5 Pieces of Sobriety Advice

Happy New Year everyone.

I took some hard-earned time out over Christmas, and started thinking about my goals for 2021. What I want to stand for and the things I want to champion.

The main one I landed on is the importance of sobriety.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve had messages from so many people, friends included, asking for help with where to begin on their own journeys.

So, these are my 5 best pieces of advice for anyone who needs them:

1. Tell people you’re doing the 100 days sober challenge?

Peer pressure is the worst, and can make sobriety even tougher. Friends should respect your choice regardless of the reasoning behind it, but if you find yourself struggling, tell them you are doing the 100 day challenge. It made it easier for me to shut them down without going into detail about my choice.

2. Make plans Replace old drinking plans with something new

Planning something I really wanted to do for a Saturday or Sunday morning at 9am helped to curb my desire to go out and get drunk.

A lot of the time, alcohol is used to replace boredom, so if you can find other activities to keep you busy, you’ve already found a huge hack.

3. Remember there are different ways to socialise, aside from drinking

Take control of your own social calendar and suggest activities that don’t revolve around alcohol when reaching out to friends. Think trips to the cinema, meals, fight clubs, bowling and laser quest.

This also helps with number 2.

4. Find a replacement for the habit of drinking

This was a huge part of my initial journey with sobriety. Alcohol can be linked closely with emotion - bad day at work, something to celebrate etc.?

So, I mentally replaced the function of alcohol with something else in those situations. E.g. Nice meal for celebration or a massage after a hard week.

5. Have a why

This sounds like a cliche, but for me, having a why has made all the difference. Being able to focus on the person my friends, family and Georgie wanted and needed me to be was something I could always come back to. It’s something I still come back to now.

Having that sense of purpose is the foundation for the sense of achievement you will get by sticking to your goal.

When I started my own journey with sobriety 5.5 years ago, I felt lost, alone and afraid at the mammoth task ahead of me, and I don’t want anyone else to feel like that. So I really hope this helps.

When it gets lonely, please know that you have the support of every other person working for their own sobriety behind you.

All these years later, it has become such a normal part of my life that I forget to look back on the journey that got me here. You will get to this point too.

Good luck.