# Why Do You Actually Drink? Ammi Midstokke on Sobriety, Dopamine, and Asking the Hard Question

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stronger-together-with-sandpoint-strength-7043786/exploring-our-relationships-with-alcohol-with-ammi-midstokke
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/stronger-together-with-sandpoint-strength-7043786/exploring-our-relationships-with-alcohol-with-ammi-midstokke.md
Podcast: [Stronger Together with Sandpoint Strength](https://stenobird.com/podcast/stronger-together-with-sandpoint-strength-7043786)
Published: 2025-10-14T16:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://sandpoint-strength.captivate.fm
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6e12716a-1793-46d0-b212-5af8da7df508.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/stronger-together-with-sandpoint-strength-7043786/episodes/exploring-our-relationships-with-alcohol-with-ammi-midstokke
Duration seconds: 3550

## Resource

Ammi Midstokke is back — the most requested return guest on the podcast — and this time the topic is alcohol. Not a lecture, not a recovery story, not a sobriety manifesto. Just an honest, biochemically grounded, occasionally very funny conversation about why people drink, what it actually does to the brain, and why the question most people never ask is the most important one: why? Ammi has done multiple sober years, including one that started three days before her then-husband asked for a divorce. Kenny did eleven months with Jenn before a trip to Mexico ended the experiment. Between the two of them, there's real experience on both sides of this — and Ammi's explanation of the hedonic set point alone is worth the hour.

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## Transcript

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