Send us Fan Mail

Ever notice how one drink can leave you feeling completely disconnected from yourself the next day — flat, insecure, or unable to name why? That's emotional numbing, and I learned firsthand that it's not just a mood. It's your nervous system's built-in "quiet down" switch getting flipped without your permission.

In this episode, I'm sharing two personal stories — one with a glass of whiskey and my dad, one with a glass of wine on my anniversary trip — that revealed something I didn't expect: alcohol didn't just relax me. It cut me off from my intuition, the exact somatic read I rely on with clients, with my son, and with myself.

I break down the biology behind it — what GABA actually does in the brain, why cortisol spikes the next morning and mimics anxiety, and why serotonin drops can shorten your fuse for a full day after just one drink. But I also go further than the biology, naming something I've never said out loud on this podcast before: the felt sense of disconnection from my own intuition when a substance interfered with my signal.

This is what emotional numbing actually looks like from the inside — not a dramatic blackout, but a turning-down of something I didn't even know was on. And alcohol is just the most obvious mute button. Scrolling, overworking, overthinking, staying too busy — they all do the same thing: let whatever's running underneath keep running without you ever having to feel it.

If you're a midlife woman who's done everything right and still feels stuck, disconnected, or unsure why your emotional regulation seems to disappear overnight after something as small as one glass of wine, this episode names what's actually happening in your body — and why I think noticing it is the whole practice.

What you'll learn about emotional numbing in this episode:

1. Why one drink shut off my intuition and somatic awareness for 24 hours

2. The real biology behind alcohol, GABA, cortisol, and serotonin — and what it does to nervous system regulation

3. Why I'm noticing "mommy wine culture" losing its grip on more women in my circles every month

4. How I recognize my own mute buttons — the everyday ways I numb out beyond alcohol entirely

5. Why I think noticing what goes quiet is more powerful than forcing a tidy answer

This is exactly the kind of pattern work I do with women inside my Intuitive Circle — not "should you drink or not," but what happens in your body when something interferes with your signal, and what's actually running underneath. The Circle is on a summer pause right now, and I'll be reopening doors in September. Get on the waitlist at lesleyturner.ca/theintuitivecircle for first access.

If this episode named something you've felt but couldn't put words to, subscribe, leave a review, and send it to the woman in your life who needs to hear it. You know exactly who I'm talking about

Book 1:1 www.lesleyturner.ca/services

Subscribe to the pod:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/730IxK6Le9bwgAwKQBbrfM?si=a649923b6d4f4a4b
Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-emotional-truth-nervous-system-regulation-somatic/id1896858957