E274: High Dopamine, Low Effort Behaviors and Making Sobriety Feel Less Hard

Your brain is wired for quick hits of dopamine, or high-reward, low-effort habits that feel good in the moment but sabotage your long-term goals. Over time, this conditions your brain to expect rewards without effort, making real change feel harder than it actually is. In this episode, I’ll explain how these patterns destroy motivation, fuel inconsistent effort, and keep you stuck in the cycle of short bursts of change followed by slinking back to your old ways. You’ll learn how high dopamine, low effort behaviors impact the brain, how this makes us resistant to putting in effort, and 3 ways you may be making being sober feel more difficult for yourself than it needs to be- and how to shift that. What to listen to next: E265: Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober E263: Sugar Cravings After Quitting Drinking E145: ADHD and Alcohol Work with me: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership Sober coaching https://www.soberpowered.com/sober-coaching  Weekly email: You’ll hear from me on Fridays https://www.soberpowered.com/email Courses: The non-negotiable mindset https://www.soberpowered.com/mindset-course Anger Management  https://www.soberpowered.com/anger Support the show: If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support all the research and effort that goes into this podcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Why do some people stay sober and others relapse back and forth? Getting sober isn’t about restriction, it’s about rewiring your brain to function without intensity, chaos, dopamine spikes, and avoidance. Hosted by Gill Tietz, a former biochemist turned sober coach, this show dives into the neuroscience of long-term sobriety — why some people relapse, why others stay free, and how to build the kind of brain that can handle life without alcohol. Each episode blends science, psychology, and real experience to help you strengthen the four pillars of neuro-resilience: 1. Neural Recovery – healing your brain’s reward and stress systems after alcohol. 2. Emotional Regulation – calming reactivity and learning to feel without numbing. 3. Cognitive Rewiring – changing the thought patterns that quietly pull you backward. 4. Behavioral Integration – designing routines and habits that make being sober your default. Whether you’re newly sober or years in, you’ll learn the research-backed tools and mind shifts that keep you steady, so sobriety stops feeling like something you’re trying to want and starts feeling like who you are. This is hard work. If you want my support, then check out my online sober community or my 1:1 work. Website: www.soberpowered.com