Episode 14 - Summer Brain: Dopamine, Pleasure and Staying in Control

As the days get longer and brighter, many of us feel happier, more energetic, and more social—but what's happening in the brain? In this episode, we explore the powerful role dopamine plays in shaping our behaviour during the summer months and how increased sunlight can influence our mood, motivation, and reward-seeking tendencies.

We take a closer look at the links between dopamine and food, alcohol, and drug use, examining why cravings and overindulgence can feel more tempting at this time of year. Most importantly, we share simple, practical strategies to help you enjoy the best of summer while staying balanced, mindful, and in control.

Whether you're curious about the science of pleasure or looking for ways to support your wellbeing this season, this episode offers valuable insights and actionable tips to help you make the most of the summer months.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Welcome back to Send It Brains at Work, the podcast where Neurodivergent Chaos meets workplace reality, and somehow we make it useful. And today the sun is out, we're coming to the end of El Nino, the middle. I don't even know. That's what it's called is massive heatway. Which is called the boy in Spanish. So I'm a bit like we've got the boy. The boy. But which means in the UK we have collectively lost our minds because, like you've just been saying, we're feeling a bit hot, a bit sweaty, a bit bothered. And the heat in England is nothing like the heat in any other country. It's odd. I've just come back from Fort Aventure, we've been saying this. The heat's kind of manageable there, but here it's just different, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 0:57

Yeah. And obviously, everybody loses their mind a little bit. We've got the World Cup as well in the middle of it. Let's not forget about that. Yes, we absolutely have. Everybody is enjoying well, maybe not everybody, but the beer garden is calling.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

I mean the beer garden's calling whether you like or dislike football, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Realistically, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Especially if you're neurodivergent.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Exactly, exactly. And all of our Eurodivergent brains, we go a little bit feral. I know I'm certainly I'm eating a bit weirdly, probably drinking a little bit more. I'm forgetting to drink more water. Um, and heat waves and that summer summer summer summer um it turns our regulation systems a little bit into scrambled eggs, let's be fair.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Yeah, do you feel like you're one of those Madame Two Swords wax models just like melting into everything?

SPEAKER_02 1:42

Oh, that is me completely right now. Melting.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Oh crikey. So today we're talking about neurodiversity and kind of what goes with it. So the overeating, alcohol, drugs, mental health, heat waves, and why summer turns our regulation into real real issues.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah, exactly. So um, before we get into this episode, I haven't even said this to you, but um your fails and your wins this week. Go on. Oh, do you know what?

SPEAKER_01 2:15

I had a really, really good fail, and it was a win, and I've forgotten what it was. That was but that's pure no I don't know. I remember thinking about it at the time it was happening, and it's totally left me. Yeah. Um, one of my fail wins is gonna be we've we've just literally been discussing this earlier. Is I am trying to get support emotional support kittens. Uh my husband is not a cat person at all. The dog we lost in September, and I'm like, do I ask him? Don't I ask him? I feel it's gonna be a fail, but I'm gonna just rock above my kittens. I'm just gonna turn up and be like, surprise!

SPEAKER_02 2:50

Yeah, absolutely. And well, you've as you've said you've been on holiday for a week as well. Surely that's a win because it was a childless holiday as well. Do you know what?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

It was an absolute win. I've never been so bored in my life. Oh, really? This was my first holiday away for my kids. I've never left them for say more than one or two days for like a wedding, and we were really, really lucky where people were like, Well, I'll watch them, I'll watch them when we had a full week. Oh, honestly, after day two, I was like, So, what do we do? Because obviously, it's not really appropriate. I know we're all inclusive, but I shouldn't really be drinking at 10 o'clock in the morning. I should have stuck, but then what if it's just gonna carry on all day? Am I gonna make myself sick? Like, we're my full brain waiting to overdrive. So I did a lot of googling. Um, we were looking at I went to travel, so we were in Fort Aventura. There's a little island called La Lobos or something, which I Googled is something about wolves, lobos means wolves, which you can go to, and then you can climb volcanoes and stargays, you can ride camels. Did I leave my sunbed?

