E162: What to Expect Cognitively in Early Sobriety

Cognitive health is the ability to think clearly, learn new things, and remember information, events, and what you’ve learned in the past. As problem drinkers, we aren’t that great at thinking things through, but it’s not because we’re losers, it’s because alcohol damages the brain and messes with our cognitive health. In episode 159 I talked about what you can expect physically when you stop drinking and I mentioned that the cognitive improvements are a bit slower to show up. The cognitive improvements deserve their own episode, so in this episode you will learn how alcohol damages our cognitive abilities, how this puts us at risk to relapse, how long it takes for our cognitive health to recover after you quit drinking, and what you can do to take care of your cognitive health. What to listen to next: E69: alcohol shrinks the brain, but what does that mean E90: new study finds just one drink shrinks the brain Attentional bias episodes 127 & 128 E75: how sleep recovers in sobriety E17: alcohol and the heart E122: how exercise can support your recovery E119: chronic stress and the brain Resources I offer: Community & Meetings: Living a Sober Powered Life https://www.soberpowered.com/membership The Sober Mindset Course https://www.soberpowered.com/the-sober-mindset-course (Free Private Podcast) 5 Blocks Holding You Back From Quitting Drinking https://www.soberpowered.com/5blocks Weekly emails on Thursdays where I explain the latest episode in more detail, share images to help you understand the concepts, share announcements, interviews, writing, discount codes and more. https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6107260617e156c4839768b5 Ask a question, it could appear on the show! https://forms.gle/oKubeJKMZimkHvUJA   Thank you for supporting this show by supporting my sponsors. Learn more: https://www.soberpowered.com/sponsors If you enjoyed this episode please consider buying me a coffee to support my work https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberpowered Sources are posted on my website Disclaimer: all of the information described in this podcast is my interpretation of the research combined with my opinion. This is not medical advice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices