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PODCAST

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change

Molly Watts, Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change Coach

Join coach Molly Watts on the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast to explore mindful drinking, behavior change, and mental wellness. This show offers science-based strategies to help you break drinking habits and overcome anxiety linked to alcohol use. Whether you"re an adult child of alcoholics or seeking peace with your drinking, discover tools for lasting change without shame or guilt. New episodes every Monday and Thursday. Becoming an alcohol minimalist means: Choosing how to include alcohol in our

education self-improvement

All Episodes

18:11

Can Better Sleep Help You Drink Less?

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/10/05

What if drinking less starts with sleeping better?In this episode of the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, Molly explores new research on the connection between insomnia treatment and alcohol use. The study found that among heavy drinkers with insomnia, improving sleep was associated with reductions in drinking—especially among women.Alcohol may help you fall asleep faster, but it can also disrupt sleep later in the night. That can leave you more tired, stressed, and depleted the next day—making

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11:58

Think Thursday: The Science of Doing it Together!

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/10/01

Why does change sometimes feel easier when we’re doing it alongside other people?In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores the science behind shared goals, group support, and collective behavior change — and why being part of something can influence motivation, effort, identity, and persistence.In this episode:How social norms influence what feels normal and possibleWhy shared identity can make behavior change feel differentThe Köhler effect and how other people can increase effortWhy

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23:41

More Sober October: Make it An Experiment, Not an Exam

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/28

What if the goal of More Sober October isn’t a perfect calendar—but learning something about your relationship with alcohol?In this episode, Molly shares how to approach October as an experiment instead of an exam. Rather than measuring success solely by alcohol-free days, use the month to get curious about your desire to drink, practice experiencing urges without automatically acting on them, and notice what genuinely changes when you drink less.What You’ll Learn:How to choose a More Sober

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18:11

Think Thursday: Alzheimer’s Prevention and What the...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/24

World Alzheimer’s Day is a good reminder that the story around Alzheimer’s disease is changing.In this Think Thursday episode, Molly looks at what we know now about earlier diagnosis, blood-based biomarkers, newer treatments that can slow disease progression for some people, and the growing evidence that lifestyle factors may influence dementia risk.In this episode:How Alzheimer’s blood tests are changing diagnosisWhy earlier detection matters more than everWhat new Alzheimer’s medications

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20:34

How Much Alcohol is Safe? Rethinking Drinking Guidelines

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/21

What does “drink less” actually mean?In this episode of the Alcohol Minimalist podcast, Molly explores the changing alcohol guidelines and why there isn’t one simple number that guarantees a “safe” level of drinking.She breaks down the difference between a standard drink and what’s actually in your glass, explains why alcohol-related risk exists on a continuum, and shares a more useful question than, “How much am I allowed to drink?”Instead, consider:What is the lowest amount of alcohol

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15:26

Think Thursday: Why Familiar Feels True-When Thoughts...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/17

What happens when a thought gets repeated so often that it stops feeling like a thought and starts feeling like a fact?In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores the illusory truth effect, processing fluency, self-schemas, and self-verification to explain why familiar ideas can feel more believable simply because we’ve practiced thinking them over and over.In this episode:Why repetition can make information feel more trueThe difference between familiarity and evidenceHow self-schemas

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45:55

The Sober Curator: Making Alcohol-Free Living Fun,...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/14

What does it look like to build a fun, fulfilling life with less alcohol—or none at all?In this episode of the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, Molly talks with Elise Bryson, CEO and curator of The Sober Curator, about sober curiosity, recovery, non-alcoholic drinks, and the changing culture around alcohol.They explore why alcohol-free living is becoming more mainstream, how the non-alcoholic beverage movement is helping normalize drinking less, and why choosing not to drink should never feel

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13:48

Revisiting Think Thursday: Neurodivergence and The...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/10

In this revisited Think Thursday episode, Molly explores ADHD through the lens of the brain’s energy economy—how neurodivergent brains may use mental fuel differently, and why that matters for motivation, behavior change, and alcohol.You’ll learn why routine tasks can feel more costly for an ADHD brain, why novelty and stimulation can feel energizing, and how differences in dopamine and norepinephrine may help explain the connection between ADHD and substance use.Molly also shares six

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35:32

Summer's Greatest Hits: Alcohol & ADHD

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/07

This week on the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, we’re revisiting the most-downloaded episode from the Alcohol & series: Alcohol & ADHD.ADHD is a personal topic for me, and it also comes up often with coaching clients and members of the Alcohol Minimalist community.In this episode, we explore how ADHD can affect attention, impulsivity, emotional regulation, and reward-seeking—and why those traits may make alcohol especially appealing as a way to quiet a busy brain or temporarily reduce

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12:36

Think Thursday: Hearing Health is Brain Health

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/09/03

We tend to think of hearing as something that happens in our ears, but hearing is really a partnership between the ears and the brain. And growing research suggests that when hearing begins to decline, it may have implications for cognitive health as well.In this episode of Think Thursday, Molly explores the connection between hearing loss and dementia risk, including what the latest research says about whether hearing aids may help protect cognitive function.You’ll learn:Why hearing loss

