This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life

I got this book on Kindle after life coach Mel Robbins mentioned it in a blog post. I like her a lot because she is direct and explains the ‘why’ behind things and thought well maybe this book will be interesting. I was wanting to control my alcohol intake both for medical reasons and also I suspected it was messing with me in terms of short term memory plus I didn’t want to be drinking all the time in front of my kids. But I saw life as kinda lackluster sans wine. The author does a great job of explaining the unconscious mind vs. the conscious mind with regard to making change in our lives. This is critical. She also explains a lot of the ‘why’ regarding reasons we drink. Also critical. I did not expect this to happen, and didn’t foresee it (I did not read any reviews on the book before reading it), but almost immediately upon starting this book I literally stopped craving alcohol. Yes I’ve got an acute awareness of that fact and I think about it several times a day. It’s weird not to buy a bottle every time I go to the grocery store. It feels amazing and was so simple that I cannot quite explain it. I’ve had some wine since I started reading it. Meh—it was just ok, not the ‘pull’ it used to have (for two decades) for me. I found I am much clearer, motivated, alive, nicer, kinder, happier, and look forward to life more since not drinking. I don’t feel like I’ve missed or am missing out on anything. I see alcohol for what it is and make decisions accordingly. Kind of like making a decision on a piece of cake or fatty meal choice. You can still have it, but how will your body and mind feel after? I didn’t set out to ‘quit’, and I don’t demonize those who drink around me. I find I drink an equal amount of water/iced tea/La Croix in a conversation or at a party as I would have previously drank in wine. That was a big learning for me. I highlighted SO many passages in this book because so much resonated with me. I also bought the book in hard copy to go over again and more easily see my notes and highlighting. Plan to listen to the audible version as per another recommendation. Haven’t told anyone I quit drinking because I didn’t set out to quit; I am just letting this all unfold. But those around me have noticed a definite difference in me and that makes me feel better than a glass of wine EVER did. For perspective, I think I picked up this book around end of May and maybe have had a total of two glasses of wine since then. It’s July 7. The holiday was a non-issue for me- amazing! Wine has lost it’s status in my life, what a gift. Thank you for writing this book!

(2025 update: now over three years sober, not a drop of alcohol! 🩷🩷 ONLY because I read this book) This book was recommended to me by a Reddit user, but I didn't buy it- just planned to. A couple weeks later, I heard comedian Pete Holmes discussing it on a podcast and thought, eh, screw it, let's give it a go, I don't want to go to AA and this is my only other choice. I'm a 30-year-old woman. I bought this last August (I was 29). For over five years, I drank 6-7 drinks a night. Every single night. I could force myself if I really, REALLY tried to go a night without, but I'd spend the entire night miserable and wishing I were drinking. I'd also often wake up on my days off and begin drinking, only to nap in the middle of the day and drink more that evening. I could not enjoy myself sober for long. I'd just be sitting there thinking about when I'd get to drink next, even if I was in the company of people I loved. I'd often also be the only person having a drink in social situations, family or friends... Ugh. It was awful. I thought I was doomed to eventually have to succumb to AA, but here's the thing... I REALLY didn't want to go to AA. I followed the instructions of this book to a T. I read a chapter a day, I was sober when I read them, only read each chapter when I was in a positive mindset, and didn't cut back drinking during the whole process. Here's the thing, fam. A lot of people like to cite the bit about withdrawal in the book, where she basically says withdrawal isn't as big a deal as people make it out to be. While I understand the sentiment, here's what you're missing: One of the core rules of the book is to not cut back on your drinking while you read it. Near the end of the book, she acknowledges people who have far more advanced alcoholism and encourages them to get help. She doesn't just say "lol withdrawal isn't real, you'll be fine". The reality is, for most people I know who have a drinking problem, they don't wake up every day and drink until they pass out that night. They have an insidious situation that they hide under the guise of 'unwinding' and then it just turned into a nightly thing. This book acknowledges both sects of people. As for any botched science, I legitimately don't care if there's a couple things in there that aren't 100% accurate, because logically, I'm aware that drinking is inherently TERRIBLE. If you've gotta draw from a flawed study or two in a sea of other perfectly sound examples, I'm here for it. I needed to quit drinking. Some people complain that it's a ripoff of The Easy Way To Stop Drinking. If you'd read the book, you'd know that Annie Grace is friends with Allen Carr. You would also know that The Easy Way books are extremely dated. As a woman in my 20's at the time, I'd read several chapters of Allen Carr's book a couple years ago and had difficulty latching on to how very, very old school it all sounded. Annie's book isn't like that at all. It's current, so it's easier for younger people to read. Even putting the science aside (most of which is SOUND, by the way), you can't flat-out deny that we're indoctrinated into drinking culture and made to believe drinking is 'normal' and 'fun' when, sorry fam, it's not. It's just not. It's poison. If you think this book is a waste of money or otherwise BS, I'm here to tell you that the book isn't the problem here. AA teaches you that the problem is you, not the alcohol. Annie Grace teaches you that the opposite is true. Sorry this is all over the place. My whole point is this: I quit a horrible addiction to alcohol using this book, and I believe that most people could do the same. ONLY people who are capable of following the rules, however (same could be said for Allen Carr's Easy Way book). This book changed my life. SAVED my life. I quit drinking within the last two-three chapters and wept tears of joy. I will never stop singing its praises.

