Why I Didn’t Quit Drinking Forever (At First)
When I first started struggling with hangxiety, I didn’t know if I wanted to stop drinking forever. I just knew I hated hangovers.
My sober curious journey took 2-3 years. From binge drinking every weekend, to once a week, to once every 3-4 months. For me, a dreaded hangover became a reminder of why I was sober curious. And as each social situation passed, saying no to others became a little bit easier.
Eventually, I committed to a one-year no-alcohol challenge.
Why 1 year? Because of the stigma attached to not drinking, and I still needed space and time to figure out my relationship with alcohol. After the 1 year was completed I had enough experience to see I was happier without alcohol, but still didn’t have the confidence to say never again. So I gave myself another year.
After two years no alcohol, I felt confident to commit to not drinking. And now, I’m ten years alcohol-free.
Not putting pressure on myself to quit forever from day one helped me stay alcohol-free in the long run.
If you’re sober curious and you find yourself back at day one, remember… this process is rarely linear. Most of us don’t have our relationship with alcohol figured out instantly. That’s the point of exploring sober curiosity ~ to see if, where, or why alcohol fits in our lives.
