Clink Clink, It's My Sober Anniversary

TW: If you are connected to substance abuse or addiction in any way, this blog post might not be the one for you. I'll catch you in the next one!

Happy Mon-yay, how are we doing? We are entering the final week of the month, how did February fly away in a literal blink of an eye? February was the busiest month of my existence I swear to God. From client wins, to starting a new retail job, plenty of LDN events, trips away and so forth, it has been non-stop. Which is so amazing. This lifestyle is something I have always dreamed of! During this month, I reached a huge milestone, no not a V-day anniversary or such. I hit one year of sobriety, and today I want to share my journey with you!

365 days without alcohol, sounds a little daunting right? No Saturday night glass of prosecco watching Strictly, no heading to the pub or even a cheeky cocktail midweek because so what!? One year of sobriety. And well, I have never felt better.

A year ago, I realised I and certain people I surrounded myself with had a toxic relationship with alcohol. From pouring a glass of bubbles to help deal with the stress of everyday life or heading out and getting black-out drunk as I thought that would help with self-confidence in uncomfortable social situations. As I sit here and reflect, I have had an issue with alcohol since my early teen years, and I do believe it was only intensified when I was surrounded by those who matched that energy, who made it worse and was common ground for both of us. Toxicity breeds toxicity.

When I removed those types of relationships from my life, the greyness of my life lifted and I stopped drinking. I never realised my anxiety was 10 times worse with alcohol in my life. We have all heard of hangxiety, but I feel like I took this to a whole other level when I was intoxicated. So to deal with those huge life changes that happened at the beginning of last year. I stopped drinking.

Originally I was never meant to be ''sober'', I guess in a way I was just sober curious lol. I just felt like stopping at first, maybe only having a cheeky cocktail if I went out. And then once I realised how good it made me, I didn't fancy turning back. Some of the obvious benefits were I started gaining confidence in the gym, I felt stronger, and I looked better. I didn't feel the need to impress people by getting shitfaced anymore and was having genuine conversations about life with them. I slept like a baby and didn't wake up on a Sunday with a banging headache or feeling like I wanted to cry. The first couple of months are sometimes tough, I would sometimes get this sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) or I could just do with a drink tonight, but I reminded myself that it wouldn't help.

Throughout the last year, I have learnt there is more to human interactions, and to my personality than drinking. I learnt that being sober wasn't ''boring''. I learnt that making mocktails was fun, and I learnt that I enjoyed hobbies that didn't revolve around booze.

Hitting a year of sobriety is one of my proudest achievements, it has shown me I have the utmost respect to not feel obliged to drink, from going on a sober date to hanging with gal pals and not feeling the urge to order a drink because everyone else is, to living alone and not opening up a prosecco because I feel alone. I have learnt a lot about myself in the last year, it has been truly a stand-out year for me and self-development.

I am not here to tell you to stop drinking alcohol, one of my closest friends loves a glass of vino when we go for sushi, and I love her for it! But if you relate to any of the topics above, maybe consider a sober curious lifestyle or learn more about binge drinking. According to a report by Mintel, around a third of people aged 18-24 do not drink alcohol at all. So is definitely on the rise, which I love to see.

My sister asked me recently, will I ever drink again? Would I drink at my wedding? The answer at the current moment, no. I love enjoying celebrations with a clear mind, I love life with a clear mind, I love how good I feel without drinking, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

So let's raise a glass (of Nosecco) to a year of sobriety! I made it!

This Month’s Vibe: Being Booked and Busy! Manifesting success for the rest of the year!

This Month's Little Moments That Mean the Most: My Sober Party Celebrations! I bought myself flowers, my mum baked me a cake and I had a glass of Nosecco!

This Month’s Favourite: Days exploring LDN, head to Avalon Pilates for a fun sesh! Or maybe head to Bloomsbury Kitchen for a bite to eat.

This Month’s Win: So many wins to mention this month! A new exciting client, a new job, celebrating sobriety!

This Month’s Rec: In light of love month, read ''I Didn't Know I Needed This: The New Rules for Flirting, Feeling, and Finding Yourself'' by Eli Rallo! I loved it!

This Month’s Motto: Fall in love with the process of becoming the best version of yourself.

And that's a wrap! Catch ya in the next blog post, until then keep up with The Life of Molly every day and check out my IG here!