Sometimes, all you need is one small experiment to test the story in your head.
One of my clients has been alcohol-free for six weeks. That’s the point where we often see what’s really driving drinking.
Last Friday, she checked in, panicking about the weekend.
“I’ve got so much work to do, I want to spend time with my family, but I don’t know how I’m going to get it all done. I just feel so exhausted and overwhelmed.”
Maybe you know that story too.
The voice that says: “I can’t stop. I can’t rest.”
But when you test it, you might be surprised at what’s actually true.
We set up a behaviour experiment. She agreed to shut her laptop on Friday night, plan something for herself, and not open it again until Sunday evening.
So here’s the truth: The sky didn’t fall in.
She gardened.
Played piano.
Spent time with her daughter.
And when she opened her laptop on Sunday night, she was surprised.
How refreshed she felt.
How present she was.
How quickly she got through her work compared to all the snatched, guilty “checking” she used to do.
She used to drink to cope with the conflict.
Guilt when she was working and not with her family.
Guilt when she was with her family and not working.
Never fully present anywhere.
Alcohol became the way she took the edge off.
👉 This week’s quick question
We all live inside the stories that we tell ourselves.
It pays to step back and ask:
Is this story still serving me?
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