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Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober

By: Gillian Tietz MS CPRC
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Why do some people stay sober and others relapse back and forth? Getting sober isn’t about restriction, it’s about rewiring your brain to function without intensity, chaos, dopamine spikes, and avoidance. Hosted by Gill Tietz, a former biochemist turned sober coach, this show dives into the neuroscience of long-term sobriety — why some people relapse, why others stay free, and how to build the kind of brain that can handle life without alcohol. Each episode blends science, psychology, and real experience to help you strengthen the four pillars of neuro-resilience: 1. Neural Recovery – healing your brain’s reward and stress systems after alcohol. 2. Emotional Regulation – calming reactivity and learning to feel without escaping. 3. Cognitive Rewiring – changing the thought patterns that pull you backward. 4. Behavioral Integration – designing routines and habits that make being sober your default. Whether you’re newly sober or years in, you’ll learn research-backed tools and mindset shifts so sobriety stops feeling like something you’re trying to want and starts feeling like who you are. This is hard work. If you want my support, then check out my online sober community or my 1:1 work. Website: www.soberpowered.com© 2026 Sober Powered by Gillian Tietz Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science
Episodes
  • E333: Understanding the Problem Isn’t the Same as Changing It

    E333: Understanding the Problem Isn’t the Same as Changing It
    Sep 11 2026
    There are a few stages that we go through on the path to truly acknowledging our drinking. One of the earlier ones is when drinking feels mysterious, so the “I drank and I don’t know why” or “it’s just a bad habit” person. Another one is getting really into learning and then doing nothing with everything you learn. I got obsessed with the science when I quit drinking. It helped me understand myself and why this happened to me, but learning didn’t help me change what was causing all of my problems. I began shifting this podcast to talk more about behavior change once I noticed the same thing happening with my listeners. Sometimes I’d see people use scientific explanations before looking at the behavior right in front of them. They’d say they drank because PAWS is so hard to deal with, but they were on day 4. You can’t have post-acute withdrawal if you’re still in acute withdrawal. In that moment, the label became a way to explain the behavior without looking at what needed to change. Insight gives us a reason to explain our behavior without having to change it. Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching Weekly email: You’ll hear from me every week-ish https://www.soberpowered.com/email Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • High Dopamine, Low Effort Behaviors and Making Sobriety Feel Less Hard (Replay)

    High Dopamine, Low Effort Behaviors and Making Sobriety Feel Less Hard (Replay)
    Sep 4 2026
    Your brain is wired for quick hits of dopamine, or high-reward, low-effort habits that feel good in the moment but sabotage your long-term goals. Over time, this conditions your brain to expect rewards without effort, making real change feel harder than it actually is. In this episode, I’ll explain how these patterns destroy motivation, fuel inconsistent effort, and keep you stuck in the cycle of short bursts of change followed by slinking back to your old ways. You’ll learn how high dopamine, low effort behaviors impact the brain, how this makes us resistant to putting in effort, and 3 ways you may be making being sober feel more difficult for yourself than it needs to be- and how to shift that. What to listen to next: E265: Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober E263: Sugar Cravings After Quitting Drinking E145: ADHD and Alcohol Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/membership⁠ Sober coaching ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching⁠ Weekly email: You’ll hear from me on Fridays ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/email⁠ Courses: The non-negotiable mindset ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course⁠ Anger Management ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/anger⁠ Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast ⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered⁠ Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors ⁠https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors⁠ Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    27 mins
  • E332: “Am I Bad Enough?”

    E332: “Am I Bad Enough?”
    Aug 28 2026
    When you're thinking about your relationship with alcohol you may stay stuck in, "am I bad enough?" for years before taking the next step. This episode is a way to think about the question and the ambivalence of wanting to quit but also secretly hoping you can drink without the consequences someday. Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching Weekly email: You’ll hear from me every week-ish https://www.soberpowered.com/email Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    12 mins
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It’s wonderful to here someone so educated on issues that effect so many of us. Educational and very informative.

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