One Year Dry - My Experimental Break from Alcohol

Today, May 3, 2021, marks the one-year anniversary since I had my last sip of alcohol. I’m reflecting on this milestone as ‘One Year Dry’ because I’m not an alcoholic. Out of respect and acknowledgment of the lifelong struggle for individuals who are diagnosed or self-diagnosed as alcoholics, I don’t want to use the word ‘sober’ or refer to my journey as ‘sobriety’. I have gotten to know many people throughout my life who are alcoholics and I sympathize, respect, and commend those in struggle, in treatment, who have gone through rehab and/or twelve-step programs. My goal here is to reflect on the role of alcohol in society, in my life, and share what my pause has done for me and hopefully inspire others to pause or begin an aspect of their lives that can lead to similar benefits.

The impetus for this change in my life began a few years ago when I no longer liked how I felt after nights of alcohol consumption. I also realized it had been more than half of my life since I had gone more than three weeks without a sip of alcohol. I asked my doctor about it and as any good physician should, she asked me if I thought I was an alcoholic. I told her that I didn’t think it was a problem, in that I could stop once I started, never drank alone, but that for me it was more that I constantly felt societal and peer pressure to drink. She administered what’s called the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, a ten-item questionnaire that screens for hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption. The test confirmed I was not an alcoholic nor that I was at high risk of being an alcoholic. Apparently, one standard measure of alcoholism for men is four or more drinks a day or fourteen a week. For women the threshold is having more than three drinks a day or seven a week.

The first time I ever tasted alcohol was a mojito at a quincea?era party. Growing up in Puerto Rico, the legal drinking age was 18, and being the island home to Bacardi rums, to the hotel that invented the pi?a colada, and a vibrant nightlife accessible to high school children, alcohol was normalized in a much healthier way than in the mainland USA, similar to Europe. Children drank with their families at special occasions, religious celebrations, dinners, and it was even socially acceptable senior year of high school to drink with teachers at events.

I was shy and introverted early in my childhood and was fortunate to come out of my shell when I attended sleepaway summer camps. That “escape” provided the opportunities to be my truly authentic self without the limitations and biases kids hold about kids who are “good students” and the limitations of parents’ rules at home. Today I exhibit both introverted and extroverted tendencies from years of working on my social skills. I can turn on extroversion mode when needed, but certainly, my default is still to be introverted. I love to hover in wallflower mode. I adore enjoying music by really listening, being in the moment, seeing others shine with their storytelling, and assume if someone wants to hear from me, they’ll ask. 

Going out in major American cities, small towns, cities in South America, and Europe alike, I think it is safe to generalize that people overly rely on socializing and celebrating with the use of alcohol. The idea of celebrating anything without alcohol is certainly a rare occurrence. The idea of meeting new people without alcohol, conducting business meetings, and even going to professional sporting events, theatre, or music concerts without drinking, runs counter-culture. We love tailgating, sharing cocktails and beers with friends, and there is a big push in the media, Hollywood, and the entertainment industry as a whole to perpetuate the ‘cool’ factor.

In my work and personal life, I have always been the one to make plans, entertain people from out of town, throw parties and events, so much so that a big part of my identity throughout high school, college during my fraternity days, in my 20s when my wife and I hosted family and friends in Boston, and now in my 30s in Miami, has been that of the fun party guy to many people in my life. 

I’m glad to be a source of joy and adventure to people and will continue to be. Nothing makes me happier than having authentic interactions with people I care about and in many cases strangers, as well.

I am not an alcoholic, but during the pandemic, I decided it would be the ideal time to get healthier, get fit, and make big personal development changes.

Being able to pick one thing in my life to cut out has been a great focal point. I don’t judge others who need it, like it, and I’m not even sure if I will never drink again, but for now, despite the global pandemic, my anxiety is lower, my skin is clearer, I sleep better, my digestion is better, I've lost weight, I’m able to dance and sing longer, and my mornings are pain-free. Once we go back to our pre-pandemic social life and work expectations, I’ll be curious to see if my pandemic year being dry, will hold or if I’ll dive back into the imbibing sea.