Podcast
Sober Awkward
Hosted by soberawkward · EN
Winner, Best Well-Being Podcast at The Australian Podcast Awards 2024
Have you ever woken up after a big night out and declared, “I’m never drinking again,” only to find yourself waving $50 at a barman by Happy Hour? Yep, Vic’s been there too.
Join Victoria Vanstone, award-winning podcaster, author, and former binge-drinking party animal, as she explores what it’s really like to be sober in a world absolutely soaked in alcohol. Each week on Sober Awkward, Vic dives into boozy topics, social pressures, anxiety, identity wobbles, and the messy reality of quitting drinking, opening up the shame shed of humiliating stories so you don’t have to feel alone in yours.
With humour, honesty, and zero judgement, Vic tells it like it is, from vomit and one-night stands to life on the other side of destructive drinking. If you’ve hit a wall, you’re fed up with anxiety, headaches, and blackouts, or you’re just quietly sober-curious, pop the kettle on and learn how to feel the awkward, and do it anyway.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
Yesterday00:10:47Tap to summarizeToday on the Share Shed we have one confession and one question.First up, a listener wakes up in Las Vegas with more than just a hangover… let’s just say Elvis may have been involved and somebody accidentally got married.Then we tackle a question many people quietly ask themselves: if your hands shake the morning after drinking, is that a sign you’re an alcoholic?The answer might surprise you.Pour yourself a cuppa and join us for today’s Share Shed.The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.But sometimes, it’s also a place for the harder stuff, the honest bits we don’t always say out loud.If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or something a bit more serious, you can send it to Vic at:vic@soberawkward.comAnonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCESIf anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-serviceLifeline📞 13 11 14 (24/7)🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.auHello Sunday Morning / Daybreak🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.auClean Slate Clinic🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline📞 0300 123 1110🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/Alcohol Change UK🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.ukWe Are With You🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk🌍 InternationalAlcoholics Anonymous🌐 https://www.aa.orgSMART Recovery🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org💬 A gentle reminderIf you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Hidden Struggle of the High Functioning Drinker - with James Swanwick
4d ago00:57:05Tap to summarizeThis week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to James Swanwick about high-functioning drinking, success, pressure and the growing movement of people choosing to live alcohol free — not because they’ve completely fallen apart, but because they simply feel better without it.James is an Australian stop drinking expert, author, investor, entrepreneur and former SportsCenter anchor on ESPN. He is the creator of stop drinking organisation, Alcohol Free Lifestyle, which helps business owners and executives finally break free from alcohol without AA, rehab or willpower. Together, Vic and James unpack the myth that alcohol problems only affect people at “rock bottom” and explore why high achievers often struggle silently for years. They chat about identity, pride, social pressure, parenting, masculinity, success and why being outwardly functional can actually make it harder to admit something isn’t working.They also explore a really interesting question:Can giving up alcohol sometimes be less about “having a problem”… and more about choosing a different lifestyle entirely?Plus there’s chat about celebrity alcohol brands, the rise of the alcohol-free movement, Gen Z turning away from booze and why many people are beginning to realise that alcohol may be taking far more than it gives.This episode is for anyone who’s ever wondered:“Do I actually need to wait for things to get worse before I make a change?”Enjoy!Find James' work here - IG: https://www.instagram.com/jamesswanwick/FB: https://web.facebook.com/AlcoholFreeLifestylehttps://web.facebook.com/JamesSwanwickOfficialYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlcoholFreeLifestylehttps://www.youtube.com/@JamesSwanwickTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesswanwickSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5253hMZWPlEWj6AVodbkC7Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/alcohol-free-lifestyle/id1518416850X: https://x.com/jamesswanwickAFL Website: https://alcoholfreelifestyle.com/💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
1w ago00:08:33Tap to summarizeThis week on the Share Shed we’re talking drunk online shopping… you know, those slightly terrifying mystery parcels that arrive two days after a blackout.From sequinned capes and stuffed frogs in hats… to accidentally booking holidays to Spain you have absolutely no memory of organising.Basically: If you’ve ever opened your front door hungover and thought, “What in the name of Christ have I bought now?” …this one’s for you.The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.But sometimes, it’s also a place for the harder stuff, the honest bits we don’t always say out loud.If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or something a bit more serious, you can send it to Vic at:vic@soberawkward.comAnonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCESIf anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-serviceLifeline📞 13 11 14 (24/7)🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.auHello Sunday Morning / Daybreak🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.auClean Slate Clinic🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline📞 0300 123 1110🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/Alcohol Change UK🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.ukWe Are With You🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk🌍 InternationalAlcoholics Anonymous🌐 https://www.aa.orgSMART Recovery🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org💬 A gentle reminderIf you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Problem Drinking - Delivered to Your Door - with Hattie Underwood
