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The Big Drink Rethink

The Big Drink Rethink

By: Anna Donaghey
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The Big Drink Rethink is a podcast for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol - whether you want to quit, drink less, take a break, or just explore the role alcohol plays in your life. Hosted by Alcohol Mindset Coach and Author, Anna Donaghey, each episode blends lived experience, psychological insight, and powerful tools to help you create change - gently, intelligently, without pressure, and in a way that opens up your life. Featuring expert guests, real stories, and practical strategies, this podcast offers a refreshingly smart, non-judgemental space to reflect, grow, and explore the life you want. Because rethinking your drinking isn’t about missing out. It’s about tuning in. It’s not about restriction - it’s about making space. To feel clearer, live more fully, and ask one honest question: What are you really thirsty for?Copyright 2026 Anna Donaghey Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ep 128: Rewriting the Summer Drinking Script | Rethinking Alcohol |

    Ep 128: Rewriting the Summer Drinking Script | Rethinking Alcohol |
    Jun 18 2026
    What if summer didn’t have to be “powered by” alcohol? In this episode, Anna Donaghey invites sobriety and life coach, Casey McGuire Davidson, to unpack why the summer and its long evenings, and sunny terrace, feels so tangled with the urge to drink. Is it really about the Aperol Spritz… or are we longing for something deeper, like freedom, nostalgia, or a younger version of ourselves?Together, they challenge the myth that summer is for “letting go” and drinking, and instead explore the possibility that these months could offer more: clarity, energy, presence, and real joy.If you’re worried you’ll be missing out or feel resistance to change, this episode delivers validation, surprising science, and practical ways to romanticise sobriety rather than alcohol.Here are the Highlights: 00:00 Intro: Why is summer so “loaded” with drinking?01:04 Meet Casey McGuire Davidson: podcast host & ex-corporate high-achiever04:47 How we don’t realise how much we’re missing by focusing on alcohol07:10 Romanticising alcohol vs. romanticising sobriety08:29 Sober travel: what’s really possible when you’re present10:40 The discomfort and magic of your first sober summer12:17 The “sober summer bucket list” approach13:11 Why summer is the best time to rethink your drinking habits16:42 Are we craving the drink, or a lost version of ourselves?23:42 How the drinks industry scripts our summer fantasies27:09 Alcohol’s real deception: convincing us we’re not enough without it28:00 “Why isn’t this moment enough?” Getting honest about cravings30:15 The science behind why alcohol seems to make us happier37:09 The “joy of missing out”: freedom, energy, and real presence41:00 What’s the biggest surprise on the other side?Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethinkAbout the host Anna:Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.Connect with Anna:Website: thebigdrinkrethink.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonagheyInstagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethinkProduced by winteraudio.co.ukAbout Casey McGuire Davidson:Casey McGuire Davidson is a Life & Sobriety Coach, speaker, and host of the Top 100 Mental Health show The Hello Someday Podcast for Sober Curious Women. Featured on Good Morning America, NPR, HuffPost, The New York Times, NBC News and more, she helps high‑achieving women change their relationship with alcohol so they can drink less and live more.Connect with Casey:Website: Hello Someday CoachingPodcast: The Hello Someday Podcast for Sober Curious WomenInstagram: @caseymdavidsonFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloSomeday/
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    44 mins
  • Ep 127: Same Feeling, Different Fix: Co-dependency Explained | Rethinking Alcohol |

