April is Alcohol Awareness Month in the USA. It is?  Really? I’d never heard of it before it was mentioned in my online community last week. So I did some field research, and do you know what I found out?  Not one person I asked had heard of it either, not even my teenage kids that are in high school.  Hmmmm, 🤔 that’s curious, isn’t it? Especially considering that according to the World Health Organization :

 “Alcohol consumption contributes to 3 million deaths each year globally as well as to the disabilities and poor health of millions of people. Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 5.1% of the global burden of disease”

Alcohol Awareness Month is a national campaign that began in 1987, when I was still in middle school and I’ve never heard of it.  

But I do remember Spud McKenzie, he was the mascot of the Bud Light commercials, 

I also remember having a Spud McKenzie t-shirt in 6th grade….in 1987….I was 12… and I remember the Bud Bull Frogs and the Clydsdales and the Dalmations and the Golden Retriever puppies –

Where is the breakdown?  Where are the meetings and rallies? Where are the 5k walks, posters at school, assemblies, kids going door to door getting pledges like we did for the American Heart Association promoting “Jump rope for the heart“….

I plan on taking an active part in my community for Alcohol Awareness Month next year and I will approach the local schools and see what happens.  I’m really curious to see if my son’s schools and other local schools even know Alcohol Awareness Month exists.  I wonder who is in charge of the advertising or national messaging for this special month-long event?  Perhaps observing Alcohol Awareness Month with an enthusiastic drive to spend the month of April alcohol-free would begin to make a difference in these dire statistics.

Alcohol use statistics compiled by The National Survey of Drug Use and Health Data in 2018 found:

• Over 14 million Americans ages 18 and older had AUD. ( Alcohol Use Disorder)
• Over 414,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 had AUD.
• Over 26 percent of those surveyed engaged in binge drinking the month prior to the survey.
• Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 31% of all driving fatalities.

from Recognizing Alcohol Awareness Month This April

So many of our young people think that the problem with drinking is not alcohol but alcoholics. Many are not aware that drinking routinely causes changes to the brain, heart, and liver and we can all become addicted to this addictive drug. It takes over lives and destroys them. Adults CELEBRATING Alcohol Awareness Month by stopping drinking for a while might be an important step toward helping the youth of today see that life can be lived and enjoyed without the daily wine time, cocktail hour, or beer buzz. 

I will celebrate being alcohol-free for April! I will Celebrate Being AWARE for Alcohol Awareness Month! I hope you will join me!  

This year has been about alcohol awareness for me since I stopped drinking in January, and I can honestly say there are a plethora of things that I am now aware of that I wasn’t prior to embarking upon this alcohol-free (AF) adventure.  During my drinking career and especially the last year or so of it, I became so oblivious to so much of the details in my immediate environment.  The ones I wanted to be oblivious to in an “ignorance is bliss” sort of way, but also the ones that I didn’t know I was ignorant to the bliss of.  I am so much more aware of so many things now that I’m experiencing my life with a clear mind and body.  And I so appreciate my life in so many ways now that my awareness has been heightened.  I have compiled a shortlist of a few of the top things I am now aware of and would like to share them with you.

10 Things that being alcohol-free has made me aware of (in no specific order):

The damage that alcohol does to the body, mind and spirit.

more reading What is the Life Expectancy of an Alcoholic?

That alcohol is an addictive drug that is dressed up by the media as necessary for a normal human existence.

more reading Why Women Are Dying for a Drink and What We Can Do About It

The numerous books that have been written about alcohol dependence/recovery.

more reading Books to Help you Stop Drinking and Fuel Your Sober Momentum

The numerous blogs, and social media sites geared towards alcohol free living.

more reading Podcasts on Sobriety and Recovery – Inspiration for Loving Life Alcohol Free

The outstanding resilience of those that have been AF for any amount of time. more reading Shattering the Toxic Cycle of Alcohol Abuse

The strength it takes to live an AF life in a world that promotes the opposite.

more reading Selling the Possibility of Loving Life Sober – Rethink the Drink

The beauty in life that is to be experienced while free from the clutches of alcohol.

more reading The Beauty of Life Alcohol-Free

How wonderful a good night’s sleep is.

more reading Sleep Solutions

How much time I have to do the things I want to do without the constant need to ingest poison. more.

more reading  Sobriety Offers Everything that Alcohol Promised – Except the Hangover!

How it feels to really be alive.

💕💜💕💜💕💜💕💜💕💜💕💜

I became aware of all these things mostly by being part of this wonderful online community BOOM Rethink the Drink and from reading posts and articles of those who have been and continue on this journey as well.  

You’ll Find more from our Boozemusings blog on Alcohol Awareness Month here :

Alcohol Awareness Agenda – Please Stop Sober Shaming!

The Truth Behind the Statistics for Alcohol Awareness Month

Alcohol Awareness Month – An Invitation to an Alcohol-Free April

AND !

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

community support 24-7 or sign up and sign in here

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

“I think I have a problem with drinking”