It’s important to choose people who are nonjudgmental and encouraging, rather than those who might inadvertently lead you back into old habits. When it seems like all you want to do is forget, to go get high or drunk and be gone, if only for a few moments, remember what addiction’s cost you. Remember what life was like being sober sucks when every moment was chaos and unmanageable. Remember how family and friends wouldn’t return calls or didn’t trust to leave you alone. You will have days when you don’t necessarily make the strongest choices to improve your well-being or strengthen your recovery. No matter what happened yesterday or even five minutes ago, you can choose to be patient with yourself, reassess, and pivot as needed.

• That’s when I went into work, and opened up to my boss about everything.
• Personally, I find creative output to be extremely rewarding.
• Shufelt, an outdoor enthusiast and trail runner, quit alcohol in 2013.
• I stopped drinking at the end of 2016 and have stayed sober ever since.

Living Sober Sucks

Almost 25 years of self-medicating with booze and drugs as an adult, and I finally gave myself the first, most important act of self-love that I could, giving up the drinks and the drugs, and that’s when I learned just how much I hated myself. It’s a question Dr. Lee, who runs one of the world’s preeminent drug and alcohol treatment center networks, also asks. The idea of being “sober curious” is not really new. The concept of “Dry January,” when people pledge to abstain from drinking for the month of January, following the holidays and any excessive celebrating, may be the first time the idea had a name. Generally speaking, someone who is sober curious is reconsidering their relationship with alcohol—taking a look at why, when, and how often they drink.

What are some benefits from taking a break from drinking?

They’re little notes from your college boyfriend or girlfriend — the one who’s super religious now and lives in a hut somewhere with their athletic spouse, helping kids learn how to teach orangutans to do sign language or whatever it is that they’re doing. It could never work, but it still hurts to know they’re gone. Even if they were shitty or abusive, there’s still a part of you that’s hung up and wishes there was a way to make it work. Having a problem with alcohol doesn’t have to mean you’re throwing plates at your cowering wife; it can manifest as just really, really, really loving alcohol, to the point where you’re not quite sure how you’d get on without it. I didn’t want to be one of those weird sober people. I was so afraid of being “single” that I stayed in a shitty “relationship.” And honestly, it could have gotten much worse for me.

• When I was actively drinking, and using other drugs, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to spend an evening alone with my thoughts or attend a social setting unable to dull my senses and feelings.
• “Half of my T-shirts had alcohol brands on them,” he said.
• In psychology from Penn State and has previously worked in social services, nonprofit mentoring programs for at-risk youth and life coaching programs for adults with serious mental illness.
• She mentioned that she was still dealing with weird dating apps at 42.

Your Sobriety Is Exhausting

Be your own support system, find healthy things that make you happy, and if Sober living house you do need extra help getting on the right track, there are many free community resources available throughout the country to help you. Ever since his light-bulb moment, Shufelt has been dedicated to creating full-flavored, nonalcoholic beers. Over that short period of time, he has seen the market mature significantly to include what has been dubbed the “sober curious” crowd, especially among younger generations.

• Some 45 percent of 21+ Gen Z consumers have never consumed alcohol, Nielsen IQ found, compared with 36 percent of millennials and 32 percent of Gen X.
• One survey of over 1,000 participants found that on average, some people spend $300 per month on alcohol.
• That sensation was my self esteem as it started to grow,and maybe, it was all due to an act of self-love.
• As that anniversary approached, the Los Angeles-born content creator told Newsweek she had had a change of heart.
• Even more than that, you can learn to love yourself, it is real, and it is as good as you imagine.

It all starts with putting down that crutch, and reaching out. There are plenty of negative elements to getting sober too. And, although I absolutely believe that the positives outweigh the negatives, I also think that it’s essential that those of us who are sober talk about the bad parts too. Edge said Hekate, while not a pickup joint, is popular with first dates, as the lack of alcohol makes it easier for people to avoid bad decisions. Some patrons “pre-game” there before heading to a bar, while parents like going for a mocktail with youngsters. The one night guaranteed not to be busy is New Year’s Eve.

Job loss anxiety: How to handle the stress of losing your job

It occurred to me that perhaps I was a good candidate for never drinking again. Regularly remind yourself of the positive changes that sobriety has brought to your life. Whether it’s improved health, better relationships, or greater productivity, focusing on these benefits can motivate you to maintain your sober lifestyle. A therapist who specializes in addiction and recovery can offer invaluable support. This might include providing strategies to manage fears related to sobriety and sensitively addressing underlying issues. People experiencing nifaliophobia may avoid situations where substances are absent and feel severe anxiety about living sober.

• But the trend of people taking longer breaks off booze is rising.
• It’s normal to feel actual heartache, sob for hours, order yourself takeout twice in one day, and eat ice cream while watching garbage rom-coms.
• It was all me and that cycle of self-worth and escaping it the only way I knew how.
• However, new research studies, along with a rise in “sober curious” influencers on social media, indicate that more and more people are considering the benefits of abstaining altogether, or more mindfully engaging in alcohol culture.
• One of these new entrants is Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who at 28 is a millennial close to Gen Z age.

“I always thought, well, I need to have a drink to be able to socialize, but it’s been a really fun challenge https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to be able to go to these events without drinking and seeing what I would do naturally to socialize with people,” she said. January 1 is a time when many of those people will decide to give up booze, whether for a month—due to the Dry January campaign—a year or longer. According to the research by The New Consumer/Coefficient, nearly a third of Americans plan to participate in some form of Dry January in 2025, either by cutting down or consuming zero alcohol for the month.

They also open you up to blacking out, which women are already at a higher risk for. Plus, your antidepressants can’t make you any less depressed if you’re ingesting large amounts of depressants every day. Again, to alcoholics, drinking is obviously the funnest and only fun thing you can do.

Because being sober sucks

One survey of over 1,000 participants found that on average, some people spend $300 per month on alcohol. When things seem to be going down hill, you must remember that bad things happen to people all the time. That includes not becoming a victim to life’s circumstances. Get coffee with a friend to take your mind off relationship problems. Ask for extra hours at work if you’re having a hard time with roommates. Head out of town with some sober friends for a few hours to get a change of scenery.