Drinking alcohol has been sold to most of us as the elixir of life since we were young children. I remember as a child listening to the grownups downstairs having a GREAT NOISY TIME while I went reluctantly up to bed. I romanticized their drinking. To my mind as a child, the alcohol made the party. I had no idea what it might feel like to be sober. When I was young I drank because alcohol promised connection, and eventually I drank because alcohol promised me comfort, but it gave the opposite in the end. Drinking left me cold and alone and afraid, the relationship had become symbiotic, parasitic, dark and empty.
I read a great quote once that described my relationship with alcohol perfectly
The man takes a drink
the drink takes a drink
The drink takes the man
So what does it feel like be alcohol free? Why is it worth it to fight through the cravings and frustration of the first days, weeks and months sober? – The following articles are written by members of our BOOM Rethink the Drink community. Sober Inspiration. Clarity.
I have woken up with clarity this morning. I cannot add drinking back into my life. It takes away the things that make me feel better. Not right away, but eventually. It takes my confidence, inner peace and strength, motivation, closeness to my kids, my freedom, my health, my sleep.
Someone shared a thought with me that I will remember this time around
“I am not weak because I can’t drink like others. I am strong because I don’t.”
You don’t NEED alcohol, confidence doesn’t come in a bottle, it’s already inside you.
You may not be able to imagine it yet but if you stick to an alcohol free goal there will come a day when the desire or need to drink isn’t there. You will get up in the morning without a hangover. You will go about your day purposefully and not in a haze. You might go out to lunch with people from work. There might be people drinking. You may even be in a pub. But it won’t bother you.
You will laugh. You will have fun. That chic who sits in the corner desk doing her nails all day will piss you off. And the guy who thinks he is a regular laugh riot will make a dick of himself as usual. You will go back to work and finish your day. Go home, play with your kids if you have them, talk to your partner if you have one, talk to your pet if you have one, call a friend, your mum, a sibling, your nana. You may make dinner, make tea, make coffee, make love, make a fetching crotchet tea cosy, or any number of other possibilities. You, like millions of other people, will live through the day without alcohol and without feeling like your throat has been slit without it.
In short, sober will become your new normal. I am here to tell you that there is nothing that feels better than that – problems or no.
“Nothing tastes better than sober”
If you fight for it, you will find it, and when you do, you will wonder why the hell you stayed so long in that other bastard place. There will be challenges and problems to struggle with but you can’t fix a problem by hiding from it. All you are doing is helping it to grow teeth. You will face up to your problems and deal with them. You will solve what you can and accept what you can’t. And you will go to bed at night knowing you did your best. And for a long long time, when you wake up in the morning you will hear in your mind one of the best realizations you have ever experienced
“I didn’t drink yesterday.”
Nothing tastes better than sober…
For fifteen years I undersold myself and could be found ‘spinning my wheels’ in various warehouses to support a crippling alcohol addiction. You see, boredom, escapism through drinking and needing to work to afford said drink is a seemingly never ending cycle that robs you of your morale, drive and precious years.
Fortunately, with the clarity of abstinence, I have finally addressed it.
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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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
