When Sobriety Gets Hard Again in Midlife
You’re not failing—you’re in a new season
If you’ve been drinking less (or not drinking at all) and suddenly the cravings, anxiety, or “I can’t do this” feelings are creeping back in… this episode is for you.
I’m talking with Dana Bowman, author of Humble Pie, about the messy truth of long-term recovery colliding with midlife—think perimenopause, parenting teens, sleep disruption, body changes, and the quiet pressure to keep performing like nothing’s happening. Dana and I have both lived the “I quit… then went back… then quit again” reality, and we’re naming what so many women experience but rarely say out loud:
Life gets better without alcohol—and life still gets lifey.
The Core Question We’re Answering
What do you do when you want to drink again—not because you’re “back at zero,” but because midlife (and menopause) is hitting hard?
This episode is for you if…
✅ You’re sober-curious or alcohol-free and midlife stress is making drinking feel tempting again
✅ You’re dealing with perimenopause/menopause symptoms that mimic hangxiety or withdrawal
✅ You’ve built a solid life… and still feel overwhelmed, depleted, or secretly maxed out
✅ You’re noticing coping shifts: sugar, scrolling, overworking, over-exercising, checking out
✅ You want compassionate truth + practical perspective without shame or labels
What You’ll Learn in This Conversation
❇️ Why menopause and perimenopause can feel like being hungover (even when you haven’t been drinking)
❇️ How 3:00 a.m. anxiety, disrupted sleep, and hormone shifts can trigger “just one drink” thoughts
❇️ The difference between “I want a drink” and “I need support right now”
❇️ What “process addictions” can look like after you quit alcohol (sugar, scrolling, overdoing it)
❇️ How to respond to cravings without shame—especially years into sobriety
❇️ What to do when the medical system isn’t menopause-informed (or sobriety-informed)
❇️ The surprising upside of midlife: less people-pleasing, more truth, more main character energy
🎧 The Shifts That Change Everything
➡️ A craving is data, not a diagnosis. Wanting to drink again can be a signal that something needs care—not proof you’re broken.
➡️ Midlife symptoms can be a trigger all on their own. When your body feels unfamiliar, your brain looks for familiar relief.”
➡️ “Don’t drink” can be the anchor while you figure out the rest. You’re allowed to stabilize first, then get curious.
➡️ Shame fuels the spiral. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s honesty, support, and a plan that works in real life.
➡️ You get to choose a bigger life now. Not later. Not when you’ve earned it. Now..
❤️ You’re Not Broken—Here’s What Comes Next
If sobriety feels hard again, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong. It might mean you’re moving through a new chapter—one that requires new tools, new support, and a different kind of kindness toward yourself.
If you catch yourself thinking, “A drink would fix this,” treat it like an internal SOS: pause, get curious, and ask, “What do I actually need right now?” Relief is valid. You just deserve relief that won’t cost you tomorrow.
Tune in for a real, honest conversation with Dana—and if this episode hits home, let it be your reminder: you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through midlife. You can be supported through it.
🧠 More podcasts, resources and information about Midlife, menopause, perimenopause, and anxiety
Ep. 279: Hormones, Menopause & Better Sex in Sobriety: What Every Woman Needs To Know
Ep. 282: Midlife, Perimenopause & Sobriety: How Alcohol Impacts Your Hormones, Sleep & Mood with Kate Baily
Ep: 105: Navigating Midlife With The Work of Brené Brown
Ep. 27: What’s Next in Midlife – Creativity, Change + Finding Your Purpose
Ep. 203: Level Up Your Life With A Midlife Makeover
Casey Davidson: Women, Alcohol, Anxiety (and Dry January!)
📌 If You’re New Here
About me: I’m Casey McGuire Davidson, a sobriety and life coach for busy sober-curious women and host of The Hello Someday Podcast. Around here we talk stress, careers, kids, marriages—and all the messy, beautiful parts of building a life you don’t need to escape from.
If you’re ready for structure, tools, and a community that actually gets you, you’re in the right place. 💛
You’ve got this. And I’m right here with you. 💛
❤️ Ready to take a real break from drinking?
If you want structure, support, and a plan that actually works, check out my Sobriety Starter Kit coaching program.
You’ll get:
🎯 A proven step-by-step plan to get out of the drinking cycle
✅ Tools to handle cravings and triggers without white-knuckling
💬 A private community of women who get it
🧠 Mindset shifts to help you sleep better and stress less
It’s helped over 1,500 women feel better, sleep deeper, and actually enjoy life without alcohol.
👉 Join The Sobriety Starter Kit Now
About Dana Bowman
Dana Bowman is the author of three books. Humble Pie: Addiction, Recovery, and Dessert was published in November of 2025 by Bloomsbury Press. Her two memoirs, Bottled, A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery, and How To Be Perfect Like Me, were both published by Central Recovery Press. Bottled was selected as a Kansas Notable Book in 2018.
A TEDx speaker, writer for Psychology Today, and occasional stand-up comedian, she shares about beating shame, kicking addictions, and how going gray changed her life. Dana was a high school English teacher for over twenty years, and now teaches writing and digital media at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Dana has collected numerous awards for her humorous writing, and she earned the moniker of “The Erma Bombeck of alcoholics” from her first publisher, a descriptor she is very proud to carry. Her goal is to provide hope, along with a good laugh and a good story, to help heal the addict within all of us.
More Ways I Can Support You In Drinking Less + Living More
Save your seat in my FREE MASTERCLASS, 5 Secrets To Successfully Take a Break From Drinking
Grab the Free 30-Day Guide To Quitting Drinking, 30 Tips For Your First Month Alcohol-Free.
Connect with me for free sober coaching tips, updates + videos on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok @hellosomedaysober.
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“I’ve listened to so many sober podcasts and The Hello Someday Podcast is by far THE BEST Sobriety Podcast out there for women. This podcast was key to me quitting alcohol. Casey’s practical tips and tricks are invaluable, with advice I haven’t heard anywhere else. If I could give this podcast 27 stars I would!!”
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ABOUT THE HELLO SOMEDAY PODCAST FOR SOBER CURIOUS WOMEN
Are you looking for the best sobriety podcast for women? The Hello Someday Podcast was created specifically for sober curious women and gray area drinkers ready to stop drinking, drink less and change their relationship with alcohol.
Host Casey McGuire Davidson, a certified life and sobriety coach and creator of The 30-Day Guide to Quitting Drinking and The Sobriety Starter Kit® Sober Coaching Course, brings together her experience of quitting drinking while navigating work and motherhood, along with the voices of experts in personal development, self-care, addiction and recovery and self-improvement.
Whether you know you want to stop drinking and live an alcohol-free life, are sober curious, or are in recovery this is the best sobriety podcast for you.
A Top 100 Mental Health Podcast, ranked in the top 0.5% of podcasts globally with over 1 million downloads, The Hello Someday Podcast is the best sobriety podcast for women.
In each episode, Casey will share the tried and true secrets of how to drink less and live more.
Learn how to let go of alcohol as a coping mechanism, how to shift your mindset about sobriety and change your drinking habits, how to create healthy routines to cope with anxiety, people pleasing and perfectionism, the importance of self-care in early sobriety, and why you don’t need to be an alcoholic to live an alcohol-free life.
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