This Naked Mind: Annie Grace | OYNB 012

One Year No Beer | Hack your healthy Lifestyle

How many times have you set your mind to quit drinking, only to fail before you’ve even gotten started? Today’s guest discusses how to develop a Naked Mind - a mind no longer at war with itself, agonizing about the decision to drink or not to drink.

This week’s podcast guest is Annie Grace, author of the best-selling book This Naked Mind: Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness And Change Your Life.” OneYearNoBeer hosts Andy Ramage and Ruari Fairbairns talk with Annie about her journey to a happy, creative, alcohol-free life. At 26, Annie was the youngest Vice President in a multinational company. Ten years later, she was in a global C-level marketing role responsible for 28 countries. She was also drinking almost two bottles of wine a night. Annie says her drinking career started right alongside her advertising career. Her mentors told her “You drink to be successful” and encourage boozy brainstorming sessions to fuel employees’ creativity. Once she realized the affect alcohol was having on everything in her life - her job, her family, her health - she decided to quit drinking. But the constant struggle of not wanting to drink while at the same time wanting a drink made her feel like a failure. Annie didn’t want to live a daily battle for sobriety, or to constantly avoid temptation. She wanted to take the power away from alcohol and put herself in control. She wanted freedom from alcohol. This Naked Mind is based on extensive research into neuroscience and psychology that she initially undertook for personal reasons. “I’ve never been able to diet or to restrain myself from something I want,” she says of learning to overcome her desire to drink. “I knew there had to be an answer to this problem.” After a year of research Annie was able to put her thoughts into book form, but it wasn’t until she published the rough draft and invited feedback did she really start to see how her work could positively affect others. Annie no longer drinks and has never been happier. She says that while she enjoys the familiar advantages of an alcohol-free life - feeling great, having more energy, actually wanting to exercise and benefiting from it - but she’s most proud of the effort she made to get off the antidepressants she has relied on for nearly 17 years. “I had to really dig in and ask myself ‘What is going on inside my mind and in my thoughts?’ I decided I had to take control and become aware of these negative thoughts and reverse them.”

With her doctor’s assistance, Annie was able to wean herself off of the medications earlier this year. “I now feel this profound sense of ‘Oh, Annie, there you are!’ This is who I am - not self-medicated through drugs and alcohol, but who I AM.”

Annie wants to share the ability to find freedom from alcohol with as many readers as possible and to help reshape society’s views and our alcohol-centric culture so that the non-drinker is no longer an exception to the rule. Ways to Connect:

Website: https://thisnakedmind.com/

This Naked Mind book on Amazon.co.uk on Amazon.com

Video Coaching Course https://thisnakedmind.com/video-coaching-course/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisnaakedmind

Twitter: @ThisNakedMind