Sobriety 101 - Ep. 1 Moderation

Sobriety 101 - Ep. 1 Moderation

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This first instalment of the *Sobriety 101* mini-series from *The One Day At A Time Recovery Podcast* looks at a question many quietly wrestle with: can I actually moderate my drinking? Host Arlina Allen, sober for over 11,800 days, talks directly to anyone who wants a path outside traditional 12-step programmes.

She’s clear that she’s a 12-stepper herself, but after more than 450 conversations, she’s seen countless ways to get and stay sober. Here, she zooms in on the tricky grey area of moderation, grounded in her own two-year struggle to control her drinking. Arlina runs through all the classic “moderation experiments” – switching from spirits to beer and wine, adding water between drinks, lining up ibuprofen by the bed – and admits none of it changed the outcome.

As she puts it, "If I was controlling my drinking, I wasn't really enjoying it. If I was enjoying my drinking, I was absolutely not controlling it." You’ll hear a simple but powerful writing exercise: list every negative drinking experience over the course of a week. The idea isn’t to beat yourself up, but to build a clear, honest picture of how alcohol has actually shown up in your life, especially in a culture that constantly glamorises drinking.

Arlina also sounds the alarm on so-called coaches who promise they can teach anyone to moderate, while admitting behind the scenes that they’re just in it for the money. She talks about the grief many feel when letting go of alcohol, and why that pain can make people vulnerable to false promises.

If you’ve ever wondered whether moderation is really working for you, or you’re curious about recovery beyond 12 steps, this short, straight-talking episode might be just the nudge you need. What would your own list of “negative drinking experiences” look like if you started it today?