It feels like only moments that I wrote about quitting alcohol and here I am, 60 days sober.
That’s two months – 2 months sober. And aside from my pregnancies and through chemo, this is the longest time I’ve ever gone without a drink since I started drinking alcohol.
Wow, 60 days alcohol free!
I won’t be sharing here why I stopped drinking as I already have – so if you didn’t know, you can skip back to why I stopped drinking alcohol here.
I will just add though that it was something I had to do, not just something I tried on a whim. I also recorded a podcast on why I quit alcohol here.
As many of you know, I’ve just written the first draft of a book about my journey to and out of alcohol addiction.
It’s a very personal account of:
- what led me to drinking too much
- how I became sober
- my own strategies for staying sober
- the results of my survey into Motherhood and Alcohol
I’m excited to share this book with you and hope so much that it helps another person who might be facing the same challenges.
ORDER MY BOOK, “Less Wine, More Time”:
Australia: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
US: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
UK: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
Rest of World: order via Amazon.
Two Months Sober
Giving up drinking is still relatively new to me and I do appreciate that 60 days no alcohol isn’t a long time. I’m in this for the long haul though.
I check how long have I been sober every day using the I Am Sober app – which has a daily reminder that pings on my phone!
I think that by calling myself ‘sober’, I project to you the possibility that I had a ‘problem with drinking’.
Well, I did.
So whether I say I’m a non-drinker, a teetotaller or sober, it’s all the same thing to me. No drama, just a fact. Am I Sober? Yes.
What does sober mean?
For me, it’s simply that I no longer drink alcohol. 60 days without alcohol so far but I’ll never drink again. I went into this with the intention of never drinking it again for three main reasons (and numerous smaller ones):
- I had a problem with drinking too much, too frequently
- I wanted to experience the health benefits of not drinking alcohol
- I wanted to minimise the negative health effects that alcohol consumption can bring on.
You can check out Allen Carr’s book here in Australia, here in the US and here in the UK.
Will I Ever Drink Alcohol Again?
No.
I was blurring my life away. I purposefully drank to ‘forget’ or to ‘minimise’ the shit storm around me.
Alcohol was numbing the pain but fueling the anxiety fire and I appreciate now that I was only masking my demons, not facing them.
Which is awesome as now I get to face them head on, stone cold sober. It’s SCARY as shit. But I understand that I need to face them, as tough as it sometimes is.
So my plan is still to be sober forever. And it’s exciting – because the health benefits of quitting alcohol I’m already feeling are amazing!
The benefits of not drinking alcohol for me
There are a couple of major benefits of giving up alcohol I’m feeling so far.
Better Sleep
I sleep – like I really sleep. Proper, deep, out-for-the-count sleep. SLEEP. Those of you who’ve been reading for a while know my issues with insomnia – I’ve struggled since my teen years with getting to sleep. But once I got to sleep, I was good.
Then, after having kids, sleep deprivation was constant. I had no time to sleep, I struggled to get to sleep and even when I did, the babies would wake me up after just minutes.
When they got older and slept for longer, I still struggled with staying asleep. I slept so lightly and I swear if they rolled over or so much as sighed I woke up. I put it down to ‘being a mum’.
Except now that’s changed!
I still sometimes struggle with getting to sleep but once I’m out, I am OUT. It literally feels like a mini miracle.
I’m still an insomniac, but wow I’m sleeping better overall.
Less Anxiety
That ‘next day guilt’ or paranoia or disappointment in myself has gone. Gone.
No more ‘what did I do last night?’ or ‘why did I not stop drinking earlier?’ or ‘why did I do it again?’.
I now wake up feeling fresh (ish), guilt-free and focused.
Anxiety and PTSD after cancer is still a thing for me. Still something I’m working on every day. But the anxiety I was giving myself from drinking too much, too frequently, has gone. And it feels amazing to be taking back some control in my life when so much has been taken away from me.
There are many more benefits that are still showing up in my new alcohol-free life every day.
I’ll share more soon on those because some of the smaller health benefits of quitting alcohol and living a sober life have really surprised me. And every day, I’m finding that the reasons to stay sober grow and grow as I feel so much more in control of my life.
The Cons
I’ll start by saying that I haven’t experienced any ‘cons’ that would make me stop this mission to quit drinking alcohol forever.
However, there is one thing that happened that I didn’t expect.
I didn’t quit drinking lose weight but I did expect the weight to fall off when I stopped. It hasn’t and in fact, I’ve put on a couple of kilos.
This has really surprised me – because the calories I was consuming through alcohol would have been massive.
I thought it was a given that giving up alcohol weight loss would occur but apparently not. To be honest, I feel a bit ripped off!
However, I’ve changed my diet considerably at around the same time and I think this might have had an effect. So I’ll report back soon on how the weight situation is going.
Despite putting on a bit of weight, the benefits of being sober from alcohol far outweigh the cons (pun totally intended!) so far.
If you need help getting sober
I’m not sharing my story to tell you how to stop drinking alcohol or why you should or shouldn’t. I have no interested in preaching at all and hope by sharing my story it doesn’t come across that I am.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to quit drinking, consult your GP.
If you want to know what happens when you stop drinking alcohol, I found this article really informative on what happens when you stop drinking alcohol.
Is life better sober? For me, 100% yes! Being sober is great. Living ‘the sober life’ has also opened my eyes and ears to how so many other women are doing the same thing.
Since I first shared the reasons I was quitting drinking, I’ve been absolutely inundated with hundreds of emails and messages from so many women who are thinking of quitting too.
And do feel free to reach out to me – in the Comments, by email or on social media. Because I’m always happy to chat about what I’m doing and how it’s changing my life.
ORDER MY BOOK, “Less Wine, More Time”:
Australia: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
US: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
UK: Click to buy Less Wine, More Time now
Rest of World: order via Amazon.
You can check out Allen Carr’s book here in Australia, here in the US and here in the UK.
Read next:
- I Am Sober
- BMBL Podcast 003: Reactions to Quitting Alcohol
- 18 Things I’ve Stopped Buying to Become More Sustainable
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So this is me at 60 days sober – best decision ever!