2w ago00:43:19Tap to summarizeThis week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats to Hattie Underwood, the London-based mum of two behind Sober Happy Free, who has recently been speaking out across the UK media about the worrying rise of alcohol delivery services. After loads of Sober Awkward listeners tagged Vic in clips saying, “You HAVE to get her on the podcast!”… here she is.Now five years sober, Hattie openly shares the raw reality of addiction through lived experience, challenging stigma and reminding people that absolutely anyone can struggle with alcohol — and anyone deserves the chance to recover, one day at a time.Having appeared on Good Morning Britain, Channel 5 News and the BBC, Hattie is also using her voice to campaign with Alcohol Change UK and raise awareness around the dangers of modern drinking culture.Together they explore what happens when booze never really runs out. No awkward shuffle to the bottle shop. No eye contact with the cashier. No closing time. No moment to pause and think, “Hang on… maybe this is getting a bit much.” Just a bloke in a helmet arriving at your doorstep with another bottle and zero questions asked.Hattie explains how alcohol delivery services quietly escalated her drinking, why these apps can become so dangerous, and how the convenience and secrecy of “alcohol on demand” is creating growing concerns in both the UK and Australia.They chat about shame, loneliness, high-functioning drinking, dependency and the terrifying reality of alcohol being available in under thirty minutes, right at the exact moment someone is most vulnerable.Plus Vic asks herself a slightly uncomfortable question:What would her own drinking have looked like if the booze literally never ran out?Follow @soberhappyfree to join Hattie on her sobriety journey. https://www.instagram.com/soberhappyfreehttps://www.tiktok.com/@soberhappyfree?_r=1&_t=ZN-96MLDO3Z0oY💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
2w ago00:20:49Tap to summarizeNot really a Share Shed today…But there was a story from this week’s podcast that absolutely refused to be squeezed into a normal segment. It needed its own space. Its own moment. Its own… spotlight.We had the incredible Shanna Whan on Sober Awkward this week, founder of Sober in the Country and creator of the brilliant #OK2SAYNO campaign… and somewhere in the middle of talking about life in rural Australia, sobriety, and all things outback… she casually dropped this story.It involves an invitation to the Queen’s funeral.Yes. THAT.I’m not going to say anything else, because honestly, you just need to hear it.All I will say is… Shanna and I have more in common than I could have ever imagined.And it involves hats.What a story. Enjoy!To find out more about Shanna and her incredible work head to https://www.soberinthecountry.org or follow them on socials @sober_in_the_country and to help raise awareness please add #OK2SAYNO to your socials.💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sober in the Country - with Shanna Whan AM
3w ago00:50:48Tap to summarizeIt feels like this conversation has been a long time coming. Vic is genuinely honoured to have Shanna Whan AM on the podcast this week.Shanna is the founder and CEO of Sober in the Country, a national grassroots charity that’s been driving radical social impact and real change across rural and remote Australia over the past decade. Through laser-focused bush advocacy, peer-to-peer support, and a refreshingly straightforward message, she’s helping shift a deeply ingrained culture.And the message is one we can all get behind, whether we drink or not: it’s always #OK2SAYNO to booze.Shanna was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in 2025 for her significant contributions to rural community health. She was named National Australian of the Year (Local Hero) in 2022, and also took out Marie Claire’s national Advocate of the Year award that same year. So yes… she’s not just talking about change, she’s making it happen.In this episode, they chat about life in rural Australia, the pressure to be strong, stoic, and self-reliant in farming communities, the isolation of rural life, and how hard it can be to say no to alcohol when it’s so deeply ingrained.They also explore how that’s starting to shift, slowly, but meaningfully. And they establish very early on that Vic would absolutely not survive in the outback, (even if she did have a hat with corks hanging off it!)This one takes you beyond the front gate and into the reality of life in the outback, an honest, eye-opening conversation with a truly remarkable human.To find out more about Shanna and her incredible work head to https://www.soberinthecountry.org or follow them on socials @sober_in_the_country and to help raise awareness please add #OK2SAYNO to your socials.💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
3w ago00:07:35Tap to summarizeThis week on the Share Shed we’re talking boundaries. Vic chats about caring from afar, therapy and emotional carnage with a side of bad decisions.Classic Share Shed.The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.But sometimes, it’s also a place for the harder stuff, the honest bits we don’t always say out loud.If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or something a bit more serious, you can send it to Vic at:vic@soberawkward.comAnonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCESIf anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-serviceLifeline📞 13 11 14 (24/7)🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.auHello Sunday Morning / Daybreak🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.auClean Slate Clinic🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline📞 0300 123 1110🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/Alcohol Change UK🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.ukWe Are With You🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk🌍 InternationalAlcoholics Anonymous🌐 https://www.aa.orgSMART Recovery🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org💬 A gentle reminderIf you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Naltrexone - Can You Drink Your Way Sober? - with Katie Herzog
