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Empowering you to change your relationship with alcohol using a science-based approach. 🌿✨
Explore a healthier lifestyle with alcohol-free travel adventures. 🌍✈️

06/12/2024

Is your monkey demanding? 🐒
Do all your plans have to include your monkey?
Does it wake you up in the middle of the night, disrupt your sleep, and make you feel exhausted?
Does it embarrass you?
Do you feel like you can not get away from your monkey?
Is there always an event or vacation coming up that you must bring it to?
Does your monkey get out of control and fill you with regret?
Does your monkey give you hanxiety?

Have you tried to get that monkey off your back, but nothing worked? Is it time for a different approach?

All joking aside, I know from personal experience how difficult moderation can feel?
Unbeknownst to me, I had already tried and failed to moderate for a long time. Negotiating with myself, “Only on holidays and special
occasions, only on the weekends, Thursday through Sunday, only one a day.” The promises to myself went on and on, made and broken over and over again, this taught me not to trust myself and affected my confidence and self-esteem. It left me wondering, “WHY” can't I do this?

So, I explored that exact question. "WHY" I started to learn “why” in a logical, scientific way. I did not have to believe in a higher power or shaming labels. It was based on facts, how our brains work, and what it does to us on a physiological and mental level. I learned that there was nothing wrong or defective with me. I learned to question my beliefs about it in society, the substance itself, and most powerfully, within myself. It was an unlearning
and relearning that happened.

I am coming up on five years since I explored changing my relationship with my "monkey" 🐒:). I am still learning every day, and I have learned that:

There is no rock bottom you need to hit.
If you ask for help, it does not mean you are labelled and doomed to a life of shame or forever.
There is no wagon to fall on and off of. Really!
You do not need to stop to get help.
Tasting it after a period of abstinence won't lead me to spiral out of control. It has become small and irrelevant.
Joy and fun are not being enslaved to a liquid in a glass.
There are no rules; you decide what you want and what works for you.
You can hold it lightly; this doesn't have to be a dark experience. I also had so many fun experiences that I don't regret; I'm still having fun now—without the hangovers or “not so fun” incidents.

If any of this resonates with you and you would like to learn more about it, book a call with me. I am happy to share. Book a call with me to learn more. https://calendly.com/karenlantigua/lets-chat

10/02/2023

Limited spots available!

08/21/2023

Camping anyone? My new favourite AF cocktail .

I used to think camping without drinking alcohol wouldn't be fun! Well….
My friends are still fun✔️
The campfire is still fun✔️
The sunset is still beautiful ✔️
Pizza and Daves Lemonade at a winery was delish✔️
Mornings are 100% better

Are you curious about what your life could be like if alcoholol wasn't running the show?

What about that excites you? What about that scares you? What could your future look like if alcohol didn't take centre stage?

04/04/2023

Are your thoughts creating fear?
Fear stopped me from making changes I knew I needed to make?
Do you think any of this sounds familiar to you?
1. Won't I be fun anymore?
2. What if I am boring?
3. What if my friends won't want to be around me?
4. How can I go on vacation without drinking?
5. If I take a break or stop, does that mean I am an alcoholic?
6. What will people think?
7. Do I have to stop forever?
Bla bla bla - my brain does not stop.
Thoughts are your brain's way of keeping you safe (avoiding pain), comfortable ( this is what I know, and it's easier), and, unfortunately, at times, stuck.

Growth happens on the other side of discomfort and awareness.
Is it possible to ask yourself if those statements are really true?
What fun am I missing?
Is it fun to feel the way I feel after drinking? Am I really being fun?
If I remove alcohol from the equation, will I still be fun?
What is fun? What do I even like to do that is fun that does not involve drinking?
WOW! One question led to another, and I discovered some new and beautiful things about myself with the help of coaching.
I could rewrite that original belief based on how I answered those questions, it changed how I felt, and that led to changing my behaviour?

💪🏼

03/10/2023

Growing up, I believed that Alcohol was just part of everyday life, something everyone did to; celebrate, de-stress at the end of the day, consume if you had some good news or bad news, or drink with certain foods, red wine with beef, white wine with fish. I never questioned where those beliefs or ideas came from, and I just fell in line with the rest of society.
For a few decades, I drank socially, never questioning my relationship with alcohol because I never believed it was a problem. After all, I wasn't an alcoholic and drank “responsibly” and comparatively to my peers.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the monumental change I would make regarding alcohol.
A glass or two or three of wine, once the highlight at the end of a tough day, started me questioning things. I noticed that my sleep was interrupted, and I suffered from anxiety; I couldn’t lose the extra pounds I was carrying no matter how hard I tried; I kept looking for medical reasons why I felt like crap, endometriosis, high blood pressure, stress? I did not have much energy, and when I tried to cut down or stop drinking, I found it challenging and unpleasant. I would wake up in the middle of the night promising myself that tomorrow would be different, only to repeat the cycle.

