Ep 135: What Have You Got To Be Unhappy About? | Rethinking Alcohol |

Why do high-flying CEOs, investors, and ultra-successful leaders, people with every resource at their fingertips, still end up stuck, lonely, and reaching for a drink?

In this episode, Anna Donaghey is joined by Lindsey Frances, a leadership psychologist. Together they unpack the universal experience of feeling trapped by drink, the myth that outer success delivers inner fulfilment, and why human suffering pays no attention to your bank balance.

Is the pull to drink really about stress, status, or socialising, or is it something deeper: unmet needs for purpose, connection, and calm? As Lindsey and Anna discover, real change starts with a single question: what are you truly thirsty for?

Highlights:

00:00 Intro: High achievers & high-functioning alcohol use

02:03 What boardrooms and AA rooms have in common

05:15 The trap: shame, disconnection, and feeling unworthy

06:09 Why suffering feels the same in £1000 shoes or 99p flip-flops

09:36 Success as an external “cage”; failing on the inside

12:14 Coping at the top: alcohol and other numbing strategies

13:32 Addiction is disconnection, so what comes first?

15:13 Alcohol as a (false) shortcut to connection and significance