Tolerance and the Disappearing Buzz (E293)
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Have you ever thought back to the early days of your drinking and remembered how just one or two drinks gave you exactly what you wanted? That light, carefree buzz—the feeling that you were relaxed, loosened up, and maybe even a little funnier. Fast forward a few years, and suddenly those same two drinks barely register. You start chasing it—three, four, maybe more—and before you know it, the sweet spot is gone. Instead of a gentle buzz, you either feel nothing… or you’re over the line into drunk.
That disappearing buzz is tolerance. And tolerance is the brain’s way of adapting to repeated exposure to alcohol. In this episode, I want to unpack exactly why the same amount of alcohol feels weaker over time, how tolerance develops in your brain, why it fuels heavier drinking, and why that easy, carefree buzz eventually disappears altogether.
What to listen to next:
E279: The Pendulum Effect of Healing
E234: The Scary Side of How Alcohol Affects the Body
E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations
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Listen here. The episode will automatically load in your preferred podcast listening app.
Cite:
Gillian Tietz. Tolerance and the Disappearing Buzz (E293). Sober Powered. 2025
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