Tag: alcohol free benefits

Another horrendous hangover so I decided to stay away from alcohol

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Personal stories

On the 27th of December last year, after experiencing another horrendous hangover, I made a very strong (and emotional) vow to “stay away from alcohol for a while.”

 

I was going to take a little  break from the horrendous hangover

Of course I wasn’t going to go overboard by vowing that I would never touch alcohol again.That would have been ridiculously dramatic! Besides, that had never worked before.  No, I was just going to take a little break from it – mostly for my mental and physical health. But more importantly, to see if I actually could stay from alcohol for a while.

 

 I had drunk regularly for 20 years

Since starting drinking in my teens, I had never really had a break from alcohol  at all. At most, perhaps for a couple of weeks but realistically for 2 decades drinking alcohol was something I did all too regularly.

 

I had n’t realised the damage I was doing to myself

I had mistook alcohol for my go to girl after a tough day, a tough week, a tough conversation….anything well…. tough!  However I also drank to celebrate, to commiserate and in sympathy – with myself or with others if need be.  Notably, from my teens on, I drank in all the wrong ways too. From drinking without food in my stomach to drinking far too much in one session. From mixing very inappropriate drinks all together to plainly just drinking to get drunk.

I had absolutely woven the practice of drinking into the fabric of my life without releasing the significance or the impact.

 

I did not actually miss not drinking

And yet until I tried, I never really believed I could be this person who did not drink. Someone who could take a break from alcohol for a while, actually not miss it and see very clearly the benefits of not drinking.

Almost a year in, I feel physically and mentally healthier and stronger.

Not only have I gained healthier perspectives towards alcohol, I have gained more hangover free time. No more days wasted due to a  horrendous hangover. I have more energy and more peace of mind.

Not drinking means I am taking better care of my health and really learning to practice self-care.

Instead of relying on alcohol to de-stress and relax – I have had to learn and find other ways of doing this which has actually brought so much joy.

 

It does take time and effort but it is worth it.

It takes time and a little getting used to living life and engaging in situations without alcohol. However for me, it has changed my life in a truly significantly positive way.  I am hand on heart, happier for doing it. My days wasted on  a  horrendous hangover are a distant memory.

If you are considering ‘taking a break from alcohol for a while’ – let me confirm – from someone who never says never – there is nothing to lose and all to gain.

 

Editor’s Note

Cindy’s approach of taking it a day at a time can work very well for some people. That way you don’t feel like you’re putting too much pressure on yourself and making a really big decision.

The key point is to pick a drinking goal that works for you as everyone is different.  You can check out your reasons for drinking too much here and this will help you find what’s right for you.

We’ll also have more tips on this in our next post so make sure you don’t miss out by signing up for our weekly ezine here.

 

 

It’s never too late to stop drinking alcohol

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Mental health, Personal stories

 

I love not drinking alcohol. Quitting alcohol was the best decision I ever made and the benefits to both my mental and physical health have been endless. One of the things I didn’t expect to gain from being teetotal – or rather, something I just never really thought about – is clarity. I didn’t quite appreciate how fogged my mind was from regular and heavy drinking until I put down the bottle for good.

 

I began to see the world in technicolour

Once I’d embarked upon sober living, and stopped drinking alcohol my brain seemed to come back to life and I began to see the world in Technicolour – or that’s how it felt!

For this reason alone, I believe it’s never too late to stop drinking. Even if you’ve been knocking back the booze for decades and feel as if you’re too old in the tooth to make such dramatic changes to your life…my advice would be to just try it.

 

Alcohol prevents us from feeling pure joy

The numbing properties of alcohol can be alluring when things are not going our way and we want to block out pain. But alcohol also then prevents us from feeling true joy – the kind of joy that envelops your whole being and makes you feel like singing at the top of your voice and shouting from the rooftops. That joy doesn’t happen immediately after you quit the booze; it can take several months of adjustment before you are emotionally open to experiencing such unfettered happiness.But it’s really worth the wait.

 

A natural high

People call this type of happiness ‘a natural high’, and for me, these rare moments of über pleasure are better than any ‘high’ I ever achieved artificially from booze or other drugs. I have felt as though I’m walking on air on so many occasions since being sober – running though the park, sitting in my garden, being with my partner and feeling fully connected, watching my youngest daughter sleeping, laughing at a stupid joke with my eldest child…the list goes on. The common factors in all of these experiences are: my mind is totally clear, I have no shame or self-loathing weighing me down, I’m living a life that I love instead of one that brings me misery on a frequent basis, and my appreciation for the ‘small stuff’ went through the roof once I kicked booze out of my life.

 

It’s never too late to stop drinking alcohol

It’s never too late to treat yourself to these natural and beautiful moments, when you are able to see the world for the amazing place it really is. You’re never too old to know what it feels like to be truly happy, or to experience full gratitude for all that you have at your fingertips. For me, it would never have been possible to feel such joy with alcohol poisoning my mind and body on such a regular basis. And while there are countless other benefits to be had from leading an alcohol-free existence, this one, for me, comes top of the list every time.

