How to Live An Alcohol-Free Lifestyle
I hate to say this, but living an alcohol-free lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. It’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done, and one of the hardest (but oftentimes, the easiest) decisions I’ve ever made.
While living an alcohol-free lifestyle can be challenging, it can actually make life so much easier in many different ways. The benefits of not waking up hungover all the time are incredible, and I love being able to remember everything that happened to me, all the time.
Below, I will cover everything you need to know about living an alcohol-free lifestyle, including the benefits and how to do it.
What Is An Alcohol-Free Lifestyle?
An alcohol free lifestyle is exactly what it sounds like—not drinking alcohol. However, for some folks, this definition can mean a few things. You could be living an alcohol-free lifestyle while also imbibing in, say, THC drinks, either regularly or every once in a while. I, admittedly, like to drink THC seltzer once or twice a month. Others may consider themselves “Cali sober,” where they regularly smoke weed but also maintain a completely alcohol-free lifestyle. The main point of differentiation is that, if you’re living an alcohol-free lifestyle, you don’t drink alcohol at all.
Living an alcohol-free lifestyle while smoking weed can be easier than being completely sober from all substances. Obviously, being completely sober is more difficult, but also more rewarding, too. I started drinking THC seltzers about a year and a half after I cut off alcohol. I was completely substance-free for that year and a half and definitely found it challenging.
That being said, I think it was important to experience complete sobriety before I began drinking THC seltzers. There is a stark difference between the addiction I had with alcohol, and the feelings I have around THC seltzers. I don’t feel that addictive feeling when it comes to the seltzers. And I think that if I ever did feel that, or start to feel that, it would be really important for me to stop drinking them. For now, I drink them occasionally and really like them!
What Are The Benefits Of Being Alcohol Free?
Living hangover-free
Obviously, this is probably one of the greatest health benefits of an alcohol-free lifestyle. I used to get the most insanely debilitating hangovers, which would cause massive amounts of anxiety (more on that below). Not having to plan your whole life around when you will be hungover is a game-changer. And for those who are parents, I can’t even imagine having to struggle through a hangover while taking care of your children. Gaining freedom for hangovers has been life-changing.
Less anxiety
Hangovers used to be the source of my anxiety, and I can’t even tell you how many full-blown panic attacks I’ve endured because of hangovers. My anxiety levels have decreased tremendously since I stopped drinking alcohol, and my mental health has drastically improved. You might see a slight spike in your anxiety within the first month of quitting alcohol, since your body is trying to readjust after you cut off the addictive substance. But after a little while you will start to feel less anxious, especially since you won’t be dealing with hangovers all the time.
Maintaining relationships
When I was hungover all the time, I used to cancel plans with my friends because I couldn’t get out of bed. Now, if I have to cancel on my friends, it’s not because I’m hungover. Knowing that I can be a reliable friend, wife, dog mom, sister, and daughter is such a wonderful feeling.
Having the ability to do fun things
When I was hungover every weekend, I wasn’t able to go out and do activities because I was so hungover and miserable. Nowadays, I try to fill my weekends with fun sober activities (and most of them are during the day). Trying to figure out what I find fun, outside of drinking, has definitely been tricky. But I’ve been slowly but surely finding new hobbies throughout the years and my friends seem to enjoy doing things outside of drinking, which has been nice.
Sleeping better
Because my anxiety is way down since I stopped drinking, I’ve noticed that I sleep better most nights. Not only am I not ruminating about every little thing right before bed, but I also am not waking up a bunch in the middle of the night.
There have been study after study about the effects that alcohol has on your sleep. Even one drink can drastically disrupt your sleep and make you feel pretty shitty the next day. I was never one to drink alcohol every day when I was drinking (I usually kept it to the weekends), and I can’t imagine folks who do drink every night and then expect to sleep well and feel great the next day. WILD!
Saving money
Okay, this one is a tricky one. It’s hard for me to say if I’ve saved money or not by no longer drinking. I do kind of feel like I spend the same amount of money now than I did when I was drinking. I just spend it on other things like beads for my jewelry-making hobby, dessert (instead of a drink), and clothes. If you are a heavy drinker, I can imagine that you probably will save money when living an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Freedom
This is a word that popped up SO MUCH during the first year of my sobriety. Y’all, I felt so fuckin FREE. Free from the chains of alcohol. My weekends were free. My body was free from insane amounts of anxiety. You think that taking something away from your life will make you feel like you’re caged in, but that’s the opposite when it comes to removing alcohol from your life. You will be amazed by how free you feel after a while.
How to Live an Alcohol Free Lifestyle
Find sober friends
Honestly, this is something I’m still working on. I don’t have a ton of sober friends who I hang out with, but I do have some! I think finding people who don’t drink, or don’t center their social lives around drinking, can be really helpful in maintaining an alcohol-free lifestyle. Here are some tips on how to meet sober people.
Join a sobriety support group
I’ve talked about this a ton on this site, but The Luckiest Club really got me through the first 5 or 6 months of my alcohol-free journey. I strongly encourage you to join a sobriety support group in the first year of your sobriety journey, as I found that to be the toughest year so far. It will help you maintain sobriety long term.
Drink non-alcoholic mocktails or N/A beers
The amount of Athletic Brewing Co. beers I drank in my first year of sobriety could probably fill an Olympic-sized pool. That shit was my crutch, and it got me through the hump of peer pressure and social anxiety. Find whatever your non-alcoholic drink is going to be during social events and stick to it.
Follow sober creators
There are a ton of sober influencers out there, and I love flooding my IG feed with sobriety-related content. A sober creator I’ve loved following lately is @SamBackOnTrack. I feel like his content is so relatable and isn’t all about the negative and damaging aspects of alcohol—it’s more about all the positive things that happen to your life when you stop reaching for the bottle.