SPEAKER_02 3:49

No, I'm assuming not.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Not once, not once, I didn't do any of the nice fun things I planned.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Did you take any books or anything like that?

SPEAKER_01 3:55

I did, and what was next in the hotel had a bookshelf which I could swap in and out of, but generally I just have my audiobook on. Just chilling. And I I did upgrade to adults only as well, so I didn't end up chatting to people who had kids and then looking after their kids and playing dolphins in the pool.

SPEAKER_02 4:14

So my um my win this week, my girls, I was saying this to you earlier, my girls have turned 14, so I've got twins, I know. So that was for uh that was Monday, and so their special interest is wrestling um and WWE at the minute. One of them has decided she wants to be a commer, professional WWE wrestler, the other one wants to be a referee, which I thought that was really interesting. Yeah, um, and um I hadn't really thought about that, but that's our special interest at the minute in our house. So um their birthday present um is I've managed to get them tickets to the wrestling on Sunday at Birmingham. So by the time this goes out, we will have been there and we'll be back home, and hopefully, they will have had the best day. So my win is that I organised all of that and I'm rubbish at keeping secrets despite it, and so I managed to keep that in, despite the fact they have been nagging me since they found it was out it was a European tour. I uh they've been nagging and wanting to go, and I've been knowing that we've been getting we've had the tickets of all of that. Oh, that's so that is my win that I managed to keep it a secret. You're gonna be like Mum of the Year after this. Well, hopefully, hopefully. And my fail this week, um I think it's just the usual Doom Piles if I'm honest. I mentioned it earlier. Yeah, I feel like I'm living in Doom Pile Hell at the minute, so um I need to sort my life out and um get them sorted, but in all honesty, I just don't, it's not gonna happen this weekend, let's be fair. No, I suppose. I don't have the motivation, but I do feel like when I'm sitting at my desk, I'm just yeah, surrounded at the minute.

SPEAKER_01 5:59

It's hard, especially when the weather's nice. You don't want to be in, you want to be out. But I think doing piles is still a win because you're actually you're progressing things to piles, so it's not just a disaster like my children's bedroom is. But I suppose that kind of links to my fail, which is gonna be my win.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Right.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Because obviously, we've just come in, haven't we? Come back off holiday. There's washing all over, everything needs to be done. I keep whinging to you about the state of my house and trying to get it done. So I literally went into our blitzing mode and I've got everything sorted. I'm gonna be painting all weekend. I told my partner that I want the radiators off, I want this. You've just seen me talking to my friend's dad, who's gonna get me some ladders so I can strip the ceiling on my stairs. And is it gonna get done? Probably not.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

You've got some brilliant ideas.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Am I gonna start as much as possible?

SPEAKER_02 6:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

We'll see, we'll see next week then if it's my fail became a win or if my fail became an ultra fail.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yeah, there we go. So that's our wins and fails for this week, then. So and ambitions. And yeah, do you know what? I like that, and I'm yeah, a little bit of ambition in there and a goal. Yeah. So um we wanted to kind of look at that link between um drinking, overeating, that impact that weather, that really nice weather can have on those negative sides of things and mental health and and all of those types of things. When we're looking at overeating, let's call it the neurodiverse summer edition. Um, there's there's a real relationship, I think, between food and eating in summer, and it it's all a bit of a journey, isn't it? Sometimes there are some people that forget to eat.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Yes. Yeah, I think it's a hard one, isn't it? Because you can become so hot that you're like, oh, I'm not eating. And also in the summer it's supposed to be, ooh, we're gonna have picky bits. Oh, I love a picky bits. But actually, my picky bits end up being like a nice Marxie's quiche, then some dip, then some that's exactly what I mean. And it's not healthy picky bits, exactly. It's the unhealthy picky bits, and especially with some of them that they're doing at the minute, like a nice Caesar dip. Oh Caesar bit, it's delicious with like bits of bacon on the top.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Oh, nice.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