Se conosci la lingua inglese può essere un buon spunto di cambiamento

Am Anfang stand ich den vorgestellten Ideen (für mich teilweise völlig neue Sichtweise) recht kritisch gegenüber. Im Laufe des Buches wird alles jedoch umfassend wissenschaftlich belegt ohne trocken zu werden (das Buch, ich schon 😀). Die persönlichen Anekdoten und Beobachtungen der Autorin überzeugen zusätzlich, helfen sich im Geschriebenen wiederzufinden und machen diesen Ratgeber zu einer angenhmen Lektüre. Da es sich stellenweise um eine ziemlich andere, als die weit verbreitete Herangehensweise an das Thema handelt, fragt man sich schon, ob das so alles wirklich stimmen kann. Ich finde den Aufbau des Buches auf den ersten Blick auch nicht sehr einleuchtend und es gibt viele Wiederholungen, bin aber überzeugt, dass es sich um ein sehr durchdachtes Konzept handelt. Denn: Es wirkt! Zumindest bei mir - und ist das nicht alles was zählt? Habe seit der Lektüre keinen Tropfen Alkohol angerührt (und habe es auch nicht vor) und dabei nicht das Gefühl, auf etwas verzichten zu müssen (das Buch sei also insbesondere jedem empfohlen, den der Gedanke nie wieder Alkohol trinken zu "dürfen" beunruhigt). Im Gegenteil, ich habe so viel an Lebensqualität, Zeit, Energie usw gewonnen, dass ich das Leben nach diesem Buch ohne Alkohol als wesentlich bereichender und lebenswerter empfinde. Besonders gut gefällt mir auch, dass die Autorin keinerlei "Druck" (z.B. durch moralische Fingerzeige oder ganz konkrete Handlungsanweisungen - nicht zu verwechseln mit Empfehlungen für einen neuen Umgang mit dem Thema und Tips für möglicherweise schwierige Situationen mit einer alkoholfreien Lebensweise) gibt. Nein, man wird lediglich umfassend informiert, die Entscheidung, was man letzendlich daraus macht, bleibt bei einem selbst und der Rest ergibt sich (Tip: beim Lesen Zeit lassen, um zu verinnerlichen und den Druck weiter zu minimieren) quasi von selbst. Ich möchte hier nicht zu dick auftragen, um nicht unglaubwürdig zu wirken, aber kann es nicht lassen, zu sagen, dass ich finde, dass JEDER dieses Buch gelesen haben sollte. Und wenn Sie schon soweit sind, sich nach Büchern über dieses Thema zu informieren, was kann es da schaden eines zu lesen, dass das Potential hat ihr gesamtes Leben auf positive Weise zu verändern ohne sich dabei schlecht zu fühlen (selbst wenn Sie sich nach der Lektüre gegen einen alkoholfreien Lebensstil entscheiden, so wird es jedoch IHRE EIGENE, BEWUSSTE und FREIE ENTSCHEIDUNG sein, so dass man sich nicht als "Versager" fühlen muss - Sie haben also nichts zu verlieren!) Und wer mit dem geschriebenen Wort (alleine) nicht so viel anfangen kann, sei auf die zahlreichen Videos (u.a. Coaching mit Geld-Zurück-Garantie), die Community, Audioversion usw hingewiesen, die die Autorin ins Leben gerufen hat. Also: Bitte lesen. Ernsthaft. Die paar Euro sollte sich jeder Wert sein und im schlechtesten Fall passiert halt einfach nix. Im besten schenkt Ihnen dieses Buch ein neues Leben (Nein, es kann nicht all Ihre Probleme lösen oder die Welt zu einem besseren Ort machen, aber es kann Ihnen die Lebensfreude und Kraft (zurück)geben, um besser damit umzugehen). Einziger Nachteil: Leider (noch?) nicht auf Deutsch verfügbar.

Life changing reading experience ever.Thanks to Annie Grace,she did a great job to the humankind and a great service ever..

Whatever your opinion and personal situation, this book is worth an open-minded read. It has changed my perception of alcohol in a simple, matter-of-fact way. I can't "unsee" what I have seen now, and I can't "unknow" what I now know. I owe so much to Annie Grace, I got my life back. Thanks!!!

This book was life changing. I am a weekend warrior type drinker and did not realize my weekend drinking was having on my happiness throughout the week. I started reading this on an all inclusive cruise and could already feel my desire to drink decreasing and since the cruise have not drank in two months. I found this book very helpful for reframing beliefs around alchohol like "I need alcohol to relax" or "I need alchohol to have fun" by using up to date science and evidence to counteract these beliefs. The book is very non judgemental and makes it clear that if you do stop drinking alcohol or significantly reduce it it should be because you prefer life without not because you are depriving yourself of something that gives you the illusion of pleasure. Highly recommended for anyone that would like to change their relationship with alcohol or as a gift to a loved one you are concerned about