The Meaningful Life with Andrew G. Marshall

Do you think about drinking alcohol more than you think about eating sandwiches? Do you spend significant amounts of time thinking about NOT drinking? Or are you one of the many with an uneasy feeling that alcohol is no longer bringing anything good into your life, and may well be holding you back? Therapist and sobriety expert VERONICA VALLI had a problematic relationship with alcohol for twelve years. She has now been sober for twenty years, and has helped countless others give up drinking. In this classic reissued episode Andrew and Veronica discuss: ⭐️How giving up alcohol can give you the energy and freedom to be your true self. ⭐️Why your friends may not always be your cheerleaders if you give up drinking. ⭐️Why a drinking problem is really a symptom of another, underlying problem. ⭐️What to do if your partner has an alcohol problem.  ⭐️Extreme social pressure to drink and how to deal with it. Veronica Valli has worked in the field of alcohol recovery for almost two decades. She is an author, podcaster and former clinical psychotherapist.  Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Three Things Veronica Valli knows to be true.  AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Read Veronica Valli’s new book Soberful: Uncover a Sustainable, Fulfilling Life Free of Alcohol  Take a look at Veronica Valli’s website  Listen to Soberful: the Podcast  Find out about the Soberful private group on Facebook  Follow Veronica Valli on Instagram @veronicajvalli and on Facebook @soberfulpage Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall 

Where did you find inspiration and meaning in 2024? This week sex therapist and friend of the podcast TRACEY COX joins Andrew to reflect on another year of The Meaningful Life, and to discuss the episodes that meant the most to them.  They share highlights from episodes with: Samantha Rodman Whiten (Dr Psych Mom) on Being an Adult Child of Dysfunctional Parents. Jessica Baum on Anxious Attachment. Douglas Thomas on What You Can Learn About Yourself from Your Sexual Fantasies. Robert Glover on People Pleasing Robert Neimeyer on the Six Tasks of Grief Joseph Lee on Jungian Dream Analysis (bonus material) Alan Pearce on Comas and Near-Death Experiences (bonus material).  Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  More things we learned last year and first news on exciting new projects for 2025  AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Buy Great Sex Starts at 50: How to Age-Proof Your Libido by Tracey Cox Get the advice you need on your sex life from Tracey Cox Listen to Tracey Cox and Kelsey Chittick’s SexTok podcast Follow Tracey Cox on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall 

It’s hard to move on social media these days without bumping into a post on gratitude. If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, this week’s classic interview with Chester Elton, “the apostle of appreciation”, is for you.  According to Chester, gratitude cuts to the heart of who we really are. Gratitude exists at an emotional level and is about WHO is in our lives, WHAT we find meaningful and HOW we live. If we make time for gratitude, we can find a way to live that makes everything less stressful.  Chester and Andrew also discuss the ways we can build gratitude into everyday life, adding meaning and lightness to our daily routines. Chester Elton has carried out extensive research into how gratitude can help us lead in the workplace. His books, co-authored with Adrian Gostick,  include Leading With Gratitude and All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results. Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Three things Chester Elton knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Read Chester Elton’s Leading with Gratitude Book  Sign up for Chester Elton’s free LinkedIn newsletter, The Gratitude Journal  Read Chester Elton’s article on Why We Should be Grateful for Hard Times  Read Jay Shetty’s book Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall   

Christmas is a time of heightened emotions: lots of fun, lots of food, plenty of arguments. This year Andrew invites friend of the podcast and love coach CATE MACKENZIE to explore what Christmas means to each of them.  Cate and Andrew discuss: Their best and worst Christmas experiences.  Christmas traditions that work. Most evocative Christmas songs Cultivating the right mindset to make the most of Christmas Accepting pain and disappointment if they arise.  Cate Mackenzie is a COSRT Accredited Sex and Relationship Therapist, Love Coach and Artist. Her passion is supporting people to fall in love with themselves, with life and with others. Cate was the dating coach for Channel 4’s 'The Undateables', a flirting coach on Channel 5's 'The Jeremy Vine Show' and a Sex Therapist on Channel 4's 'Kinky Britain'. Her heart paintings have been sold in 80 countries worldwide through IKEA. Subscriber Content This Week  If you’re a subscriber to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Patreon), this week you’ll be hearing:  Different Christmases for Different Times in Your Life Three things Cate Mackenzie knows to be true. AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew’s free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Take a look at Andrew’s new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Visit Cate Mackenzie’s website  Listen to Cate Mackenzie’s podcast, Love, Pleasure and Joy with Cate Mackenzie Follow Cate Mackenzie on LinkedIn and Twitter @CateMackenzie and Instagram @Catemmackenzie Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall