Going Sober

“Going sober changed my social circle. I stopped hanging out with work friends as they'd start talking about drinking at noon. I wanted to be free of drinking but it was too much of a way of life for them,” he says.

Roger’s advice for going sober: self-kindness
“Be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up for backsliding but stay away from scenarios where drinking is likely to occur for three months at least. Particularly if you have issues with discipline.”

“Stopping suddenly left quite a whole in my life. The actual stopping bit was relatively easy, it was working out what I was going to do with the time I had just "bought" by giving up the drink,” says Will.
 
William’s advice for going sober: be prepared
“Have a plan and stick to it. Be prepared for the fact that everyone will have a view on it. Steel yourself for the ‘I knew you were an alcoholic’, ‘but you can handle the drink, you just need to drink less’ brigade. Everyone’s an expert so have a strategy.

“I was losing days and felt like I was trailing behind my fellow workmates, but I only realised it was a problem when I’d quit, and looked back at my life.” He reveals “During my drinking days I would say I was in full control by being completely out of control”.
 
Hanish’s advice for going sober: find your tribe
“My advice is to surround yourself with people that are on the same path. I recommend yoga or meditation, which allows you to become present, encourages your nervous system to slow down and inspires you to want to be happier and more compassionate to your needs.”

“On a weekend when it hit 12 I would start drinking and carry on until I fell asleep,” Rob says.  “I always tried dry January or Sober October but I could never get past a few weeks. More problematic was that, after each failed attempt I seemed to drink more with a vengeance, maybe making up for lost time or succumbing to my fate of being controlled by alcohol forever.”
 
Rob’s advice for going sober: treat yourself
“When you go sober you will go sugar mental - I drank a can of coke and had at least one Dairy Milk bar every evening for the first year! Don’t fight the sugar cravings. It is not worth the fight or extra stress,” he says. “Stock up on fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate and never feel guilty about eating them. Fight your sugar battle another day.”

“I went to see my GP because I wasn't feeling great,” he says. “She told me if I carried on drinking at the rate that I was, then the damage to my liver that I'd already done would actually be irrepairable.”
 
Fred’s advice for going sober: just do it
“If you simply think about having a curry, you're not going to end up with a curry. You have to pick up the phone, order the bloody thing and eat it,” he explains. “That's the metaphor I use; ‘stop thinking about it and just do it’. Really, really do it. One of the gifts of being sober is that I have no regrets. No regrets at all.”