There’s no more not caring if they see your cellulite or whatever you’re hiding under there; and you will, once and for all, discover that sex is never like in the movies. It is an awkward, vulnerable dance between two awkward, vulnerable humans. I lost hours upon hours of time and memories I can never get back.

As a rule-follower, I found a sponsor and asked her if I was in the right meetings. She diagnosed me with “a pupu platter of addictions”—not too much of any one thing, but enough of each one to be concerned. Her advice was to quit drinking, quit smoking, quit emotional eating, and quit trying to control and manage my family’s crises. While I have seen improvement around the stigma surrounding alcohol and substance abuse issues since getting sober in 2006, I can assure you the stigma is still alive and well in 2023. The only filters left in my life are the ones I use on photos on Instagram. Why being sober is better not only includes the physical and emotional benefits but also the profound sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with maintaining sobriety.

Mental Health Resources

Experts have pointed to a few reasons as to why this is. I used to think my deep, drunken conversations connected me to people but often it was me just waffling on, not absorbing what whoever was sat opposite me was actually saying. Now I’m definitely more attentive and conversations are more interesting. I think I am able to connect more to the discussion and the person I’m talking to. When you stop drinking, you have to face tough and scary situations without alcohol and that helped me grown an innate confidence that’s stayed with me. Experiment with no- and low-alcohol drinks until you find options that genuinely excite you.

You know what it’s like to live sober in a booze soaked world. In addition, sobriety can boost your self-esteem and self-confidence. By staying sober, you prove to yourself that you have the strength and willpower to overcome addiction, which can greatly improve how you perceive yourself as a recovered alcoholic. This newfound confidence can spill over into other areas of your life, such as your career and personal aspirations. Overall, sobriety offers numerous physical and mental health advancements, contributing to a healthier and more fulfilling life.

Getting positive affirmation from people whose opinions you value can make it easier to deal with the opinions of everyone else. This guest post comes from journalist Guyon Espiner who recently released a brilliant documentary about his relationship with alcohol, the drinking culture in New Zealand and the power of the liquor industry. I love that  after every hard phase I grind my way through – even though I come out the other side feeling somewhat bruised and vulnerable – I get to know myself so much better. Every adverse time is a learning time for me and the cumulative effect of all this sober ‘learning’ is very satisfying and calming.

How Sobriety Can Enhance Your Overall Life Quality

• Also, the absence of hangovers means waking up feeling refreshed and ready to make the most of each day.
• But living a sober curious lifestyle is different, and here’s why.
• And, I was and still am a believer in the adage, If you’re asking yourself if your drinking is problematic, then, at the very least, drinking is probably not serving you.
• Knowing how much you drink, in what environments you drink, and who you usually drink with can help you create new habits and routines that don’t center around alcohol.
• I found happiness harder to come by in the days after a heavier session, the hangovers became unbearable and my post-night-out anxiety skyrocketed.

You can formauthentic relationshipsbuilt on mutual respect, interests, and understanding rather than just who is willing or available to drink or use drugs with you. In late 2011, he was hospitalized with pancreatitis and was told that if he didn’t stop drinking, he wouldn’t see his next birthday. “I still put it off and was trying to slow down on my own, like, ‘All right I’m only gonna let myself take two pills today. I’m only gonna drink this much of my bottle and make a mark on the bottle,'” he recalled. “And it would work a couple days—and then somebody throws a party.” “It was easier for me to say that I’m doing it for her because, at that time, I didn’t feel like I was sort of worth much,” he recalled of the early days of their relationship.

Fun & Unique Sober Gifts: A Sober Not Boring Valentine Gift Guide for Your Sober Sweeties

• No more weekends wasted recovering from the night before.
• Visible changes such as clearer skin and healthier hair might start to be noticeable within a month, with more pronounced effects after several months of sobriety.
• When they never reached out and I did a kind of mental inventory of why, I realized that whenever I was drunk, I never appeared genuine.
• You are a mirror now, a flashlight of sobriety in a society that is laced with the judgment that it’s abnormal to abstain from alcohol.
• Meeting new people and building lasting relationships without any liquid courage wasn’t just fun and rewarding, it also validated the fact that drink-free me has plenty to offer.

Drinks add up fast – especially when you’re treating yourself to that ‘just one more’ cocktail. Suddenly, I had extra cash for the things that genuinely made me happy, like trips, self-care splurges, or even just saving for something special. Living Sober is moderated by our Community Manager Mrs D and other team members, but it is not moderated 24 hours a day.

What are the rules of being sober curious?

With the dual releases of her fourth studio album No Shame and memoir My Thoughts Exactly, the singer spent much of 2018 https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ getting brutally honest about the height of her addition problems. “Drinking caused weight gain,” he told Today in September 2022, “but it also weighed down my mental state.” “Mama, I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore / And Daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor / To the ones who never left me / We’ve been down this road before I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore,” she sang. “Feeling thankful for the freedom that comes with breaking addictions and dependency on substance,” he added. “Sobriety, clarity, and spiritual connectedness feels real good.”

Here’s a rundown of the top benefits our community has shared, proving that sobriety delivers in ways you might not have thought about. Most people who make their way into recovery have left a lot of pain and suffering in their wake. Feeling guilty or ashamed of past behavior or actions during active addiction is natural and healthy. People in recovery from a substance use disorder frequently have problems meeting work-related responsibilities, maintaining employment, and managing money. If you were active in your addiction for a period of time, you may have developed financial problems.

A therapist can help you learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult. Research shows that if you maintain these types of toxic relationships, your chances of relapsing are greater. To avoid relapse and remain sober, it’s important to develop healthy relationships.

Quitting Alcohol Timeline: What Happens When You Stop Drinking?

People will assume you drink and will be very curious about why you don’t have a drink in your hand when they do. Ask any sober person whether they want to go to a cocktail party or stay in with a pack of La Croix, The Crown, and a bathrobe. I’d bet nine out of 10 of us won’t even answer, and we’ll just laugh because it’s such a ridiculous question. Sobriety doesn’t necessarily turn you into Liz Lemon, but it can give you the clarity to understand that you’ve been Liz Lemon your whole life. It’s part sober house of the sobriety package, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

If you’re like most drinkers, you’ve likely surrounded yourself at some point with a group of people who also drink. I’d argue that many of us gravitated to a group of friends who have drinking habits that align with our own, and we did this because we didn’t want sober friends. I feel great, I love the energy and positive mood, decreased depression and anxiety. It’s so frustrating that I keep convincing myself it’s ok or not a big deal to go back.

The Relationship Between Alcohol and Anxiety

Saving all that money means paying off debt, traveling, or finally being able to set a little aside. When you finally get over those first months of early sobriety, you’ll see that you’re not so bad after all. When I got sober, it became very clear who I hung out with because I needed bar buddies and who I actually enjoyed being around.