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Even when you’re drinking less and feeling better, certain beliefs can quietly make the whole process feel harder than it needs to be. In this episode, we break down five common myths that influence how you interpret cravings, off-nights, progress, and your own capacity for change. Once you see these myths clearly, the entire journey feels lighter and a lot more human.
Want to drink less with no pressure to quit? Visit https://ctbk.co/4doo5dq for a free 15-day trial of the Sunnyside digital app.
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Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
- Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside
ABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol moderation app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.
Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
Want to drink less with no pressure to quit? Visit https://ctbk.co/4doo5dq for a free 15-day trial of the Sunnyside digital app.
--
Listen to Journey to the Sunnyside Podcast: https://bit.ly/4bxCqT3
Subscribe to Sunnyside’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/3zuoID4
CONNECT WITH SUNNYSIDE:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joinsunnyside/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joinsunnyside/
- Twitter: https://x.com/joinsunnyside
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joinsunnyside
ABOUT SUNNYSIDE: Sunnyside is the #1 alcohol moderation app that helps you drink less without any shame, guilt, or pressure to quit. Optimize your alcohol habits to achieve benefits like sleeping better, losing weight, feeling more energy, and saving money. We know that an all-or-nothing approach doesn’t work for everyone, so we focus on helping you set your own goals, celebrate small wins, and build a lasting system of accountability. As a result, 96.7% of our members see a big drop in their drinking after 90 days.
Disclaimer: This podcast is not intended as medical advice, and the views of the guests may not represent the views of Sunnyside. If you’re concerned about your health or alcohol use, please consider seeking advice from a doctor.
Creators and Guests
What is Journey to the Sunnyside?
Journey to the Sunnyside is a top 1% podcast, reaching over 500,000 listeners every week. It’s your guide to exploring mindful living with alcohol—whether you're cutting back, moderating, or thinking about quitting.
While Sunnyside helps you reduce your drinking, this podcast goes further, diving into topics like mindful drinking, sober curiosity, moderation, and full sobriety. Through real stories, expert insights, and science-backed strategies, we help you find what actually works for your journey.
Hosted by Mike Hardenbrook, a #1 best-selling author and neuroscience enthusiast, the show is dedicated to helping people transform their relationship with alcohol—without shame, judgment, or rigid rules.
This podcast is brought to you by Sunnyside, the leading platform for mindful drinking. Want to take the next step in your journey? Head over to sunnyside.co for a free 15-day trial.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in our episodes do not necessarily represent those of Sunnyside. We’re committed to sharing diverse perspectives on health and wellness. If you’re concerned about your drinking, please consult a medical professional. Sunnyside, this podcast, and its guests are not necessarily medical providers and the content is not medical advice. We do not endorse drinking in any amount.
Welcome back to Journey to the Sunnyside. Today, we're talking through five myths that a lot of mindful drinkers still carry around without even realizing it. Now, these aren't dramatic myths that you hear maybe in headlines. These are more of quiet ones, the ones that sit underneath your day to day decisions. And once you see them clearly, a lot of the pressure around change starts to get a little bit easier.
Speaker 1:So let's jump in. Myth number one, thinking about drinking more means that something is actually wrong or that the problem is even deeper than you thought. Now, a lot of people are surprised by this one. You start drinking less, or maybe you start to track, and then suddenly this whole topic of alcohol feels so much louder inside of your head. Now many people will assume that this more awareness means that there's more of a problem, but it doesn't.
Speaker 1:When you interrupt a habit, your brain pulls it out of this autopilot mode and puts it more of in a conscious mode. This is that phase where your brain starts checking in with you. It asks questions. It reminds you of patterns. It tries to help you stay consistent.
Speaker 1:So it can feel noisy, but that noise is a sign of learning. It means that your brain is paying attention. And over time, once that new pattern becomes more familiar, that noise, it starts to fade and everything in your head starts to feel more normal, a little bit more quiet. So if you've been drinking less, but thinking about it more, that's more of your system waking up and trying to cooperate. Myth number two, a strong craving means that you truly want a drink.
Speaker 1:Now, most cravings are not a desire. They're predictions. Your brain remembers that alcohol reliably changes your internal state, and this comes from your past with alcohol. Maybe it eased tension and stress. Maybe it helped transition out of work mode.