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20:54

Summer's Greatest Hits: Is What You're Doing Good...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/31

What if the biggest obstacle to changing your drinking isn’t that you’re doing too little—but that you’ve decided anything less than a dramatic change doesn’t count?In this revisited episode of the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, Molly explores the all-or-nothing thinking that can make sustainable change harder than it needs to be.You’ll learn why the Doable Drink Plan starts with meeting yourself where you are, how perfectionism can quietly undermine progress, and why small, repeatable changes

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11:38

Think Thursday: Why Certainty Comes After Action

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/27

We often think we need confidence, motivation, or certainty before we act—but the brain usually works in the opposite direction.In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores how the brain uses prediction, feedback, and experience to update what it believes is possible.You’ll learn:Why the brain constantly predicts what will happen nextHow prediction error gives the brain new informationWhat Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy tells us about building confidenceWhy actually doing

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27:38

Summer's Greatest Hits: Is it Alcohol Use Disorder?...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/24

This week on the Alcohol Minimalist podcast, I’m revisiting one of the most-downloaded episodes from the archives: a conversation about Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), physical dependence, and why labels aren’t always the most useful place to start.If you’ve ever wondered, Do I have a drinking problem? Am I drinking too much? Am I addicted? this episode will help you look at those questions with more clarity and less drama.Alcohol Use Disorder isn’t determined simply by how much you drink. It

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20:46

Revisiting-Think Thursday: Rumination-What, Why and...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/20

Rumination can feel like problem-solving, but often it’s just repetitive thinking that keeps us focused on the problem instead of moving toward a solution.In this revisited Think Thursday episode, Molly explores why our brains get caught in negative thought loops, how rumination can interfere with behavior change, and why overthinking itself can become a habit.In this episode:What rumination is—and how it differs from productive reflectionWhy the brain believes replaying problems will help

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21:24

Summer's Greatest Hits: How to Drink Like an Alcohol...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/17

What does it actually look like to drink like an Alcohol Minimalist?This week, as part of Summer’s Greatest Hits, I’m revisiting one of the most downloaded and foundational episodes of the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, originally released in September 2022.Being an Alcohol Minimalist isn’t just about counting drinks or adding more alcohol-free days to your calendar. It’s about changing the way you think about alcohol, planning intentionally, paying attention to how alcohol affects your body,

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12:13

Think Thursday: Why We Defend Decisions No Longer Fit

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/13

Why can it be so hard to change your mind—even when new information suggests an old decision no longer works?In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores cognitive dissonance and choice-supportive bias, and how the brain can begin defending decisions simply because we’ve already made them.You’ll learn:Why we tend to see chosen options more favorably after making a decisionHow memory can subtly reinforce the choices we’ve already madeWhy beliefs about ourselves can become conclusions the

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20:48

Summer's Greatest Hits:Your Relationship with...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/10

This week on the Alcohol Minimalist Podcast, Molly continues the Summer’s Greatest Hits series by revisiting one of the earliest episodes of the show.Last week focused on the science behind alcohol and habit formation. This episode looks at two more powerful influences on your relationship with alcohol: society and the alcohol industry.Drinking is deeply embedded in our culture. We see alcohol connected to celebration, relaxation, friendship, sports, vacations, and nearly every kind of

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13:08

Think Thursday: The Effort Paradox

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/06

When does persistence help us grow—and when does it keep us stuck?In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores the effort paradox, effort justification, and the sunk-cost effect. We often value something more because we worked hard for it, but that same tendency can keep us investing in goals, routines, or situations that no longer serve us.You’ll learn:Why effort can increase pride, meaning, and commitmentHow cognitive dissonance can cause us to overvalue something we struggled to

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31:39

Summer's Greatest Hits: Your Relationship with...

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/08/03

For the Alcohol Minimalist Summer’s Greatest Hits series, Molly revisits the most downloaded episode in the podcast’s catalog.In this episode, she explores one of the biggest challenges to changing your relationship with alcohol: understanding what is happening in your brain.Alcohol affects neurotransmitters involved in relaxation, inhibition, pleasure, and motivation. Over time, repeated drinking teaches the brain to associate alcohol with rewards such as relief, connection, celebration,

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12:58

Think Thursday: Why Endings Matter More Than We Realize

Alcohol Minimalist: Mindful Drinking & Behavior Change ·

2026/07/30

Why can the final moments of an experience shape how we remember the whole thing?In this Think Thursday episode, Molly explores the peak-end rule—the brain’s tendency to remember an experience largely through its most emotionally intense moment and the way it ended.You’ll learn:What Daniel Kahneman’s cold-water experiment revealed about memory and discomfortWhy patients sometimes remembered a longer medical procedure more favorably when it ended more gentlyThe difference between the

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415 results

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