The Big Drink Rethink is a podcast for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol - whether you want to quit, drink less, take a break, or just explore the role alcohol plays in your life. Hosted by Alcohol Mindset Coach and Author, Anna Donaghey, each episode blends lived experience, psychological insight, and powerful tools to help you create change - gently, intelligently, without pressure, and in a way that opens up your life. Featuring expert guests, real stories, and practical strategies, this podcast offers a refreshingly smart, non-judgemental space to reflect, grow, and explore the life you want. Because rethinking your drinking isn’t about missing out. It’s about tuning in. It’s not about restriction - it’s about making space. To feel clearer, live more fully, and ask one honest question: What are you really thirsty for?
The Big Drink Rethink
Claim This Podcastby Anna Donaghey
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Podcast Overview
The Big Drink Rethink is a podcast for anyone questioning their relationship with alcohol - whether you want to quit, drink less, take a break, or just explore the role alcohol plays in your life. Hosted by Alcohol Mindset Coach and Author, Anna Donaghey, each episode blends lived experience, psychological insight, and powerful tools to help you create change - gently, intelligently, without pressure, and in a way that opens up your life. Featuring expert guests, real stories, and practical strategies, this podcast offers a refreshingly smart, non-judgemental space to reflect, grow, and explore the life you want. Because rethinking your drinking isn’t about missing out. It’s about tuning in. It’s not about restriction - it’s about making space. To feel clearer, live more fully, and ask one honest question: What are you really thirsty for?
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Publishing Since
11/16/2023
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Recent Episodes
August 13, 2026
Ep 136: The Alcohol - ADHD Connection | Rethinking Alcohol |
<p>Why does alcohol seem to have a different, more intense pull for some people - and could undiagnosed ADHD be the missing piece of the puzzle? In this episode, Anna Donaghey is joined by Matt Wing, a midlife mentor who spent over 30 years in a cycle of high achievement and high-functioning drinking, before a late ADHD diagnosis reframed everything.</p><p></p><p>Together, they explore the misunderstood relationship between ADHD and alcohol use, bust the myth that it’s a simple willpower problem, and break down the real, neurological drivers behind compulsive drinking.</p><p></p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro: Meet Matt Wing, midlife mentor, exploring ADHD and alcohol</p><p>01:13 Decades of "normal" drinking and the invisible exhaustion under it</p><p>04:45 Compulsive self-fixing, failed solutions, and obsessive searching</p><p>06:12 The pink book, ADHD traits, and why self-help didn't always land</p><p>10:21 ADHD as a chronic dopamine deficit</p><p>11:08 Instant dopamine hits: why nothing's enough</p><p>12:44 Why attempts to cut down usually fail: it's not a "willpower" issue</p><p>15:03 Alcohol's social acceptance hides its true addictiveness</p><p>18:02 ADHD drinking: urgency, intensity, and chasing the unattainable</p><p>23:19 Why 4pm is the real problem, not "having a drink problem"</p><p>24:16 Racing head syndrome: alcohol as the only "off switch" that works</p><p>29:19 Hyperfocus, the evening crash, and alcohol as relief not reward</p><p>31:13 Rejection sensitivity and rejection-sensitive dysphoria in ADHD</p><p>33:28 Why social drinking feels so necessary (and so hard to quit)</p><p>34:38 "Time blindness": why the ADHD brain struggles with "forever”</p><p>43:04 The missed ADHD generation: making sense of the past</p><p>46:22 New ways to soothe the nervous system</p><p>51:40 Growth mindset: you're not stuck, and social skills can be learned</p><p>53:37 ADHD as a superpower if you channel it right</p><p>56:40 Where to find Matt Wing and resources to get support.</p><p></p><p><strong>Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!</strong></p><p>Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: <u><a href="https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/</a></u></p><p>The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: <u><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__thirstyformore.substack.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=lGj4jrsrH-rUJND6Q5PVhvF0yXGiLXEqG-vscus5Djg&m=ibHOcdILJGL4mLhELBN24xrHJpk7yaGgw2Y02k3sRt2IebDKr_s4zdawgI3dtZU5&s=vFkhsGyhE7DDJkHafDoCdyGNVV3QHeq8KGyj55zYotw&e=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thirstyformore.substack.com/</a></u></p><p>If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show:<a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p></p><p><strong>About the host Anna:</strong></p><p>Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.