 

Editor’s Note.

You can find out whether to stop drinking alcohol or simply reduce your alcohol intake here.

8 reasons to stop drinking

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Personal stories, Physical health

I stopped drinking four and a half years ago and I’ve never looked back. Here are just a few of the reasons why life is better when you stop drinking.

 

1.Stop drinking and your health gets better

When you stop drinking it reduces your chances of developing a plethora of alcohol-related illnesses, from various cancers, to liver disease, to early onset dementia.

 

2.Your looks improve

Alcohol is responsible for puffiness in the face, sunken eyes, premature aging of the skin, and a dull complexion. Stop drinking and you will get healthier looking skin and brighter eyes.

 

3.It’s easier to maintain the weight you want

One bottle of wine has as many as 700 calories, more than a Big Mac! Plus, when you give up wine, you’re more likely to exercise if your weekends aren’t taken over by hangovers.

 

4.You have more time to get stuff done.

If you regularly crack open a bottle of wine after dinner and have a few glasses during the course of the evening, you’ll be down approximately thirty hours every week on time to GET STUFF DONE! That’s time to organize the kids for school the next day, time to blast the housework, or time to read, study or develop a hobby or skill. A boozy lifestyle equals non-productive evenings.

 

5.You can reach long-term goals

I’ve always loved writing and often tried to write a book but never finished more than a few chapters – I’d inevitably hit the wine before I got anywhere close to completion. Now, as a non-drinker (I had my last drink in April 2011), I’ve had four books published and have just started writing my fifth.

 

6.You have more patience

As someone who drank almost every night, and often to excess, I was less than patient as a parent to my eldest daughter. Now the mother of a second little girl, my parenting skills have improved massively and I always know I’m doing my best as a mum.

 

7.You find out who you really are.

Alcohol has such a powerful effect on the body and mind that it’s impossible to find out who you are when you’re regularly getting sloshed. It’s only with living alcohol-free that true self-discovery becomes a possibility. By learning to know yourself better, you have a fighting chance of finding out what you want from life, as well as all that you’re capable of achieving.

 

8.You feel good about your life

When you’re permanently sober, your choices are always your own; alcohol-free living means never waking up again crippled with regret and shame. And that is priceless.

 

Editor’s Note

If you’re worried about possible health impacts, check out our  top tips to reduce alcohol harm  here

 

 

Lucy’s top benefits from giving up the booze

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Personal stories

Benefits giving up the booze

No more painful morning afters

If you drink frequently, you’ll no doubt have endured on numerous occasions that awful feeling of slowly coming to, experiencing the double whammy of a cracking hangover and a multitude of regrets – and perhaps a rather large dose of fear, owing to the fact that you can’t remember much of the night before. If you continue to drink, you will continue to have these mornings. If you stop drinking today, you will never, ever have a morning like this again.

 

Stopping drinking will change you

Yes, but it will change you for the better. Open your mind and believe me when I say that yes, you will become a different person, but that future you will be a million times better, more interesting, more confident, more sociable and less miserable once you have kicked the booze. I’m not going to lie and tell you that nothing will change – it will, because you’ll grow up and learn how to live like a normal, self-sufficient human being who doesn’t need a prop to get them through life. You’ll realise that connecting with life and other human beings when you aren’t smashed is what makes you a well-rounded and happy individual.

 

Stress will decrease

Your stress levels and apparent inability to cope are caused BY ALCOHOL! I was the biggest stress head in the world when I drank because of the combination of too much booze, a debilitated central nervous system, and a whole host of problems resulting from my continued drunkenness. As a sober person, I’m totally level headed, calm and rational. A different person altogether!

 

Horizons will broaden

Your horizons will broaden. As a drinker I spent all my free time either drinking, thinking about drinking, or recovering from drinking – and usually with the same old people in the same old places. As a non-drinker, I now spend my time with a variety of people and am always trying out new things.

 

You’ll start to like yourself again

You’ll start to like yourself again. The artist Tracey Emin once said, “All the mistakes I’ve ever made in my life have been when I’ve been drunk. I haven’t made hardly any mistakes sober, ever, ever.” I can relate to this.
Since I stopped drinking four years ago, life has been on an even keel. Sure, there is the odd situation that I could have handled better, but nothing on the level of the catastrophic nightmares that happened all the time when I drank alcohol. And what’s the outcome of this?
I like myself again!”

 

Editor’s note

Just  to mention that sometimes people need additional  mental health support to get the lovely benefits Lucy describes.. For example, if  anxiety causes you to drink too much, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be very useful for you. You can find free on line mental health  support  at Turn2me. Lucy herself used CBT