Bitesize Moment: "I Thought I Was Fine. I Wasn't." — Kyla Cobbler on getting sober

Bitesize Moment: "I Thought I Was Fine. I Wasn't." — Kyla Cobbler on getting sober

From The Laura Dowling Experience by Laura Dowling

May 19, 2026 · 6 min

About this episode

Kyla Cobbler shares her journey of recognizing and overcoming alcohol dependency while maintaining a high-functioning lifestyle as a performer.

In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, comedian Kyla Cobbler shares an honest, no-frills account of how her drinking quietly turned into dependency — while she was still training, working, and gigging five nights a week. She tells Laura how being a regular performer in Barcelona blurred the lines between socialising and self-medicating, and how Dry January cracked the whole thing open. What started as a simple challenge ended in withdrawal, therapy, AA, and a completely new relationship with fear, nerves, and joy on stage. 🔑 Key Points How "high-functioning" drinking can hide a much bigger problem The cycle of running, gigging, free drinks — and waking up groggy every single morning What withdrawal actually felt like by day two of Dry January Why it was never about the red wine — it was about wanting to feel different Performing sober for the first time, and learning to feel everything instead of numbing it 🎧 Listen to the full episode here. Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube  here . Don’t forget to follow  The Laura Dowling Experience  podcast on Instagram  @lauradowlingexperience…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Dowling

Guest: Kyla Cobbler

Topics covered

  • sobriety
  • dependency
  • performance
  • mental health
  • self-medication
  • comedy

Keywords

  • sober
  • Dry January
  • alcohol dependency
  • comedy
  • mental health
  • performance
  • therapy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Laura Dowling Experience, AA

Places: Barcelona

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