Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism: Grief, High-Functioning Binge Drinking & Life Beyond the Binge

EPISODE 192 — Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism: Grief, High-Functioning Binge Drinking & Life Beyond the Binge

Full episode notes:

https://www.womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/high-functioning/

High-functioning doesn’t always mean okay. Sometimes it’s a mask for grief, binge drinking, and survival.

In this episode of Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation (a 100 Best Women’s Empowerment podcast), host Deneen L. Garrett sits down with Colleen Clifford — author, speaker, coach, and commercial fisherwoman — for a deeply grounded conversation on alcohol as a coping mechanism, emotional resilience, and the hidden patterns many of us use to get through high-stress seasons.

As a former binge drinker and suicide survivor, Colleen shares what it took to name her own patterns — and how losing her husband to alcohol-related suicide became a turning point that changed the questions she began asking about healing, truth, and finding steadier ground.

In this conversation, we explore: • How “high-functioning” can hide real pain in plain sight • When alcohol becomes a coping strategy for grief and stress • What suicide survival teaches us about support, shame, and staying • The quiet ways women deny themselves while still showing up for everyone else • How to find your north star — and return to steadiness after loss

Colleen also introduces the heart of her forthcoming book, Life Beyond the Binge, and invites listeners to consider one honest first step: naming what’s real.

If you’ve ever looked fine on the outside but felt unsteady within, this conversation is for you.

Crisis support (U.S.): Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), available 24/7.

GUEST: COLLEEN CLIFFORD Colleen Clifford is an author, speaker, coach, and commercial fisherwoman. As a former binge drinker and suicide survivor, she explores the intersection of grief, resilience, and the hidden patterns we often use to cope. After losing her husband to alcohol-related suicide and acknowledging her own binge drinking habit, she began asking deeper questions about healing and finding solutions. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Life Beyond the Binge.

Connect with Colleen: Website: https://lifebeyondthebinge.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purepotential.health/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Pure-Potential-Health/61567862578775/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pure-potential-llc-c-936735245/

About the Podcast Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation is a 100 Best Women’s Empowerment Podcast hosted by Deneen L. Garrett, featuring honest, soul-centered conversations that empower women to choose themselves, heal deeply, and live boldly.

All episodes: https://www.womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/ Dream Lifestyle™ Collective: https://www.skool.com/dream-lifestyle-skool-1061/about Connect with Deneen L. Garrett LLC: https://deneenlgarrett.com/ Business inquiries: Deneen@deneenlgarrett.com

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