Overcoming triggers and wobbles on your Sober journey

Image
How to recognise and get through triggers or wobbles when going sober. Thank you so much for reading my blogs, I hope the previous posts Deciding to be a sober Gal , What to expect in early Sobriety and attending your first big event have been a help and encouraged you on your journey.   If you haven’t read them yet, WHY NOT?   Go check them out. 😊 . It’s a given that the first few months are going to be hard, however, what happens when you are a few months down the line, feeling fabulous and suddenly you have that overwhelming voice in your head saying, “surely you can give up now” “will it really matter if you have a bottle of wine”? What I will say is, it’s your journey, you do you. It might be ok for you to decide to drink again, however for me, I know without a doubt it would end up being that slippery slope back to where I was querying my drinking habits.    I’ve had these wobbles a couple of times, confident that I can totally manage it, just have one n...
10 comments

What to expect in early sobriety

 

                           What to expect in early sobriety

The benefits of Sobriety


Those first few weeks and months are tough, but, they are also amazing.  

You will find a whole new sense of purpose and understanding of who you are as a person.  Depending on how much you usually consumed you may find that the withdrawal process is  tough one to bear.  Sleep disturbances, headaches and general feelings of rubbishness are to be expected, however it is short lived.  The absolute joy of improved mental clarity, better sleep and sometimes, weight loss will have you wondering why you didn't quit earlier.  Here are just some of the things you might experience.

PROPLE WILL QUESTION YOU.

It's none of their business, you don't have to explain yourself but I would suggest having an answer ready.  People will surprise you with their attitudes towards it, most will be supportive but there will be those who push for an answer "are you an alcoholic?" or will try and push for you to just have a drink.   My go to response was, I was trying to get fit and lose weight so was giving up booze for a while. At the end of the day it's your journey and completely up to you what you want to tell people.

DREAMS

One of the biggest shocks for me in the first 2 months was The Dreams.  I would wake up having dreamt of a night out and getting drunk.  I don't know exactly how to explain the feelings I had when I woke up but it was a mix of stress, guilt and then relief that it was only a dream.  Needless to say the relief that I knew it was only a dream meant I was making the right decision to give up.

YOU'LL SAVE MONEY

You will find that you are better off.  Unless you are spending money on alcohol free version of gin etc. that are just as expensive as the real thing. you will find that you save yourself a fortune.  Nights out are brilliant because you are on soft drinks and if like me drive, save on taxi's too. Win Win.

YOU WILL QUICKLY START TO FEEL AMAZING

It really will shock you at how quickly you will start to feel great.  Your skin will look healthier, your weight will go down and your mental health will improve.  People will start to notice too.  You will become hooked on your own wellbeing.  

There was a paragraph that really struck a chord with me at the very beginning of my journey, from the book The Sober Girls Guide.  If todays food standards were applied only one glass of wine per year would be recommended.  That's INSANE!

Sober Girls guide paragraph



I am so glad I read this though as it really was a factor in keeping me motivated.  I live a healthy lifestyle, I exercise regularly and work hard on my mental health, but this, why then was I doing this to myself and why on earth are we rewarding ourselves with something that is so detrimental to our health?

Now, let me be real for a second, I am in no way a long time sober expert.  I have just hit 9 months, but I am early enough in to remember the feelings of just quitting and long enough in to know that the thought of just having that glass of wine is fleeting and I am now strong enough to let it pass.  There are wobbles, there always will be but know that support is out there.   

Thank for clicking on my post.  If you missed my first post you can find it here.

I'd also recommend reading  my amazing friends journey here.

Next post, attending my first festival Sober.







Comments

  1. Elaine Higgins22 March 2023 at 15:02

    Well done Nicola. You are an inspiration and sounds like you're happier and healthier too 👏

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous23 March 2023 at 16:21

    This reads ‘happy’. Inspiration and honest. Love it. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10 April 2023 at 11:08

    Loving these blogs Nicola. Down to earth, authentic and positive. Your comments about improved mental health are so important as I don’t think some people realise just how strong a depressant alcohol really is…..very proud of you SIL Xxx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10 April 2023 at 13:15

    Well done super proud of you x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10 April 2023 at 17:27

    Excellent, very helpful.and motivational.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overcoming triggers and wobbles on your Sober journey

Image
How to recognise and get through triggers or wobbles when going sober. Thank you so much for reading my blogs, I hope the previous posts Deciding to be a sober Gal , What to expect in early Sobriety and attending your first big event have been a help and encouraged you on your journey.   If you haven’t read them yet, WHY NOT?   Go check them out. 😊 . It’s a given that the first few months are going to be hard, however, what happens when you are a few months down the line, feeling fabulous and suddenly you have that overwhelming voice in your head saying, “surely you can give up now” “will it really matter if you have a bottle of wine”? What I will say is, it’s your journey, you do you. It might be ok for you to decide to drink again, however for me, I know without a doubt it would end up being that slippery slope back to where I was querying my drinking habits.    I’ve had these wobbles a couple of times, confident that I can totally manage it, just have one n...
Read more

Deciding to be a Sober gal.

Image
 I don't consider myself an "alcoholic" and I don't know if I actually consider myself after over 8 months without booze "Sober" but I did at some point realise, that alcohol was becoming a problem in my life.   There is a saying amongst the sober community that "If you are asking yourself if it is a problem, then more than likely it is becoming one".   I, like all of my friends loved getting wild on a night out, opening the bottles of wine through the week when cooking dinner as a reward for a hard day at work, and liked "getting on it" at parties and festivals, however, when it was becoming apparent that "the Fear" was becoming more and more frequent and stopping at the supermarket every night to get the wine in was becoming a regular feature, I realised that, yes, it was becoming an issue.  I liked it though!    I was scared that I wouldn't be able to have fun and enjoy myself at the weekend.  How would I be able to go to...
Read more

Attending the first big event on your sober journey

Image
Congratulations to you if you are on your sober journey, and hello to you if you are here because you are sober curious.  If you haven't already done so, please read my first two blogs.  Deciding to be a sober gal and What to expect in early sobriety .  All comments and shares are greatly appreciated. So, this blog is my experience of attending that first big event and my tips on how to enjoy it and be prepared.   I had attended a few birthday parties etc. in the early days of going sober but the big one I thought was going to be difficult was my first festival.  @ dounetherabbithole , one of our favourite festivals and one that is always a blast.   Packing for this usually meant a massive “carry out” and making the most of the real ales on sale at the bar.   The big thought going through my head was am I still going to enjoy it and not be boring to the rest of my pals.    I can honestly say it’s one of the best times I have ever had. I reme...
Read more