Alcohol Minimalist: Change Your Drinking Habits!

Welcome to the alcohol minimalist podcast. I'm your host Molly watts. If you want to change your drinking habits and create a peaceful relationship with alcohol, you're in the right place. This podcast explores the strategies I use to overcome a lifetime of family alcohol abuse, more than 30 years of anxiety and worry about my own drinking, and what felt like an unbreakable daily drinking habits. Becoming an alcohol minimalist means removing excess alcohol from your life. So it doesn't remove you from life. It means being able to take alcohol or leave it without feeling deprived. It means to live peacefully, being able to enjoy a glass of wine without feeling guilty, and without needing to finish the bottle. With Science on our side will shatter your past patterns and eliminate your excuses. Changing your relationship with alcohol is possible. I'm here to help you do it. Let's start now. Hello, and welcome or welcome back to the alcohol minimalist podcast with me your host Molly Watts coming to you from Oh, well, gosh, I wish I could say it was epic. I thought it was supposed to be epic this week. But it's a little average. It's been cloudy in the mornings. It's burning off typically in the afternoon in the 70s. Low 70s really don't have a lot to complain about yet. So I'm not going to. But it's just not quite as glorious as I expected it to be this week. And there's definitely some chinks in the weather armor, so to speak in terms of the fall, definitely creeping in in that full kind of rainy fall way that it can be here in Oregon. Not yet. But it's it's there. It's coming, I can feel it. So welcome. Welcome back. And I have a little bit of housekeeping to do here. Before we get started today. First and foremost, I have two prize winners. That's right, two prize winners. You know, I looked up some rules. I wanted to be accurate and legal about any giveaways that I do here on the show. And I decided that I could do this legally, I am going to start doing two giveaways every other week to so that there are two opportunities to win some alcohol minimalist swag. The first is a random drawing. That's the where, if you give a review of the podcast or a review of my book, you get entered into the generator, the prize generator and it spit out a name. It's a random drawing, it means it's a sweepstakes, and everyone has equal opportunity to win. And that is a legal contest. By the way. I looked it up. And today's prize winner for the random sweepstakes is bets La Rue bets. LaRue. Love that name. And that that's his from South Africa, and left a review of the podcast saying here in South Africa. People drink way too much. These podcasts are excellent. Thank you, Molly, you're welcome bets and thank you for listening. The second opportunity to win a prize is going to be a contest. That's a legal term. Evidently, it's merit based, which means that everyone has an opportunity to win, but I choose the winner based on the merit. And I decided I wanted to start doing this. So if you leave a really positive review, I wanted to recognize people first of all, you're gonna get the reviews gonna get red. Secondly, I'm also going to send you out some alcohol, minimalist swag. All right, so you've got two opportunities to win. And the contest winner for this week is from infinity 17 and infinity 17 left a review on Apple podcasts, the title of which was very good. And here is what that review said. I'm not sure whether I'm the first one to make note of this. I assume it's been mentioned before, but I think this is important. Molly's podcast is much more relatable than others about fixing your relationship with alcohol. Most talk about the things you should do to cut back while the hosts have all completely given up alcohol. That's pretty hard to get on board with for obvious reasons when you don't need to stop completely and want to have a more peaceful relationship with alcohol. They're giving you directions to drink less, but never went through that process themselves. Molly has done it and she speaks from experience. This has given me a lot of hope and ideas for structure. I've followed a lot of what she's putting out there and it's really is helping big difference between hers and other podcasts. Well, infinity 17 you literally are the first person to make that recognition, at least in a room. review. So I really appreciate it. And I appreciate you being my very first winner of my reviews contest. So two opportunities to win first is just a random drawing second is write a really nice, good review with really constructive criticism in it. And you may get chosen to be my contest winner. So Infiniti 17 Betts, LaRue, please email me, Molly at Molly watts.com. And I will send you out your alcohol, minimalist swag. All right. Now, one more thing, more silver, October, more silver October is coming. And I want you to join me you go to get.sunnyside.co/molly. And you're going to get a free 30 day trial of Sunnyside. That's double the normal trial. And you're also going to get registered to win weekly prizes for all participants $100 gift card to Boysen, which is a non alcoholic retailer, I'm going to be announcing those prize winners live weekly in the alcohol minimalist Facebook group. You don't have to be present to win, but I'll be doing it live. And I'll also