In today’s toolkit episode, Overcoming the Fear of Change, your host Anna Donaghey invites you to start a transformative journey towards a healthier, alcohol-free future. She discusses how changing your ‘drinker’ identity can be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. Anna also talks about adopting an experimental mindset and focusing on the gains of sobriety rather than the perceived losses. She encourages listeners to make a list of the characteristics they want to change and the...

Welcome back to "The Big Drink Rethink," where we challenge popular notions about alcohol and explore how our drinking culture is changing and evolving. In this episode, your host, Anna Donaghey, is joined by David Wilson, also known as Sober Dave, who brings an incredible story of personal transformation from a life overshadowed by alcohol to one filled with new beginnings and self-discovery. Today, David shares the pivotal moments that led him to question his relationship with drinking and...

In this episode, Anna has the pleasure of speaking with Helen Jeffery, an incredibly talented writer, performer, director, and creative facilitator who uses the arts to challenge and provoke debate around our relationship with alcohol.  Helen’s play, ‘Buckled’, explores navigating sobriety in a world that revolves around drinking. The play focuses on three characters with different relationships to alcohol and centres around an impending wedding. It raises questions about why so many social...

Welcome to another thought-provoking episode of the Big Drink Rethink. Today we're dialling into one of the difficult aspects of modern parenting: how to talk to your teens about alcohol. Listen in as host, Anna Donaghey, talks to Anita Cleare, an acclaimed parenting expert. Anita’s insights help us understand the teenage brain and together, they discuss the pros and cons of sharing our drinking experiences with our adolescent children. As a parent, you may question whether to take a...

In a culture where drinking is nearly synonymous with socialising, standing up to peer pressure is a skill - a skill that's essential for those of us reevaluating our relationship with alcohol. This episode is packed with insights and practical tools to help you navigate social expectations, understand self-imposed pressures, and stay steadfast in your choices. Anna shares personal experiences from her decision to stop drinking and how it affected her relationships. She’ll also discuss...

Anna Donaghey, sits down with the indomitable Laura Willoughby, campaigner, and founder of Club Soda. Laura shares her insightful journey from founding Club Soda in 2014 to spearheading the mindful drinking movement. Through her mission to educate and guide, Laura explores the evolution of the non-alcoholic drinks industry, challenges mainstream drinking habits, and nudges the hospitality scene towards inclusivity and choice. This episode is packed with thought-provoking discussion about...

Your host, Anna Donaghey, looks at the way in which businesses often fail to ‘do right’ by their employees - on the one hand encouraging a drinking culture, but failing to educate and provide adequate support when it is needed. She examines the threads that tie alcohol culture to the workplace, with this week’s guest, Tabbin Almond, a fellow coach in the process of writing her book ‘Bottling Up Trouble: How Alcohol is Holding Your Business Back and What to Do About It’. Together they discuss...

Have you ever found yourself reaching for that habitual alcoholic evening drink and wondering if there's another way to unwind? In this episode your host Anna will unpack a treasure chest of alternatives, strategies, and heart-to-heart advice to support you in addressing habitual evening drinking. Anna also dives into the reality behind our 'enjoyment' of alcohol, challenges the status quo with alcohol-free alternatives, and shares some useful journaling prompts to help listeners unwind for a...

Today Anna explores the relationship between alcohol and sleep with certified Sleep Consultant, Maryanne Taylor. Get ready to challenge your beliefs about nightcaps and nocturnal rest, as we discuss the not-so-sweet dreams that booze can bring. Maryanne shares her own experiences with disrupted sleep and anxiety, shining a light on the common yet misunderstood label of 'insomniac.' Whilst Anna, shares her stories of very broken, fitful sleep, as a result of drinking.  Both look at...

In this episode, host Anna Donaghey dives into the world of alcohol-free drinks with special guest Howard Davies, co-founder of the Salcombe Distilling Company. Together, they discuss the rising trend of non-alcoholic drinks, the complexity of creating exceptional alcohol-free spirits, and the growing market for these unique beverages. Join us as we rethink how we drink and discover the value of exploring new flavours and alternatives to our traditional tipples. Here are the highlights: 00:01...

In today's episode, Anna is sharing tools to help you take charge and reassess your life's priorities. It's about shaking off the chains of perfectionism that too often hold us back. She reflects that it is the high expectations that we set for ourselves and others that can create undue stress in our lives, and why it's essential to get comfortable with the full spectrum of our emotions, not just the positive ones.  To help you gauge and cultivate a more satisfying life, she introduces the...

Anna talks with the inspirational Laura Bartlett, who embraced sobriety just over a year ago. Laura, the founder of House of Coco magazine, shares her remarkable journey of entrepreneurship rooted in resilience, after television. Her decision to give up alcohol 16 months ago has led to an incredible transformation in her personal and professional life, emphasising the power of choice to live authentically and without labels Listen to this episode as we reflect on the power of belief, the...

In this episode, we acknowledge alcohol as the nation's favourite coping mechanism and uncover its true effects on our well-being. Anna Donaghey, engages in a thought-provoking conversation with our guest, William Porter, a former paratrooper turned lawyer and author of "Alcohol Explained" and "Alcohol Explained 2". Together, they candidly discuss their personal experiences, confronting the impact of alcohol on sleep, mental health, and our ability to cope. From their own journeys to...

In this episode, "Toolbox 101: Mindful drinking basics”, your host Anna brings together the key advice and tools discussed in the previous few episodes. Not least the concept of mindful drinking and insight that comes from understanding the motivations behind our own drinking behaviours. She discusses the different types of drinkers, the principle of knowing how many units you consume and some practical strategies for reducing that number. Here are the highlights: 04:10 Observe behaviour,...

Welcome to The Big Drink Rethink, the brand NEW podcast that explores how our alcohol culture is shifting, challenges conventional attitudes and promotes more mindful, informed choices about drinking. In today's episode, ‘What The Big Drink Think is All About’, your host Anna Donaghey opens up about her personal journey of rethinking her relationship with alcohol. In sharing her own experience, Anna delves into the detrimental impact that alcohol had on her life, the stigma surrounding...

In this episode, we dive deep into our society's enduring and complex relationship with alcohol. Host Anna Donaghey and guest Professor David Nutt, a renowned expert in neuropsychopharmacology, engage in a thought-provoking discussion about the glamorisation of alcohol in media, the impact of advertising on drinking habits, and the influence of the drinks industry on policies and public perception. They explore the historical and societal roots of alcohol's prevalence and shed light on the...

In today's episode, host Anna Donaghey sits down with the insightful Adrian Chiles, a British writer and television & radio presenter. He openly documented his close relationship with alcohol in the BBC documentary "Drinkers Like Me" and he is also the author of "The Good Drinker, How I Learned to Love Drinking Less." Adrian shares his personal journey of realising the need to re-evaluate his drinking habits and the transformation that ensued. Together, he and Anna delve into the...

I am so excited to be here and introducing a new series called the Big Drink Rethink hosted by me, Anna Donaghey. It's a refreshingly open-minded look at how the drinking culture in the UK is changing and why. It's a fantastic chance for you to ponder maybe for the very first time your own thoughts on this boozy business and what it means in your world. Throughout the series, I'm going to be schmoozing with some of the fascinating folk right at the heart of this cultural shift. We'll be...