Yeah, my picky bits become so unhealthy, or I'm like, oh, a charcuterie board.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Um I think there's um a chakerie board, I've just realised what you've said. I know it is, yeah. Your cheese and meats board. Yeah, I like that. Anyway, when quite often, and we're obviously talking about the opposite, but quite often neurodiverse people they might struggle to notice when they're when they've not eaten, for example. Yeah. So um they can go all day, really hyper-focus on something, and they've and I think you've spoken about that before as well in past episodes, and you can just become that hyper-focused you forget to eat, and then all of a sudden it gets to six o'clock. Yes. You realise that you're starving, and I know for me, I will inhale anything that I can find to get me over that kind of yeah, the fact that I've realised I've not hungry.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Yeah, I'm not hungry, I've not eaten. You eat so fast that your body doesn't have time to let it settle, yeah. And then you're like, oh, because I do it, I'll sometimes get to half past three school run, and I'm like, oh, I've got to eat. That's exactly what we were talking about earlier, wasn't it? Yeah, you just rush it, and your body isn't actually acknowledging what you're doing until afterwards, and you're like, oh, I've just wasted all my calories, eating like 17 packets of cookies.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

But it's also, and you said this earlier, you eat that fast as well. You don't you don't recognise that you've eaten. Yeah. So then you carry on eating more because you want to then enjoy the food that you've that you're eating.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Well, I know that's that's what I do, but yeah, and you probably want to pick the best choices because if I've got nothing there like a pre-made salad, it's straight into the pantry, but I'll get some crisps, I'll get some cookies, something I can eat on the exactly, and then all of those like carbs, those sugar that that sugar that you're getting, the cold drinks, it brings a bit of a dopamine effect, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 10:01

As well, you get a bit of an immediate boost because you've eaten all of that thing. And then the shame spiral hits.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Oh god, and the embarrassment is so bad for it, don't you? Well, I suppose it's not it's not you being bad, it's just your misreading the signals because your brain's kind of juggling the heat and the busyness and the different sensory overload and your social pressures, yeah, that you just forget about things and then you do it, then you're like, Oh, why did I do that? I feel awful.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Exactly, exactly. And then alcohol for me, and this is why we kind of picked up on this. I was like, the sun is shining, the sun comes out. Um, we all think we're on that bit of like Love Island episode, don't we? Yeah, maybe, maybe not, but it's um your neurodiversity brain is using alcohol for the same reason that you use food, it's that regulation. Um, for me as well. If I'm in a social situation that I feel uncomfortable with, I know I'll reach for alcohol at that point because I feel a lot more, I don't know, karma and I don't you kind of lose a little bit of yourself, don't you? With what I'm trying the term I'm trying to use, you lose that kind of social anxiety. Yeah, you do with it.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

You don't have to mask as much, do you? You can kind of pick on yourself which makes it a little bit worse sometimes. But yeah, I feel especially in the summer it's like crisps at 10, pims at 2. It's the struggle trying to figure out what's going to be when. But I think it also kind of lures your I can't think what the word is, introsception. Yeah. Um because then you don't realise, I especially don't realise how drunk I'm getting. Exactly. And obviously, becoming dehydrated, I obviously become ten times louder, ten times mouthier.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Yeah, exactly. And the more alcohol you drink, the more dehydrated you become as well, obviously. But um for me, I don't recognise that I'm dehydrated because I'll just reach for another alcoholic drink.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah, and you will you just keep going with it, don't you? And then obviously, I think it it kind of slips, then you someone will make a comment and then you'll get kind of the shame back, and then obviously you have that next day of anxiety, don't you thinking what did I say, what did I do? And then it makes it worse because you let your mask slip, yeah, and then you don't want to do it again, but you do do it again, and it becomes like this repetitive cycle.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

Yeah, it does, it does. And when we were doing our research into kind of the drug side of things, and that is more research, but it the drug side of things can bring in that same kind of pattern. So, cannabis, for example, it can have that sensory softening um element, but then there are also um stimulants for energy and it can help with regulation as well. Yeah, so and that's why quite sometimes you'll see that link between alcohol. I got data from um Harley Street ADHD, NeuroBeta, and Psychology Today. So this is these are where my I've got my data from. So I'll read them out for you. Adults with ADHD are two to three times more likely to develop a substance disorder. Um, up to a quarter of people in addiction treatment also have ADHD, um, but most of that is isn't diagnosed yet. And autistic adults are more than twice as likely to experience alcohol-related problems. Right. And what else did I find? Um Autistic people have over four times the rate of subst substance use disorder. Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