be there and chatting about how to keep motivation strong to hit whatever your goal is. As a reminder, more sober October simply means that we are prioritizing alcohol free days, we're adding in more alcohol free days than you typically do. So you don't have to go 31 days dry. You don't I'm not doing that I'm doing 25 That's more for me. But you could do who you can do 10 You can do 31, whatever up to you. But this is a great opportunity to practice adding in more alcohol free days. And as a side note, that's how you that's how you become someone who is an alcohol minimalist. That's how you do this work as you actually practice putting in and continually and repeat and repeat prioritizing alcohol free days. And suddenly, you know, you're going to be like me, you're going to be on a 70% alcohol free campaign. I hope you are all right. Join me get.sunnyside.co/molly. And it's a free challenge more sober October coming up soon. This week on the podcast I am adding to the alcohol and series. This is number 32 in the alcohol and series, which I have recently updated in terms of the playlists on YouTube. So you can go to YouTube, there's a whole playlist for the alcohol and series. And so I know it's an accurate number. When I published alcohol and longevity back in July, I thought it was number 21. But it was actually number 31. So so here we go. Today's alcohol and series edition is one that I've had a lot of interest in personally, and many of my Facebook group members, many of my coaching clients, many people that just email me have asked for it as well. So I know it's going to be of interest to all of you. We're talking about alcohol and ADHD. That's Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. As I mentioned, this topic is a personal interest for me as three of my immediate family members, my husband and two of my four sons all live with different degrees of ADHD. So I've been navigating ADHD as a mom and as a spouse for more than 30 years. So it's definitely something that I've spent time studying, trying to understand and navigating for a big part of my life. Now regardless, as a reminder, I am not a psychiatrist, a psychologist or an MD of any kind. The information provided here is for education and information purposes only and should not be used to diagnose or treat any suspected disorders. If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of ADHD, please consult your physician for appropriate treatment. All right disclaimer out of the way. So what is ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? One more disclaimer here. This is a high level overview of what ADHD is. And admittedly there is more here than could be discussed, we'd be talking for hours, but I just want to establish a baseline of what ADHD is, and then we're going to move on to the other bigger topic for this show, which is the relationship between ADHD and alcohol use the definition according to the American Psychiatric Association, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one of the most common mental disorders affecting children. symptoms of ADHD include inattention, not being able to keep focus, hyperactivity, excess movement that is not fitting for the setting and impulsivity, hasty acts that occur in the moment without thought. ADHD is considered a chronic and debilitating disorder and is known to impact the individual in many aspects of their life, including academic and professional achievements, interpersonal relationships, and daily functioning. ADHD can lead to poor self esteem and social function in children when not appropriately treated, and adults with ADHD may experience poor self worth sensitivity towards criticism and increased self criticism, possibly stemming from higher levels of criticism throughout their lives. An estimated 9.8% of children, which is coming from data from 2016 to 2019. And more than 8 million adults or up to 5% of Americans are estimated to have ADHD, and many of them don't even know it. Several studies suggest less than 20% of adults with ADHD are aware that they have it. And only about a fourth of those who do know are getting treatment for it. ADHD is often first identified in school aged children, when it leads to disruption in classrooms or problems with schoolwork definitely was the case for me with my kids, and my husband as well. It is diagnosed more commonly among boys than girls. Given how the differences in how the symptoms present, that does not mean that boys are more likely to have ADHD. Boys simply tend to present with more obvious symptoms, most notably hyperactivity, and other externalizing symptoms, whereas girls tend to have inactivity, girls tend to become more hyper focused, as opposed to the hyperactive. Some people with ADHD have mainly symptoms of inattention. So they can be daydreamers, right? Others mostly have symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity. And some people have both types of these symptoms. Now, here's the thing. Many of us many people without ADHD experience some inattention, unfocused motor activity, and impulsivity. These are not characteristics only reserved for people with ADHD, all of us have some of these characteristics and experience some of these traits and these behaviors. But for people with ADHD, these behaviors are more severe, they occur more often. And most importantly, they