Ep 76. From Booze to Belief: Confidence Without Alcohol

The Big Drink Rethink

Ever wondered why alcohol can feel like "liquid confidence," or if there’s a better way to build self-belief without a drink in hand? In this episode of The Big Drink Rethink, host Anna Donaghey is joined by Sue Reid, certified confidence and self-belief coach, NLP master practitioner, hypnotherapist, and author of Building Confidence: How to Thrive as a Shy Person.

Anna and Sue take a deep dive into the real root causes of low self-esteem and how these hidden stories about our worth can shape and sometimes sabotage our relationship with alcohol. They unpack the difference between true self-confidence and the act of “faking it,” why so many of us turn to alcohol in social situations, and how to “rewire” your brain for authentic, lasting confidence.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough without a drink, this episode is for you.

Here are the highlights:

00:00 Introduction

02:22 Sue’s journey from shy childhood to coaching confidence after 40 years in banking

04:55 The difference between confidence, self-belief, and the four pillars of true self confidence

08:48 Why “liquid confidence” is a myth and what really undermines our self-esteem

13:53 How early life experiences, family dynamics, and comparison shape our sense of self

18:25 How men and women experience low confidence and the impact of cultural conditioning

21:02 What actually happens in the brain when alcohol makes us feel more confident

22:48 The true cost of relying on alcohol for self-confidence

27:54 Why self-acceptance (and knowing your limits!) matters more than being “the life of the party”

34:30 Sue’s practical, psychology-backed techniques for building confidence without alcohol

46:46 Why confidence and trust skyrocket when you rethink your drinking and how to experiment fearlessly

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🔗 Get the free resources from: https://www.thebeliefscoach.com

If you’re a mum wanting to explore your relationship with alcohol, join ‘Mummy Doesn’t Need Wine’ here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mummydoesntneedwine

Anna’s group coaching community ‘Unstuck!’ helps identify your alcohol ‘stories’ and beliefs, breaking the cycle of alcohol and all the shame that goes with it. For more information and to find out how to join, please follow this link: Unstuck! community information

To further explore your relationship with alcohol, check out Anna’s self-guided programme, The Big Drink Rethink Experiment: https://www.thebeliefscoach.com/the-big-drink-rethink-experiment

And apply the code POD99 to purchase for just £99 as a podcast listener

If you’re loving the podcast and would like to give Anna a warm, fuzzy feeling of appreciation, then you can buy her a coffee:

https://buymeacoffee.com/bigdrinkrethink

About the host Anna:

Anna is a certified Alcohol Mindset Coach, trained by Annie Grace of This Naked Mind. Drawing on her own journey out of alcohol addiction, she now helps others explore and control their drinking. With a career spanning 25 years as a Strategist in the Advertising industry, she combines her own lived experiences, with great insight into what makes us tick and what influences us to behave the way we do.

Connect with Anna:

Website: thebeliefscoach.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annadonaghey

Instagram: instagram.com/bigdrinkrethink

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

About Sue Reid:

Sue Reid is a certified confidence and self-belief coach, as well as a master practitioner of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and hypnotherapy.

She writes in her Substack publication ’Confidence Matters’ and is the author of Building Confidence: How to Thrive as a Shy Person.

Sue is the founder of Sue Reid Coaching, which commenced in March 2022. Before coaching, Sue had a long career in retail banking. She retired in 2019 and decided to write a book about her struggles with confidence.

After finishing the book Building Confidence: How to Thrive as a Shy Person, Sue started a podcast, Building Confidence, in which she discussed a topic related to confidence with a guest each week. The podcast is paused for the moment in favour of live streaming on the platform Substack.

Sue believes we all deserve a life of joy and success, but a lack of self-belief often holds us back. Once we believe in ourselves, confidence is a skill that can be learned and mastered.

Sue lives in Devon, southwest of the United Kingdom, with her husband, Robert.

Connect with Sue:

Substack: https://substack.com/@suereid

Book: Building Confidence:How to Thrive as a Shy Person

Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.thebeliefscoach.com/experiment

🏆Please vote for The Big Drink Rethink in the ITV bCreator Awards 2025 1. Click on the link below 2. Pop in your email 3. Select I’M A SUBSCRIBER / FOLLOWER 4. Select CREATOR SHORTLIST 5. Hit SUBMIT YOUR VOTE 6. Scroll down to the Podcast bCreator category and vote for THE BIG DRINK RETHINK Here’s the link:🔗 https://www.bcreator.co.uk/awards/