258. Are You Still Doing the Work?258. Are You Still Doing the Work?
The Alcohol ReThink Podcast
Patrick Fox questions what "doing the work" looks like once alcohol is no longer centre-stage, contrasting contentment with complacency in long-term sobriety. He talks about shifting from managing cravings to using renewed energy and clarity to shape a life that feels genuinely your own.
24:09•18 Sept 2026
Are You Still Doing the Work After Alcohol Stops Being the Problem?
Episode Overview
- Early sobriety work focuses on managing urges, changing routines and using planning, practice and patience.
- As alcohol loses its grip, the key question shifts from stopping drinking to how to use the time, energy and clarity gained.
- Contentment comes from actively appreciating life, while complacency means drifting and disconnecting from what matters.
- Constantly chasing courses and books from a belief of being "not enough" keeps the old self-criticism going in sobriety.
- Real progress often comes from small, honest actions using what you already know, rather than searching for the next big fix.
“The idea that you need to spend the rest of your life keeping alcohol at bay – fuck that. That sounds absolutely exhausting.”
How do different strategies aid in addiction recovery? Episode 258 of The Alcohol ReThink Podcast centres on a simple but tricky question: "Are you still doing the work?" Patrick Fox talks directly to men who’ve stopped drinking and now find that alcohol isn’t the loud problem it once was – so what happens next? Patrick breaks down how "doing the work" shifts over time.
Early on, it’s all about practical stuff: managing urges, mixing up routines and using his "three Ps of sobriety – planning, practice, patience" to get through those tough 5–8pm windows when the brain is insisting a drink will help.
He’s clear that this stage is vital, but also that you’re not meant to spend the rest of your life waking up thinking about not drinking: "The idea that you need to spend the rest of your life keeping alcohol at bay – fuck that.
That sounds absolutely exhausting." As sobriety settles in, Patrick says the focus moves from "How do I stop drinking?" to "What do I want to do with my life that I’ve got back?" He talks about the difference between contentment and complacency: contentment as active appreciation of your life, and complacency as slowly checking out of what matters to you.
You’ll hear him reflect on his own years of chasing self-improvement from the belief that he "wasn’t enough", and how that mindset can simply swap from drinking to beating yourself up in sobriety. The episode is especially suited to men who are alcohol-free or cutting back, and now feel like life has become ordinary or a bit flat.
Patrick offers practical ideas like putting your phone in another room, booking that long-delayed appointment, or writing the first paragraph of the book you keep talking about – all framed as small acts of care rather than attempts to "fix" yourself. If alcohol isn’t shouting in your ear anymore, what one area of your life could use your attention today?
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