There's a there's a lot there. And you think this would be more widely spread because it is a huge problem. I did read or I saw in a news uh programme, I'll find the link and share it. Every freshwater shrimp tested within the UK has traces of cocaine in it. Does it matter how much cocaine is in our water systems? So we're saying there's still how's he getting the water system? From that is disgusting. It absolutely is. You've like just ruined my Friday now. There's apparently traces of cocaine in our drinking water.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Oh, you've like you've proper ruined my weekend now. Oh sorry.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

No, sorry. So we're all druggies, that's probably why it's starting to mate. Um but yeah, I'll find the links for that because obviously I can't just throw that accusation out there.

SPEAKER_02 14:07

I was gonna say, and just and just a disclaimer, we are not druggies. Do you know what? The the vape side of things, that is probably one of the things that scares me the most with the with my kids, and because it's so readily available, regardless of what they do. Oh, yeah. It's so readily available and so easy for them to get. It's terrifying. We're going on off on a completely different podcast term. No, we are.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah, I agree. Cigarettes are now hidden behind a screen. Why app vapes? And they are literally everywhere. I was looking at the bins walking around, even though I'm in a village, they all have those vape stickers on. Yeah, like people just have to be putting them off, and now you have to charge them, don't you, rather than just the disposable ones. But I'm like, just no, it's not for me.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

No, anyway, let's look at the science then. Um, so we've got dopamine. So we already know we've we've looked at this in episodes before. This is our um our more please, our really happy chemical that um it is that neurotransmitter that drives our motivation, our reward, um, and from a real neurodiversity point of view, it's a sensation seeker, isn't it? Yes, it is. So, for many NDHD, um dopamine's differently, so they can be lower or they can be inconsistent or it can be harder to access. So um that is why quite often you find people um are looking for dopamine hit. That's where your food comes in, your alcohol, your sugar, that novelty, and then the su your summer brain kind of goes, Yes, that's exactly what I want. I want more of that.

SPEAKER_01 15:43

Oh, it does, and I find it it's these nice fruity little drinks as well that are luring people in. Like it's in the sugar skin that dopamine fix, or when I'm eating something like cider, fruity cider. Yeah, and you'll have seen me do my food dance. Yeah, you know, when you get something really good, like it is it's a for some people, like my son, food is a staple that you just need to live, it's not enjoyable. But for me, I'm like, oh yeah, everything, and that is it does give you that huge, and that's probably why people are getting bigger because you are eating more, you are drinking more, it's just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 16:16

Yeah, exactly. So research shows that there's um high sensation seeking directly linked to dopamine, um, the dopamine D2 receptor activity. So they're seeking a higher sensation seek and seeking that will they'll like pursue really intense sensory experiences. Yes. So when you're in that stress situation, your brain is looking for it even more, and you'll go into those habit loops as well. So that includes things like your overeating, as you were kind of saying, and the drinking side of things, too.

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Yeah, and they do say people with ADHD are thrill seekers, you know that they don't have a lot of sense of danger, is what I have been reading. So people I I mean, I personally hate theme parks and rides and things like that, but there's a lot of people like the bungee jump in the from the airplanes as well, your what's it called, parachuting. Apparently, oh, this is like your thrill seeking that comes with ADHD.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Quite often with neurodiverse brain, it's not about being indulgent, it's being dopamine driven. I know I can feel there's a real difference between for me between dopamine driven and when I need food, if that makes sense. Last night, despite the fact I'm telling I've been telling you I'm doing my slim fast and all of that type of stuff, I still ate like six cheese and onion rolls last night before I went to bed. I wasn't hungry, it was pure dopamine, and I couldn't like stop it if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Yeah, and I do think the more you're telling yourself I can't have this, it makes doing this, it does make it a lot worse. Whereas if you just try to ignore it, I mean I can't, I absolutely can't, I know as well that we all have a mine's food addiction. I I can sit here and just think about it and think about it until I've eaten it, and then I'm like, oh dopamine fix, I'm okay now. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

