Final April, I made a decision to take a 30-day break from ingesting. What I didn’t anticipate was how that one small choice would quietly reshape the way in which I transfer via my days, join with individuals, and present up for myself. At first, it was simply an experiment. It was a option to reset after a season that felt a bit too full, a bit too quick. My pores and skin was infected, my vitality was shot, and I used to be caught in a loop of late-night snacking and stressed mornings. I wished to really feel higher in my physique and clearer in my thoughts—particularly as I navigated a breakup that I knew I didn’t need to blur with a buzz.
However letting go of alcohol wasn’t so simple as saying no to a drink. My default was at all times a glass in hand—at dinner, at live shows, after a protracted day. It was baked into my routines and tied intently to how I noticed myself. I’d taken sommelier programs. I knew pair wine with meals, speak about it, make it a part of a second, and integral to every journey I booked. So, sitting down at a restaurant and skipping the wine checklist? It felt off—like I used to be lacking part of the expertise or part of myself.
Function picture by Michelle Nash.
However over time, the discomfort gave option to one thing else: house. With out the predictable rhythm of a drink to lean on, I began to note what I really wanted on the finish of a tough day—possibly it was relaxation, or connection, or just quiet. I acquired inquisitive about how I felt once I wasn’t continuously recovering from the night time earlier than. The fog lifted. My pores and skin began to clear. I wasn’t dragging myself via mornings anymore. I used to be really rested.
That quiet readability—together with the stunning pleasure I felt—was sufficient to maintain me going. I wasn’t chasing some excellent model of myself. I simply felt higher. And for the primary time in a very long time, that was sufficient. Because the months handed, I saved ready for a second to reach the place a drink would’ve made the expertise higher, both extra enjoyable, extra particular, or extra value it. But it surely by no means got here. And once I imagined buying and selling my peace for a hangover, or my presence for a blur, the reply grew to become easy: I didn’t want it anymore.
Greatest Learnings and Surprises
Once I first determined to give up ingesting, I assumed the modifications could be simple. I anticipated to really feel more healthy, sleep higher, and expertise some readability. However what actually stunned me have been the deeper, sudden shifts that got here alongside the way in which.
1. I grew to become extra in-tune with myself.
The primary large realization was that alcohol wasn’t simply affecting my bodily well being—it was influencing how I confirmed up on the earth. I assumed I wanted it to unwind after a protracted day or to be social. However with out it, I discovered myself tuning in to what I really wanted: relaxation, house, and connection, with out the haze of a hangover or the social strain of becoming in.
2. Alcohol isn’t my identification.
I additionally realized how a lot I’d tied alcohol to my identification. For years, I assumed having a drink in my hand was what made me enjoyable, participating, and “cool” in sure settings. I now know that I can have simply as a lot enjoyable—most likely extra—once I’m totally current, with out the crutch of a drink. The liberty of realizing I may be me with out counting on alcohol is empowering.
3. My physique liked the change.
One of many largest surprises, although, was how a lot my physique liked the change. I by no means anticipated my pores and skin to clear up or my vitality ranges to skyrocket. I didn’t notice how a lot psychological readability I used to be lacking, or how refreshing it may very well be to get up feeling restored as a substitute of dreading the day after an evening out.
4. It wasn’t as laborious as I assumed.
One other sudden realization? I had made every part really feel more durable than it really was. I spent a lot time worrying about how it could really feel, how I’d navigate social conditions, or what I’d be lacking out on. However in actuality, the method wasn’t practically as tough as I’d imagined. It’s been a lot simpler to indicate up as myself with out alcohol, and the moments I as soon as feared have turned out to be simpler—and extra pleasing—than I assumed.
I wasn’t chasing some excellent model of myself. I simply felt higher. And for the primary time in a very long time, that was sufficient.
5. I saved cash—and time.
However there’s extra: I by no means anticipated how a lot time and money I’d save. I hadn’t realized how a lot my routine—eating out, grabbing drinks, or attending occasions—was draining each my checking account and my schedule. With out the impulse to exit for drinks or make last-minute plans, I’ve discovered extra time for actions that truly nourish me, and my pockets is actually happier too.
6. No person actually cares (in a great way).
After which there’s the shock that’s most likely essentially the most releasing of all: Nobody cares as a lot as I assumed they might. I used to be satisfied that not ingesting would make me stand out in a room, make me appear completely different, and even awkward. However the fact? Individuals are extra centered on themselves than I ever gave them credit score for.
As soon as I began quietly sharing bits of my journey on social media, one thing sudden occurred—I spotted I wasn’t alone. Folks I had at all times seen because the lifetime of the get together, the cool, effortlessly social ones, reached out to say they weren’t ingesting both. Some had walked away from alcohol after fighting it, whereas others, like me, merely wished a distinct form of life. Both approach, it jogged my memory that we’re all simply figuring it out. And it felt actually, actually good to know I wasn’t doing it alone.
A Few Questions I Get About Not Consuming
Many individuals are inquisitive about my choice. Lots of people marvel if I’m nonetheless social, or if I miss having a drink in hand, and right here’s the factor: I completely thought I wouldn’t be as enjoyable, or as outgoing, or as social with out alcohol. Would I really get out on the dance ground? Would I be as humorous?
I’ve realized is that it’s not the drink that makes the night—it’s the connection. Seems, I’m much more enjoyable once I really bear in mind my evenings, and I’m much more participating once I’m totally current. The conversations I’ve had since I’ve stopped ingesting have felt even deeper, extra significant, and extra genuine. And waking up refreshed, realizing I’m able to tackle a exercise or a productive day? It’s a much better excessive than something I may’ve gotten from a drink.
I’m usually requested if I’ll ever drink once more. The brief reply is: I haven’t but encountered a second that feels well worth the danger of not feeling my greatest. So, for now, I’m not . That doesn’t imply I gained’t change my thoughts down the street—it simply means, at this level, I’m not prepared to commerce a short lived buzz for the knowledge of feeling lower than nice the subsequent day.
The place to Begin if You’re Sober Curious
There’s no single blueprint for altering your relationship with alcohol—what labored for me could not be just right for you. This journey is deeply private, and that’s what makes it so highly effective. For some, it’d begin with curiosity. For others, a second of discomfort, a life shift, or just a need to really feel higher.
I started with a 30-day break. That was the one objective. No long-term commitments, no large declarations—only a window of time to see how I felt. That gave me the house to note what alcohol had been protecting up, and what life seemed like with out it.
If you happen to’re questioning the place to start out, possibly it’s simply that: a pause. A second to examine in with your self. You don’t must have all of the solutions or map out a 12 months. You simply want a bit willingness to see what may be potential on the opposite aspect of 1 completely different selection.
A New, Alcohol-Free Starting
This has been a journey of studying to take heed to myself, to honor my wants, and to embrace a life I by no means thought was potential with out alcohol. Every selection, each “first,” has jogged my memory of the power I didn’t know I had—and that’s guiding me now in methods I hadn’t anticipated.
The query I proceed to ask myself is, “What else in my life have I been holding onto, convinced that it’s necessary but may not actually be?”
Deciding to not drink has been a day by day selection, a gradual overhaul. Socializing with out one thing in hand wasn’t at all times simple, particularly once I not often went out with out it earlier than. However with every new alternative, I’ve seen that I don’t want alcohol to navigate the world, and I’m nonetheless in a position to get pleasure from life totally. It’s about embracing the current, with out ready for that short-term buzz, and discovering pleasure within the readability that’s left behind.
