July 5, 2018
Have you ever woken up after a night out and struggled to put the pieces together? How did I get home? I don’t remember getting pizza? Oh god…..who did I text? And now I need to barf! I am not sure about you, but I have wasted many weekends nursing a hungover. I now find something truly spectacular about waking up on a Saturday morning feel fresh and excited for the amazing day ahead!
My relationship with alcohol began early in my teenage years where a night out with friends meant a night with booze. In the early years my friends and I would pay a legal aged sibling or friend to get us the goods. Once we had our boozy beverages we would proceed to get absolutely wasted! To be honest a lot of my teenage years are a blur from excessive drinking. Unfortunately this behavior continued into my late 20’s. Eventually I started to mellow out and drink less, but I still found myself struggling to go to a social event without a drink in my hand. I associated socializing with drinking and felt uncomfortable staying sober. Have you ever felt this way?
I knew I wanted to change, but it felt really awkward. Anytime I showed up at an event without booze people would ask….”why aren’t you drinking?” I felt like a misfit if I desired to stay sober. I lived in a world where I thought I needed to have a few drinks to be likeable and engaging. Thankfully I had an “aha” moment that changed my life. I woke up with a particularity brutal hangover hugging the toilet and yet again trying to piece together the events of the evening. This hangover pushed me over the edge and I began a journey to a happier and healthier life.
Does any of this sound familiar? Most of us know drinking is not good for us, but many of us are not aware of the connection between alcohol and our mental health. While alcohol can have a temporary positive impact on our mood, in the long term it can cause problems for our mental health. It’s linked to a range of issues from depression and memory loss to suicide. Alcohol can actually increase anxiety and stress rather than reduce it. If you need some solid reasons to stay sober at your next social event read on for inspiration!
- Drinking is likely part of the problem and not the solution. Most people drink to feel relaxed, happy, more confident, less anxious and less depressed. Contrary to what many people think alcohol is not a stimulant, it actually works by depressing brain function. So while small amounts of alcohol might temporarily improve your mood, drinking excessively usually has the opposite effect.
- A hangover makes everything worse. Hangxiety (that’s hangover anxiety) is a very real phenomenon. Urban dictionary defines it as: “The feeling of overwhelming guilt, stress, and worry you experience the day after a drinking binge.” Hangxiety!
- You will avoid making drunken decisions that you regret in the morning. We all know there are some bad decisions we just can’t avoid when we’re drinking, no matter how hard we try!
- You begin to feel comfortable in your own skin. You don’t feel the need to fill a void with alcohol. Maybe you even inspire someone else to go booze free. If sobriety teaches us anything, it’s who we really are, not who we wish we were.
- You become more relaxed when you are not relying on booze to take the edge off. When you no longer have to alter consciousness to deal with life everything seems so much more incredible, so much clearer and awe-inspiring.
- Your brain will thank you. Soon after drinking alcohol your brain processes slow down and your memory can be impaired. After large quantities of alcohol the brain can stop recording into the ‘memory store’. That’s why you can wake up the next day with a ‘blank’ about what you said or did and even where you were. Alcohol also disrupts the balance of chemicals in your brain that affect your mood.
Choosing to stay sober can be a challenge. I find a bit of liquid courage to be helpful….. Courage in the form of a hand crafted mocktail! I still like to have something in my hand and a fancy mocktail is a great solution. I love kombucha and this creation is perfect for your next patio party. Kombucha is made from fermented tea and contains loads of living bacteria that is good for your gut. Drink to your health with a Kombucha Mocktail!
~ Strawberry Orange Kombucha Mocktail ~
Ingredients
Single serving
- Fresh pressed juice from 1 orange
- ½ Bottle original or ginger kombucha
- ½ Cup fresh strawberries chopped
Suggested garnishes: lime wedge, peppermint leaves, orange slice…whatever inspires you!
Instructions
- Simply mix the ingredients together, serve over ice and enjoy!
Cheers!