interfere with or reduce the quality of how people function socially at school, or in a job. So again, kind of like when we talk about, you know, any behavior, if it's not disruptive to your life, meaning that you know, everybody might, you might feel depressed sometimes, but there's a difference between feeling depressed, and, and depression, which keeps you in bed and you can't function and you can't eat and you can't go to work, right, these are two differences. These are different, very identifying from true depression versus feeling depressed. So there's people can feel, you know, like you're not focused, totally different from somebody who has ADHD and struggles with this in a chronic way that interferes with their quality of life. Experts now consider ADHD to be on a spectrum, as each person can experience in meaning that each person can experience varying levels of symptoms severity, right, so we just kind of said that there's people that have low level and maybe people that have low low level ADHD may not even realize that it's or don't need to have treatment or medication because it's not interfering with their job or with their social world or with their life. And there are, as we said, different types of ADHD which pause different types of symptoms. So there's going to be varying degrees of symptom severity. And they do consider that to be on a spectrum meaning from low to high. When diagnosing ADHD, a doctor will use a set of criteria to determine the type and the severity of the ADHD. Now, as a brain science nerd, I wanted to dive in a little as to why researchers are using more of a Spectrum Scale for ADHD. And PS this is really important. When I say spectrum disorder, I mean, low to high symptoms of ADHD. That is not to say that people with ADHD are on the spectrum, which is what people say with regards to autism. Right. So spectrum disorder, not on the spectrum. Now, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM five which again is where you can To find a definition of substance alcohol use disorder. The DSM five is the statistical diagnosis manual for Psych psychiatrist. And ADHD comprises two predominant subtypes according to the DSM five, inattentive is one and hyperactive slash impulsive is the other. However, researchers studying the neurosciences of ADHD believe that the condition is far more nuanced. Some children with ADHD are anxious, some are angry, some don't have problems with emotions, but they can but they can't pay attention. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is variable. Children with ADHD appear to exhibit different profiles of emotional regulation and attention problems. Now hold on to that emotional regulation part because that's going to come in here right? Perhaps, and these are all associated with different patterns of maturation of brain networks. And the ADHD brain is very different. brain networks are, of course, numerous and complicated. And at a cellular level neurons transmit messages and make connections between and within different brain regions, the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the parietal lobe and the occipital lobe, as well as subcortical structures. So there's all these neural pathways. Brain scans show that ADHD brains are on average about 10% Smaller than neurotypical brains. They also co so neurotypical, you hear me say that right in ADHD worlds are now using the term neurodivergent and not neurotypical. Other scans show that connections in the brain networks of people with ADHD they are underdeveloped, suggesting problems with the quality of connections between neurons, which are called axons. As a child matures, the white matter myelin sheath around the axons continues to develop and mature into early adulthood. For people with ADHD, and this is incredibly important, the brain could continue to mature until they reach their 30s. I want you to hear that. For people with ADHD, the brain could continue to mature until they reach their 30s. This growth in myelin is like replacing a dial up telephone internet connection with a fiber optic cable. If you can imagine that we all know we all remember old modems, and the difference between fiber optic cables and the old phone modems right? It makes neural transmissions faster and more efficient. So this information by the way that information comes from an online article from attitude mag.com And it's add add it tude got it add a tude. Since 1988 10s of millions of readers have trusted attitude to deliver expert advice and caring support, making them the leading media network for parents and adults living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Attitude is not only the world's most trusted source of strategies and information about ADHD, they say they are the voice and advocate of the ADHD community. And of course there will be a link in the show notes to attitude mag.com. A just a quick break to talk with you for a minute about Sunnyside. You hear me talk about it on the show often. And it really is my number one recommendation for a mindful drinking app. People use this tool in my groups in my classes and they tell me all the time how much they really appreciate the fact that Sunnyside is a very positive reinforcement. And what I mean by that is that when you track your drinks and let's just say you planned for one drink