So we will look at we will like move on and look at some different things that you can do to help you with that, yeah. But for me, it's certainly it's still a work in progress, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

It is absolutely and it's it's people often seek it through the sensory experience as well, don't they? Like regulating their emotions, nervous system um kind of grounding, cutting through the overwhelm, and obviously giving that predictable comfort. That's also ones that we don't think about, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 18:29

Yeah, it absolutely is, and with that sensory side of things, but when you're in that summer situation, you've got your bright lights, yeah. And um sat here with my sunglasses, so we've got bright lights, we've got warmth, and again, we were both talking about actually we both struggle when we do warm as well. And then you've got your cold drinks, so that's you've got two completely different sides of those um like those effects, haven't you?

SPEAKER_01 18:58

Two sides of the coin, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 18:59

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

If they go together really, really well because obviously you're too hot, you want to have a cold drink, exactly. It's all the time. And all of these dopamine and your dopamine all merging together to make you a happy little person. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

And then you've got some we before we recorded this episode, we've gone for a walk out in the sun um to give us a little bit of a boost and give us a bit more energy back, yeah. But that means you're getting your better mood, you're getting more energy, but you also you might become a little bit more impulsive as well. I know I do. And my dopamine is always looking for rewards as well. Yeah, it's always a reward, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

And my willpower is zero. If you were like, oh, let's get palm or like okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Or let's just go for a quick drink or let's have a walk or something.

SPEAKER_02 19:43

Okay, yeah, yeah, let's do it. Exactly, exactly. You kind of move into well, why not now?

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:49

Um, and we move into those sides of things.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Or I'll start again tomorrow, I'll make better choices tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Exactly, and you get back into that who um that look so we're looking for more food, we're looking for more drinks, um, we've got more socializing, and then all of that sensory stuff is like building up. So you end up with that it you're not in that lack of discipline, it's like you've got your neurodiversity mix, all of these different things going on in the environment. Of course, it's gonna get to that point. Then you've got your hidden saboteur, so um, and this is me all the time. So heat increases that cognitive overload, all of those different things are happening, you're becoming overwhelmed, you can't like your regulation isn't quite where it needs to be. Yeah, and this is when it affects my decision-making skills, exactly. But I have zero patience as well, it completely goes, yeah, yeah, terrible. So then we're already working harder to regulate anyway. Adding a little bit of sunshine, all of those extra stimulants, um, heat added on top of that, it just adds an extra layer that we need to cope with.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah, it does. Obviously, it's hardly harder to regulate, you're just not gonna happen. That's when we start to forget things. We're forgetting to drink the water, we're forgetting to eat food, we're forgetting that um we're gonna get sorry, we're gonna get more overwhelmed a lot faster. Like, I purposefully leave my Stanley where I'm working because I know I will not make a drink if it's not.

SPEAKER_02 21:21

You make your cup, your Stanley.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

Yes, my huge cup comes with me everywhere because otherwise it's just not gonna happen. Really? Yeah, I just I'll get through it. I get through about two a day if it's with me, but then if not, I can just go about and they're like, oh my head hurts, I feel rubbish, I feel dehydrated. Because you just like you say you forget, everything just leaves your head, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_02 21:41

I mean, um I've put my water on your shelf and I haven't touched it at all. Yeah, yeah, it's not it's not being touched, it's not gonna happen. And I but it makes me feel better the fact that I carry it around. Yeah, that's there. But it's not it's the overload, then yeah, exactly, exactly. So I want To look at us, reframing things then, it it's looking at um food, alcohol, or even drugs for those people that use them, they're often used for the same underlying reason it's regulation, yeah. So they can help with social anxiety, they can help with sensory overload or overwhelm, emotional intensity, boredom, boredom, mate. Yeah, um, masking fatigue, quite often I might use them to give me a little bit of a boost. Um, it can help with stress and it can also help with loneliness.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Yeah, and I think we also don't think about the social aspect of it as well, it's also the pressures that are put on people. Exactly, exactly. That's what needs to be thought about because alcohol obviously gives you that fast dopamine, but it reduces your inhibitions. Food gives me that fast dopamine, but then I also get kind of a bit of a grounding with it, so it doesn't exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

