I Gave Up Drinking For 90 Days And Nothing Got Better

The previous twelves months have been particularly tough on most people so when 2021 dawned I thought I would do a “good thing” and quit booze. There are many websites, You Tubers and other sober experts who extol the virtues of quitting alcohol. My friends and family all swear by a Dry January and a Stoptober to prove their lack of addiction and how wonderful going alcohol free is. It was all so tempting and on Christmas Day I consumed my final glass of wine and looked forward to the dawn of a new dry life.

Like most Britishers, we have a deep cultural association with alcohol going back to mead, through to beer and now wine and gin. Like most Britishers, I drank a little more than the recommended amounts of 14 units a week but didn’t have a problem but that is subjective depending on who you ask. The sober curious movement has attracted increasing numbers of people, especially younger people who do not drink alcohol and don't have that ingrained culture of pub going and dutch courage to help with socialising or personal difficulties. The promises of lots of good things happening was a tempting lure so I decided to give it a go and look forward to a shiny new improved life. However, I didn't seem to experience the good stuff like most people who extol the virtues of sobriety in the public domain.

Myth 1 - Your sleep will improve

No. NO. NO! This did not and has still not happened. My previously happy contented nights of going to sleep soundly after a glass of wine and waking up on the alarm clock are long gone. I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep this year. This is very tiresome as I am busy, have a job, kids and need a lot of energy to get stuff done. Everyone else seems to have a week of feeling like rubbish then has the best sleep ever. This has not been true for me.

Myth 2 - You will feel amazing in the morning

Oh no I don’t - mainly as I didn't sleep well the night before. I suppose that once I do get going, I feel better than I did if I had had some wine the night before. I keep getting stupid memes coming up on my social media about the best days not having a hangover. I really don't experience this and I am feeling somewhat cheated that I'm not getting this benefit. One doesn't mind feeling like trash in the morning if you feel you've earned it the night before but feeling rubbish for no reason is very frustrating.

Myth 3 - Your skin will improve and glow

Alas I had the worst outbreak of zits I’ve ever had since I stopped being a teenager several decades ago. I will begrudgingly say that as I am only drinking coffee and water now I am probably more hydrated than I was when I was supping wine regularly. However, the amazing glow has not really materialised. I am an expert in water now though. Hot water, cold water, fizzy water and flat fizzy water. Delicious but alas the tap water is disgusting where I live due to the calcium so I'm having to buy water to drink.

Myth 4 - You will lose weight

Its the holy grail of not drinking. You will be less bloated and lose pounds and pounds of weight. On the positive side I haven’t gained any weight but I certainly haven’t lost any. As we are still in lockdown, I’ve been unable to go to the gym and do other stuff that I would normally do so maybe when we are allowed out, I can work on that. I have however started cooking puddings and desserts. And then eating them all by myself. Delicious! Even better than wine.

Myth 5 - Your productivity will increase

Umm no. Probably due to the fact that I’m so freaking tired as I’m not sleeping properly that all I want to do is sit around feeling tired all the time and complaining about it. Actually I’m being a bit harsh on myself. I have managed to do a few things that I had been putting off for when I got around to it. Plus I'm always a bit sluggish in Winter due to the old lack of sunshine in Europe. I guess I have time to cook desserts too rather than open bottles of wine now though.

There are some more myths that I could bust but I’m going to save them for another day. I am still not drinking after 100 days of going without alcohol. Lots of people apparently don’t feel the full benefit of stopping drinking in the first month so that’s one of the reasons that I continued for three months. The next milestone, or the promise that I will feel the benefit is at the six month mark so I’m going to keep going until then. Bottoms Up!