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No Alcohol Needed: The Podcast ▪️How to be Happy - No Alcohol Needed.▪️Top 3% podcast globally. YouTube, Spotify, Apple.▪️
Sometimes the hardest part of being hurt isn’t the hurt itself.
It’s deciding whether the relationship matters enough to say something. To speak up.
Not every painful moment means someone can't be trusted. But not every relationship deserves yet another difficult conversation, either.
Before you react, look at the facts. Consider the size of the hurt, the history of the relationship, and whether the other person is actually willing to hear us.
In this week’s episode, we’re talking about how to trust again - especially after you've been hurt by others.
No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 202: How To Trust Others Again After You've Been Hurt
Find it on YouTube • Spotify • Apple
Or visit noalcoholneeded.net
10/07/2026
I’m just as sick of AI as the next person, but I gotta share this with y’all.
First I wanna say this - I’m absolutely and utterly sick of ChatGPT-written posts and genAI images and advertising. Seriously, it’s ruining the internet.
And I know I’m not alone in feeling that way.
So I’m gonna share this with you hesitantly, because the last thing I want y’all to think is that I’m over here feeding you AI content. I’ll never do that to you. I like writing too much anyway.
But there are some things that ChatGPT is absolutely great for, and when you can find ways to use it as a helpful, ethical tool I’ll be the first to cheer you on.
Like this prompt:
“Create a list of all of the events and activities going on within 25 miles of {my town} this week that I could feasibly enjoy without drinking. Include the date, time, and location for each one, and a link with more information if it’s available.”
If you’re bored and looking for things to do, this prompt will help you come up with some new ideas. Because new adventures are one of the best parts of designing an alcohol-free life.
Photo - Trivia night at Palisade Pizza and Pourhouse last week (hosted by the amazing Amber Fenner ) If you happen to be local and want to come hang out, we’ll be there again this Thursday and would love to mee you! Fair warning - we're fabulously horrible at trivia. We're mostly there to drink a lot of lemonade and laugh. :)
10/06/2026
The loneliness I felt for most of my life was intensely painful.
And alcohol was the easiest solution.
If I was drunk, I didn’t really care that I was lonely.
But deciding to do life without alcohol meant loneliness came screaming back into the foreground. And in those early days, it felt nearly unbearable.
I read and follow a lot of groups for people who have quit (or are trying to quit) drinking, and feeling lonely is one of the most common struggles.
The advice is all the same… and it all misses the actual point.
Join a group based on a hobby or interest.
Find a church and get active.
Join sobriety groups.
Start volunteering somewhere.
Go to the gym.
Essentially, “put yourself in places where there are lots of people.”
And that’s not a bad thing. But being around people doesn’t solve loneliness if you haven’t done the inner work that makes building real friendships possible.
Here’s the advice I wish I would’ve gotten when I was just starting out, and the loneliness kept pulling me back toward the bottle:
~Get to know yourself. Your real self, the one that’s been hiding under expectations and fear of rejection for the past 30 years.
~Get real comfortable with your flaws, quirks, insecurities… all that stuff that you don’t really like about yourself. Learn to accept that it’s part of you, and make peace with it. Love yourself, in spite of your flaws. You weren’t meant to be perfect.
~Start letting people see that version of you. Some won’t love it. That’s okay. Some absolutely will.
~Learn about your unhealthy relationship habits, and work on them. Show up in friendships as the best version of yourself - for your sake, and for theirs.
Once you do these things, then that advice to put yourself in places where you’ll meet people becomes a lot more helpful. Because you’ll be ready to actually create and nurture real friendships.
Tell me - which feels harder for you right now? Meeting people, letting them see the real you, or keeping a friendship going once it’s started?
Anger's a great excuse to drink, isn't it?
It's an easy one to justify. We tell ourselves we need the alcohol to help us calm down.
And then we blame other people for "making us" angry.
We blame other people for "making us" drink.
If you feel like you're at the mercy of all the people around you, like you're constantly feeling angry or frustrated or disappointed because if everyone else... and you're tired of having no control over how you feel -
this week's episode was made for you.
