Sober Awkward

Does your sobriety change with the seasons? Do sunny days suddenly make you think about beer gardens and cold wine, while dark winter evenings have you craving a bottle of red and a blanket?

This week, Vic is joined by two guests to explore seasonal living, what it actually means, why humans have always lived according to the rhythms of the year and whether paying a little more attention to the seasons could actually be good for us.

First, Vic chats to holistic counsellor Amy Doyle for a broader look at seasonal living. Amy explains why we’re not really designed to operate like machines, doing and feeling exactly the same things all year round, and how noticing changes in our energy, moods, routines and needs can help us feel more connected to ourselves and the world around us.

Then Vic chats to Kate Baily, founder of Love Sober, to bring it all back to booze. Kate explores the idea of seasonal sobriety, why different times of year can bring different triggers and drinking associations, and how understanding those patterns might help us prepare for them rather than being completely sideswiped by a sudden urge for a rosé the second the sun comes out.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to start foraging or hugging trees. Sometimes seasonal living is simply about paying attention, slowing down when you need to and accepting that perhaps we’re not supposed to feel exactly the same every bloody day of the year.

Expect sobriety, sunshine, winter blues, ancient humans and Vic getting unnecessarily excited about a shiny plum.

💛 Resources & Links

Follow and find out more about Kat and Love Sober - head to https://www.lovesober.com
@lovesober.midlife Read Kats Substack -https://katebaily.substack.com
Books
Love Your Sober Year - https://amzn.asia/d/04HRItBV
Love Yourself Sober - https://amzn.asia/d/0iclbsZL

Amy Doyle - Books
The way of the five seasons, by John Kirkwood
Braiding of sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Blogs
https://amydoyle.com.au/2026/07/05/why-winter-makes-you-want-to-disappear/
https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/05/29/living-in-tune-with-the-seasons-hello-winter/
https://amydoyle.com.au/2023/07/17/winter-rituals-seasonal-living-2/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/__amydoyle__/

Bio snippet (photos attached - choose either one)
Amy Doyle is a Holistic Counsellor who supports women to understand themselves more deeply and lead themselves through the realities of everyday life. Her work brings together self-awareness, emotional wellbeing and practical self-leadership, helping women understand their feelings, needs and patterns and create lives that reflect what actually matters to them. Amy is also exploring seasonal living as a way of deepening our connection with ourselves, our lives and the natural world, and learning to work with our changing rhythms rather than expecting ourselves to be the same every day.

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpK

Vic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - What is Moderation By April J

Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you.

Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, awkward and beautifully human, these stories come from people all over the world who have experienced the ups and downs of changing their relationship with alcohol.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, years into recovery, or simply wondering if life might feel better without booze, we hope these stories remind you that you’re not alone.

Writing has a powerful way of helping us make sense of our lives. It can shine a light on things we’ve hidden away, help us process difficult experiences, and remind us just how resilient we really are. Plus, it’s considerably cheaper than therapy and doesn’t require you to wear pants.

So grab a cuppa, get comfortable, and join us for this week’s Share Shed as Vic tells another story from our amazing community.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 Buy the book here or head to the website to find out more about writing mentorships with Vic.
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women

📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s episode felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support available. You don’t have to do this alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
https://hellosundaymorning.org
https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org

💬 A Gentle Reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping alcohol suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and getting support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to the Mama podcast on
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0341yjbBRIxVgWibnSR92D?si=e4a1b9094a3a40aa
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/introducing-mama-motherhood-alcohol-mental-health-and/id6798043028?i=1000779960427

So… what is MAMA?

If you’ve ever found yourself pouring a glass of wine before you’ve even finished unpacking the school bags, if you’ve joked about Wine O’Clock while secretly wondering why your anxiety feels worse the next day, or if you’ve started asking yourself whether alcohol has quietly become part of your parenting journey, then you’ve found the right podcast.

MAMA stands for Motherhood, Alcohol, Mental Health and Anxiety. It’s an honest six part podcast series hosted by Victoria Vanstone, mum of three, author and host of the award-winning Sober Awkward podcast.

This teaser episode is a little introduction to why MAMA exists and why these conversations matter so much.

The full series launches next week alongside the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub program. The two have been designed to work together, giving you both practical support and honest conversation as you explore your own relationship with alcohol. You can work through the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub program while listening to each episode of MAMA, or simply enjoy the podcast on its own. However you choose to listen, you’ll find the same message running through both. You are not alone, you are not broken, and there are other ways to cope.

Created in collaboration with the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub team and researchers from the University of Sydney, and funded by the Medical Research Future Fund, MAMA brings together something really powerful, lived experience and evidence based research. You’ll hear real stories, practical tools, the latest science around alcohol, anxiety and motherhood, and plenty of laughs along the way.

