"Am I Drinking Too Much?" If You've Ever Asked Yourself That, You Already Know the Answer

Have you ever quietly asked yourself, "Am I drinking too much?" If that question has ever crossed your mind, even for a second, this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, I'm walking you through the 11 diagnostic criteria clinicians use to identify mild, moderate and severe alcohol use disorder, and I promise this isn't about slapping a label on yourself.

What We Cover:

- The 11 diagnostic criteria I use to help women recognize alcohol use disorder

- Why grey area drinking has no magic number, just a spectrum most of us live on

- How the alcohol industry deliberately targeted women with pink drinks and "sophisticated" marketing

- The six root causes behind problem drinking, and why none of it comes down to willpower

- How women's bodies process alcohol differently as we age, and why it hits harder in perimenopause and menopause

- My five practical first steps for anyone curious about changing their drinking

- Why you don't need to hit rock bottom to give yourself permission to outgrow alcohol

Timestamps

How To Know If Your Drinking Is A Problem (00:00)

What Is Grey Area Drinking Exactly (01:21)

Why Alcohol Brands Target Women With Pink Drinks (03:13)

Where You Fall On The Drinking Scale (08:26)

11 Signs Of Alcohol Use Disorder (14:30)

More Signs You Can't Control Your Drinking (25:09)

6 Reasons You Develop A Drinking Problem (35:58)

5 Steps To Change Your Relationship With Alcohol (44:12)

How To Know If You've Outgrown Alcohol (50:42)

How To Get Support To Quit Drinking (52:48)

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Sarah Rusbatch is an accredited Health and Wellbeing Coach and one of Australia's leading experts on grey area drinking. Her podcast,  Stronger, Bolder, Wiser, is the go-to space for women who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, navigating life alcohol-free, or simply curious about what life could look like on the other side of the bottle.

If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, subscribe so you never miss an episode, and leave a review to help more women find this community.

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Join 11,000+ women in my 30-Day Alcohol Reset Challenge this July! 🙌

Full details & sign up → https://programs.sarahrusbatch.com/alcohol-reset?utm_source=sbw_podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=july_reset_challenge&utm_content=show_notes_promo

Find out more about my other programs here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/

If you want to join a space where women feel safe to be seen, ask the questions they don't always say out loud and connect with others going through the same, join my free Facebook group, Women's Wellbeing Collective here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/342319476897067

And if changing your relationship with alcohol is something you want to explore further, you can find my book Beyond Booze on Audible, Spotify, Kindle and Amazon. Click the link here: https://sarahrusbatch.com/beyond-booze