Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober (E265)

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When will being sober feel rewarding? When does it get easier? When does the boredom go away? In this episode you’ll learn about the process of recalibrating your reward system after quitting drinking. I’ll explain how alcohol messes up the reward system, the process of recalibration that occurs during the first year, what happens if you relapse, and what you can do to make the process go a little bit smoother.

What to listen to next:

E220: The Hippocampus and Alcohol: Blackouts, Memory Deficits, and Learned Associations

E224: Alcohol Makes Your Brain Stop Working

E211: The Anticipation of a Drink

E247: Sober Sleep is the Best Sleep, But Not Right Away

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• The non-negotiable mindset

• Sober milestones: what to expect when you quit drinking

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Cite:

Gillian Tietz. Rewiring Your Reward System After Getting Sober (E265). Sober Powered. 2025

Please respect my intellectual property and properly credit me if you share my work.

Sources

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5. Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., & Baler, R. D. (2007). Reward, dopamine, and the control of behavior: Implications for addiction. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(11), 482–488.

6. Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2016). Neurobiology of addiction: A neurocircuitry analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 760-773.

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8. Crews, F. T., Nixon, K., & Wilkie, M. E. (2004). Exercise reverses ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis in the adult brain. Alcohol Clinical Experimental Research, 28(1), 32-39.

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13. Feldman, R. (2012). Oxytocin and social affiliation in humans. Hormones and Behavior, 61(3), 380-391.

14. de Manzano, Ö., Cervenka, S., Karabanov, A., Farde, L., & Ullén, F. (2010). Thinking outside a less intact box: Thalamic dopamine D2 receptor densities are negatively related to psychometric creativity in healthy individuals. PLoS One, 5(5), e10670.

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17. Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2016). Neurobiology of addiction: A neurocircuitry analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 760-773.

18. Heilig, M., Egli, M., Crabbe, J. C., & Becker, H. C. (2010). Acute withdrawal, protracted abstinence and negative affect in alcoholism: Are they linked? Addiction Biology, 15(2), 169-184.

19. Squeglia, L. M., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S. F. (2011). The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development. Clinical EEG and Neuroscience, 42(1), 1-10.

20. Feldman, R. (2012). Oxytocin and social affiliation in humans. Hormones and Behavior, 61(3), 380-391.

21. Crews, F. T., Nixon, K., & Wilkie, M. E. (2004). Exercise reverses ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis in the adult brain. Alcohol Clinical Experimental Research, 28(1), 32-39.

22. Krebs, R. M., Schott, B. H., & Düzel, E. (2009). Personality traits are differentially associated with patterns of reward and novelty processing in the human substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area. Biological Psychiatry, 65(2), 103-110.