Why One Drink is Never Enough (E292)
Listen here. The episode will automatically load in your preferred podcast listening app.
Have you ever promised yourself you’d only have one drink? Maybe it was at dinner, or after work—you told yourself, “Just one, that’s it.” But once that drink was gone, something shifted. Instead of feeling satisfied, you found yourself wanting another. And another. It can feel frustrating, even confusing. What’s wrong with me? Why can other people leave some alcohol behind in their glass and I can’t fathom it?
This is one of the most common struggles people face when trying to moderate. And it’s not about willpower, discipline, or wanting it badly enough. It’s about how alcohol interacts with the brain. For some people, that first drink doesn’t close the craving loop—it opens it. In this episode, we’re going to talk about why that happens: how alcohol changes the brain’s reward system, why some people are more vulnerable than others, and why “just one” isn’t harmless if your brain is wired a certain way. By the end, you’ll understand why satisfaction never comes from moderation—and why that’s not your fault.
What to listen to next:
E265: rewiring the reward system
E204: why not everyone develops a problem
Resources I offer:
Sober Support:
• Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life
• Weekly emails on Fridays
Work with me:
Courses:
• Sober milestones: what to expect when you quit drinking
Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors.
If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast. This is a one woman show!
Listen here. The episode will automatically load in your preferred podcast listening app.
Cite:
Gillian Tietz. Why One Drink is Never Enough (E292). Sober Powered. 2025
Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.