and you ended up having to if you're honest and you track that second drink, you're not going to get a message that shames you in any way or reprimands you, you're actually going to get positive reinforcement for tracking a drink that you didn't plan on and some ideas of some suggestions for going and grabbing a snack or getting some water Sunnyside is like having a coach in your pocket. And I love that you can try it for a 15 day free trial go to www.sunnyside.co/molly to get started today. This is something that I want to talk about here, after we've established what ADHD is, right, we've established that it's real. And there are literally differences in the brain. I just told you about that. Now we're going to shift to this topic, this relationship between ADHD and alcohol use. And I want to share first, this excerpt from an article in attitude magazine, again, written by a sober person recovering from alcohol use disorder, who also has ADHD. I wanted to share this because even though he is sharing as someone who developed a alcohol use disorder, I think anyone who has ADHD and is using alcohol as a coping strategy can relate. So his name is Frank south, and this is what he wrote for attitude. Again, add it to the magazine. I think everyone sometimes has critical and defensive voices chattering away in their heads. But our ADHD often increases, accentuates and amplifies that noise into an anxiety ridden, confusing, dark storm. And a couple of stiff drinks at first seems to work miracles, the volume shuts down, you're no longer anxious, and what seemed impossible to accomplish suddenly seems eminently doable. That's what's sneaky about drinking. Sometimes it helps in the short term. It does turn off the voices, takes the self criticism and obsession with all the things you could have done better down a notch and comfort you by saying, hey, no worries, you'll do better tomorrow. Look at all the great ideas you're having. You're on a roll now see, I think an ADHD brain especially craves this kind of comfort and semblance of peace, and an ADHD alcoholics brain will full on fight to the death to keep it. To be honest, even while keeping alcohol corralled into nighttime and weekends as best I could. I still did a lot of writing while slugging back Bombay and Budweiser. Finally though, the more energy I spent staying a working drunk, the less my work rang true. In the end, all alcohol really cares about is that you keep drinking. For an ADHD brain. I think alcohol disguises itself as a dream come true. A salve for your frayed and fried nerves. I wanted to start with that because I want you to hear that it's very possible that alcohol in the beginning feels like it's helping. And not only is that totally understandable and normal. It's why even without a diagnosis of ADHD, the presence of ADHD symptoms can increase the risk for problems related to alcohol consumption. Listen to what I said there, the presence of ADHD symptoms can increase the risk of problems related to alcohol consumption. I talked to a lot of people who tell me their brains are very busy. And I get it because my brain is busy too. You know, I have just a lot of thoughts, my brains always going. And if that is you and you are using alcohol to turn your brain down, you are putting yourself at risk for problems related to alcohol consumption. And here's the here's what science tells us. Having ADHD can increase your chance of developing alcohol use disorder. Its sense of research has determined a connection between alcohol use and ADHD. findings include earlier alcohol use, there was a study twin study discovered that those with severe childhood ADHD were more likely to drink at a young age and partake in heavy frequent alcohol consumption. Another study that showed people with ADHD are at increased risk of binge drinking. Now binge drinking is the pattern where a ban would have five or more drinks a woman four or more within two hours. And experts have discovered that individuals with ADHD are at a higher risk of binge drinking in early adulthood. One study found that 42.1% of those with ADHD reported binge drinking every time they drank alcohol. And listen to that 42.1% of those with ADHD reported binge drinking every time they drink alcohol. There's a many studies that show an increased risk of alcohol use disorder. studies showing that having ADHD in childhood increases risks of developing alcohol use disorder. Again, alcohol may have here as a short term solution to the restlessness and anxiety often associated with ADHD, but the trade off heavy consumption of alcohol actually intensifies the symptoms of ADHD and it can render some ADHD medications ineffective. Though Alcohol is a depressant for those with ADHD, it can have the opposite effect. When a person drinks alcohol, it affects the frontal lobe, which the prefrontal cortex which is responsible for clear thinking for our logical brains for decision making. As you all know from listening to this show, individuals with ADHD may engage in impulsive behavior that can lead to harmful consequences. When they consume alcohol, the symptoms can increase and alcohol can also intensify symptoms of inattentiveness and restlessness. With prolonged heavy drinking. People with ADHD may experience intensified anxiety symptoms and have difficulty managing their emotions. That emotional