</p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Anna:</strong></p><p>Website: <u><a href="http://thebigdrinkrethink.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thebigdrinkrethink.com</a></u></p><p>LinkedIn:<u><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey</a></u></p><p>Instagram:<a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p>Produced by<a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">winteraudio.co.uk</a></u></p><p><strong>About Matt Wing:</strong></p><p>Matt Wing is the founder of Midlife Mentor, a coaching and content brand for midlife adults who want to change their relationship with alcohol without calling themselves an alcoholic or sitting in a recovery group. He's the creator of the 4PM Reset Method, built around the idea that most people don't have a drinking problem, they have a 4PM problem: the daily window where old habits take over. Matt speaks from experience, not theory, and has helped clients through his 30-Day Reset, 90-Day Deep Work, and 1:1 coaching programmes. He shares free tools and weekly insight through his newsletter, The Friday Feeling, and on Instagram @midlife.mentor, where he's built a community of over 100,000 followers.</p><p><strong>Connect with Matt:</strong></p><p>Website: <u><a href="https://www.midlifementor.me/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.midlifementor.me/</a></u></p><p>Instagram:<u><a href="https://www.instagram.com/midlife.mentor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.instagram.com/midlife.mentor</a></u></p>
August 6, 2026
Ep 135: What Have You Got To Be Unhappy About? | Rethinking Alcohol
<p>Why do high-flying CEOs, investors, and ultra-successful leaders, people with every resource at their fingertips, still end up stuck, lonely, and reaching for a drink?</p><p>In this episode, Anna Donaghey is joined by Lindsey Frances, a leadership psychologist and longtime AA member who has seen alcohol up close from both the boardroom and the AA room. Together they unpack the universal experience of feeling trapped by drink, the myth that outer success delivers inner fulfilment, and why human suffering pays no attention to your bank balance.</p><p>Is the pull to drink really about stress, status, or socialising, or is it something deeper: unmet needs for purpose, connection, and calm? As Lindsey and Anna discover, real change starts with a single question: what are you truly thirsty for?</p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro: High achievers & high-functioning alcohol use</p><p>02:03 What boardrooms and AA rooms have in common</p><p>05:15 The trap: shame, disconnection, and feeling unworthy</p><p>06:09 Why suffering feels the same in £1000 shoes or 99p flip-flops</p><p>09:36 Success as an external “cage”; failing on the inside</p><p>12:14 Coping at the top: alcohol and other numbing strategies</p><p>13:32 Addiction is disconnection, so what comes first?</p><p>15:13 Alcohol as a (false) shortcut to connection and significance</p><p>17:06 What are people really thirsty for? Purpose, enough-ness, & joy</p><p>22:30 Why high achievers can’t just “stop”</p><p>26:12 Sophrology and imagining a life beyond work (and drinking)</p><p>30:27 What does constant “fight or flight” feel like?</p><p>36:31 Why you can’t biohack your way out of pain </p><p>40:08 Universal issues, whether you run hedge funds or trim hedges</p><p>45:08 Simple, accessible tools for regulating your nervous system</p><p>48:01 “Simple, but not easy”: choosing your hard</p><p>49:20 Lindsey’s own journey - making sense of emotions after quitting</p><p>54:09 Andrew Lloyd Webber’s story: why sobriety trumps career success</p><p>54:55 Serving others, and the real sources of flourishing</p><p>55:23 Where to find Lindsey Frances and resources for sophrology</p><p></p><p><strong>Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!</strong></p><p>Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: <u><a href="https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/</a></u></p><p>The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: <u><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__thirstyformore.substack.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=lGj4jrsrH-rUJND6Q5PVhvF0yXGiLXEqG-vscus5Djg&m=ibHOcdILJGL4mLhELBN24xrHJpk7yaGgw2Y02k3sRt2IebDKr_s4zdawgI3dtZU5&s=vFkhsGyhE7DDJkHafDoCdyGNVV3QHeq8KGyj55zYotw&e=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thirstyformore.substack.com/</a></u></p><p>If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show:<a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p></p><p><strong>About the host Anna:</strong></p><p>Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.