I’ve been questioning alcohol and its role in my life lately and have decided to take a break from my old friend. Currently, I’m nearly 8 weeks (the longest I can remember that I’ve purposefully kicked booze to the kerb) into my sobriety and I have to say there hasn’t been anything I don’t like so far about this experience.
Back when I was single, most weekends I’d go out at least once and drink to a greater or lesser degree- I have been known to see the sunrise a few times. In Hong Kong that’s usual- drinking is a hobby, it’s more antisocial not to drink. When I met my husband I didn’t go out as much but would possibly drink the same amount as before, but spread out over the week; and it would often be me encouraging him to drink. I’ve had occasions in my life where I can’t remember too much of the night before or not 100% sure what I said or did and that to me is scary, being a control freak an’ all! Trouble is with me, sometimes my off switch breaks!
Becoming a personal trainer and getting up at 5am most days means that weekday drinking (even the minor kind) is out of the question, and slowly slowly the odd drink on a Friday or Saturday at home has disappeared.
So why am I not drinking? The after effects; hangovers, anxiety, fatigue, weight gain, not being sure how I’ve behaved, and also as a social experiment to see how I feel and how others relate to me when I’m not drinking. It’s just so normal to drink. Why is this drug so acceptable while others are not? I don’t think I can process drink anymore; having two or three day hangovers (at least) is just no fun.
I’m curious to also consider the opinions that that there could be a big conspiracy theory in place by the drinks companies; alcohol is the second most addictive drug (after heroin) in the world after all and is the cause of many dangerous health conditions. Adding it into an already unhealthy lifestyle and it’s a ticking time bomb for most people. If you’re healthy, it still causes inflammation which can then go onto cause other issues down the line; it’s a toxin after all.
So how has it been so far? Pretty amazing to be honest- not only have I not felt anxious, I’ve been sleeping better, my mood has been better, my skin is better, I’m also sure that my insides will be benefitting too.
How is it when I go out? So far it’s been great to be honest- watching others slowly glaze over around the third or fourth drink is interesting to see and I know there will be social occasions in the future where I won’t want to stay out as late and a cuppa at home will be more appealing. I have a hen party coming up at the end of next month which will be a very interesting experiment indeed!
Am I planning on kicking booze forever? I think that’s probably not likely. I’m not putting any time limiting factors on this or even telling myself I can’t drink. We have alcohol in the house, but I’m preferring the alcohol-free beer right now and I’m excited to see where this journey takes me!
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