regulation right and that's comes with the territory with ADHD may not be as emotionally resilient, emotionally mature, emotionally stable. Those with ADHD may be prescribed medications to manage their symptoms such as stimulants and non stimulants and alcohol may interact with those medicines depending on what type you take. stimulants like Adderall are commonly prescribed for ADHD. And these medications work by increasing central nervous system activity to counteract the symptoms of ADHD. On the other hand, alcohol depresses the central nervous system. So by consuming it while taking ADHD medication, it can change how the medication is processed in the brain, and cause side effects such as increased blood pressure, and increased or irregular heart rate, dehydration, impaired judgment, nausea, vomiting, raised body temperature, trouble sleeping and seizures. So combining alcohol and stimulant medications can also increase the risk of alcohol poisoning and overdose. Taking these substances for prolonged periods increases your risk of heart attack or stroke. And since ADHD medications tend to reduce appetite, drinking on an empty stomach while taking these medications can make you drunk faster. Right? So lots of implications. If you are someone who is taking medication for ADHD and consuming alcohol, you need to really be careful and really think about it. As for non stimulant ADHD medications, the interaction is less generally less severe, though it's never advised to combine alcohol and medication. Several reasons can cause a person with ADHD to turn to alcohol, and potentially develop the dependence. The connection between alcohol addiction and ADHD might come down to some of these shared symptoms, such as anxiousness, impulsivity, reward seeking challenges with managing emotions. These factors can increase the chance of those with ADHD developing addictive behaviors in general. And since Alcohol is a depressant, and ADHD can cause hyperactivity, many use alcohol to self treat their symptoms. Because impulsivity is another symptom of ADHD, this trait can make individuals with ADHD more susceptible to alcohol use in the first place. So we've we've talked about this we've, you know, this is, this is pretty clear, right? I think for me, at least, it's pretty clear as to why someone with ADHD may self medicate and to try to ease the distress. We've also talked about why people with ADHD may have trouble avoiding alcohol or binge drinking due to impulsiveness. And other people might just think that they can quell their restlessness and calm themselves down by drinking. Finally, people with ADHD tend to seek rewards. So they may also turn to alcohol for its initial feel good effects, right? This is the dopamine release. When a person drinks alcohol their body produces extra dopamine and it affects the reward center in our brain. As a result, alcohol effects can feel initially rewarding for anyone and for people with ADHD that may lead to make could faster lead to use problems. Now, there are both short term and long term effects of drinking alcohol right and of self treating ADHD with alcohol. Some of the short term effects alcohol depresses the central nervous system, and in some people, the initial effects may feel like increased energy. However, as you continue drinking, you'll become drowsy and have less control over your action. The short term effects of alcohol will depend on how much you consume of course, and it's always a dynamic experience. In general, people might experienced decreased perception slurred speech, drowsiness, vomiting, impaired judgment, distorted vision, headaches, etc, could lead to unconsciousness and blackouts. Excessive drinking can affect your muscle coordination and vital centers in your brain. Binge drinking can of course be life threatening, which is also a concern if you're taking medications that depress the central nervous system. Alcohol is also known to increase some of the symptoms of ADHD, including intentive, inattentiveness, impulsivity, and lack of proper decision making. Additionally, there could be a link between insomnia, those with ADHD and alcohol consumption. For those with ADHD and who drink alcohol. Insomnia causes difficulty falling asleep. And of course, we know that alcohol can disrupt sleep patterns and therefore exacerbate insomnia in those who struggle with it from ADHD. Those are short term effects. There are long term effects also from alcohol use and ADHD, that really are as a result of developing more symptoms of alcohol use disorder. Again, a studies show that 43% of people with ADHD are at risk of developing alcohol use disorder. So that's the big one, right? That's the long term if you continually self medicate with alcohol, you're going to increase your chances of developing a physical dependence and of developing severe alcohol use disorder. Now, why is it harder for people with ADHD to stop drinking or cut back? People with ADHD often struggle struggle with self regulation and impulsivity, which can make it even harder to control how much they're drinking, I mean, an adult think it's just just drinking, right? It's, I can see it with food, I can see it with video games, I can see it with shopping, lots of impulse control issues. And of course, with anything that's going to provide a dopamine reward, you're going to