But then a few things happened that changed everything. My Mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and this made me very aware of my health; I wanted to be there and present for her during this difficult time, not rushing home to wine to help me deal with my feelings; I read Annie Grace’s book “This Naked Mind” It was a major wake-up call.
Grace’s book was particularly enlightening, making me realize that you did not have to hit some proverbial “rock bottom” to explore your relationship with Alcohol. If you wanted to explore moderation, that was fine too, with no “wagon” to fall on and off.
She also reveals how alcohol's harmful effects can affect anyone, regardless of how much or how little they drink. Her book helped me to see drinking alcohol in a new light through scientific facts that changed my beliefs about drinking.
This has not been a linear path for me with all-or-nothing thinking. After a few years AF, I have mindfully experimented to see if I did like the taste of certain drinks I once loved ( believing I drank them b/c I liked the taste), like white wine and beer; I was looking forward to tasting them only to be shocked at how they smelled and tasted the way I imagine rubbing alcohol would.
When you drink alcohol, it passes into your bloodstream. It travels to every part of your body, even passing the blood-brain barrier, which usually keeps harmful substances away from the brain. I have become aware that the first drink gives you an undeniable dopamine and serotonin high (happy hormones), leaving you feeling giddy and light, and lasts about 20 mins. That feeling has you reaching for the next drink as your brain is wired to chase dopamine, and that feeling says “hey now, that felt good, do it again.” It’s our primitive survival brain looking for energy.
The only thing is that it is a chemical, a toxin, producing that feeling. Every drink after that first one has your body working overtime to bring you back to homeostasis, hence the depressive effects of alcohol.
Don’t get me wrong; it’s not always easy. I just returned from an overseas conference saturated with drinking; I was served drinks without asking for them and had mixed feelings about that whole experience. I am not judging anyone for drinking or thinking of myself above anyone because I don’t.
I am not an alcoholic, but I am a non-drinker. It is a choice I have made for myself, and it has been life-changing.
If you don’t like how Alcohol is making you feel or feel it has more power in your life than you like and are curious to learn more, DM me, I offer one-on-one coaching via ZOOM.

02/14/2023

This photo was taken at Bat Cave in Krabi. It’s the result of a very dirty, at times scary, climb. The result is worth it, we can do hard things that make us uncomfortable, that’s how we grow.

01/19/2023

After 11 years the CDC announces new guidance on Alcohol consumption. The Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), points out that no amount of alcohol is safe and that consuming any more than two drinks a week is risky.

When I was drinking this news would have made me feel uncomfortable, and bad about myself and then I would have got defensive and then brushed this off with statements like "everything gives you cancer", "you only live once and have to enjoy yourself", " I drink responsibly and in moderation".

Now when something makes me feel uncomfortable and defensive I take a minute to be mindful, I have learned that this is a warning sign, that something is not sitting right with me and I should pay more attention to it.
If this news is setting off alarm bells or creating uncomfortable feelings or annoyance it may just mean that this is worth taking a second look at.
If you are tired of the drink, hangover, promise to drink less, rinse and repeat cycle, and want to chat about what all this mindful drinking stuff is all about. I am here. No pressure to quit, no rules or labels.

12/14/2022

The side effects of taking a break from Alcohol are something we should get excited about.
Better health, relationships, sleep, less stress and dare I say it better s*x. (Its true) 😲

In the past this is the point where I would have rolled my eyes and felt uncomfortable with the topic and said something like “yeah, everything makes you sick these days”. 🙄

I knew something wasn’t right for me around Alcohol, that it was making me feel unwell and that I was drinking more than I wanted to.

Taking a 30-day break from drinking was one of the best things I ever did for myself. (BTW-30 days took more than one attempt).

If you’re thinking about what your life could be like without Alcohol or with less Alcohol.
I encourage you to get curious around why you drink, the answer really surprised me, hence the surprised look in my profile photo.

If you are interested in talking about Alcohol without blame, shame, labels, and all of that nonsense, reach out, lets book a time to chat.

Some fellow coaches and I are running a program coming up in January called “The Alcohol Freedom Masterclass”. I will be sharing details soon, but if you want more information now just drop me a line, I can let you know all about it.

Be curious, see what is possible.

11/17/2022

In this episode, I discuss the physiological effects that drinking alcohol has on the brain and body at different levels of consumption and over time.

09/29/2022

Here are just a few of the reasons I chose to quit drinking.

1. For my Health

You may have heard some of the common health benefits of quitting drinking such as lowered blood pressure, weight loss and clear skin but did you know alcohol is a cancer causing agent?

2. For My Memories

Have you ever had a great night with your friends only to realize you barely remember it the next day? Blurry photos and, in hindsight, embarrassing moments are all that's left of that great night. Reducing alcohol intake means increasing those great memories with your friends.

3. For Myself

Maybe the most important reason, I chose to go on this journey. Learning to love myself just as I am.
If the content on my page resonates with you, head to the link to my site to check out my before and after pics as well as my free download on why moderation may not be working for you.

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Toronto, ON

Website

http://aflifejourney.com/

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