The Next Round: Anna fell in love with podcasting
03/13/25 • 33 min
Looking back it is easy to see how alcohol drains your time, but for a long time Anna couldn’t quite admit what the problem was.
But Anna is not looking back, and her positive attitude is helpful for us all.
Welcome to the next round where we explore how you fill the space once occupied by wine, hangovers, and the mental weight of drinking culture.
When Ex advertising exec Anna Donaghey stopped drinking, she found herself with a new problem – time. What do you do with it? For Anna, the answer lay in something she’d been drawn to for years but had never quite pursued – podcasting.
“I had many obstacles in my mind—confidence, self-doubt, perfectionism. But just cracking on and doing it proved to be easier than I thought.”Anna launched The Big Drink Rethink, a podcast exploring our relationship with alcohol, the culture around it, and what life can look like without it. It was a creative outlet, a way to channel her curiosity, and, unexpectedly, an anchor that kept her steady in her alcohol-free life.
“It keeps me very intact in this world of alcohol freedom, which is very important to me.”But her journey to this point wasn’t smooth. It was a long, slow unraveling of drinking habits that had once felt normal, even essential. Anna’s story isn’t one of dramatic rock bottoms, it’s one of creeping dissatisfaction, of realising that drinking wasn’t just stealing her time, but also her sense of self.
Advertising, Drinking, and a Life on Repeat
Anna spent over 25 years in advertising, an industry where drinking wasn’t just acceptable – it was expected. She remembers long lunches, late nights, and the endless socialising that blurred into work.
“I sometimes think about whether I was attracted to the industry because there was permission within that space to drink.”She wasn’t an outlier. Alcohol was woven into the job – client meetings over wine, celebratory drinks, networking events. It was an industry where drinking was both professional and personal, making it even harder to see when it had crossed the line from social to habitual.
When she got married, her drinking didn’t slow down. In fact, it ramped up. Parenthood brought a new challenge: identity loss. Motherhood was disorienting, and the reality of maternity leave was nothing like the glowing, fulfilling image sold to women.
“I found maternity leave deadly dull. I found being a young mum incredibly boring. And I felt shameful that I wasn’t reveling in it the way I was ‘supposed’ to.”The loneliness, the shift in identity, the quiet grief for the life she had before, Anna managed it the way she had always managed difficult feelings: with wine.
“I knew that life had changed forever. I was no longer the advertising girl, but I wasn’t quite an established mum. I worried I never would be.”You can find Anna on instagram at bigdrinkrethink and The Big Drink Rethink podcast on all platforms
Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram
Looking back it is easy to see how alcohol drains your time, but for a long time Anna couldn’t quite admit what the problem was.
But Anna is not looking back, and her positive attitude is helpful for us all.
Welcome to the next round where we explore how you fill the space once occupied by wine, hangovers, and the mental weight of drinking culture.
When Ex advertising exec Anna Donaghey stopped drinking, she found herself with a new problem – time. What do you do with it? For Anna, the answer lay in something she’d been drawn to for years but had never quite pursued – podcasting.
“I had many obstacles in my mind—confidence, self-doubt, perfectionism. But just cracking on and doing it proved to be easier than I thought.”Anna launched The Big Drink Rethink, a podcast exploring our relationship with alcohol, the culture around it, and what life can look like without it. It was a creative outlet, a way to channel her curiosity, and, unexpectedly, an anchor that kept her steady in her alcohol-free life.
“It keeps me very intact in this world of alcohol freedom, which is very important to me.”But her journey to this point wasn’t smooth. It was a long, slow unraveling of drinking habits that had once felt normal, even essential. Anna’s story isn’t one of dramatic rock bottoms, it’s one of creeping dissatisfaction, of realising that drinking wasn’t just stealing her time, but also her sense of self.
Advertising, Drinking, and a Life on Repeat
Anna spent over 25 years in advertising, an industry where drinking wasn’t just acceptable – it was expected. She remembers long lunches, late nights, and the endless socialising that blurred into work.
“I sometimes think about whether I was attracted to the industry because there was permission within that space to drink.”She wasn’t an outlier. Alcohol was woven into the job – client meetings over wine, celebratory drinks, networking events. It was an industry where drinking was both professional and personal, making it even harder to see when it had crossed the line from social to habitual.
