THE ART OF LIVING AN ALCOHOL-FREE LIFESTYLE
Tip #14 - You don’t have to have a drinking problem for drinking to cause problems.
THE ART OF LIVING AN ALCOHOL-FREE LIFESTYLE
Part 1: 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.
Part 2: A story of why life may have been “fine,” but quitting was still my best option.
Tip #14 - You don’t have to have a drinking problem for drinking to cause problems.

Part 1
Toni from the Shelf-Help Book Club quoted something I had written years ago as she was introducing me on her podcast last week. And though you may have seen some iteration of this quote made into multiple social media memes, these words have literally been my guiding post for all that I have ever shared about my quit story.
You don’t have to have a drinking problem for drinking to cause problems.
Many of us who were on the spectrum of drinking felt that we didn’t necessarily need to quit because things weren’t that bad. Life was fine or maybe even good. We were successful, had a great social network, good career, family, etc. But then there was this incline nibbling away, that gut feeling and the inner voice whispering quietly - this is not for you; there is another way.
And so maybe we look a little deeper. Maybe we missed a few appointments, shared secrets that didn’t belong to us, got into fights with our close friends or partners, noticed our hangovers were getting longer, anxiety in the middle of the night was a new norm, changes in mood and energy levels, or the glass of wine at dinner that started turning closer to a bottle before bed.
It’s the little things that we notice here and there, the one-offs that we are holding close while pushing down or justifying them all, and yet at the same time, that inner voice continues to get louder.
So whether you don’t want to drink anymore for no real reason or you have a quantifiable reason to stop drinking, please know there are no rules on who should or should not drink. There is no one way to live life, and there certainly are no criteria one must meet in order to make the decision not to drink. Life does not have to go completely off the rails before you make the choice to get yourself back on track.