</p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Anna:</strong></p><p>Website: <u><a href="http://thebigdrinkrethink.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thebigdrinkrethink.com</a></u> </p><p>LinkedIn:<u><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey</a></u></p><p>Instagram:<a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p>Produced by<a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">winteraudio.co.uk</a></u></p><p><strong>About Lindsey Frances:</strong></p><p>Lindsey Frances is a clinical sophrologist, legacy and wealth psychologist, preventative health expert and data-led performance coach, helping high performers, CEOs and investors master financial and emotional stress, sleep and self-regulation through a unique blend of sophrology, biometrics and behaviour change psychology.</p><p>In 2021, she opened a private sophrology cabinet on the Alpine French-Swiss border, where she has since guided clients ranging from cross-border executives and athletes to burnout recoverers towards calmer nervous systems and more sustainable performance.</p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Lindsey:</strong></p><p>Website: <u><a href="https://www.lindseyfrances.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lindseyfrances.co.uk/</a></u></p>
July 30, 2026
Ep 134: Drowning in Data But Starved of Insight | Rethinking Alcohol
<p>What if all the sleep scores, step counts, and readiness reports in the world still leave you missing the point? In this solo episode, Anna Donaghey unpacks the paradox of our “self-quantified” age: we collect endless data about our bodies, yet remain confused about why we reach for that Friday night drink.</p><p>Why do so many of us meticulously track our health and download optimisation apps, but still pour a glass (or two) at the end of the week even though the data says it’s a bad idea? Anna explains why metrics alone can’t change behaviour and why the real question isn’t “What does the data show?” but “What are you truly thirsty for?”</p><p></p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><p>00:00 Intro: Obsessed by health data but still drinking?</p><p>00:44 The archetype: data-obsessive, wine-on-Friday person</p><p>02:04 We’re more quantified, and less self-aware, than ever</p><p>03:21 Data isn’t enough to change behaviour</p><p>05:30 We’ve stopped asking about causes and focus on numbers instead</p><p>06:53 The wine and wellness routines: same job, different means</p><p>07:33 Understanding your body is useful but it’s only the doorway</p><p>08:23 The answer is found in your life, not your data</p><p>09:45 The core unmet needs that drive drinking</p><p>10:06 Meeting your deeper needs transforms your relationship with alcohol</p><p>10:44 The real question: what is this drink telling me about my life?</p><p>11:29 Next week: Lindsey Frances using data as the start, not the end, of self-discovery</p><p>12:11 The question to sit with: not your sleep score but what are you thirsty for?</p><p></p><p><strong>Anna’s book "What Are You Thirsty For? Rethinking Alcohol and The Life You Want", is now out in the world for you to buy!</strong></p><p>Order your copy, access her free tools and explore her coaching programmes at: <u><a href="https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thebigdrinkrethink.com/</a></u></p><p>The Thirsty For More Mindset Lab is Anna’s ‘inner circle’ - a calm, thoughtful space where conversations continue, patterns are explored, and things begin to make sense. Find out more at: <u><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__thirstyformore.substack.com_&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=lGj4jrsrH-rUJND6Q5PVhvF0yXGiLXEqG-vscus5Djg&m=ibHOcdILJGL4mLhELBN24xrHJpk7yaGgw2Y02k3sRt2IebDKr_s4zdawgI3dtZU5&s=vFkhsGyhE7DDJkHafDoCdyGNVV3QHeq8KGyj55zYotw&e=" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://thirstyformore.substack.com/</a></u></p><p>If you appreciate the podcast and would like to show a bit of love, you can donate the cost of a coffee here. It helps support the time and care that goes into making the show:<a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p></p><p><strong>About the host Anna:</strong></p><p>Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.</p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Anna:</strong></p><p>Website: <u><a href="http://thebigdrinkrethink.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">thebigdrinkrethink.com</a></u> </p><p>LinkedIn:<u><a href="http://linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey</a></u></p><p>Instagram:<a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink</a></u></p><p>Produced by<a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><u><a href="http://winteraudio.co.uk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">winteraudio.co.uk</a></u></p><p></p>
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