No Alcohol Needed: The Podcast

You quit drinking. So why does it still feel like something’s missing?
A lot of people expect life to feel better right away after quitting alcohol. And in some ways, it does. But there’s another side of sobriety that doesn’t get talked about enough.
That feeling of not knowing who you are anymore.
In this episode, we’re talking about identity after alcohol and why so many people feel lost, disconnected, or unsure of themselves after they stop drinking.
This is a real, unfiltered roundtable conversation with Julie Miller, Steve Knapp, Barclay Mullins, and Mike Coyne. We get into what it actually feels like to rebuild your identity, why it can feel so uncomfortable, and how to start finding your way back to yourself.
We talk about:
Why sobriety creates an identity gap
The difference between who you were told to be and who you actually are
Why it’s easier to figure out who you’re not first
The fear of being seen and accepted without alcohol
How to start rebuilding your identity one step at a time
If you’ve ever thought, “I quit drinking… now what?” this episode is for you.
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Check out all the resources we offer to support your alcohol free life:
- One-on-One coaching
- Free weekly support group on Zoom
- 180+ episode archive
Find it all here: 
https://noalcoholneeded.net

Parenting teens and adult children after addiction is not something people talk about enough.
You get sober… and suddenly you're face to face with the damage, the guilt, and relationships that don’t feel the way you hoped they would.
In this episode, we’re having an honest conversation about what it looks like to parent older kids in recovery. The guilt that shows up. The fear of rejection. The question of whether you’ve already done too much damage. And one of the hardest parts… how to set boundaries when you feel like you don’t have the right to.
We also talk about what’s actually possible. How trust gets rebuilt. What helps relationships heal (and what makes it worse). And how to keep showing up when it’s messy and takes longer than you want it to.
If you’re trying to figure out how to parent teens or adult children after addiction, this episode will help you feel less alone - and give you a clearer path forward.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
How to parent teens and adult children after addiction
How to handle guilt in sobriety without letting it run your life
Why boundaries matter (even when it’s hard)
How to rebuild trust with your child over time
What to do when your child pulls away or won’t talk to you
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Check out all the resources we offer to support your alcohol free life - 
- One-on-One coaching
- Free weekly support group on Zoom
- 180+ episode archive
Find it all here: 
https://noalcoholneeded.net

Why do I feel lonely, even when I’m surrounded by people?
In this episode, we talk about the deeper kind of loneliness that comes from people pleasing, shape shifting, and trying to fit in instead of truly belonging.
We share our own experiences of losing ourselves in relationships, how sobriety changed our connections, and why loneliness can actually get louder before life starts to feel more connected.
We also explore what it takes to stop chasing approval, how relationships evolve when you start growing, and what real belonging actually feels like.
If you’ve been feeling disconnected or like you don’t quite fit anywhere, this conversation will meet you right there.
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If you want support in your alcohol-free life, join our Monday night Zoom meeting. You can get the link at noalcoholneeded.net
Get Better At Handling Stress - Without Alcohol. A free, live virtual workshop to help you stop feeling like you’re one bad day from falling apart. Learn more here: https://createalifesofull.com/manage-stress-without-alcohol/

Why is it so hard to try the things that matter most to us?
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, Julie Miller and Steve Knapp are joined by Sean Rollinson and Matt Shambo to talk about why so many people struggle to overcome fear of failure.
Most of the time, the fear isn’t really about failing. It’s fear of judgment, shame, or proving our worst thoughts about ourselves true.
For people in sobriety, this fear can feel even stronger. Without alcohol to numb uncomfortable emotions, we have to learn how to deal with anxiety without alcohol, face uncertainty, and take risks anyway.
In this conversation we explore:
Why fear of failure often shows up as procrastination • The surprising link between fear of failure and fear of success • How perfectionism keeps people stuck • Why confidence only comes after facing fear
If you’ve ever wondered “What if I try and fail?” this episode will help you see fear differently and move forward anyway.
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Click here to save your spot for the free workshop "Get Better At Handling Stress Without Alcohol" - https://createalifesofull.com/manage-stress-without-alcohol/
Connect with us and meet the No Alcohol Needed team:
Website: https://noalcoholneeded.net

