Mindful Drinking & Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
How do I drink less without quitting completely? What's the difference between alcohol-free, low alcohol, and no alcohol drinks? Why can't I handle alcohol like I used to? How do I cut back when everyone around me is still drinking? Why do alcohol-free drinks cost so much?
If you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s or beyond and asking these questions, this is your podcast.
Welcome to the essential show for midlife adults who want to drink less, on their own terms—without the pressure to quit completely, follow rigid rules, or label themselves as sober.
I'm Denise Hamilton-Mace, your mindful drinking mentor, magazine editor, writer and public speaker on all things low, no and light. Each week, I help stressed parents and busy midlife adults navigate their relationship with alcohol through practical approaches grounded in real-world experience and behaviour change strategy, not willpower or wellness culture
What you'll get:
Mindful Moderation Solo Episodes – Deep-dives answering the questions that matter to sophisticated drinkers who want to moderate smartly:
- How do I cut back when my partner still drinks at home?
- Why do premium alcohol-free drinks cost the same as full-strength versions?
- How do I navigate social situations when I'm the only one moderating?
- What really works: willpower vs. strategy?
Drinks 101 Mini-Series – Short educational episodes demystifying the confusing world of low and no alcohol drinks:
- What does ABV actually mean?
- What's the real difference between non-alcoholic, alcohol-free, low alcohol, and light beer?
- How are alcohol-free drinks made?
- Which drinks are safe for pregnancy, driving, or recovery?
Meet the Makers – Intimate conversations with the founders, brewers, distillers, and visionaries creating the premium drinks and experiences that support your moderation goals.
This podcast is for you if:
- You want drinks that taste like the ones you already love
- You're looking for practical advice that fits your demanding life, not another wellness overhaul
- You recognise that coasting with mid-strength drinks, zebra-striping, or bookending your evening with something non-alcoholic are all valid strategies
- You want better mornings without giving up celebrating life's special moments
This isn't about going completely dry or reinventing yourself. It's about keeping energy for what matters most: family, health, career, and living life on your own terms.
Join the moderation revolution happening in midlife – because while Gen Z gets the headlines, you're the one actually doing it.
Mindful Drinking & Moderation in Midlife: How to Drink Less, On Your Terms
Mindful Drinking Advent 17: You Don’t Need Dutch Courage
GET READY FOR YOUR BEST (ADULT) CHRISTMAS YET & GET YOUR FREE MINDFUL DRINKING ADVENT CALENDAR AT http://mindfuldrinkingadvent.com/
On Day Seventeen of the Mindful Drinking Advent, we tackle festive exhaustion and the myth of Dutch courage.
When you’re tired, overstretched, and running on fumes, alcohol can feel like the thing that helps you keep going — but this episode questions whether it was ever really doing the work.
You’ll explore the difference between energy and permission, how alcohol masks social fatigue, and why choosing the right people (or choosing rest) can be more powerful than pushing through another event.
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You can email me at denise@lownodrinkermagazine.com
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🗣️ Join the growing community on Substack
https://lownodrinker.substack.com/
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🌱 Reset the way alcohol shows up in your life with the 4 Week Midlife Mindful Drinking Reset
https://www.lownodrinker.com/4weekreset
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🧮 Drinking Impact Calculator: Find your personal tipping point
https://mindfuldrinkinginmidlife.com/products/drinking-impact-calculator
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🧐 Take the quiz and find out what's REALLY driving your midlife drinking habits
https://www.lownodrinker.com/
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*Some links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase, Low No Drinker may earn a commission. Thank you.
Welcome to day 17 of our mindful drinking audio advent here to help you get through a Christmas less intoxicated on your own terms with me, Denise Hamilton Mace. I am your mindful drinking mentor, and you're listening to the Mindful Drinking and Moderation in Midlife podcast. We are halfway through one of the uh last big party weeks in terms of maybe office parties and that sort of thing, although we've still got a whole nother week to go till Christmas Day itself, and there's plenty of social events to be catching up with between now and then. And you might be flagging a little bit by now, you might be feeling a little bit exhausted. It is a full-on few weeks, all the way from Thanksgiving through to New Year's Eve. And if you have been participating, partaking, socializing, going out, catching up with people, attending different work dos, maybe for different departments, if you've got clients or you're a consultant, there's just so many different places that you could have been out experiencing the festivities. That it's just bloody exhausting. Just listing that I'm tired by now. So one of the things that we often rely on alcohol for is to give us that sense of energy, to give us that um that boost, that pep, that Dutch courage to be able to keep going in these situations, to be able to keep showing up. But what I want you to think about today is the fact that is it really the booze that is making you show up as the best version of yourself? Or is it just you who brings the energy anyway? The alcohol was never really doing the work. It was just giving you the permission that you didn't need to be yourself, to let go and to stop worrying about what other people think, to dance badly and not care, to sing terribly and not be embarrassed, whatever it is. It's that sort of Dutch courage that we've come to rely on alcohol for. But Dutch courage was never meant to be a um a positive thing. It the term itself was used as an insult uh to Dutch soldiers during the war. So it's not something that you need to rely on to bring the best parts of yourself to any event. And if you don't feel like you can bring the best part of yourself, then maybe it's not the event for you to be going to at that time, and you take a little bit of time out to re-energize yourself. I released an episode of the podcast a little while ago, it was episode 106, and it's about drinking to your personality type and your social energy, be that as an introvert, an extrovert, or an ambivert. I discovered after changing the way that I drink that despite having worked in hospitality for 24 years and socialized every single day of my adult life, I'm actually an introvert. And alcohol for me was what forced me outside of my comfort zone, but in a way that left me feeling drained and depleted. I highly recommend you go and check out that episode. I won't repeat all of it in here because obviously that was more of a deeper dive. Um, I'll link to it in the show notes for you. In today's Mindful Drinking Advent, I have listed a few drinks for you that are great for those sharing moments because when you do have the right people around you to raise a glass with, to share a moment with, then you will feel energized, then you will feel like you can be yourself, and then you won't feel like you need any Dutch courage or any chemical assistance from anything that might be in your sphere of understanding to help you have a great time and enjoy a Christmas less intoxicated on your own terms. I will see you tomorrow for day 18.
