Why do some people stay sober and others relapse back and forth? Getting sober isn’t about restriction, it’s about rewiring your brain to function without intensity, chaos, dopamine spikes, and avoidance.
Hosted by Gill Tietz, a former biochemist turned sober coach, this show dives into the neuroscience of long-term sobriety — why some people relapse, why others stay free, and how to build the kind of brain that can handle life without alcohol.
Each episode blends science, psychology, and real experience to help you strengthen the four pillars of neuro-resilience:
1. Neural Recovery – healing your brain’s reward and stress systems after alcohol.
2. Emotional Regulation – calming reactivity and learning to feel without numbing.
3. Cognitive Rewiring – changing the thought patterns that quietly pull you backward.
4. Behavioral Integration – designing routines and habits that make being sober your default.
Whether you’re newly sober or years in, you’ll learn the research-backed tools and mind shifts that keep you steady, so sobriety stops feeling like something you’re trying to want and starts feeling like who you are.
This is hard work. If you want my support, then check out my online sober community or my 1:1 work.
Website: www.soberpowered.com
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Why do some people stay sober and others relapse back and forth? Getting sober isn’t about restriction, it’s about rewiring your brain to function without intensity, chaos, dopamine spikes, and avoidance.
Hosted by Gill Tietz, a former biochemist turned sober coach, this show dives into the neuroscience of long-term sobriety — why some people relapse, why others stay free, and how to build the kind of brain that can handle life without alcohol.
Each episode blends science, psychology, and real experience to help you strengthen the four pillars of neuro-resilience:
1. Neural Recovery – healing your brain’s reward and stress systems after alcohol.
2. Emotional Regulation – calming reactivity and learning to feel without numbing.
3. Cognitive Rewiring – changing the thought patterns that quietly pull you backward.
4. Behavioral Integration – designing routines and habits that make being sober your default.
Whether you’re newly sober or years in, you’ll learn the research-backed tools and mind shifts that keep you steady, so sobriety stops feeling like something you’re trying to want and starts feeling like who you are.
This is hard work. If you want my support, then check out my online sober community or my 1:1 work.
Website: www.soberpowered.com
Have you ever promised yourself you’d only have one drink? Maybe it was at dinner, or after work—you told yourself, “Just one, that’s it.” But once that drink was gone, something shifted. Instead of feeling satisfied, you found yourself wanting another. And another. It can feel frustrating, even confusing. What’s wrong with me? Why can other people leave some alcohol behind in their glass and I can’t fathom it?
This is one of the most common struggles people face when trying to moderate. And it’s not about willpower, discipline, or wanting it badly enough. It’s about how alcohol interacts with the brain. For some people, that first drink doesn’t close the craving loop—it opens it. In this episode, we’re going to talk about why that happens: how alcohol changes the brain’s reward system, why some people are more vulnerable than others, and why “just one” isn’t harmless if your brain is wired a certain way. By the end, you’ll understand why satisfaction never comes from moderation—and why that’s not your fault.
What to listen to next:
E265: rewiring the reward system
E204: why not everyone develops a problem
Work with me:
Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership
Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching
Weekly email:
You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email
Free resources https://www.soberpowered.com/free
Courses:
The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course
Don’t try harder, try different https://www.soberpowered.com/willpower
Support the show:
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered
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Sources are posted on my website
Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice.
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Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober
Why do some people stay sober and others relapse back and forth? Getting sober isn’t about restriction, it’s about rewiring your brain to function without intensity, chaos, dopamine spikes, and avoidance.
Hosted by Gill Tietz, a former biochemist turned sober coach, this show dives into the neuroscience of long-term sobriety — why some people relapse, why others stay free, and how to build the kind of brain that can handle life without alcohol.
Each episode blends science, psychology, and real experience to help you strengthen the four pillars of neuro-resilience:
1. Neural Recovery – healing your brain’s reward and stress systems after alcohol.
2. Emotional Regulation – calming reactivity and learning to feel without numbing.
3. Cognitive Rewiring – changing the thought patterns that quietly pull you backward.
4. Behavioral Integration – designing routines and habits that make being sober your default.
Whether you’re newly sober or years in, you’ll learn the research-backed tools and mind shifts that keep you steady, so sobriety stops feeling like something you’re trying to want and starts feeling like who you are.
This is hard work. If you want my support, then check out my online sober community or my 1:1 work.
Website: www.soberpowered.com
