Today is my 3-month soberversarry of being Alcohol-Free. It's technically longer if I couldn't weeks but I find it easier to just use the end of a month as the marker. I can honestly say I really have not missed it. I am sleeping better, I don't spend nearly as much when I go out both on drinks and also Taxis to and from the place etc.
I have found that I am more present whenever I go out and I actually enjoy the night and remember it. My weekends are so much more productive because I am not spending most of it feeling rough and hungover. I've lost count over he years of the number of wasted weekends doing nothing but vegging on he sofa recovering from a night out. That or throwing up the morning after from overindulging and poisoning myself with alcohol.
Another thing I have noticed too is that because I now don't drink, when I am around people that do, I notice changes in them as soon as they start drinking. Sometimes it's small changes from their first drink and other times it's like a complete personality bypass. I have yet to find someone who becomes a better person after they have a drink? Most become louder, some more obnoxious, some get all emotional and others become aggressive and unbearable. I have found that I take myself off now when I am around people that aren't a pleasant drunk, rather than have to deal with it. Let them be someone else's problem. I value my energy too much to allow someone's negative energy to bring me down. There is not point trying to reason with people once they are on the alcohol train cos I've been there and you just can't see it. You don't think you are annoying, nasty of anything negative you just think other people are boring who don't jump on the same train as you.
I don't miss waking up with beer fear and having to look through my phone camera roll to see what kind of night I had. Texting a friend furtively to see if I need to apologise to anyone for anything I did the night before :-/ I can now remember exactly the kind of night I had, and even some of the names of the people I spoke to, which is a first for me as I am terrible with name sober without adding memory wiping alcohol into the mix lol.
I am enjoying reading and filling all those moments of time where I would be bored with sticking my head into a book and improving my vocabulary as well as knowledge (though you probably wouldn't guess reading my bad grammar and misspellings on my blog posts lol).
I have been doing activities too even midweek with Buckt so I am trying new things that I haven't done before. You get 5 activities a month for £15 per person (for Manchester, Liverpool & Birmingham) and £20 per person for London. The activities are really varied and I have also sorted out a deal for members of The Virtual Tavern. Don't worry if you aren't a member you can click the blue link above to join ;-) I will be announcing it officially tomorrow so keep your on my blog. Better still you can subscribe and get the info straight to your inbox on this link HERE
You can cancel at any time so if you feel like just trying a month you do not want to miss this deal so look out for the link tomorrow in The Virtual Tavern and on my socials. ;-)