Burnout doesn’t usually happen all at once.
Most of the time, it builds slowly until overwhelm, exhaustion, and frustration start affecting your mood, your work, and your relationships.
So how do you know if you’re dealing with normal stress or full burnout?
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, Julie Miller and Steve Knapp are joined by Chrissy Janiga and Joshua Pair for an honest, down to earth conversation about the warning signs of burnout, how burnout is different from stress, and what actually helps when you feel like you’ve pushed yourself too far.
The group shares personal experiences with burnout, the emotional patterns that lead to it, and practical ways to recover before things completely crash.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or like you’re constantly pushing harder without relief, this conversation will help you understand what’s really going on and how to reset.
In this episode, we talk about:
The early signs of burnout most people ignore• The difference between stress vs burnout• Why people-pleasing and perfectionism often lead to burnout• Emotional warning signs like irritability, exhaustion, and hopelessness• The role of control and unrealistic expectations• Practical ways to recover from burnout and restore balance• Why rest and self-care are necessary for emotional health
Burnout can show up even after people stop drinking or start working on themselves. Removing alcohol often brings clarity that makes it easier to recognize when life has become unsustainable.
This episode explores how to recognize burnout early and how to respond in healthier ways before exhaustion takes over.
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Connect with us and meet our guests
https://noalcoholneeded.net

Have you ever thought, “My life looks great… so why do I still feel empty?”
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed: the Podcast, we unpack one of the most overlooked parts of emotional wellness — emotional needs.
We talk about: • What emotional needs actually are • Why most of us were never taught about them • How unmet emotional needs show up as anxiety, anger, people-pleasing, or loneliness • Why sobriety alone doesn’t fix emotional emptiness • And how to start identifying and meeting your needs in healthy ways
If you’re alcohol-free but still feel disconnected, restless, or unfulfilled… this conversation might explain why.
Understanding emotional needs is a game-changer for recovery, relationships, and long-term wellbeing.
👇 Resources mentioned: – Join our Monday night Zoom meeting: https://noalcoholneeded.net/meeting-faqs/ – Connect with Mike Coyne + worksheets: https://www.curevine.com/ – Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
If you’re new here:
At No Alcohol Needed we talk about emotional intelligence, self-worth, sobriety, and how to build a life you don’t wish you could escape from.
Learn more about the podcast and the work we do:https://noalcoholneeded.net
Meet our guests: https://noalcoholneeded.net/meet-the-voices/

Most people don’t drink again because they miss alcohol.They drink again because they don’t know how to deal with difficult emotions.
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, Julie Miller, Steve Knapp, Matt Shambo, and Sean Rollinson unpack what’s really happening when emotions feel overwhelming - and why trying to escape them actually makes them even harder to deal with.
You’ll learn:
- Why suppressing emotions backfires- How to identify what you’re actually feeling- What it means to “sit with” an emotion (without spiraling)- Practical tools for handling big feelings in sobriety- How emotional intelligence protects long-term sobriety
If you’ve ever thought, “I can stay sober… I just hate how it feels,” this conversation is for you.
Life without alcohol doesn’t have to feel like a fight.
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If you’re new here:
At No Alcohol Needed (formerly Through the Glass Recovery Podcast) we talk about emotional intelligence, self-worth, sobriety, and how to build a life you don’t wish you could escape from.
Learn more about the podcast and the work we do:https://noalcoholneeded.net
Meet our guests: https://noalcoholneeded.net/meet-the-voices/

