Sober Curious, what it means, how to try it, and my personal experience.

How many mornings have you waken up and sworn off alcohol for good only to drink soon after? How many times have you had brutal anxiety, wondering wtf you said or did? "Who did I piss off?" "I did what with who?" And the dread of checking you bank account after a night out drinking omg, don't even get me started on the stupid shit I've bought drunk... But, is any of this enough to swear off alcohol for good?

So what is sober curious anyways?

Answer; it's a lifestyle trend about dipping your toes into sobriety. Being generally turned on by the idea of a sober life without hangovers, and blackouts, and everything that goes along with it. It's the want to live that way but, not being sure you're fully ready to commit to sobriety. Staying sober for extended periods of time. A lifestyle that encourages people to choose sobriety more often.

For me its been about a year of sober curiosity. I had enough last year (2023) at Halloween. I gave up the booze for about a month, then would drink only once in a while if there was a social event I was attending. By May/ June it had turned into a weekly (sometimes multiple times a week) thing. Then came my birthday... the birthday from hell... Backstory.. I fucking love my birthday. I've named it Celestapalooza, its usally a week long celebration fueld by alcohol and typically its been alot of fun. Not this year... this year I mentally had a lot going on and that amount of excessive drinking was not a good idea (it never is but if your mentally not ok its even worse) I planned a camping trip and everything turned to shit, mostly because of me. I caused fights, I blacked out and spent entirely too much money for nothing but relationships in turmoil, embarrassment, regret, anxiety and a really bad hangover! This was the end of the road for me. I knew it was time to make a change. This was not the person I wanted to be, nor was it the life I wanted to live.

Alcohol has always had a big presence in my life, My parents drank a lot, every adult I knew growing up drank a lot. I started drinking at least once a week around the age of 12-13. I started stealing booze from my parents before I was 10- a Smirnoff ice here, a mudslide there, sneak into the field with the other kids and drink it and all laugh thinking we were so cool. Every social event in my entire life (other than when I was pregnant) was fuelled by liquor. Also side note I hated pregnancy a big reason was because I couldn't drink and hated being around people who were when I was sober. So giving it up was never something I even considered.

Sober curiosity takes the pressure off..

Being sober curious takes the commitment of a completely sober lifestyle out of it making it less intense/ scary. You can decide how long of a break you're taking, a week, a month, a year? You make the rules. Maybe you realize life is so much better sober and it sticks but without the commitment it seems a lot easier. Sober curious is at least a step in the right direction.

So, what happens when you take these breaks or quit drinking all together?

• No Hangovers; Who the hell has time for hangovers anyways?

• Your mental health improves; my anxiety is gone!! After years of anxiety sometimes crippling anxiety its gone.. just like that.. the root of it all was the booze.

• Relationships improve; When you're spending quality time and not numbing yourself, your connections get deeper and more meaningful. Also when you're sober you're a lot less of an asshole (if you're like me) therefore you're not always wondering if you offended anyone and if you did, dealing with them pissed off at you.

• You lean out; Since quitting drinking I've been much more consistent with my nutrition and workouts. I've personally dropped 5 inches off my waist in 2 months.. Alcohol is poison and when you drink your body needs to metabolize that poison and cannot burn fat.

• Your skin looks better; Alcohol disrupts your sleep, causing the skin to look dull and tired. Skip the booze, have a snooze. Wake up with glowing well rested skin.

• Your bank account will thank you; Drinking adds up, the booze itself, the drunk munchies, the hangover order on door dash, the Uber's, the random drunken purchases. It all adds up!

• Reduce your risk of major health issues; Drinking alcohol can lead to many health issues including liver disease, heart problems, and cancer.

Is a sober curious lifestyle for you?

Well, if you have ever thought about giving it up, if you have ever woken up and sworn it off, if you act like someone you don't like or are not proud of when drinking, if you dont know when to shut it off, or if your just ready to better your life, then the answer is yes. Just give it a shot. Maybe it changes everything. Maybe life is better than ever sober and it sticks. All I'm saying is you will never know how much better life can get unless you give it a try. You have nothing to lose if you do, but potentially everything to gain.

Love,

Celeste