4w ago00:36:40Tap to summarizeThis week Vic is joined by journalist and podcaster Katie Herzog to talk about the winding, messy road many of us take trying to figure out our relationship with alcohol.Katie shares what her drinking looked like during Covid, how it quietly ramped up behind closed doors, and the strange mental gymnastics of hiding drinking from partners and pretending your fine and dandy, when really... it's all falling apart.They talk about the moment when drinking stops feeling fun and starts feeling lonely, the awkward reality of not quite connecting with AA, and the long search for something — anything — that might actually help.Eventually that search led Katie to Naltrexone, a medication used to reduce the brain’s reward response to alcohol. For Katie, discovering it changed everything. Over time it helped rewire the habit loop, take away the obsessive pull toward drinking, and slowly create something she hadn’t felt in a long time… freedom from alcohol.The experience was so transformative that Katie went on to write a book about it, exploring the science, the stigma, and why conversations about medication and sobriety can be so surprisingly controversial.It’s an honest chat about finding your own path, challenging recovery dogma, and the strange relief of realising there might be more than one way to get sober.Find out more about Katie and buy her book here -drinkyourwaysober.comhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/163774739Xhttps://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Drink-Your-Way-Sober/Katie-Herzog/9781637747391follow her on twitter here - @kittypurrzog💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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The Share Shed: Awkward Questions & Confessions
4w ago00:11:37Tap to summarizeThis week’s Shame Shed is a more serious one.A parent writes in about the shame they carry from drinking while raising their kids, and the heavy weight of seeing it all clearly now they’re sober.If you’ve ever felt that knot in your stomach about the past, this one will hit home.The Share Shed is where listeners send in their funniest, cringiest and most unbelievable drinking stories. It’s not about judgement, it’s about recognising how wild things could get when alcohol was in charge, and laughing about it now we’re on the other side.But sometimes, it’s also a place for the harder stuff, the honest bits we don’t always say out loud.If you’ve got a story you’d like to get off your chest, funny, awkward or something a bit more serious, you can send it to Vic at:vic@soberawkward.comAnonymous is absolutely fine. In fact, for legal reasons, probably preferable!!📞 SUPPORT & RESOURCESIf anything in today’s Shame Shed felt familiar, or you’re worried about your drinking, there is support out there. You don’t have to do this on your own.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol & Other Drug Hotline📞 1800 250 015 (24/7)🌐 https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/alcohol-and-drug-information-serviceLifeline📞 13 11 14 (24/7)🌐 https://www.lifeline.org.auHello Sunday Morning / Daybreak🌐 https://hellosundaymorning.org🌐 https://daybreakapp.com.auClean Slate Clinic🌐 https://www.cleanslateclinic.com🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline📞 0300 123 1110🌐 https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/alcohol-advice/alcohol-support/Alcohol Change UK🌐 https://alcoholchange.org.ukWe Are With You🌐 https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk🌍 InternationalAlcoholics Anonymous🌐 https://www.aa.orgSMART Recovery🌐 https://www.smartrecovery.org💬 A gentle reminderIf you’re drinking in the morning to cope, especially with anxiety or withdrawal symptoms, it’s really important to speak to a doctor or medical professional. Stopping suddenly can be unsafe for some people, and support can make a huge difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Sobriety on Instagram: Connection, Comparison or Compulsion? - with Sarah Drage
May 300:36:45Tap to summarizeThis week on Sober Awkward, Vic chats with Social Media Educator and (National Association for Children of Addiction) NACOA Ambassador - Sarah Drage about the strange and sometimes complicated world of sobriety on the internet.When we stop drinking, many of us head straight online. Suddenly there are sober coaches, Instagram accounts, communities, podcasts, hashtags, and an entire digital world devoted to not drinking. For some people it becomes a lifeline. For others… it can start to feel like just another thing we’re slightly addicted to.Vic gets honest about her own relationship with the online sober world, the pressure to keep creating content, and the strange reality of sharing your life with people you’ve never met. She often tells herself, “If it helps one person, it’s worth it.” But what happens when helping strangers online starts competing with real life, family time, and your own wellbeing?And then there’s the other side of the internet. The rabbit holes. You open Instagram looking for a sober quote and twenty minutes later you’ve somehow ended up on a page where people are putting very strange things in very strange places. How does that happen? What are they doing? And why can’t we look away?You’ll have to listen to find out… let's just say it involves bottoms.Find out more about Sarah here @sarah_drage Find The Children of Alcoholics Podcast here - https://hello9a.podbean.com/Ted Talk - https://tr.ee/x6tGO8cVc5💛 Resources & Links📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 Buy the book here🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes👉 www.soberawkward.com🫖 Join The Cuppa CommunityOur private, supportive online space for sober folk👉 www.cuppa.community📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideOur downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.👉 The Sober Awkward Guide📱 Follow us for daily sober fun:Instagram: @soberawkwardTikTok: @soberawkwardFacebook: Sober Awkward Community for Women Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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