Social media affects mental health more than most of us realize. And now that AI-generated content is everywhere, it’s becoming harder to tell what’s real, what’s performative, and what’s draining us.
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, Julie Miller and Steve Knapp are joined by Robbie Pike and Kristyna Holler for a candid conversation about loneliness, doom scrolling, AI content, and what real connection actually looks like in an alcohol-free life.
If you’ve ever:
Scrolled for “just a few minutes” and felt worse after
Compared yourself to someone online and felt inadequate
Gotten angry in a comment section
Felt strangely lonely after spending hours on social media
Wondered whether AI is changing how we relate to each other
This conversation is for you.
We talk about how social media affects mental health, how AI is reshaping authenticity online, and why so many people feel more disconnected than ever - even while constantly “connected.”
And most importantly, we talk about how to protect real human connection in a world that keeps pushing us toward screens.
Whether you’re sober, sober-curious, or simply trying to build a healthier emotional life, this episode will challenge how you think about social media and connection.
At No Alcohol Needed (formerly Through the Glass Recovery Podcast) we’re hanging out at the intersection of emotional wellness, personal growth, and living an alcohol-free life.
We talk about emotional intelligence, self-worth, sobriety, and how to build a life you don’t wish you could escape from.
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Learn more about the podcast and the work we do:https://noalcoholneeded.net
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Meet our guests:
https://noalcoholneeded.net/meet-the-voices/

You can be doing everything “right” in your relationships - showing up, being agreeable, staying committed - and still feel deeply lonely.
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, hosts Julie Miller and Steve Knapp are joined by Mike Coyne and Christen Miller for an honest conversation about why relationships often feel empty even after you’ve stopped drinking and started working on yourself.
This isn’t a conversation about fixing your partner or trying harder. It’s about the patterns many of us learned early on - performing, people-pleasing, staying quiet, avoiding conflict -  and how those habits quietly block real connection.
Together, they explore:
Why effort doesn’t automatically create intimacy
How performative relationships keep us feeling unseen
The difference between being partnered and being connected
Why vulnerability feels so risky - and why it matters
How healthier relationships support emotional stability and happiness
This episode is for anyone who is emotionally aware, doing the work, and still wondering, “Is this really as good as it gets?”
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If this conversation resonates and you’re feeling stuck in “emotionally aware but still lonely,” you’re not alone.
You can explore more episodes and resources here:https://noalcoholneeded.net
 

Stress doesn’t go away just because you stop drinking - or just because you do the ‘self care’ stuff that someone told you to do.
In this episode of No Alcohol Needed, we talk about how to handle stress without alcohol in a way that actually works in real life. Not bubble baths. Not pretending everything is fine. Not dumping positive thinking on top of real stress and hoping it goes away.
Self-care - the kind that works - helps regulate your nervous system, build self-trust, and move through overwhelm instead wishing you could numb out.
Julie Miller and Steve Knapp are joined by Janice Dowd and Amber Fenner for an honest conversation about:
Why stress feels so overwhelming
Why self-care often “doesn’t work”
How stress shows up physically and emotionally
What real self-care looks like in daily life and in crisis
How learning to handle stress builds confidence and self-trust
This episode is for anyone who feels overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, or tired of relying on alcohol or other numbing habits to cope.
 
If you’re new here…
At No Alcohol Needed (formerly Through the Glass Recovery Podcast) we’re hanging out at the intersection of emotional wellness, personal growth, and living an alcohol-free life.
We talk about emotional intelligence, self-worth, sobriety, and how to build a life you don’t wish you could escape from.
Learn more about the podcast and the work we do:https://noalcoholneeded.net
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Want support beyond the podcast?
Free weekly group sessions on ZoomReal conversations that go beyond the alcoholhttps://noalcoholneeded.net/meeting-faqs/
Ready for deeper support?
Private coaching to guide you toward the joy and purpose you’re looking for. https://noalcoholneeded.net/recovery-coaching/
Explore more
Julie’s writing on sober living and emotional growth:https://createalifesofull.com
Browse the full library of podcast episodes:https://noalcoholneeded.net/category/blog/