On December 28th 2017 I (after 14 years of trying) finally stopped drinking and I thought the fun was over, at the age of 41 I believed that I had hung up my fun hat and was destined for a life of dull, grey doom. I couldn’t have been more wrong! The first 6 months were pretty ropey, I was a recovering alcoholic and had to navigate life where everyone and their dog seemed to socialise with alcohol and I legit thought I would enter a bar, jump over and guzzle from the optics! In the last 5 years my life has been beyond my wildest dreams! I say that cause I never ever thought I could stop drinking. I am now smashing that and full of the SoberBuzz.
The further I got into my life of sobriety the more I was able to see that the last ten years of my drinking were the complete opposite of fun. I lived a Russian roulette of drinking and hoping for a different outcome other than blackouts, regrets, shocking hangovers and rotten mental health. The contradiction of having fun with alcohol but managing your mental health is to me (now) beyond comprehension. An hour or two of “fun” robbed me of days of fun, peace and stability.
These days I find joy in the everyday and I put a lot of that down to my gratitude practice that I started on the day I stopped drinking. As of today I am 2006 days of writing at least three things I am grateful for as soon as I wake. A stark contrast to waking and starting the day with shame and regret. My gratitude practice doesn’t mean my life doesn’t get tough but it allows me to deal with the tough times easier. From thinking fun was drinking at home or going to the pub and getting blackout drunk I now travel solo, go to gigs, festivals, raves and retreats. I retrained and now support others in finding the SoberBuzz, I volunteer both in the community and in prisons supporting others with more complex needs. I truly have to pinch myself that I get to do all this because I stopped drinking.
SoberBuzz was started as a microblog to share this buzz and over the years it’s become a community. We have run sober events and meet-ups and now we are a Community Interest Company and we plan to raise money and get into the community and share the absolute buzz of sober living! Me of five and a half years ago would never believe this and that in itself is a sober buzz! Today I live a life of technicolour! When I look back on my drinking days they were dark and grey and I couldn’t see any future. I adore my life now and that is some (sober) buzz!
