Sober Awkward

Have you ever woken up after a night of drinking with your heart racing, convinced you’ve embarrassed yourself, upset someone, or somehow ruined your entire life? That awful feeling has a name: hangxiety.This week, Victoria is joined by Millie Gooch, founder of The Sober Girl Society and author of the brilliant new book, Hangxiety. Together they dive into the reality of hangxiety, what it felt like for both of them as “normal” drinkers, the university drinking culture that taught them it was all just part of growing up, and why so many of us accepted feeling awful as the price of having a good time.They also explore the science behind alcohol and anxiety, the rise of the sober curious movement, and why giving up alcohol can be one of the kindest things you ever do for your mental health.Trigger warning: This episode includes a discussion about self-harm, which some listeners may find distressing.And finally, Vic and Millie tackle one of the biggest myths about sobriety: that life becomes boring. They chat about why the sober community can sometimes feel a little bit like a cult… except nobody’s making any money, nobody’s trying to recruit you, and definitely nobody’s having sex. It’s simply a group of people discovering that life can be surprisingly brilliant without alcohol.💛 Resources & LinksTikTok: @milliegooch / @sobergirlsocietyInstagram: @milliegooch / @sobergirlsocietyWebsite: sobergirlsociety.comBuy Hangxiety here - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/827960/hangxiety-by-millie-gooch/📖 Vic & Ulrika want to hear from you!Have you got a story, weird drunk confession or a question for Vic and Ulrika?Email [email protected]. Your message could inspire a future episode.📱 Join the Sober Awkward appThe Sober Awkward app is a welcoming space for anyone who is sober, sober-curious or simply rethinking their relationship with alcohol.Search “Sober Awkward” in the Apple App Store or find for all other devices click here📲 Follow usInstagram - Sober Awkward: @soberawkwardFacebook - Sober Awkward Community for WomenRetreat with us🌴 Fancy a sober holiday? Click here to come and drink from coconuts with us!📰 Media enquiriesFor interviews, features, partnerships or other media requests, contact Kate at [email protected].📘 A Thousand Wasted SundaysVictoria’s brutally honest and hilarious memoir about motherhood, anxiety and ditching the booze.👉 Get A Thousand Wasted Sundays📙 MummingA Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent—Vic’s funny and painfully relatable memoir about the messy reality of motherhood.👉 Get Mumming📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideA 30-day sobriety kickstart filled with relatable support, practical tools and plenty of awkwardness to help you begin life without booze.👉 Explore the Sober Awkward Guide🎧 Listen to more Sober AwkwardFind more episodes, books, events and everything Sober Awkward.👉 soberawkward.com🛟 Alcohol SupportSober Awkward shares personal experiences and community support, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice.If you are physically dependent on alcohol, suddenly stopping can be dangerous. Please speak to a doctor or alcohol-support service for advice on withdrawing safely.🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline — National Alcohol HelplineFree and confidential support if you are worried about your own or someone else’s drinking.Call 0300 123 1110Weekdays: 9am–8pmWeekends: 11am–4pm👉 NHS alcohol supportAlcohol Change UKInformation, practical tools and support.👉 alcoholchange.org.ukWithYouFree, confidential support with alcohol, drugs and mental health.👉 wearewithyou.org.ukIn an emergency, call 999.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol and Other Drug HotlineFree and confidential information and support.Call 1800 250 015Available 24/7 in most states and territories.