they've even quit. In this episode, Christie unpacks why that grief is real, what you're actually going to miss (and what you're not), and the one reframe that changes everything: drinking didn't make you more yourself. Untangling yourself from alcohol will. IN THIS EPISODE * Why grief is a completely normal — and actually appropriate — part of letting go of alcohol * The park moment: Nathan, Andrew, and Ben, and what one walk taught Christie about missing a season * The minivan reel that broke her heart a little (you've seen it, you know the one) * What you're really going to miss vs. what you think you're going to miss — and why those are very different things * The identity lie: why so many women drink to feel like themselves, and why it's working against them * The neuroscience of why alcohol feels like relief — and why that feeling is a trick * What it looks like when a woman finally comes back into focus * Permission to grieve AND keep going Drop us a Question or Comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087354/fan_mail/new] If you have ever... * Struggled with the social pressures associated with alcohol use. * Felt isolated, alone, and unsure of how to break the cycle. * Experienced shame and frustration after drinking. * Told yourself, “I’ll never get this. It’s no use.” Then this 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start is for you!  Each day, you’ll receive a short video with simple tasks to help you analyze your drinking habits with clarity. 👉🏻 Get started with my FREE 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start [https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start] 👉🏻 Book a Clarity Call https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683 [https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683] Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com [https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com]

Ep 169: I Am Becoming a Woman Who... (The Identity Shift That Makes This Work)

What if the reason changing your relationship with alcohol feels like a constant fight is because you're using the wrong strategy entirely? In this episode, Christie draws on her own story — 29 years of living alcohol-free, a faith journey that transformed her identity, and years of coaching Catholic women — to unpack the difference between behavior management and identity-based change. This isn't about willpower. It's about who you actually are. And that changes everything. Topics Covered: * Why willpower was never designed to carry this weight long-term * What identity actually means — and how your brain uses it * Christie's personal story and the conviction that changed everything * The Catholic theology of identity that makes this more than just a strategy * What identity-based change looks like on an ordinary Tuesday night * One question to take with you this week The Catholic Sobriety Podcast | Christie Walker Drop us a Question or Comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087354/fan_mail/new] If you have ever... * Struggled with the social pressures associated with alcohol use. * Felt isolated, alone, and unsure of how to break the cycle. * Experienced shame and frustration after drinking. * Told yourself, “I’ll never get this. It’s no use.” Then this 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start is for you!  Each day, you’ll receive a short video with simple tasks to help you analyze your drinking habits with clarity. 👉🏻 Get started with my FREE 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start [https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start] 👉🏻 Book a Clarity Call https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683 [https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683] Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com [https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com]

Ep 168: Why Do I Keep Drinking? Four Questions That Finally Help You Figure It Out

Have you been drinking more than you want to — more often, in larger amounts — and you can't quite figure out why? You're not alone, and you're not broken. In this episode, Christie Walker, the Catholic Sobriety Coach, walks you through a powerful tool used inside her Sacred Sobriety Lab called the Critical Thinking Skills Worksheet — a six-category framework designed to wake up the thinking part of your brain right in the middle of a craving. Christie breaks down four of the most impactful questions from the framework, explains what's happening in your brain when habits take over, and connects the neuroscience to the Catholic tradition of discernment and interior life. If you've been stuck in a cycle you can't seem to break, this episode gives you a starting point — not a perfect plan, just an honest one. Topics covered: * Why cravings feel automatic (and what to do about it) * The prefrontal cortex and why your thinking brain needs a script * Four critical thinking questions: Why, What, Who, and How * How to start — even if you only have 10 minutes and a notes app * Why this is spiritual work, not just self-help Drop us a Question or Comment [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2087354/fan_mail/new] 👉🏻 Get started with my FREE 5-Day Sacred Sobriety Kick Start https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start [https://the-catholic-sobriety-coach.myflodesk.com/5-day-sobriety-kick-start] 👉🏻 Book a Clarity Call https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683 [https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/38683] Visit my Website: https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com [https://thecatholicsobrietycoach.com]