Cheers to 1 month of Sober Curiosity! š
Itās been a bit over a month since I decided to play around with being āSober-Curiousā for a time, so I wanted to update you on my experience! First Iāll list some āsober firstsā that stand out from the past four weeks and then dive into some more detailed takeaways of what Iāve noticed in that time - head over gram.betterwithbecky.com to read the full post!
Things Iāve experienced sober (where Iād usually have had a drink or two):
- Travel
- Hurricane & Election Cycle Stress
- Spontaneous meetup with friends
- Meeting new people
- The opening of a Speakeasy
- Disney days & a night at Universal Citywalk
- Multiple Restaurant meals out with various friends and groups, several w/a pre-existing norm of getting drinks together
- Unusual events that I may perceive of either stressful or worthy of celebrating / noting (eg recording podcast interviews to promote the launch of the BWB app)
- A friend visiting and staying with us for a couple of days (& visits to theme parks + special restaurants together)
- Social events involving alcohol (fall festival, cocktail parties, car shows, a painting and āspooky sipsā art class)
- Going to see a play with friends (note: the Book of Mormon is best seen in Orlando! š¤£)
- Halloween š
- Date days and nights with Justin
What Iāve noticed:
- There are SO MANY non-alcoholic options these days - from mocktails to zero proof cocktails (yes, theyāre different!) to NA beers like those from Athletic brewing, or even just a fun soda or sparkling water or mixer! I never felt deprived or like I couldnāt find something āspecialā to consume if I wanted it!
- Nobody actually cares if youāre drinking or not - Especially after the first drink order is in! š
- I have a hella-supportive partner š
- Got back to meditating regularly to process some of the thoughts and feelings around not drinking āļø
- Better sleep quality and quantity (a given) š“
- (& related-) Better energy during the day ā”ļø
- Better adherence to and recovery from my workouts and an ability to push harder šļøāāļø
- Fewer PMS symptoms around my cycle š
- More freedom to be fully present and playful (fall festival - dancing, hula hooping, etc!) š
- Greater hydration, better digestion, fewer headaches š¦
- A fairly chronic skin concern clearing up (perioral dermatitis)
- Some weight loss (most of which has been fat loss!) despite enjoying whatever NA option or food/dessert I want in place of alcohol (Note that Iām also intentionally tracking macros and prioritizing protein while lifting weights right now, so who knows if this is the chicken or the eggā¦but Iām sure theyāre related both mentally/behaviorally/psychologically and physiologically!) Thereās a LOT more to the topic of body recompositionā¦but thatās a post for another day! š
- Generally feeling like I have a bit of a super-secret superpower š¤«š¦øāāļø š¤£ - if I can show up to the opening of a SPEAKEASY or hula hoop my heart out sober? What canāt I do?! š š
- Related: more bandwidth for stress or to show up well for others (ability to support Justin, friends, family, etc)
Iāve also gotten much clearer on whether/when it may be āworth itā to me to drink, and potentially how much- after a lot of reflecting and curiosity, I began to identify that I typically only truly enjoyed the last ~1/4 of my first drink (which often led to ordering a second, but then, usually by the time that second drink arrived and I had a sip or two, Iād find I regretted the choice to order a second-and therefore maybe to drink at all? (Unsure why but it seems like if youāre going to drink, you should make it āworth itā with at least a couple lol ?!š probably some unpacking to do there psychologically!š)
Anyways, I rarely experienced a āhangoverā per seā¦but then again, what is 2-3 days of lingering, low-energy bleh-ness following drinking called if not a hangover effect? š¤
One of our favorite TV shows is āStrange Planetā - itās an animated cartoon featuring genderless beings that uses cute language to describe human-esque concepts in humorous ways (highly recommend!) For example, Strange Planet refer to alcohol as āmild poisonā š. While itās perhaps a bit over the top, and I wasnāt drinking āmuchā to begin with, itās been a total game changer to be able to go out, socialize sober, skip ingesting mild poison, and wake up with great, clear energy ready to embrace and enjoy the day fully! š„°
Iām still not planning on making any hard or fast rules around drinking (a privilege Iām lucky to have, and aware of!), since we all know rules are for breaking š. I know there will likely be moments that I want a drink, and Iāll just take it moment by moment to get curious and decide with intention if itās worth it to me or not! š„