So looking at why it hits our neurodiverse brains harder then, um, we're wired differently as far as dopamine goes. We're we're seeking for reward, um, we're looking for more stimulation and impulse, but what that means then is it's just harder for us to pace ourselves as well.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

So, because it's harder, isn't it, for a neurodiverse brain, they say that it's harder for them to keep that dopamine trying to chase it and chase it because it's a higher spike, but it's harder to create it, so they're always chasing it. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

So, let's look at a bit of a toolkit then to help us. Yeah. Some of the things that we can do are look at regulation first. Okay, so when when we're in that little bit feel, um we're in the heat, yeah, we're looking for something, a bit of a dopamine fix. I think it's worth kind of just taking a couple of minutes to sit and work out what what is it that we need? Am I thirsty? Is it that I'm overstimulated? Am I masking too much? Yeah, am I tired or am I actually hungry? Which bit do we need to actually look at?

SPEAKER_01 24:02

Yeah, you need to take the time out, really concentrate on it, identify it, pinpoint it as much as you can. Or sometimes I have to sit there and I do ask myself all this, and I go, Am I actually just being greedy?

SPEAKER_02 24:13

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

I mean, I'll still probably gonna eat the cookie, but at least I'm identified. You've labelled it.

SPEAKER_02 24:19

Then you can look at when you're when you've identified what it is, you can look at potential swaps. So rather than looking for food or alcohol, do you need like cold water, using cold water on your wrists or to cool you down on key like points on your body? Yeah, that that is something that really helps with that dopamine fix. Music, doing a little bit of a silly dance instead, or finding some sort of sensory toy, yeah, um, that can be really helpful.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

It's not even a sensory toy, I will sit and click my pen all day long to the point where I actually break the clickers on my pens.

SPEAKER_02 24:53

It's just something to do, yeah, to give your hands something to do. Yeah, yeah. I find I play with my phone. I like, I'm not on my phone, I'm moving the screen up and down, that's it. Do you? Yeah. I'm not looking at it or anything, but that walk, we've just done that, go for a walk. Yeah, cold shower blast could help as well. Another thing, because obviously we're not saying don't drink, we're not saying don't eat, we're not saying don't socialise, but you can look at how you can summerproof your environment.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Absolutely. One of them I'm actually quite into is the non-alcoholic gins. Because I'm not a lager drinker, and when I was pregnant, I was like, oh, I might get some non-alcoholic gin. You can't really tell the difference, but you still have a good time with your friends, yeah. So you're not getting drunk, you're not losing your inhibitions. The drink still tastes pretty much exactly the same, you know what I mean? Because nobody really likes tonic, do they? They do we just drink it, but it's still the same kind of and I think that helps. I don't know like if no if no percent lager's the same.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Well, I I have particular brands um that I like, so I like um a particular non-alcoholic lager and a non-alcoholic uh Guinness, actually. Oh, it's quite nice, that's quite refreshing. Yeah, there you go. My face says no. I know I did. But you could do things like like that, take your own snacks, take things that you know aren't gonna be as I don't know, unhealthy perhaps. Take some healthy snacks.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Yeah, but don't go too boring because you know if you packed your carrot sticks and your celery sticks.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

It's not the same as packet crisps.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

No, pick something that's kind of in between, so you know you're not gonna be like, yes, let's get a takeaway on the way home. Actually, it's have these and it'll probably tie me over.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Yeah. Hydrate before you dehydrate. Electrolytes all the way. Exactly what I was just thinking. Get into the if you're able to get into the habit of like having your drink, uh, drink of water as well. Um, that helps. I know somebody who is very strict with that with themselves. I am not. Um that's that's not me. I've got here, I have a leave early plan. I do tend to do that if I'm completely honest, but that's more um because I get to the point that I have people too much, so I need to I have to have a um plan to be able to go. That's a good idea. As opposed to and I have it in my brain and I know what I need to do. I have very much um a tipping point. If I don't leave at that plan, um planned day, I won't uh it gets to a point where I don't can't like don't stop can't.

