THE ART OF LIVING AN ALCOHOL-FREE LIFESTYLE

Tip #17 - For the record: life is not perfect when you quit drinking.

THE ART OF LIVING AN ALCOHOL-FREE LIFESTYLE

A series of one-off tips served with some straight talk, a bit of sass, and a penchant for not taking oneself or life too seriously.

Image: Pinterest

Tip #17 - For the record, life is not perfect when you quit drinking.

Contrary to what you may see on social media, just because someone quit drinking doesn't mean their world becomes some picturesque ideal of what a perfect life looks like. Just like when we romanticize drinking, we can romanticize our life without drinking.

Now, I will be the first one to tell you that life is absolutely better without alcohol in it. But it doesn't mean it's easy.

I also want to comment that I can only assume that many people who have seen my posts and read my words over the years would describe me as someone who ran with this narrative. And they would be correct, to an extent.

When I started sharing my story in 2016, I was over the moon that I finally had been alcohol-free for nearly a year. I focused on the positive. I wrote with vitality and probably annoyed most of my friends - who had only known me as a drinker for 20+ years. Even the name I chose for my IG handle was (understandably) misunderstood as an "aesthetic" of what life was like without alcohol. When in reality and what I intended, The Sober Glow was describing how we could feel without alcohol. It was always about how we could feel on the inside

It has always been about all the feelings: good and bad, beautiful and ugly, positive and negative, exciting and boring, fulfilling and completely unfulfilling, appealing and disappointing.

But on social media, you typically only see one side of the coin. In full transparency, I was part of that and still am in many ways. Most people are. In fact, I can't think of one sober person who I follow who shows the whole story, even the ones who claim they do or yell about others overly selling the positive side of sobriety. We are all participants in one way or another.

Of course, I don't post pictures of myself not washing my hair for three days, getting four hours of sleep, and only having the energy to lay on my couch all day watching trash TV and yelling at my partner, who is annoying me by simply breathing. And no, I don’t post about when I am feeling extremely anxious, overwhelmed, pissed off, and on the verge of blowing up my life. Of course not, but don’t think for one second that all these patterns, emotions, feelings, and thoughts don’t happen. This is life. This is normal, and no one is above it, no matter what someone chooses or doesn’t choose to share with others.

We have to understand and discern between someone sharing the positive aspects of not drinking and overtly selling us on something that simply doesn't exist. Life is not perfect when we quit drinking. No matter what we see or don’t see online.

No matter where you are on the spectrum of drinking, if you quit and realize that it's hard as hell, you are correct. You are not doing anything wrong; this is part of the ride, baby. So buckle the F up. All those emotions, feelings, choices, and truths you were avoiding by drinking alcohol come flying right at you and smack you in the face. This is when the work begins. No matter what some overly excited sober influencer says online, you will get it wrong sometimes. But you will most certainly get it right as well. Try to enjoy it all and not get too attached to any of it.

Life gets full technicolor when you quit drinking. Which is wildly fun and wickedly terrifying.

Enjoy the ride with your eyes wide open.

Happy Sunday…..as I curtsy and fall back into bed.