How Finding An Alcohol Free Community Can Help You Stay Sober?
Are you considering finding an alcohol free community? Rob Sollors, aka the Sober Decorator, shares his experience of sobriety and connection and how it helped him overcome addiction.
Missing Out
As you may or may not know, the opposite of addiction is connection. And the reason I’m writing this blog is to try and explain my experience with connection and how so far it has really helped me.
When I was drinking every day, I was almost living my life with a big barrier around me. I can see that now looking back, but I didn’t have a clue about it then. Inside the barrier was mainly, on pubs the borderline of that barrier was everything else. Work, pretty much anything to do with my family, and all the general stuff that goes into living life.
The reason I say these things were on the border is that sometimes, they were inside, and sometimes they were outside. When inside, I would join in with family events, go to work and organise general life, but when they were outside I would be too drunk to join in or just not present enough to be bothered with anything.
Even when they were inside the barrier, I still did everything very half-hearted and was in no way fully committed. So basically I had no real connection with anyone outside my barrier.
Making A Change
After I decided to stop drinking (not for the first time), I ended up finding the alcohol free community on Instagram; at first, I went on there under a false name because I still wasn’t sure if I wanted everyone to know about my drinking troubles.
I would look at lots and lots of posts from different people – people just like me, a lot of them had good jobs, nice houses and could “function properly” most of the time, but we all had one thing in common, we weren’t happy.
We had big problems with our relationship with alcohol. It was making us depressed, anxious, moody and, in general, not very good people. Not at all like the one other people saw in the pub or at parties, the guy that was loud, good fun and the guy that would still be drinking right to the end.
A New Me
Then I found out the big one for me, “the opposite of addiction is connection”.
I had no idea, so it was then I decided to try and find out more, after all, real connection was alien to me.
I ditched the fake account and set up a real one. Real name, Real photo of me and all that; I was determined to be accountable and, hopefully, one day inspire others as I had been inspired.
I nervously reached out to some guys in the sober community and received some really positive feedback. This was my first experience of connection and was the true beginning of my sober journey. As I got more confident, I would post more on my Instagram. And in return, I’d receive more support and the ripple effect began.
The Importance Of Connection
I can not express how important connection is! Trust me, I know how nerve-wracking it can be. I know how scary it can be. Some may even find it embarrassing or think it’s below them. But, there was a time when I thought all those things, too. You have to admit to yourself that your relationship with alcohol is not working out. In short, it’s taking a lot more from you than it’s giving. Meaning, that you’re more often going to be in debt and more likely to be in a negative state of mind rather than a positive one.
Again, making new connections can change all that. I can absolutely promise you that there are no negatives to connecting with like-minded people, opening up, getting into authentic conversation and slowly but surely feeling and seeing a way out.
There are no negatives to living a sober life, trust me on this, I am living proof!
If there’s anyone reading this that is sober curious, a bit scared or confused about their next move, please reach out and connect. There are thousands of us in the sober community, and every single person has got your back. Trust yourself on this and connect, it will be the best thing you ever do.
– Rob Sollors
This was a guest blog, mixed by Rob Sollors for YADA Collective. You can keep up with Rob and connect with him personally by following his Instagram @sober_decorator.
Finding An Alcohol Free Community.
If having read his awesome blog, you’re now looking for a safe space to connect with others who’ve been through similar situations to you, take a look at the YADA Collective discord. A community of people that love to share stories about their sobriety, hitting personal milestones, supporting one another through life’s challenges and all in all, connecting around a common goal! To live a better and more fulfilling life! You can tune in to the YADA Collective Discord here.
If you’re reading this and you live in or near the East Midlands area of the UK, we’d love to invite you to join our in-person meetups. In-person meet-ups are another powerful way of breaking down barriers. Connect with people who are on the same page as you. You can find out all about YADA’s unique, inclusive and welcoming community groups here.
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