When she got married, her drinking didn’t slow down. In fact, it ramped up. Parenthood brought a new challenge: identity loss. Motherhood was disorienting, and the reality of maternity leave was nothing like the glowing, fulfilling image sold to women.
“I found maternity leave deadly dull. I found being a young mum incredibly boring. And I felt shameful that I wasn’t reveling in it the way I was ‘supposed’ to.”The loneliness, the shift in identity, the quiet grief for the life she had before, Anna managed it the way she had always managed difficult feelings: with wine.
“I knew that life had changed forever. I was no longer the advertising girl, but I wasn’t quite an established mum. I worried I never would be.”You can find Anna on instagram at bigdrinkrethink and The Big Drink Rethink podcast on all platforms
Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram
Previous Episode
The Next Round: Cecilia is living the lifestyle she encourages others to follow
For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness and encouraged others to prioritise their well-being. But one thing didn’t align with her values: alcohol.
Cecilia didn’t drink often, but when she did, she didn’t like how it made her feel. It clashed with the lifestyle she professionally advocated.
Welcome to the next round—where we explore what happens after people evaluate their relationship with alcohol. Whether you’re a daily drinker or an occasional binge drinker, alcohol can affect your life in both physical and psychological ways. Can quitting open up new perspectives?
This week’s guest, Cecilia Shandeva, a Workplace Wellbeing Professional and Grief Recovery Specialist, proves that no matter where you start, social pressures remain the same—but cutting out alcohol can make a huge difference. While the physical benefits of quitting are clear, the biggest gains may come from the psychological transformation.
“Everything about drinking isn’t fully aligned with me, who I really am as a person.”For years, Cecilia lived a life dedicated to health and fitness. She ran marathons, led group workouts, and encouraged others to prioritize their well-being. But one thing wasn’t aligning with her values: her drinking habits.
“I considered myself a social drinker, I’d go out maybe once a month, and sometimes I’d take a break for a couple of months. But then there were times, like around birthdays or Christmas, when I’d drink more than I planned. Even when I thought I was controlling it, I wasn’t.”Despite drinking less frequently than some, the impact was undeniable. The hangovers, the anxiety, the lost days of recovery – Cecilia realised that alcohol was taking away from the life she wanted to live.
“If I went out planning to have one or two drinks, it would usually end up being more. I was waking up feeling awful, regretting the night before, questioning my decisions – even if I hadn’t done anything particularly bad.”Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram
Next Episode
The Next Round: Angie discovered she needed to heal
Angie Thompson grew up in a turbulent home, where shouting, swearing, slammed doors, and harsh words were the norm.
But when she quit drinking, she uncovered a truth that changed everything—her past wasn’t just something to escape from; it held the key to her transformation.
Welcome to The Next Round, where we explore what happens after the last drink—because sometimes, understanding why you drank in the first place is the first step to discovering a new purpose. For Angie, that purpose became clear: by healing herself, she could help others do the same.
When Angie Thomson decided to quit drinking, she had no idea it would lead to a complete transformation -not just in her own life, but in the lives of others. Nearly two years into her alcohol-free journey, she’s now a trauma-informed coach, guiding people through the deeper reasons behind their drinking.
“Take that leap of faith and just go for it. You won’t regret it – you’ll never look back.”For Angie, sobriety wasn’t just about removing alcohol. It was about understanding why she drank in the first place. That realisation pushed her into a new career, one rooted in healing.
Finding the ‘Why’ Behind the Drinking
Angie describes herself as the life of the party -the first to arrive, the last to leave, always pushing others to drink just as much as she did. But behind the fun-loving image was something deeper.
“Drinking was something to stop myself feeling all of that trauma people tend to suppress.”Like many, she didn’t initially connect her drinking to her past. She grew up in a volatile household, where shouting and name-calling were the norm. As a child, she internalised it. “We don’t think logically as kids. We think, ‘My parents are arguing because of me.’” Those feelings of unworthiness followed her into adulthood, shaping her drinking habits.
It wasn’t until she stopped drinking that she recognised the underlying wounds that alcohol had been numbing.
“Trauma isn’t what happens to you. It’s what happens inside of you because of what happened to you.”You can find out more about Angie at angiethompson.thementalwellbeingcompany.com/ and on instagram @AngieMWC
Find Club Soda:
The Club Soda Tasting Room is at 39 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5RR
Find us on Instagram
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