Speaker 1:You know, I talk about that a lot here for myself. Maybe it makes social situations feel a lot easier. When a similar moment shows up, your brain is going to pull up that old file, and it does this automatically. This is why cravings often hit even when you're feeling proud of your progress. A lot of people are really surprised in this moment like, Hey, thought I was doing good, and now all of a sudden I have this craving.
Speaker 1:See, your brain doesn't update this prediction overnight. It keeps running these old scripts that we have until the new ones have enough repetition behind them. Now when those strong cravings come up, it doesn't tell you anything deep about your actual intention. All it's doing is telling your brain that it hasn't finished rewiring yet. And that's all.
Speaker 1:Myth number three: an off night means that you're not actually making real progress. People put so much weight on individual nights. But drinking patterns are learned across long stretches. I mean, think about it. It could be decades.
Speaker 1:So don't isolate moments. Your nervous system needs repetition to understand what you're trying to do. So an off night gives your brain more data. It helps you see what environments, what emotions, what energy levels make things harder. It also helps to refine your plan.
Speaker 1:Progress isn't going to remove the chances for these off nights. It's how you bounce back from them. It's how quickly you recalibrate. It's the shorter recovery time. It's the clearer reflections afterwards.
Speaker 1:So if you've been improving across the month or multiple months, that matters far more than a single night where you maybe went off the tracks. Long term change comes from overall patterns, not the occasional off night. Myth four: If I crave a drink, it must be the alcohol that I'm craving. Now, this one surprises a lot of people. When a craving shows up, it feels like the drink is actually the thing you want, But most of the time, the craving is pointing towards something underneath.
Speaker 1:People often crave a shift in state, a break in stimulation, a moment of ease, a way to close out the day, maybe a sense of reward, or possibly a little separation from your responsibilities. Alcohol just happens to be the fastest tool that the brain has paired with that shift. When you look closely, the craving rarely is about that actual liquid. It's about the moment that you're in and what your system is asking for. And once you can identify the real need, rest, connection, grounding, maybe food, maybe even a pause or something to look forward to, the urge begins to change.
Speaker 1:And it becomes easier to work with. And over time, it's going to lose a lot of its power. So remember, you're not craving the alcohol itself. You're craving relief in a familiar form. Myth number five: people who moderate easily must have more discipline.
Speaker 1:This is one of the most common misunderstandings. Most people assume moderation is about willpower, and I have disproven this so many times on this show. But moderation actually has much more to do with capacity than discipline. So what do I mean by capacity? Capacity is shaped by sleep, blood sugar stability, emotional load, recovery, stress levels, and how overstimulated you are.
Speaker 1:When those areas get stretched out, your ability to self regulate, it's gonna drop off a cliff. This is all tied to your biology and nothing to do with your character or willpower. Now somebody who can moderate easily, say on a Monday night, they might struggle on Thursday simply because the week has stacked up. There's stress, there's responsibilities, there's family needs. Nothing about their value actually changed, just their internal resources, they begin to dip over time.
Speaker 1:When you support your system, moderation becomes easier without forcing it. When you ignore your system, moderation becomes harder no matter how motivated you feel. Now understanding this removes a lot of the shame. It shifts the question from, why can't I control myself, like Sally down the road, to what do I need to do more of today to feel steady, to feel more in control, and to make better decisions? So as I said in the opening, these five myths, they show up sometimes in quiet ways.
Speaker 1:It's not just blaring in your head. They can influence how you interpret cravings, how you judge your progress, how you talk to yourself after a night that didn't go the way maybe that you hoped. Once you recognize them, the whole journey becomes easier, becomes lighter, becomes more of an actual journey instead of this challenge, instead of this judgment on yourself. You start working with your brain instead of fighting. So as you move through this week, notice which of these myths might be pulling at you the most.
Speaker 1:Not to correct it, just to notice it, just to see it. And that alone creates more space for you to change with less pressure. Alright. Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you got anything from this episode, please rate and review wherever you're listening from.
Speaker 1:Just so you know, I read every single one of those. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time. And until next time, cheers to your mindful drinking journey.