👉 Australian Government hotline informationLifeline AustraliaCrisis support available 24/7.Call 13 11 14Text 0477 13 11 14👉 lifeline.org.auIn an emergency, call 000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Sober Awkward, Vic and Ulrika tackle a drinking style that often flies completely under the radar, the stay-at-home drinker. Vic was the loud one. The social one. The drinker making questionable decisions in public and collecting stories she’d rather forget. Ulrika was different.Her drinking happened behind closed doors. No bars. No dance floors. No one telling her she’d had enough. Just a sofa, a glass of rum, a familiar routine, and eventually a habit that quietly became something she relied on to get through the day.Together they explore how alcohol can slowly shift from something we enjoy to something we need, why drinking at home can be so difficult to spot, and how secrecy, shame and isolation create the perfect conditions for alcohol to tighten its grip.They talk openly about lockdown drinking, parenting, anxiety, blackouts, hidden bottles, emotional dependence, and the exhausting cycle of drink, shame, hide, repeat.Along the way, they also cover builder-induced toilet disasters, panty liners, digestive biscuits, and why Ulrika accidentally traumatised a team of tradesmen by forgetting to shut the bathroom door.If you’ve ever found yourself pouring a glass because the kids are finally asleep, because work was stressful, because you’re lonely, overwhelmed, anxious, bored, or simply because it’s become what you do every evening, this episode is for you.This is an honest conversation about the drinking nobody sees, the shame nobody talks about, and the moment both Vic and Ulrika realised they couldn’t keep doing it anymore.Because sometimes the most dangerous drinking isn’t happening in the pub.It’s happening quietly on the sofa.💛 Resources & Links📖 Vic & Ulrika want to hear from you!Have you got a story, weird drunk confession or a question for Vic and Ulrika?Email [email protected]. Your message could inspire a future episode.📱 Join the Sober Awkward appSearch “Sober Awkward” in the Apple App Store or find the app here.📲 Follow us Instagram - Sober Awkward: @soberawkwardFacebook - Sober Awkward Community for WomenRetreat with us🌴 Fancy a sober holiday? Click here to come and drink from coconuts with us!📰 Media enquiriesFor interviews, features, partnerships or other media requests, contact Kate at [email protected].📘 A Thousand Wasted SundaysVictoria’s brutally honest and hilarious memoir about motherhood, anxiety and ditching the booze.👉 Get A Thousand Wasted Sundays📙 MummingA Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent—Vic’s funny and painfully relatable memoir about the messy reality of motherhood.👉 Get Mumming📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideA 30-day sobriety kickstart filled with relatable support, practical tools and plenty of awkwardness to help you begin life without booze.👉 Explore the Sober Awkward Guide🎧 Listen to more Sober AwkwardFind more episodes, books, events and everything Sober Awkward.👉 soberawkward.com🛟 Alcohol SupportSober Awkward shares personal experiences and community support, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice.If you are physically dependent on alcohol, suddenly stopping can be dangerous. Please speak to a doctor or alcohol-support service for advice on withdrawing safely.🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline — National Alcohol HelplineFree and confidential support if you are worried about your own or someone else’s drinking.Call 0300 123 1110Weekdays: 9am–8pmWeekends: 11am–4pm👉 NHS alcohol supportAlcohol Change UKInformation, practical tools and support.👉 alcoholchange.org.ukWithYouFree, confidential support with alcohol, drugs and mental health.👉 wearewithyou.org.ukIn an emergency, call 999.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol and Other Drug HotlineFree and confidential information and support.Call 1800 250 015Available 24/7 in most states and territories.👉 Australian Government hotline informationLifeline AustraliaCrisis support available 24/7.Call 13 11 14Text 0477 13 11 14👉 lifeline.org.auIn an emergency, call 000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not so smug now! - This week, Vic sits down with writer, podcaster and self-confessed “textbook drunk” Cat Sims for a conversation about motherhood, drugs, booze and what happens when the party girl suddenly has a tiny human to keep alive.They talk about crying in school car parks, postnatal depression, drinking as a reward for surviving motherhood and that strange moment in sobriety when you realise peace isn’t actually boredom. Sometimes life is just… peaceful. Who knew?But somewhere along the way, the conversation takes an unexpected turn when Cat uses a word Vic has spent more than eight years avoiding: alcoholic.Cat embraces the label. Vic absolutely does not.What follows is a surprisingly