4 reasons you should consider Sober October

As Sober October approaches, we get to see how this month of sobriety all came about, the core reasons people decide to take a month off the booze and how we can all get involved in Sober October 2022!

Sober October initially launched as a way to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. It now, along with raising money for charity, is used as a way to assess ones relationship with alcohol and indeed what life looks like without it to break bad habits and social norms.

Why JOMO Club thinks you should embrace Sober October.

1. One month without alcohol provides a perfect opportunity to assess your relationship with alcohol. Two weeks is too little to see any real impact - both emotionally and physically - whereas after a month you will start to reap the rewards and truly understand the impact without alcohol. Understand why you drink, when you drink and what you drink - all are an important part of your journey to understand your relationship with alcohol and whether you have a healthy or unhealthy relationship with it.
   
   

2. Discovery. We like to think of what you can bring to October instead of what you are removing. Sober October can be a month to discover new alcohol-free spirits and drinks. The world of alcohol-free is expanding - gone are the ‘mocktails’ of the past and in are exciting, unique, high quality and great tasting spirits to make your favourite cocktails and serves with. JOMO’s Sober October box is jam-packed with new flavours to get you on your sober journey. You can get this here.
   
   

3. Benefits. Better skin, better sleep, better hydration, better productivity, better mood, better energy, weight loss and better mental health could all be included in cutting out alcohol.
   
   

4. Learning something new. Hey, you might even learn something new about yourself! How to socialise without alcohol. How to support friends better that don’t drink. How you feel without alcohol. How to mix a great tasting alcohol-free drink.

Hear from this months’ real-life journey written and shared for the JOMO members magazine by Lucy Piosek who has now hit 9 months of sobriety. 

“My drinking days started the same as many others- in my teens sharing a bottle of Smirnoff ice and WKD with my friends in an attempt to seem ‘cool’. I used to see alcohol as something that adults did for fun, something that made you seem incredibly grown up and sophisticated. 

Well, these alcopops in fields soon turned into house parties and house parties turned into pub and club trips. I was in full party girl era, the girl that was always up for a night out and I shamefully thought that alcohol made me even seem more somewhat desirable (something I now cringe about- there is nothing desirable about throwing up into your chicken nuggets and cheesy chips after a night out) 

I live in a small town, the type of place where everyone knows everyone. As the years went on and my friends grew up and grew out of going to the same pub every weekend, I didn’t. I was still there, binge drinking to excess and then waking up the next day full of regret and hangxiety, wanting to dig myself a hole and hide away for a while. Fretful to open my phone to see what texts I’d sent or worried that I’d fallen out with someone and had to start some grovelling. 

Lockdown was a big turning point for me as it helped me break that binge drinking loop. I had no choice but to not go to the pub every weekend. By the time pubs started to open up around us, the desire to go out had started to slowly fade away. I’d broken that habit I’d done for so long and spent time forming new habits and hobbies. I started exploring more of the UK, I’d got back into reading and running, and I was feeling good. 

At this point, I hadn’t considered giving up the bevs for good. I didn’t see myself as a ‘problem drinker’ and still would go out every so often for birthdays or for girls’ nights, so was still drinking every now and again. However, this time around, I started to notice how bad I would feel mentally after drinking. I would feel anxious for days after a night out and I wouldn’t be able to sleep properly. Previously, I hadn’t realised that these symptoms were from drinking, but I began to notice the link between the two. 

My boyfriend, Brad, stopped drinking in June 2021 and I started to see how much his life was improving without alcohol. I started to become more sober curious and then on NYE 2021 I decided that I was going to stop. We’d gone out for a meal and I’d naturally ordered a cocktail and there and then I decided that it was going to be my last. There was no ‘one last night of regret’ or horrendous hangxiety that tipped me over the edge. I just came to the realisation that alcohol wasn’t adding anything positive into my life. 

Since quitting alcohol almost 9 months ago, I have started seeing alcohol in a completely different light. With this new perspective, and the fact my life has started to improve, I genuinely don’t want to drink alcohol. I’m finding that I don’t rely on willpower as much anymore, especially now that I have seen my life level up in so many ways! 

I have made so many amazing new friends within the sober community that I know will be friends for life. My time socialising with friends is spent with more genuine connection and feeling present rather than just about getting smashed. My sleep has improved, my anxiety has significantly reduced, and I now spend my weekends exploring new places and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Plus, weekends are way longer when they’re not spent getting drunk and nursing a hangover from hell – I feel like I’ve been granted all of this extra weekend time, like every weekend is a bank holiday!

I never thought there would be a day when I wouldn’t drink alcohol because I never believed I had a drinking ‘problem’. However, I now realise that quitting alcohol has been one of the best decisions I have ever made! 

Whether you’re sober, sober curious or taking a dive into sober October, you should be incredibly proud of yourself.” - @asocialblesober