Sarah, I really appreciate this vulnerable look into your journey with alcohol. As someone who has never found the stuff appealing, and therefore basically doesn’t drink (occasionally here and there, but even then I can take an entire night to finish a single drink, if I even get halfway through it), I find it all fascinating. I have always been intrigued by the way alcohol is the one drug people look at you weird for NOT using, and wonder just what that’s really about.
I’ve found my comfort with not drinking and really don’t care what anyone thinks about it, but it’s a weird place to be, and I can’t imagine that’s any easier when you’re working hard to abstain. Kudos to you for making that call and doing what you need to do for yourself.
Thank you so much Nancy - I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. And you're so right about how weird people are about it. The past few times I've tried to quit, I've been bogged down by how many inquiries about pregnancy I get. It's so uncomfortable. I'm glad you found your comfort! Thank you so much for reading and for your support. It means so much!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve really been evaluating my relationship with alcohol and while I don’t feel the need to stop all together, I have noticed that I don’t reach for it as a crutch, like I used to.
I am forever proud of and inspired by you my love. You have been so strong these last few weeks, leaning on us when you needed to, allowing us to see you and truly check in on you. As a person who has, for most of her life, gotten sick with alcohol (I even had an allergy for a while) I understand the feeling of being left out but it has also given me a lens to look through where I look around and constantly think... WTF. Our culture, as well as British, Kiwi and Aussie culture, glorify alcohol. It’s a part of everyone’s day. For men it’s beer, for women it’s wine, for me, on the outside, it’s WILD. The good thing is, there are more and more of us who don’t center alcohol in our lives for a multitude of reasons, and we are here to help create an alternative community where la croix served in a wine glass makes us far happier than any alcohol could. You’re not alone. No one is. 🖤✨
I resonate so much with this. I'm now approaching 2 years alcohol-free and feel eternally grateful for all of the online support I've found along the way. It's so so so important to be vocal about alcohol abuse especially because it doesn't look the same for everyone. When I started hearing others share stories of their sobriety (on both instagram & r/stopdrinking), something started to click in my brain and I realized I'd fallen deep in the trap of what I call "Big Alcohol". No, drinking to get through serious anxiety isn't cute or normal, it's only making it worse.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on about this forever. Thank you for sharing these words! It helps. So much. <3
Thank you so much for sharing this, Erin - and CONGRATS on two years!!! You're right - the online support community has been a huge blessing. Alcohol is so normalized, and alcohol abuse is so normalized, and I didn't see that until I got sober. I think people that still drink are still deep in the thick of it and I was there too. I agree, we need to keep talking about the harms, and that "taking the edge off of soccer practice with a thermos of white wine" is not funny or cute - it's a problem. Thank you for reading, I am so grateful for you! <3
Sarah, I really appreciate this vulnerable look into your journey with alcohol. As someone who has never found the stuff appealing, and therefore basically doesn’t drink (occasionally here and there, but even then I can take an entire night to finish a single drink, if I even get halfway through it), I find it all fascinating. I have always been intrigued by the way alcohol is the one drug people look at you weird for NOT using, and wonder just what that’s really about.
I’ve found my comfort with not drinking and really don’t care what anyone thinks about it, but it’s a weird place to be, and I can’t imagine that’s any easier when you’re working hard to abstain. Kudos to you for making that call and doing what you need to do for yourself.
Thank you so much Nancy - I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. And you're so right about how weird people are about it. The past few times I've tried to quit, I've been bogged down by how many inquiries about pregnancy I get. It's so uncomfortable. I'm glad you found your comfort! Thank you so much for reading and for your support. It means so much!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve really been evaluating my relationship with alcohol and while I don’t feel the need to stop all together, I have noticed that I don’t reach for it as a crutch, like I used to.
Thank you Meredith - I'm so glad to hear you're reshaping your relationship with it. Your future self thanks you for it <3
You are an Amazing writer Sarah. Thanks for sharing!
This means so much to me Jerry. Thank you!
I am forever proud of and inspired by you my love. You have been so strong these last few weeks, leaning on us when you needed to, allowing us to see you and truly check in on you. As a person who has, for most of her life, gotten sick with alcohol (I even had an allergy for a while) I understand the feeling of being left out but it has also given me a lens to look through where I look around and constantly think... WTF. Our culture, as well as British, Kiwi and Aussie culture, glorify alcohol. It’s a part of everyone’s day. For men it’s beer, for women it’s wine, for me, on the outside, it’s WILD. The good thing is, there are more and more of us who don’t center alcohol in our lives for a multitude of reasons, and we are here to help create an alternative community where la croix served in a wine glass makes us far happier than any alcohol could. You’re not alone. No one is. 🖤✨
I love you to Pluto and back! You have been my ROCK. Non-alcoholic cheers to so many fun booze-less nights and days and adventures together! <3
Yes yes yes! Three non-alcoholic cheers!! 😘
I resonate so much with this. I'm now approaching 2 years alcohol-free and feel eternally grateful for all of the online support I've found along the way. It's so so so important to be vocal about alcohol abuse especially because it doesn't look the same for everyone. When I started hearing others share stories of their sobriety (on both instagram & r/stopdrinking), something started to click in my brain and I realized I'd fallen deep in the trap of what I call "Big Alcohol". No, drinking to get through serious anxiety isn't cute or normal, it's only making it worse.
Anyway, I could ramble on and on about this forever. Thank you for sharing these words! It helps. So much. <3
Thank you so much for sharing this, Erin - and CONGRATS on two years!!! You're right - the online support community has been a huge blessing. Alcohol is so normalized, and alcohol abuse is so normalized, and I didn't see that until I got sober. I think people that still drink are still deep in the thick of it and I was there too. I agree, we need to keep talking about the harms, and that "taking the edge off of soccer practice with a thermos of white wine" is not funny or cute - it's a problem. Thank you for reading, I am so grateful for you! <3