emotional conversation about why Vic has always called herself an ex drinker, binge drinker, grey area drinker, former party girl, basically anything other than an alcoholic. Has trying to make sobriety feel less frightening for everyone else actually allowed Vic to keep a little bit of her own shame tucked away?There are tears, uncomfortable truths and a rather compelling argument that after blowing off a finger at a Full Moon Party, perhaps “grey area drinker” isn’t quite covering it. It’s also a conversation about motherhood and belonging, about why so many women struggle quietly while believing everyone else is coping, and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can say to another mum crying in a car park is not “here’s what you should do”, but simply, “I get it. Sometimes parenting is fucked.”Funny, raw and unexpectedly moving, this one shifts something in Vic.Enjoy one of the best Sober Awkward guest interviews ever!💛 Resources & LinksFollow Cat:Instagram (312k followers)TikTok (253.7k followers)Substack (10k+ subscribers)Buy her books:You're Never The Only One (Simon & Schuster 2025)The First Time You Smiled (Harper Collins 2022)Listen to her podcast:You're Never The Only One📖 Vic & Ulrika want to hear from you!Have you got a story, weird drunk confession or a question for Vic and Ulrika?Email [email protected]. Your message could inspire a future episode.📱 Join the Sober Awkward appSearch “Sober Awkward” in the Apple App Store or find for all other devices click here📲 Follow usInstagram - Sober Awkward: @soberawkwardFacebook - Sober Awkward Community for WomenRetreat with us🌴 Fancy a sober holiday? Click here to come and drink from coconuts with us!📰 Media enquiriesFor interviews, features, partnerships or other media requests, contact Kate at [email protected].📘 A Thousand Wasted SundaysVictoria’s brutally honest and hilarious memoir about motherhood, anxiety and ditching the booze.👉 Get A Thousand Wasted Sundays📙 MummingA Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent—Vic’s funny and painfully relatable memoir about the messy reality of motherhood.👉 Get Mumming📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideA 30-day sobriety kickstart filled with relatable support, practical tools and plenty of awkwardness to help you begin life without booze.👉 Explore the Sober Awkward Guide🎧 Listen to more Sober AwkwardFind more episodes, books, events and everything Sober Awkward.👉 soberawkward.com🛟 Alcohol Support🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline — National Alcohol HelplineFree and confidential support if you are worried about your own or someone else’s drinking.Call 0300 123 1110Weekdays: 9am–8pmWeekends: 11am–4pm👉 NHS alcohol supportAlcohol Change UKInformation, practical tools and support.👉 alcoholchange.org.ukWithYouFree, confidential support with alcohol, drugs and mental health.👉 wearewithyou.org.ukIn an emergency, call 999.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol and Other Drug HotlineFree and confidential information and support.Call 1800 250 015Available 24/7 in most states and territories.👉 Australian Government hotline informationLifeline AustraliaCrisis support available 24/7.Call 13 11 14Text 0477 13 11 14👉 lifeline.org.auIn an emergency, call 000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yes, it’s true. Vic has a new co host and it’s only bloody Ulrika Jonsson. No, Vic can’t quite believe it either. She’s trying to act normal about the whole thing.This first episode is basically Vic and Ulrika getting to know each other while you lot listen in. They talk about where they’ve come from, how they drank and how alcohol went from being a completely normal part of life to something that was taking up far too much space.And their drinking stories couldn’t be more different. Vic was your classic life and soul party drinker, always up for another one and usually the last dickhead on the dance floor. Ulrika’s drinking was much more likely to happen at home. Different habits, different lives, same eventual realisation. This booze thing wasn’t really doing either of them any favours.There are a few awkward bits, some oversharing and moments where you can practically hear them figuring each other out as they go. Which, frankly, is exactly how we like it around here.This new chapter of Sober Awkward is going to get stuck into all of it. Why we drink, why everyone thinks drinking is so bloody normal, the weird things we did to justify it, what happens when it stops being fun and what life actually looks like when you decide you’ve had enough.Vic and Ulrika certainly don’t have all the answers, but they’ve got plenty of stories, opinions and questionable decisions to pick apart.So, here we go. A brand new Sober Awkward.New co host. Same awkward-ness.Join Vic and Ulrika every Monday as they rummage around the weird and wonderful world of drinking, not drinking and everything in between.