have a harder time regulating that. Alcohol as we talked about, can worsen those conditions. So alcohol can exacerbate the symptoms of ADHD, it can also make things that are commonly associated with ADHD. So there's a lot of comorbidities with ADHD and comorbidities are simply two things existing two disorders existing at the same time. So anxiety disorders, depression, substance use disorders, these are commonly comorbid with ADHD, and alcohol can make all of those worse. People with ADHD what can they do to try to reduce their alcohol consumption? Well, first and foremost, creating clear goals. So we got to make a plan, right, I talk about making a doable drink plan all all the time I talk about making plans as being a big part of how we work to create a peaceful relationship with alcohol. This is important whether you have ADHD or not. And in addition, seeking support, developing healthy coping mechanisms, and being mindful of triggers or patterns. mindfulness techniques help people with ADHD in managing their symptoms of ADHD and in managing alcohol use, whether you have ADHD or not. mindfulness can help you become more aware of your thoughts, your emotions and your and your urges. So allowing you to make better conscious choices, and also better regulate your alcohol consumption and also better navigate become a better thinker, managing your own mind. having ADHD is not an excuse for, you know, is just something you're going to live with. There's wonderful, creative, beautiful aspects of having an ADHD brain and you're going to have to work harder at managing it. There are numerous therapies, medications and alternatives that can help. And they can also help you with alcohol use as well. So cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy that CBD DBT and motivational interviewing can help people with ADHD reduce their consumption and develop healthier habits. There are support groups all over the internet, I will link a couple in the show notes that offer a safe space for people to share experiences. Of course, the alcohol minimalist Facebook group is another great safe space and it's for people that are trying to learn together learn different coping strategies and facing similar challenges. Coaching individualized counseling can help you tackle your more personal issues, and let you gain coping skills specifically for your symptoms and background. And lastly, are there any other supplements or medications that can help manage alcohol use in people with ADHD? While there are no specific medications approved for treating ADHD and alcohol abuse, so not the two of them together? Certain medications such as naltrexone might be prescribed off label to help reduce cravings. Now, I will link in the show notes my friends over at Thrive, alcohol recovery, who focus on the Sinclair method. And now Trek's own as a treatment option. And I know for some of you who are who are challenged with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder. Now, Trek's own is something that may be of true benefit for you, as friends, or support people, of people with ADHD, who may be using alcohol. It's really important as friends and family to offer a compassionate understanding and encouraging attitude to anyone struggling with ADHD or with their alcohol intake. Emotional support is one of the most important factors that leads to better mental health and improved self regulation. I will link in the show notes, some links to where people can find help. If you are someone who is suffering from ADHD and are looking for resources, those will be in the show notes. And of course, I will also include some links for the things that I've talked about and some of the articles from ADT, attitude magazine. And my friends over at Sunnyside had a great a great blog post that I shared a lot of information here from 220 questions on alcohol and ADHD. So I'll include that link as well. I just want to conclude by saying that it's taken me I mean, I really hope that if you are someone who is struggling with ADHD in a way that is impacting your life, I hope that you are taking action on getting help, whether that's in any type of cognitive behavioral therapy, alternative therapy or medication based therapy, there are true resources, and you do not need to, to suffer and to live a life that feels like it's hard all the time. And I think that's what I've seen most in my immediate family is just the hardship in navigating what many of us take for granted. So, thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. If you have any questions about alcohol and ADHD, you can always send them my way. It's Molly at Molly watts.com. And until next time, my friends choose peace. Thank you for listening to the alcohol minimalist podcast. Take something you learned from this episode and put it into action this week. Changing your drinking habits and creating a peaceful relationship with alcohol is 100% possible. You can stop worrying Stop feeling guilty about over drinking and become someone who desires alcohol less hum join me in making peace with alcohol. It's my six month online course and group coaching program designed to help you build sustainable change. Give me six months and I'll help you create peace. Check it out at www dot Molly watts.com/join That's Molly with a why and watts with an s.com/join I'm joined me today