Many of us ponder the idea of reducing, and maybe even eliminating, alcohol our routines and lives. It’s especially top-of-mind at the start of a New Year…a time when many of us make resolutions and intentions to improve our health and wellness, to lose weight, and to be all-around-better-people this coming year! (I think you’re pretty awesome just as you are, by the way!)
There are many different programs and approaches out there. From 75 Hard to This Naked Mind/The Alcohol Experiment, to Apps that help you track your drinking. First a couple of things…1) this blog is not vilifying alcohol nor saying that drinking alcohol is all bad; and 2) Sober Curious is not intended for individuals who have alcohol dependency or are struggling with alcoholism. This is merely a topic about mindfulness while drinking and/or experimenting with taking a break (short or long) from alcohol to see how it may affect your weight, your mood, your mental clarity.
So, let’s examine the topic of Sober Curious and Mindful Drinking.
Sober Curious is attributed to Ruby Warrington who wrote, “Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol” in 2018 (pre-pandemic… eh…Ruby…some things have happened, don’t you know). Hey, it’s a worthwhile thing to contemplate how an addictive substance might impact your life, right? Removing it from your life for a period time may allow you to better evaluate your feelings around drinking.
Some benefits of eliminating or reducing alcohol consumption can include:
🍷 lower blood pressure
🍷 better sleep
🍷clearer skin
🍷save money
🍷mental clarity and improved mental health
Let’s examine Annie Grace’s “Alcohol Experiment” and “This Naked Mind” for a minute.
In Annie’s ‘Alcohol Experiment’ she explains how knowledge, emotion and actions all work together to change our relationship with alcohol.
Here are just a few things that Annie strives to show us…
- Why we drink more than we want, and how to acknowledge the fears that we usually have when we think about taking a break from alcohol…
- How to change your expectations and change your experience, while becoming more mindful of drinking — and a small exercise to do before you start the challenge.
- How you can shift your mindset, so you give yourself the power to have just 1 or avoid drinking at all — the choice is entirely yours, not alcohol’s!
It’s interesting to also learn that her program is completely free!
How Can You Practice Mindful Drinking (this is a different from Annie’s approach)
- Make a plan when you go out and be intentional about the drinks you order and consume.
- Drink water in between alcoholic beverages.
- Plan social activities around times other than happy hour, when drinking is super tempting.
- Nurse your drink.
- Surround yourself with cheerleaders.
- Eat!
- Be gentle with yourself and celebrate your small victories.
And finally, if you start and stop….it is okay. If you begin Dry January, but then have a drink, don’t beat yourself up. This is YOUR experience and your experiment. It’s not a failure and maybe you weren’t quite ready. And the end of your experiment with no alcohol or less alcohol, the important thing is that you gain a better understanding of its place in your life. Whatever path you choose, good luck and be true to you!