💛 Resources & Links📖 Vic & Ulrika want to hear from you!Have you got a story, weird drunk confession or a question for Vic and Ulrika?Email [email protected] Your message could inspire a future episode.📱 Join the Sober Awkward appSearch “Sober Awkward” in the Apple App Store or find for all other devices click here📲 Follow usInstagram - Sober Awkward: @soberawkwardFacebook - Sober Awkward Community for WomenRetreat with us🌴 Fancy a sober holiday? Click here to come and drink from coconuts with us!📰 Media enquiriesFor interviews, features, partnerships or other media requests, contact Kate at [email protected].📘 A Thousand Wasted SundaysVictoria’s brutally honest and hilarious memoir about motherhood, anxiety and ditching the booze.👉 Get A Thousand Wasted Sundays📙 MummingA Year of Trying (and Failing) to Be a Better Parent—Vic’s funny and painfully relatable memoir about the messy reality of motherhood.👉 Get Mumming📘 Get the Sober Awkward GuideA 30-day sobriety kickstart filled with relatable support, practical tools and plenty of awkwardness to help you begin life without booze.👉 Explore the Sober Awkward Guide🎧 Listen to more Sober AwkwardFind more episodes, books, events and everything Sober Awkward.👉 soberawkward.com🛟 Alcohol SupportSober Awkward shares personal experiences and community support, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice.If you are physically dependent on alcohol, suddenly stopping can be dangerous. Please speak to a doctor or alcohol-support service for advice on withdrawing safely.🇬🇧 United KingdomDrinkline — National Alcohol HelplineFree and confidential support if you are worried about your own or someone else’s drinking.Call 0300 123 1110Weekdays: 9am–8pmWeekends: 11am–4pm👉 NHS alcohol supportAlcohol Change UKInformation, practical tools and support.👉 alcoholchange.org.ukWithYouFree, confidential support with alcohol, drugs and mental health.👉 wearewithyou.org.ukIn an emergency, call 999.🇦🇺 AustraliaNational Alcohol and Other Drug HotlineFree and confidential information and support.Call 1800 250 015Available 24/7 in most states and territories.👉 Australian Government hotline informationLifeline AustraliaCrisis support available 24/7.Call 13 11 14Text 0477 13 11 14👉 lifeline.org.auIn an emergency, call 000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How bad is alcohol, really? Is a weekend binge cancelled out by a few sober days and what exactly is happening in our brains during hangxiety?Vic is joined by world renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist Professor David Nutt, who has spent more than 40 years studying how alcohol and other drugs affect our brains, bodies and behaviour.They explore the moment an evening treat becomes something we need, why women may be affected differently, what changes when we stop drinking and whether science can create the relaxing, sociable effects of alcohol without the hangovers.Professor Nutt also shares his own relationship with alcohol, challenges some of our most comforting drinking myths and reveals the one fact he wishes every drinker understood before taking their first sip.Prepare to have happy hour thoroughly ruined, in the most fascinating way possible.💛 Resources & LinksProfessor David NuttBook links: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Drink-Science-Alcohol-Your-Health/dp/152939323X https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychedelics-revolutionary-drugs-change-expert/dp/1529360536/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0The drinks company (SENTIA Spirits): https://sentiaspirits.com/ 📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted SundaysA brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.👉 https://amzn.asia/d/0aZ69GpKVic's book 'Mumming - A year of Trying (and Failing) to be a better parent - https://amzn.asia/d/0bUJTS2W🎧 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.