SPEAKER_01 27:22

You're like, I don't have that leave early plan, I'm always at the point of no return. If I had a couple of drinks, I'm out out. Yeah, and that's probably the issue with it because like you say, you just lose all those inhibitions, don't you?

SPEAKER_02 27:31

Yeah, exactly. Then you have your for us, and we always say it, we have no judgment here, yeah. Um, so um it's just being gentle with yourself. You recognise that you've done it, um, move on and find your your toolkit, the the tools that are gonna help you. Yeah, um, and I am always one for saying um it's about being compassionate to yourself, you've got to be kind. Would you say what you were saying to yourself to somebody else? You wouldn't. So don't kind of don't be mean to yourself, don't be bullying yourself about things.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Yeah, it's not that you know I uh I need to drink less, I need to do this. It's it's thinking about it but making the active choices as well. So I'm gonna go out, am I gonna take two bottles of wine with me? No, I'm not, I'm just gonna take one. I'm not saying that well handle two bottles of wine, which in that sense it's just it's making sure you haven't got too much so you can limit yourself, isn't it? Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 28:26

Let's now bring it on to the workplace, okay? Yes, you might have your after-work drinks, barbecues or fun days, and you've got that added added heat, stress, the the social press pressure of things.

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Because there is a lot of that in that is someone else's barbecue.

SPEAKER_02 28:40

Yeah, exactly. And you want to go to these things without kind of the judgment for eating differently or needing shade or needing just to take a break. Um, some of the things that workplaces can do differently is make sure you've got non non-alcoholic options there. Yeah. Um having the quiet spaces to help people because some people do get very overwhelmed. Have like flexible breaks, options, food, not don't police it, or like don't make a point of saying something to somebody who may have brought their own stuff or want to do differently.

SPEAKER_01 29:11

Or if someone's a bit too much of an overeater, they're just enjoying what everyone's bringing for pop look or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Exactly, exactly. But also don't make alcohol the centre of socialising as well. Yeah, that's I think that's really important, and also let people just opt out. Um, they opt out and they don't label them as being antisocial uh and just let them be.

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Yeah, because some people it's like oh they're not coming again, but actually they might not be good in those social settings. Yes, they can talk to you at work, but no, they're not great in the outside work, and actually, we don't have to speak to people and socialise with outside work, we're not being paid, we might have families, we might not just want to be with people we work with, we might have other things that we need or want to be doing.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Yeah, exactly. So, as we head to this heat wave, look just take three tiny steps with you. There's your sensory steps, so put your cold water on your wrists before before your social event, put the hands, yeah, exactly, and then there's the emotional step. So name exactly what you're needing before you eat or drink. Yes, practical steps. So pick one easy snack that future you will thank you so thank you for.

SPEAKER_01 30:22

Yeah, I mean I always struggle with that one. My snack is actually probably fruit, you know, like berries. Because I'll always sit happily at a pun it of grapes or strawberries or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 30:32

It's easier than exactly, exactly. So you're not broken, no weak, you're not bad at summer either. It's just your brain works differently, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Yeah, absolutely. And obviously, we'll see you next time for a little bit more chaos, more compassion, and more send it. So, thank you for joining us today, and we look forward to catching up. I'll see you next time. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

We are not experts, specialists, or professionals, and nothing we discuss should be taken as advice. Our conversations are based around our own experiences, ideas, and perspectives. They are intended for general discussion and entertainment only. If you need guided support or advice, whether professional, personal, medical, legal, financial, or otherwise, please seek help from a qualified professional. By listening to this podcast, you understand and agree that the hosts are not responsible for any actions you choose to take based on what you hear.