Episode 70 - The Feeling Alcohol Tried to Steal

Episode 70 - The Feeling Alcohol Tried to Steal

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation from The Alcohol Recovery Show takes a gentle look at a feeling many drinkers forget they even had: awe. Host Antonia Ryan talks from a quiet spot by the Welsh coast, using her own moments of noticing sunlight, sea air and birdsong to explain why awe matters so much in alcohol recovery.

She calls awe “that feeling of suddenly becoming very quiet inside because something beautiful, mysterious, or alive has touched you,” and argues that alcohol tries to steal exactly that. Antonia breaks down how alcohol doesn’t just mute pain; it dulls joy, wonder and a sense of connection. She explains that “you can’t chemically numb out sadness without also dulling joy,” and links this to why early sobriety can feel flat, raw and oddly colourless.

Instead of pretending everything becomes magical overnight, she keeps it real about supermarket meltdowns and emotional overload while the nervous system “recalibrates” and feelings thaw out. The heart of the episode is practical hope: awe as a sign of healing. Antonia talks about tiny moments – a good cup of tea, fresh sheets, waking without dread – as evidence that sensitivity and aliveness are returning.

She contrasts alcohol’s “intensity” with awe’s “depth”, describing depth as something that nourishes rather than burns out. There’s also a strong thread about connection. Awe, she says, “pulls us out of the prison of the self”, shifting attention away from obsessive thinking about drinking and back towards nature, beauty, music, love and meaning.

She stresses that life doesn’t need to be perfect for awe to appear; you can be anxious, grieving or broke and still feel moved by a shaft of light or a song. By the end, you’re gently invited to take just 60 seconds to look up at the sky or open a window, as a daily act of healing. Could a tiny moment of wonder today be part of your own recovery too?