Episode 71 - Stressed, Triggered, Craving a Drink? Try This Instead

Episode 71 - Stressed, Triggered, Craving a Drink? Try This Instead

Curious about how others manage those white-knuckle moments when stress hits and a drink seems like the easiest answer? This episode of The Alcohol Recovery Show, hosted by Antonia Ryan, looks at what happens when you bring your body into the recovery process instead of relying purely on willpower and thoughts. Antonia breaks down somatic practices in simple, down-to-earth language, making it clear this isn’t about “sitting cross-legged on a mountain”.

Somatic here just means working with the body, and she explains how many cravings actually begin as sensations, not thoughts. As she puts it, “What if the sensation isn’t actually asking for alcohol? What if it’s asking for regulation, for some sort of movement or connection or rest or comfort or safety?” You’ll hear how alcohol becomes a shortcut to calming the nervous system, and why stopping drinking can make emotions feel stronger at first.

She talks through how the nervous system can get stuck in survival mode, leading to anxiety, restlessness, and cravings, and shows how simple body-based tools can send a new message: “I’m safe now.” The heart of the episode is a set of very practical exercises: grounding through the feet, the “physiological sigh” for fast calming, gentle body scanning to reconnect with physical sensations, shaking to release pent-up stress, and orienting by slowly looking around the room to reassure the nervous system there’s no immediate danger.

Rather than seeing this as failure, Antonia frames it as the body finally being heard. She stresses that “consistency matters much more than perfection” and suggests just a few minutes a day can make a real difference. This one’s ideal if you’re stressed, triggered, or craving and want something you can do right away—no special equipment, no fuss, just one small step at a time. Which somatic practice are you going to try first when the urge to drink hits?