avatar

E281: Why Your Brain Makes Drinking Look Better Than It Was

Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober
Sober Powered: The Neuroscience of Being Sober
Episode • May 23 • 18m

When the sun comes out, so do the memories of “fun” drinking days, but are those memories even accurate? In this episode, I break down how your brain edits the past to make alcohol look better than it really was. I’ll explain how dopamine, emotional memory, and the fading affect bias distort your perception of your drinking life, and why the “good times” are often more fantasy than fact. You’ll learn how to interrupt the craving cycle before it starts and I’ll share a personal story about my own distorted alcohol memories around drinking on vacation. If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for a version of drinking that never really existed, this episode will help you ground yourself in the truth.

What to listen to next:

E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations E269: Autopilot mode

Work with me:

 Weekly email:

Courses:

Support the show:

Sources are posted on my website

Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Switch to the Fountain App