Thinking about going Sober?

---

Everyone will have their own reasons, their own goals and also their own levels of dependency and severity. But the overarching commonality is that we are seeking a new lifestyle that is breaking the status quo, and that we believe life without or with less alcohol, smoking or drugs will be better than life with it.

Here are some examples of popular discussion topics:

It is well documented the disastrous health effects that alcohol, smoking and drugs have on our bodies. They inflict physical and psychological damage which if left unchecked can have serious long term effects. 

Physical Effects:

Below are the top 5 causes for premature deaths per annum in the UK (Global Burden Study of Disease, 2019):

• Smoking- (119,776)
• High body mass index- (56,215)
• Alcohol use- (25,242)
• Low physical activity- (14,335)
• Drug use- (5,015)

Mental Health:

We are experiencing a global phenomenon of heightened awareness and concerns for our Mental Health with the following statistics from highlighting some key areas (Mind.org.uk, 2023):

In any given week in England:

• Mixed Anxiety and Depression: 8 in 100 people
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD): 6 in 100 people

Over the course of someones lifetime:

• 1 in 5 people have suicidal thoughts
• 1 in 14 people self-harm 
• 1 in 15 people attempt suicide

If you are sober curious to avoid hangovers, to improve your health, to better control anxiety and to have better sleeping and eating routines (all of which can drastically improve both physical and mental wellbeing), then maybe a discussion about your lifestyle now and what you want it to feel like in the future can be a useful way to understand if Sober Living can help you achieve those things.

It is a common occurrence that substance abuse is a key factor in the deterioration of relationships and other aspects of your personal life.

A Study of Relationships found that 34.6% of Divorces are directly caused by Substance abuse. (PREP; Markman, Stanley, & Blumberg, 2010)

Although it is often a sociable activity, the knock-on effects can have wide reaching implications for you, your loved ones and friendships. 

Maybe you have noticed a change in your behaviour to those you love the most, and maybe a discussion around Sober Living could be enlightening to understand whether a lifestyle change can realise your long term goals.

Do you feel like your cognitive abilities are below what you want them to be? Is the Monday-Wednesday brain-haze affecting your ability to achieve your career aspirations and to excel?

Maybe discussing and understanding how your lifestyle is affecting this could open up new possibilities for your career.

When life seems to be getting more and more expensive, and disposable incomes are being squeezed, one of the main benefits of Sober Living is the amount of money saved from not being in the pub, drinking wine, or at parties all night. 

It has been reported that the average drinker will spend roughly GBP 100,000 on alcohol in their lifetime!

There are these direct costs, but also the often unmentioned indirect costs of:

• eating unhealthy
• not exercising
• not sleeping well
• cancelling other events / plans on weekends because of hangovers 

Not to forget the compulsive purchases under the influence...

Maybe your life goals require you to save more money, and maybe discussing these aspirations, could provide a better understanding whether Sober Living is the answer.