No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 201 - Stop Waiting For Life to Make You Happy
Youtube • Spotify • Apple
David Rushing
David | Fitness after 40
You know what you meant.
But what ripples did you leave behind?
Every thought, word, and action is like a pebble thrown into water. We tend to focus on the splash - our feelings, intentions, and immediate reaction - without noticing how far the ripples travel.
Taking responsibility isn’t about shame.
It’s recognizing that we have the power to choose the impact we want to leave behind.
Hear the full conversation on No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 201: Stop Waiting For Life To Make You Happy
With David L Herrera and David Rushing
Youtube • Spotify • Apple
What if you’re not actually powerless?
There’s something so… demoralizing about being told (and believing) you’re powerless. That you’re just at the mercy of every whim of the universe, with no way to control anything.
And that’s an awful way to live. Powerlessness feels like giving up.
Taking back your power - by focusing on what you can actually take responsibility for - is how you find freedom. It’s where the joy is, the confidence, and the peace.
If you spend an awful lot of life feeling like it’s just tossing you around, and all you can do is react to one situation after another, always feeling out of control - this week’s podcast episode is for you.
You don’t have to feel like a victim of your own life.
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No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 201: Stop Waiting For Life to Make You Happy
With Dave Rushing and David Herrera
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Find it on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
We’re constantly told to stop comparing ourselves to other people.
But what if immediately shutting down the thought means missing what it’s trying to show us?
Matt’s approach is to let the comparison play out - not so he can spiral or convince himself that someone else is better, but so he can get curious about where the thought is coming from.
What’s happening in his life right now?
What insecurity did the comparison touch on?
What is it showing him about what he wants, fears, or believes about himself?
If you stay curious, comparison can be a clue.
This idea helped change the direction of our entire conversation. By the end of the episode, Sean said he no longer saw comparison only as “the thief of joy.”
In this week’s episode of No Alcohol Needed, we explore when comparison becomes destructive - and when it can actually become a tool for greater self-awareness, confidence, and growth.
Watch or listen to the full conversation: Comparing Yourself to Others: How to Stop Letting It Control You.
No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 200
Youtube • Spotify • Apple
It’s so easy to look at someone else’s sobriety and wonder if you’re doing it wrong.
They seem happier. More outgoing. They’ve found their purpose, made new friends, changed their whole life… while maybe you’re still just trying to figure out how to get through today.
But we’re not starting from the same place.
We don’t have the same histories, relationships, resources, struggles, personalities, or lives. So why would recovery look the same for all of us?
Someone else thriving doesn’t mean you’re falling behind.
There’s no timeline you’re supposed to be following here. No single example of what a “good” alcohol free life is supposed to look like.
Take inspiration from other people, sure. Learn from them. Let them show you what might be possible.
But build a life that actually fits YOU.
That’s the whole point. 🧡
Is comparison really the thief of joy? Or is it a tool for peace, for growth, for freedom?
Depends on how you use it.
Comparing yourself to others gets a bad rap- but it's only negative if you choose to use it that way.
In this podcast episode, we're joined by Sean Rollinson and Matt Shambo to talk about how comparison can be destructive... and it turned into a conversation about how comparison is actually a tool for growth.
No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast
Episode 200
Comparing Yourself to Others: How To Stop Letting it Control You
Youtube • Spotify • Apple
09/21/2026
It's so easy to get sucked into comparing yourself to others, isn't it?
Looking around seeing how well other people are doing, and holding that up to your own life. It's easy to see all the places you're not measuring up.
And people will tell you, "Stop comparing yourself!" But it's not that easy.
It's human instinct.
But what if you learned to use that comparison as a tool, instead of as evidence that you're not good enough?
That's where we landed in this week's podcast episode. What started as a conversation about how to stop comparing yourself turned into a realization that comparison isn't actually all bad - especially if you use it right.
You can watch No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast on Youtube, or listen on Spotify, Apple, or anywhere else you get your podcasts. Check it out - and come share your thoughts in the comments. We'd love to hear what you think!
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