Final April, I made a decision to take a 30-day break from ingesting. What I didn’t anticipate was how that one small resolution would quietly reshape the best way I transfer by way of my days, join with individuals, and present up for myself. At first, it was simply an experiment. It was a technique to reset after a season that felt a bit too full, a bit too quick. My pores and skin was infected, my vitality was shot, and I used to be caught in a loop of late-night snacking and stressed mornings. I needed to really feel higher in my physique and clearer in my thoughts—particularly as I navigated a breakup that I knew I didn’t need to blur with a buzz.
However letting go of alcohol wasn’t so simple as saying no to a drink. My default was all the time a glass in hand—at dinner, at live shows, after an extended day. It was baked into my routines and tied intently to how I noticed myself. I’d taken sommelier programs. I knew the right way to pair wine with meals, the right way to speak about it, the right way to make it a part of a second, and integral to every journey I booked. So, sitting down at a restaurant and skipping the wine record? It felt off—like I used to be lacking part of the expertise or part of myself.
Characteristic picture by Michelle Nash.
However over time, the discomfort gave technique to one thing else: area. With out the predictable rhythm of a drink to lean on, I began to note what I truly wanted on the finish of a tough day—perhaps it was relaxation, or connection, or just quiet. I obtained inquisitive about how I felt after I wasn’t continually recovering from the evening earlier than. The fog lifted. My pores and skin began to clear. I wasn’t dragging myself by way of mornings anymore. I used to be truly rested.
That quiet readability—together with the stunning satisfaction I felt—was sufficient to maintain me going. I wasn’t chasing some good model of myself. I simply felt higher. And for the primary time in a very long time, that was sufficient. Because the months handed, I saved ready for a second to reach the place a drink would’ve made the expertise higher, both extra enjoyable, extra particular, or extra value it. But it surely by no means got here. And after I imagined buying and selling my peace for a hangover, or my presence for a blur, the reply turned easy: I didn’t want it anymore.
Greatest Learnings and Surprises
After I first determined to give up ingesting, I assumed the adjustments can be simple. I anticipated to really feel more healthy, sleep higher, and expertise some readability. However what actually stunned me have been the deeper, sudden shifts that got here alongside the best way.
1. I turned extra in-tune with myself.
The primary huge realization was that alcohol wasn’t simply affecting my bodily well being—it was influencing how I confirmed up on this planet. I assumed I wanted it to unwind after an extended day or to be social. However with out it, I discovered myself tuning in to what I truly wanted: relaxation, area, and connection, with out the haze of a hangover or the social strain of becoming in.
2. Alcohol isn’t my id.
I additionally realized how a lot I’d tied alcohol to my id. For years, I assumed having a drink in my hand was what made me enjoyable, partaking, and “cool” in sure settings. I now know that I can have simply as a lot enjoyable—in all probability extra—after I’m totally current, with out the crutch of a drink. The liberty of understanding I will be me with out counting on alcohol is empowering.
3. My physique liked the change.
One of many greatest surprises, although, was how a lot my physique liked the change. I by no means anticipated my pores and skin to clear up or my vitality ranges to skyrocket. I didn’t notice how a lot psychological readability I used to be lacking, or how refreshing it might be to get up feeling restored as a substitute of dreading the day after an evening out.
4. It wasn’t as exhausting as I assumed.
One other sudden realization? I had made every thing really feel tougher than it truly was. I spent a lot time worrying about how it could really feel, how I’d navigate social conditions, or what I’d be lacking out on. However in actuality, the method wasn’t almost as troublesome as I’d imagined. It’s been a lot simpler to indicate up as myself with out alcohol, and the moments I as soon as feared have turned out to be simpler—and extra pleasing—than I assumed.
I wasn’t chasing some good model of myself. I simply felt higher. And for the primary time in a very long time, that was sufficient.
5. I saved cash—and time.
However there’s extra: I by no means anticipated how a lot time and cash I’d save. I hadn’t realized how a lot my routine—eating out, grabbing drinks, or attending occasions—was draining each my checking account and my schedule. With out the impulse to exit for drinks or make last-minute plans, I’ve discovered extra time for actions that really nourish me, and my pockets is definitely happier too.
6. No person actually cares (in a great way).
After which there’s the shock that’s in all probability probably the most liberating of all: Nobody cares as a lot as I assumed they might. I used to be satisfied that not ingesting would make me stand out in a room, make me appear completely different, and even awkward. However the reality? Persons are extra targeted on themselves than I ever gave them credit score for.
As soon as I began quietly sharing bits of my journey on social media, one thing sudden occurred—I spotted I wasn’t alone. Folks I had all the time seen because the lifetime of the social gathering, the cool, effortlessly social ones, reached out to say they weren’t ingesting both. Some had walked away from alcohol after battling it, whereas others, like me, merely needed a distinct type of life. Both approach, it jogged my memory that we’re all simply figuring it out. And it felt actually, actually good to know I wasn’t doing it alone.
A Few Questions I Get About Not Consuming
Many individuals are inquisitive about my resolution. Lots of people marvel if I’m nonetheless social, or if I miss having a drink in hand, and right here’s the factor: I completely thought I wouldn’t be as enjoyable, or as outgoing, or as social with out alcohol. Would I truly get out on the dance ground? Would I be as humorous?
I’ve discovered is that it’s not the drink that makes the night—it’s the connection. Seems, I’m much more enjoyable after I truly keep in mind my evenings, and I’m much more partaking after I’m totally current. The conversations I’ve had since I’ve stopped ingesting have felt even deeper, extra significant, and extra genuine. And waking up refreshed, understanding I’m able to tackle a exercise or a productive day? It’s a much better excessive than something I may’ve gotten from a drink.
I’m usually requested if I’ll ever drink once more. The quick reply is: I haven’t but encountered a second that feels well worth the danger of not feeling my greatest. So, for now, I’m not . That doesn’t imply I received’t change my thoughts down the highway—it simply means, at this level, I’m not prepared to commerce a short lived buzz for the knowledge of feeling lower than nice the subsequent day.
The place to Begin if You’re Sober Curious
There’s no single blueprint for altering your relationship with alcohol—what labored for me might not be just right for you. This journey is deeply private, and that’s what makes it so highly effective. For some, it would begin with curiosity. For others, a second of discomfort, a life shift, or just a need to really feel higher.
I started with a 30-day break. That was the one objective. No long-term commitments, no huge declarations—only a window of time to see how I felt. That gave me the area to note what alcohol had been protecting up, and what life seemed like with out it.
Should you’re questioning the place to begin, perhaps it’s simply that: a pause. A second to verify in with your self. You don’t must have all of the solutions or map out a yr. You simply want a bit willingness to see what could be potential on the opposite facet of 1 completely different alternative.
A New, Alcohol-Free Starting
This has been a journey of studying to take heed to myself, to honor my wants, and to embrace a life I by no means thought was potential with out alcohol. Every alternative, each “first,” has jogged my memory of the power I didn’t know I had—and that’s guiding me now in methods I hadn’t anticipated.
The query I proceed to ask myself is, “What else in my life have I been holding onto, convinced that it’s necessary but may not actually be?”
Deciding to not drink has been a day by day alternative, a gradual overhaul. Socializing with out one thing in hand wasn’t all the time simple, particularly after I hardly ever went out with out it earlier than. However with every new alternative, I’ve seen that I don’t want alcohol to navigate the world, and I’m nonetheless capable of take pleasure in life totally. It’s about embracing the current, with out ready for that momentary buzz, and discovering pleasure within the readability that’s left behind.