This isn’t a podcast that tells you what to do. There are no labels, no judgement and no lectures. Instead, it’s an invitation to get curious. To ask yourself whether alcohol is helping you become the mum, partner and person you want to be. To understand why alcohol can feel so closely tied to motherhood, and to discover that there might be another way.

Whether you’re sober curious, trying to cut back, questioning your drinking, or simply interested in understanding the connection between motherhood, mental health and alcohol, MAMA is here to walk alongside you, one conversation at a time.

The teaser is here now, and the full six episode series, along with the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub program, launches next week. Pop the kettle on, settle in, and let’s start this conversation together.

@thisismamapod

Resources & Links
About MAMA

MAMA (Motherhood. Alcohol. Mental Health. Anxiety.) is a special podcast series from Sober Awkward, created to complement the Healthy Mum Healthy Bub program.

Developed in partnership with researchers from The University of Sydney and supported by funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), MAMA aims to help mums feel less alone, more informed and better supported as they navigate the challenges of early motherhood.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, struggling with anxiety, or questioning the role alcohol plays in your life, you’re in the right place.

Healthy Mum Healthy Bub
healthymumhealthybub.org.au
https://www.sydney.edu.au/matilda-centre

Sober Awkward
Podcast, books, courses, community, events and support
soberawkward.com

Victoria’s Books
Mumming - A Year of Trying (and Failing) to be a Better Parent - https://amzn.asia/d/08E0CLyS
A Thousand Wasted Sundays - https://amzn.asia/d/0eK3l8Bd

Sober Awkward Retreats
Join Victoria and the Sober Awkward community for alcohol-free retreats, workshops and unforgettable adventures in Australia and overseas.
Find out more at:
soberawkward.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hughesy!

This was meant to be a chat about booze… but somehow Vic ended up being spiritually mentored by this legendary Aussie larrikin!

Dave Hughes gave up alcohol at just 21 years old, after years of binge drinking, blackouts and waking up with no idea how he had got home. He had watched alcohol control his dad’s life, and one Christmas Eve in 1992, he realised he didn’t want it controlling his future too.

Nearly 34 years later, Hughesy joins Vic to talk about growing up in Australia’s deeply ingrained drinking culture, why accepting that he would never drink again made sobriety easier, and how giving up the grog gave him the stability and confidence to begin his comedy career.

They also chat about coping with criticism, managing the addictive buzz of applause, and why getting sober dosnt always have to be about getting help - it can just be a really smart choice!

But this conversation becomes about much more than booze. Dave shares what getting sacked from radio taught him about ego, why grudges disappear when you stay present, and how real freedom comes from remembering that most of the things we worry about do not matter nearly as much as we think they do.

Can giving up alcohol teach you how to stop living in the past, worrying about the future and finally relax into the life happening right now?

Listen to find out! - (but if you don't have time the answer is yes!)

@dhughesy
Go and see Dave in his Australia stand up tour - https://davehughes.com.au/

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpK

Vic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Share Shed – Sober Awkward Writing Competition Specials - Three Years Clear By Amy G

Every Thursday, we’re handing the story telling over to you.

Over the next few months, Vic will be reading some of the incredible entries from this year’s Sober Awkward Writing Competition. Honest, funny, heartbreaking, hopeful, awkward and beautifully human, these stories come from people all over the world who have experienced the ups and downs of changing their relationship with alcohol.

Whether you’re sober curious, newly alcohol-free, years into recovery, or simply wondering if life might feel better without booze, we hope these stories remind you that you’re not alone.

Writing has a powerful way of helping us make sense of our lives. It can shine a light on things we’ve hidden away, help us process difficult experiences, and remind us just how resilient we really are. Plus, it’s considerably cheaper than therapy and doesn’t require you to wear pants.

So grab a cuppa, get comfortable, and join us for this week’s Share Shed as Vic tells another story from our amazing community.

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
👉 Buy the book here or head to the website to find out more about writing mentorships with Vic.
👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
Our private, supportive online space for sober folk
👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide
Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.
👉 The Sober Awkward Guide

📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:
Instagram: @soberawkward
TikTok: @soberawkward
Facebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women

📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCES
If anything in today’s episode felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support available. You don’t have to do this alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
National Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline
📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-service
Lifeline
📞 13 11 14 (24/7)
https://www.lifeline.org.au
Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak
https://hellosundaymorning.org
https://daybreakapp.com.au
Clean Slate Clinic
https://www.cleanslateclinic.com
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Drinkline
📞 0300 123 1110
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/
Alcohol Change UK
https://alcoholchange.org.uk
We Are With You
https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk
🌍 International
Alcoholics Anonymous
https://www.aa.org
SMART Recovery
https://www.smartrecovery.org

💬 A Gentle Reminder
If you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping alcohol suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and getting support can make a huge difference.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.