When I first gave up drinking, a friend of mine who had been on the wagon for close to two years told me that sobriety was a superpower. Free of hangovers, the brain fires on all cylinders. Your memory improves. You’re sharper, faster, and more level-headed. Of course, there’s plenty of medical research backing this up, but for me the immediate proof was in my emotional wellbeing. I’d been battling frequent bouts of low-level depression since my freshman year of college, around the same time I graduated to recreational drinking. (Coincidence?!) Within two weeks of going dry, I found my overall happiness noticeably buoyed. In the months that followed, while I didn’t completely avoid stepping into a steaming pile of anxiety, my low periods were far shorter and not nearly as diabolical.
6. ACCEPT THAT WEDDINGS ARE THE WORST
God bless the people who just want to dance. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. I’d rather shave a month-old beard with a rusty razor than jump into one of the inevitable dance circles that form at a wedding. Being sober did nothing to conquer this paralysing social anxiety. I attended three weddings during my dry streak, and I begrudgingly report that they were the greatest tests of my sobriety. That being said, they were the first weddings after which I actually enjoyed the next-day brunch.
7. BREAK YOUR HABITS
Prior to going dry, one of my favorite daily rituals was cooking dinner at home with a glass of wine in hand. I enjoyed chopping veggies and stirring sauces while sipping Cab. It signaled to my brain that the day was done and now I could relax. But as I waited for the food to cook, that one glass of wine turned to two. Then three when dinner hit the table. At that point, there was only a glass left in the bottle. Might as well polish it off, am I right? When I gave up drinking, the ritual of cooking became tedious and unfulfilling. To overcome this, I reworked my schedule to incorporate exercise right before dinner. After a shower and with endorphins flowing, I took renewed interest in preparing my meal.
8. MO MONEY, NO PROBLEMS
Okay, there were still plenty of problems when I wasn’t drinking, but my bank account was much healthier. Before giving up booze, I never thought twice about the $50 bar tabs that I regularly threw my credit card at like a ninja star, or the $20 bottles of wine I’d scoop up on my way home from work. Cutting out alcohol from my expenses didn’t necessarily make me any richer, but it allowed me to splurge on other things without a shred of buyer’s remorse. Three months after I had my last drink, I bought a house and a new car. Of course, I wasn’t paying my mortgage with the money that I was saving from not drinking, but having this newly available spending cash lessened the sacrifices I needed to make as I took on this new financial burden.
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9. SET A DEADLINE