    Ep 127: Same Feeling, Different Fix: Co-dependency Explained | Rethinking Alcohol |
    Jun 11 2026
    What if sobriety was just the beginning, not the destination? In this episode, Anna Donaghey sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Sarah Michaud, who draws on over 40 years of recovery and professional experience to explore the deep link between codependency, control, and unfulfilled needs. While getting sober is a huge step, Sarah reveals why the work often starts after the drinking stops as we swap one “fix” for another: relationships, work, food, or anything to soothe an uneasy mind.Together, they explore where codependency begins, how it shows up in everyday choices (from dinner to major life patterns), and why true freedom starts with honesty, first with yourself, then with others. If you find yourself always looking outside for relief or suspect that “people pleasing” is costing you your peace, this episode offers validation, hope, and practical first steps toward a healthier relationship with yourself.Here are the Highlights: 00:00 Intro: Recovery is about more than drinking00:51 Meet Dr. Sarah Michaud: psychologist, author, and 42 years sober03:20 Getting sober didn’t fix everything; the real work starts after alcohol06:01 The cycle, looking for the next relationship, job, or fix12:05 What is codependency? Explained simply, and why it matters13:33 A brief history: codependency in addiction recovery14:23 The inability to be yourself out of fear of others’ reactions21:01 How unmet needs drive both drinking and codependency22:30 Childhood patterns, why we bring old survival tactics into adulthood24:07 Why many people swap addictions after sobriety33:37 How community and reality checks break denial35:00 Compassion is essential, but so is responsibility for your experience50:17 You can know the truth and still take your time deciding what to do52:54 “I am responsible for my thoughts, feelings, and behaviours”54:42 Start by letting go of one thing you do for others56:58 Don’t scroll past self-recognition; this is where the work starts.Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethinkAbout the host Anna:Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.Connect with Anna:Website: thebigdrinkrethink.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonagheyInstagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethinkProduced by winteraudio.co.ukAbout Dr. Sarah Michaud:Dr. Sarah Michaud is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the field of addiction and co-dependency for over 30 years. She is also the author of One psychologist's recovery from co-dependency and addiction: A memoir and manual for freedom.She has been sober for over 40 years and brings her humour, directness, compassion and insight to support folks in recovery. She is also the cohost of a youtube channel called Leaving Crazytown with her best bud Finn where they talk all things recovery and have lots of laughs.Connect with Sarah:Website: https://drsarahmichaud.com/
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    58 mins
  • Ep 126: BONUS EPISODE: The Version Of You On The Other Side with the Gavin Sisters | Rethinking Alcohol |

    Ep 126: BONUS EPISODE: The Version Of You On The Other Side with the Gavin Sisters | Rethinking Alcohol |
    Jun 9 2026
    What if rethinking your relationship with alcohol wasn't about restriction, but about discovering a new version of yourself? Anna Donaghey introduces a raw and funny conversation between the Gavin Sisters, who went from "beer-swigging, Chinese takeout comedy double act" to thriving, teetotal vegan wellness entrepreneurs.Starting with Sharon's health crisis, the Gavin Sisters share how identity naturally shifts when you let go of the rituals that no longer serve you. Through illness, single motherhood, and career shakeups, they show how quitting drinking can open up a bigger life. If you worry you won't be "you" without alcohol, this episode offers a hopeful, relatable new script.Here are the Highlights: 00:00 Intro: The “identity question” behind drinking habits02:14 The Gavin Sisters’ old routine: comedy, wine, and takeout04:08 Sharon Gavin’s illness, diagnosis, and the wake-up call08:19 Loretta Gavin on why she couldn’t imagine life without alcohol10:40 How pressure and pain pushed both sisters to make a change11:45 Why quitting alcohol was the “biggest needle mover”14:35 Firsts: sober holidays, Christmas, hens, and the surprising joy16:07 Sobriety doesn’t fix everything but it brings energy for real problems22:15 How stories about “who you are” can limit or liberate you25:02 Key advice for anyone in an identity shift: give it time28:37 Sharon Gavin on seeing wine as “anxiety in a glass”29:00 Fourteen years alcohol-free: real freedom and zero regrets30:00 Why it’s okay to just give up for a month30:45 Gratitude for Anna Donaghey and the journeyAnna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: https://thirstyformore.substack.com/If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show: https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethinkAbout the host Anna:Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.Connect with Anna:Website: thebigdrinkrethink.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonagheyInstagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethinkProduced by winteraudio.co.ukAbout the Gavin Sisters:Sharon and Lauretta are an acclaimed comedy double act who have appeared in numerous TV and stage productions and written plays for the West End.They went from red wine-drinking, Chinese take-out aficionados to advocates of a plant-based lifestyle. Sharon's diagnosis of a rare autoimmune disease was the turning point. Covered head to toe in a chronic rash and at times wheelchair-bound, with her husband gone and Lauretta, also a single mum, stepping in to care for them all, the sisters transformed their lives together.They transitioned to a plant-based diet, gave up alcohol and processed foods, and Lauretta retrained as a natural vegan chef. Sharon is now off all medication and back running.In 2018 they set up The Detox Barn, named by Condé Nast as one of the best wellness retreats in the UK for 2023 and 2024, and later launched Funki Coffee and the Gavin Sisters Wellness Show podcast.Connect with the Gavin Sisters:Website: https://gavinsisters.co.uk/The Detox Barn: https://gavinsisters.co.uk/pages/retreats-the-detox-barn
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    32 mins
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