What’s it like avoiding alcohol for a month?
When we heard, friend of the YADA Collective, Sophie Louise was avoiding alcohol for Sober October, we reached out and asked if she’d share her experience. Thankfully, she said yes. So, after going alcohol-free for a month, here’s what she had to say.
Giving up alcohol whilst working in Education, during a global pandemic… Why?
Sober October is a fundraiser set out by Macmillan Cancer Support. Essentially, participants aim to stop drinking alcohol for the entire month of October. The charity is close to my heart and I was very intrigued to see how difficult it would be. So, I decided this year I would give it a good go.
In all honesty… I really didn’t miss it.
I’m sure in normal circumstances where I was able to go out with friends it would have struggled more. However, where I live was in tier two during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. So, I could only go inside restaurants and bars with my own household. This kept me very accountable.
Sooo many options…
My brother has been sober for over two years now and he always tells me how he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out. I always thought this was because he doesn’t really like booze anyway. But, now I know it’s because there are soooo many different alcohol-free alternatives out there. I love a good Friday night Gin and Tonic and found that the alcohol-free versions were amazing! Brands like Seedlip have amazing alternatives that didn’t make me feel like I was missing out.
Avoiding alcohol wasn’t without its challenges.
My hardest week was definitely my family holiday, this was on my last week of Sober October and we went to Alvaston Hall in Nantwich. Amazing meals that I’m sure would have been lovely with a glass of wine however, I certainly wasn’t struggling for tasty drinks. They had an extensive non-alcoholic cocktail menu and had Heineken zero on tap! There were a few occasions where I fancied an espresso martini or a ‘proper pint’ but I was definitely satisfied with the alcohol-free alternatives.
Avoiding alcohol for good? The big decision…
So I suppose the question is, am I staying completely sober?
The answer to this is no however, I am definitely aware of what I’m drinking and do I need to drink as much. I’m keeping my drinking to special occasions and time with family rather than drinking to excess. This has really opened my eyes to how much alcohol-free choice there is and I’ll definitely be reaching for more of these in the future. My favourites for you to try would be Thornbridge Alcohol-Free, Seedlip Zero-Percent Gin and an Alcohol-Free Bramble.
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If you are interested in advice about cutting down your alcohol consumption, Alcohol Change UK have a number of great initiatives to help you through the process.
This was a guest blog crafted by Sophie Louise and mixed by Craig Picton
