Do you call yourself a “wine girlie”? Do you and your friends or your partner always unwind with a bottle or two of wine or some type of alcohol? Could it be turning into something more serious, and what can you do to change your life for the better?

In this podcast episode, I am excited to have Casey McQuire Davidson on. Casey shares her story with us and we talk about when you should acknowledge an alcohol dependency and change your life for the better in ways you couldn’t imagine.

Meet Casey McGuire Davidson

Casey McGuire Davidson is a Life & Sobriety Coach and the host of the Top 100 Mental Health Podcast, The Hello Someday Podcast for Sober Curious Women. As an ex-red wine girl who spent 20 years climbing the corporate ladder while holding on tightly to her love of wine, Casey’s passionate about helping busy women stop drinking and create lives they love without alcohol. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, NBC News, and over 60 sobriety, motherhood, and mental health podcasts and publications.

Connect with Casey on her website. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.

Free 30-Day Sober Guide Free Masterclass Take A Break From Drinking With These 5 Secrets

Summary

• Recognizing a problem when it has become one
• Going through recovery
• Why high-achieving women sometimes develop alcohol dependencies
• Casey’s advice to high-achieving women

Recognizing a problem when it has become one

For many people and cultures around the world, frequent or heavy drinking is normalized.

Young people have frequent wild parties laughed off, and it seems to almost be a normal phase for people to go through or a normal way to cope with a stressful life.

However, a seemingly harmless activity can quickly turn into a strong coping mechanism and maladaptive habit if you aren’t intentional or careful about your actions.

Casey often had a glass of wine a night, but that over time turned into a bottle a night, and more with friends over weekends. She came to realize that there was a bigger problem at play.

I spent a very long time saying to myself, “Well I don’t think I’m an ‘alcoholic’, I just need to moderate better’. I tried to do that for a very long time. Do I just abuse alcohol or do I actually have a drinking problem? Because if I just abuse it, then I can stop abusing it, you know? That was my rationalization. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

Casey tried to drink less by signing up for morning workout classes, and evening running clubs, and switched to different alcohols, or tried to drink on only certain days. Either these things didn’t work, or they didn’t work for long.

It was more of a death by a thousand cuts for me. Like I said, I didn’t have any moment of clarity or a big rock bottom but I was definitely worried about it. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

Going through recovery

Casey has worked with many high-achieving women who have all suffered from drinking habits because it was something that they used to reward themselves, to calm down, or to separate themselves from a tough day.

For two years, I knew my drinking was an issue and as far as I would get would be day four or day five. I would promise myself I would stop, I would take pictures of myself in the morning of my eyes or my skin and yet it took so much effort. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

A few of Casey’s “wake-up call” moments happened before she stopped drinking because even though it made her realize that it was a problem, it took her a while to build up the courage to commit to herself and address the issue head-on.

The hardest part of quitting drinking is your first 30 days, and within that it’s actually your first two weeks or 16 days because you are going through physical withdrawal. And you’re going through emotional withdrawal. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

The first 30 days are the worst because you are surrounded by drinkers, you’re surrounded by alcohol every day, and your body is addicted to the boosts of dopamine from the alcohol.

Casey viewed quitting drinking as a wellness choice. She knew that her life and her health would improve, so she stuck to it and did what she needed to no longer drink as a coping mechanism.

Without it, I have more energy, less anxiety, I sleep better, I’m more confident, I’m more capable. My mind is clearer, and I’m proud of that. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

Why high-achieving women sometimes develop alcohol dependencies

Many high-achieving women are overworked, overstimulated, stressed, and handling everything on a tight and unyielding schedule. They may also struggle with allowing themselves to rest, take a breather, or accept help.

This is a dangerous combination that can lead them to burnout or, if they do not manage it early enough, to develop maladaptive coping mechanisms, like alcohol dependency.

After a long day of making crazy decisions, running a business, having employees, putting out fires, having uncomfortable conversations, the minute you get home it’s like, “Whew! It’s a lot!” and it makes sense to go, “I can speed this relaxing process up and chill a lot quicker. (Veronica Cisneros)

Pay attention and be honest with yourself when things are getting out of hand. This can quickly become a problem and it can impact not just your family or your marriage, but you and your mental, physical, and emotional health.

Drinking can cause cancer because it is a carcinogen, like cigarettes. Drinking a whole bottle of wine is like smoking the equivalent of 10 cigarettes, recent studies have shown.

Commit to loving and respecting yourself enough to act on it when you see that something is slipping into a more serious issue, and commit to getting yourself out.

You deserve a great life that is peaceful, happy, and healthy.

You deserve a life that you can live unashamedly or without hiding something away. Be open, and brave, and know that any change you want to make is within your power to create.

Casey’s advice to high-achieving women

I was so much happier after 100 days in sobriety. I could not believe that I had settled for so little or lived that way for so long, waking up vaguely hungover, feeling so stressed out. I have a good life and I am basically coming home and as quickly as I can knocking myself unconscious and then being ill most of the next day, and then doing it again. (Casey McGuire Davidson)

If you know that you are more dependent on drinking than you would like to be, treat it as an experiment. Commit to some time without drinking, and keep track of how it is hard as well as how your life also improves after the initial struggles and withdrawals.

Try Dry-January as an experiment!

Get excited about how your life can change for the better! And you will know exactly how you are going to live your life intentionally. You are going to have more time, money, and energy to enjoy your life.

Books mentioned:

Clare Pooley – The Sober Diaries: How One Woman Stopped Drinking and Started Living

Ruby Warrington – Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol

Holly Whitaker – Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol

Useful Links:

• Join our FaceBook Page – Empowered and Unapologetic
• Take the Marriage Predictor quiz!
• Follow me on Instagram
• Check out the new website! https://veronicacisneros.org/
• Outside The Norm Counseling – 951 395 3288 Call to schedule an appointment today!
• Casey’s Live 2-hour online workshop: www.empoweredandunapologetic.com/workshop
• Casey’s Podcast: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/podcast/
• Casey’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caseymdavidson/?hl=en
• Casey’s Free resources: https://hellosomedaycoaching.com/instagram/
• Casey’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseydavidson/

Meet Veronica Cisneros

Hello, my name is Veronica Cisneros, I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Marriage Coach, Course Creator, Retreat Host, Mother of 3, married for 23 years, host of the Empowered and Unapologetic podcast, and owner of a group private practice called Outside The Norm Counseling.

A lot of couples struggle with setting aside intentional time to connect and communicate. They yearn for meaningful conversations that don’t lead to arguments.

1 month away from divorce, I realized I had to do something different. For years I had compromised myself to meet the needs of my husband and my child, I lost myself and was about to lose my marriage. After years of personal growth and self-reflection, I not only reclaimed my identity, and celebrated 23 years of marriage but also helped hundreds of couples transform their marriage from feeling like roommates to experiencing a deeper love.

I am on a mission to help couples reignite the fire by providing them with the skills to have the relationship they deserve.

Whether you listen to the podcast, join the free Facebook community, or do the Workshop,  you’re in the right place. Let’s do this together!

Thanks for listening!

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