Best Resources for Quitting Drinking
Like most of our lives, recovery today is largely online. There are a plethora of resources available at our fingertips, whether it be podcasts, books, or documentaries. When it comes to recovery, it is important to continue surrounding yourself with motivational, inspirational, and driving content. We have added below some of our favourite channels for both educating yourself and creating a support system. Each of these creators takes a unique approach, targeting different aspects of recovery. We’ve outlined the resources for quitting drinking, including podcasts, books, and documentaries to educate yourself and learn more about alcohol below:
The Bubble Hour 🔗
“ The “Bubble” is what we use to stay safe and happy in sobriety (especially early sobriety). We surround ourselves with things and people who bring us joy, laughter and comfort. What do you put in YOUR bubble?”
Every week, The Bubble Hour invites a listener to come share their experiences and discuss the paths to sobriety. The podcast is hosted by recovery author and blogger Jean McCarthy and is focused on letting guests tell their truth while providing listeners with real and raw episodes. As the podcast is now in its seventh season, there are hundreds of archived episodes, available as resources for anyone interested in sobriety-related content.
The Sober Guy Podcast 🔗
Hosted by Shane Ramer, a recovered alcoholic, The Sober Guy Podcast focuses on sharing personal experiences and offering resources to support anyone struggling and/or recovering from alcoholism and addiction. Typical episodes include a mix of celebrity guests and everyday people who have experienced addiction or have been impacted by both drug and alcohol abuse. The Sober Guy Podcast is the result of Shane’s recovery from a 17-year alcohol and drug addiction and is one of the top recovery podcasts, with millions of downloads worldwide.
Recovery Happy Hour 🔗
Tricia Lewis, the host of Recovery Happy Hour, believes that recovery is impossible without support. During her recovery from a severe alcohol addiction, Lewis was deeply impacted by the addiction podcasts she listened to – specifically their message that she wasn’t alone. This podcast is her way of paying it forward by encouraging others to seek true recovery and reminding them that they have the support they need.
From Sobriety to Recovery 🔗
From Sobriety to Recovery is an addiction-recovery podcast hosted by Jesse Mogle. The podcast releases weekly episodes on developing a growth mindset, cultivating courage, being decisive, taking action, embracing discipline, exercising flexibility, and embodying tenaciousness. Mogle emphasises that deciding to get sober and being in recovery are not the same – you need to foster your best self through these principles (and more) to get through addiction recovery.
Soberside Chat 🔗
In his podcast, Soberside Chat, Pranaya Ghimire digs deep into the root of addiction. Through raw, meaningful conversation with a diverse group of guests, Ghimire discusses staying sober and living a better life in recovery – free from alcoholism, substance abuse and addiction. Some of his episodes feature life stories of people who have struggled with addiction while others will include various experts that can help with many issues that we face everyday – such as anxiety, depression, family, relationships, life and everything in-between.
The Sobriety Diaries 🔗
The Sobriety Diaries offer powerful stories of recovery from a queer perspective, that of host Nate Kelly. For Kelly, alcohol was an escape from his true self, a way to hide from his peers. Slowly his addiction grew stronger, until at age 32, he suffered a stroke; yet, it wasn’t until months later that he decided to seek recovery. Today, on The Sobriety Diaries, Kelly hopes to help those who are still struggling because he believes that recovery is possible for everyone.
Seltzer Squad 🔗
Seltzer Squad is more than just a podcast, it is a supportive community for those seeking and maintaining sobriety. Created by Jes Valentine and Kate Zander, two friends who gave up drinking and started a podcast, Seltzer Squad is a space to learn about getting sober, to talk shit, and to, of course, drink seltzer.
This Naked Mind 🔗
Annie Grace, the author of The Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life, hosts a podcast of the same name. On her show, Grace provides her listeners with powerful stories and insightful information on how to stay sober through answering reader questions and features This Naked Mind coaches. This Naked Mind discusses everything from deciding to make a change to alcohol withdrawals to the link between drinking and binge-eating to struggling in social situations.
This Naked Mind 🔗
Written by Annie Grace, a former alcoholic averaging two bottles of wine a night, This Naked Mind blends science and personal experiences to reveal the reasons for alcohol addiction. Grace emphasises compassion, hoping to establish a safe space for those who question their drinking but haven’t self-diagnosed as alcoholics and break the cycle of denial. This Naked Mind touches upon not only psychological elements of addiction, but also the cultural and social expectations that contribute to alcohol abuse.
