Reflecting On 2 Years Alcohol Free

It’s been 2 years since I had my last alcoholic drink. Id been sober curious for about a year leading up to the official end to drinking but it wasn’t until summer of 2021 that I decided to quit it for good.

There were a lot of things that lead to my decision including learning the truth about alcohol and the body through research, reading “Quit Like A Woman”, my history of abusing alcohol for years, my toxic relationship with alcohol and the need to have a drink to be social/fun/confident. I wouldn’t identify as an “alcoholic” but alcohol never served me well.

The day I quit drinking not much changed for me. I wanted to quit a few months before I got pregnant, as a part of my TTC plan, and I also needed a break from drinking after all of my wedding festivities so it seemed like the perfect time to stop. My honeymoon in Cabo was my goodbye to alcohol and I celebrated it plenty while saying farewell 😉. It probably wasn’t until now that I truly see how my relationship with alcohol was and how stopping has truly changed my life. It probably took this long because I was pregnant and new to mom life for most of the time. But now that I have a chance to reflect I can honestly tell you it has completely changed my life for the better:

I am overall happier and more content with who I am as a person. Alcohol can make you feel brave, confident and it can make you feel like someone else entirely and I truly relied on it for that without realizing. I am a naturally shy person and I used alcohol to change that part about myself. I’m not as shy as I used to be, thanks to social media being a big part of my work, but I’ve learned to finally accept who I am deep down. I love myself more than I ever did all of those years of drinking and I can honestly say it is because alcohol no longer has a hold on who I am.

I am finally reaching health and wellness goals that I never could when alcohol was part of my life.

I feel freer not having to rely on alcohol to help me out socially.

I save money.

I am able to be the mom I need to be without feeling groggy the next day. I am more energetic, I sleep better and I am more clear minded- all of the things that help me be a better mama.

I’m able to find other ways to help me relax at night like reading- I read more than I ever had before!

There are so many ways that quitting drinking has changed my life for the better and some of them I probably haven’t noticed.

Sober curious too?

Cutting out, altering your relationship with and even reducing your alcohol intake can have amazing benefits on your digestive health, hormone health, your skin health, your sleep and it could even help lessen anxious feelings.

To cut out alcohol I prepared myself mentally. I read books, listened to countless podcasts about sobriety and did my research on alcohol to understand that it was the right choice to give it up. I also had to prepare for the fact that my social life was going to change.  Places where I used to enjoy a glass of wine like going out to eat, meeting friends, camping, date nights in and trips were no longer going to include alcohol. I had to fill in the gap with sparkling water which obviously was not the same. To prepare myself for this change I had to do a lot of work inward through journaling and meditation. I needed to gain more confidence to be okay with who I was without alcohol in social situations, I needed to be okay enjoying a nonalcoholic drink while others were drinking around me and I needed to be in a place where I could and felt good about resisting the temptation to order a drink just because everyone else was.

I love talking about this topic because it has changed my life. If you every have any questions about quitting alcohol or if you need some guidance on how to go about it send me an email here to chat!