Is alcohol affecting your mental health, physical wellness goals and motherhood experience? This week I sit down with bestselling author Samantha Perkins who shares her story and that you don’t have to “hit rock bottom” to recognize that alcohol is causing issues in your life. Her book, Alive AF- One Anxious Mom’s Journey to Becoming Alcohol Free was part of my own journey of becoming more aware of my drinking habits and changing my relationship with alcohol. Samantha encourages us to get curious about the role alcohol plays in our lives and pay attention to how it makes us feel and why we may be grabbing our next drink.
Unlike the “drunks” and people engaging in “cringeworthy” behavior she observed in her life, Samantha considered herself a normal drinker until her anxiety spiraled after becoming a mom. She noticed that alcohol was contributing to unpleasant physical and mental health symptoms that diet, supplements and other wellness detoxes just couldn’t help her overcome. Without any support or knowing exactly how long it would last, she cut out alcohol and felt so good that she never looked back.
Samantha helps women examine their relationships with alcohol through events, workshops and women’s circles. She brings that same lens to the Mind Body Mother Podcast, with her judgement free approach to figuring out what works for us. We discuss the Mommy wine social media culture and motherhood and alcohol knick knacks that are constantly marketed to us during some of our toughest parenting days. Do we actually need that drink to get through these hard times? Samantha says that she feels like a badass being able to tackle the challenges of being a mom of two without using alcohol to “numb out”.
If you feel like crap after drinking, are less present with your kids, losing quality sleep or sabotaging your wellness goals with alcohol, you’ll love hearing Samantha’s practical tips for cutting back or even cutting it out altogether. Whether you’ve been sober curious for years or would like to take take a peek at what drinking less could look and feel like, this episode is for you!