The Alcohol Experiment 🔗
This book is another of Annie Grace’s. Unlike This Naked Mind, The Alcohol Experiment calls on readers to challenge themselves by quitting consumption for 30 days to re-evaluate their perception of alcohol. As in her other books, Grace draws on her experiences to offer insight into addiction, as well as exercises for mindfulness and recognizing triggers and negative habits connected to drinking addictions.
The Power of Habit 🔗
The Power of Habit argues that habits are at the core of everything you do. Willpower being the most important, it is ensuring that you change your habits to strong, beneficial ones that will have the most positive impact on your life. Charles Duhigg knows how hard breaking bad habits can be and uses his book to educate readers on how and why we form habits, ultimately helping individuals save time and regain control within their life.
The Sober Diaries 🔗
In The Sober Diaries, author Clare Pooley pulls together her own personal victories, research and answers to common questions about alcohol addiction, quitting, and sobriety. Pooley discusses the culture revolving around alcohol abuse and draws on her own journey through humour, emphasising that breaking addiction can be discussed in a light-hearted manner.
The Sober Revolution 🔗
In their book The Sober Revolution, “soberistas,” Lucy Rocca, life coach and author, and Sarah Turner, a behavioural therapist and addiction counsellor, address the different forms of problematic drinking, the causes and effects, and how to start the journey towards sobriety. Both Rocca and Turner’s drinking histories stemmed from emotionally abusive relationships and use their experiences to project a positive, optimistic message regarding sobriety as a transformative process.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober 🔗
This part memoir, part self-help book is a tale of addiction, humiliation, struggle, and realisation. When author Catherine Gray woke up in a jail cell for drunk and disorderly behaviour, it should’ve been her wake-up call to seek sobriety; however, it took another six years for the journalist to start making a change. It was only once Gray realised alcohol was the cause of her struggles, mental and physical, and not the solution, that she was able to transform her life.
The Truth About Alcohol 🔗
In this documentary, A&E Dr. Javid Abdelmoneim, digs deeper into drinking limits, why and how alcohol addictions are formed, and the long-term effects of alcohol addiction on the body. This film is just under an hour and includes the science behind alcohol and addiction, making an informative and worthwhile watch.
Risky Drinking 🔗
Risky Drinking is a documentary from HBO and ‘The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.’ The film covers the lives of four “risky drinkers,” individuals who consistently exceed the recommended guidelines, to analyse the effects on their health, risks of sexual asssault, violence, and accidents. Risky Drinking offers a unique perspective by putting viewers in the shoes of the addict, helping them to recognize the signs of addiction and the effects.
Dispatches – Drinking Yourself to Death 🔗
This episode of ‘Dispatches,’ an investigative current affairs programme, focuses on the effects of binge-drinking on the drinker’s health, as well as the impact of low-priced alcohol on producing alcohol addicts. The documentary extends beyond the experiences of addicts themselves and looks to the drinks industry to highlight the impending epidemic of alcoholism.
Drugged – High on Alcohol 🔗
Focused on Ryan, a highly addicted alcoholic drinking roughly three pints of vodka a day, this documentary gives viewers an inside look into what alcohol addiction can turn into. This documentary is not an easy watch; however, it provides an insightful and necessary depiction of the most abused drug in the United States. Drugged – High on Alcohol accurately illustrates the effects of excess alcohol consumption and what binge drinking can do to you.
Brought Up By Booze 🔗
Brought Up By Booze follows the life of Callum Best, son of George Best. This documentary combines Callum’s experiences as a famous footballer, the childhood struggles of having an alcoholic father, and the impacts of his father’s death from alcoholism in 2005. This documentary is an emotional but insightful look into the effects of alcoholism on one’s children and family.
Rain in my Heart 🔗
In this unflinching, sorrowful, and chilling documentary on alcohol misuse and abuse, viewers are introduced to four individuals whose lives have been ravaged by addiction. It is through their stories that one is able to truly grasp how devastating addiction can be. Whilst reviews have articulated that it may be painful to watch, those who are struggling and have watched it emphasise its impact.
