Whether you are on day one alcohol – free or moving through your first weeks sober, Friday night and the weekend ahead can be a difficult time to pass up the alcohol. Aside from the challenge of changing your routine and dealing with the empty feeling that is left behind when you remove the booze, there is also the awkwardness of facing other people’s expectations.

TGIF! Time for a drink? Virtual Happy Hour? Let’s Play!

It is not easy to go against what an entire society thinks is ok. Living sober goes against what we see and hear almost daily! The good news is you don’t have to be like everyone else! Going sober has made me realize that I get to create the person I want to be. I don’t just have to react. I can live with intention and have discipline. I want to be calm, reflective, and grow. I want to live in a healthy body. I want to find joy in the moment. I can work toward becoming the person I want to be. So can you!  Today I get to be free! The best version of myself that I can be!  And that begins with ditching the drink.

If you are getting started alcohol-free or working on staying sober here are 4 great tips and tools to help you out today. Unique Inspiration for an Alcohol-Free Happy Hour, a Serenely Sober Weekend and a great week ahead. You CAN do it! Come look us up and we’ll help.

1. Start with Formally saying Goodbye to the Booze

I walk the isles, and there they are
My friends I held so dear.
The ones who stabbed me in the back:
My hard stuff, my wine, my beer.

I’ve almost lost the things I love,
And for what? I Have to know.
For shits, and fights and bad late nights?
Dear friends, you’ve GOT to go.

Dear wine, sometimes we had some fun 
But then you made me snore.
My face got red, my ass got fat,
And plus, you made me poor!

Dear beer: the ales, the wheats, the stouts,
The bubbles and all your taste!
The tears, the years, the cans, the bloat!
So much has gone to waste.

So what was the cost, to piss it away? 
It cost me 10 years in a haze.
50 pounds later, and nearly a spouse..
I’m done with those tiresome days.

Well my ass is still fat, but I don’t have the bloat!
Feels right to be back on track
Without so-called friends I’ve left in the dust,
…And also the sales rack.

2. Focus on Why sober feels better

S Sometimes the beauty
O Of the ordinary only
B Becomes appreciated and
E Evident when you
R Really decide to be present in it

There is still beauty in things that seem broken
There is joy in gentle words spoken
There is power when your spirit is awoken
And you refuse to give up giving up
Putting your broken pieces back together again
With blood, sweat, tears, and pain
That’s self-love
And you’re so strong enough

Sobriety offers everything Alcohol Promised

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3. Try this is you are feeling uncertian. I heard this on a podcast and it made for good Homework. 

Draw a Tic Tac Toe board. Put one reason why you want to Quit in each box.  Relax, take a break, drink some water.  … Now draw another Tic Tac Toe board. 

Put YOU in the center square. Now surround yourself with 8 ways to Protect You. What groups do you belong to that you can rely on for support? This page can be one square… but what else? Who else? Any podcasts? Any online groups? Your church? Your BFF? Your significant other? Your parents? Your kids?  It’s okay if they aren’t all filled out yet….

Now, that is the team that will support you… some may be knowingly, like your BFF, and others unknowingly, like younger kids. You can do this. There will be triggers, so be ready. In the late afternoon, early evening, your body will crave sugar (it’s what alcohol did)… so have some small treats ready, i.e. ice cream, chocolate chips. 

more reading : Alcohol Cravings and Hypoglycaemia and Top Ten Alcohol-Free Internet Entertainments and Filling the Empty Space in Early Sobriety

Drink plenty of water. Look at your Tic Tac Toe boards and remember why you quit.

more reading : Play the Tape Forward – Protect Your Quit

And just in case you are still thinking about drinking? Do you really have the time to waste on that? I do not have time to waste on drinking! There is so much time involved in it. Especially if you drink at home because you’re likely sitting in front of a tv like I was drinking your life away. Life is so much better without it!! It’s not always easy but it’s worth it!! 

4. I find that it helps to have a daily reminder

Your Daily Reminder,
Alcohol is SHIT
Steals (your dreams, time, integrity)
Hurts (your body and brain)
Insiduous (its all fine until its not)
Terrorist (it wants what it wants Now)

It sure does give me terrors
It steals my joy and present
And gives me anxiety and crap as it’s present
It takes away my peace
And is everything opposite of what I truly need
That which is good for mind, body and soul
I honestly can’t say I miss it
I don’t need it and I don’t want it
Wonder why I still get bothered by it ?
Sometimes battling with those thoughts
Seems so unnecessary and bothersome
But that’s the insidious part I see
That keeps trying to reel mw back in
And this is just a chemical? Ethanol
But not to worry just stick around here often

And that should solve the problem.

Does alcohol talk to our ego
And try to silence our intuition?

Does balance go out the window
Once we decide to give in though?

Before we hit rock bottom
Is there a silent admission
We need to get off the elevator
Before it’s almost too late or….

When it hurts to give something up
But it hurts more to stay the same?
We might be able to fool our brain
But our bodies keep a tally
And our hearts ache with the pain

Breaking the ever strengthening chains though
With alcohol free
You can just be

I know a secret I’ll share with you
Normal drinkers probably have chains too
They’re just invisible at the moment so noone can see
But alcohol’s not meant to be drunk moderately

Don’t believe me and need me to prove it?
Well it’s an addictive substance isn’t it!

Break the chains before they get too strong
Don’t wait until it all goes wrong
If that’s hard to do
You know there are problems
So chin up love
Now’s the time to solve ’em ! 😃❤🤔

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How do you go Sober? ( more reading in blue titles)

B Be accountable Talk to Us We Understand
A Avoid alcohol like the plague  Ideas Here
L Let yourself enjoy regular sober treats  Ideas Here
A Allow yourself to cry when needed  Ideas Here
N Nourish your body with good food  Ideas Here
C Create happy & fun memories  Ideas Here
E Enjoy the precious moments in your day Ideas Here

W Work hard to get what you want Ideas Here
O Organise things for less stress  Ideas Here
R Realise you can’t control it all Ideas Here
K Keep going & prepare for success Ideas Here
S Sleep enough for body & mind rest Sleep Solutions

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If you’re “sober curious” … If you are drinking too much too often and want to stop or take a break…or if you have stopped drinking and are trying to stick to sober! Talk to Us. 

We are an independent, anonymous and private community who share resources, support and talk it through every day. It helps to have a community behind you in a world where alcohol is the only addictive drug that people will question you for NOT using

You can read more about us Here And join  Here

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Don’t let the shame of the stigma keep you from saying

“I think I have a problem with drinking”