As a Certified Professional Recovery Coach and Retired Party Animal, I know one main concern about ditching the drink, is the fear of a boring life. 

I understand this completely, because it was one of my greatest fears too. 

This is for the sober curious folks, a life of sobriety does not equal a boring life.  

Here’s some food for thought when taking a break from alcohol. 

Is it sobriety or pandemic?

If you are getting sober or experimenting with being alcohol free, during the COVID pandemic, separate feeling bored and shut in, with being sober. They are not the same thing. If you are bored because of the pandemic, consider yourself lucky, right? 

Is it temporary?

Being sober does not mean being shut in, unless you want it too. 

In early sobriety you might choose nights on the couch with Netflix over fighting cravings in alcohol induced environments. With practice you will grow your sober muscle and start to venture out more....

1000 Days Free from Alcohol.

Wow!

I am super proud of me.

I can’t believe I used to start everyday on the wrong side of the bed:

hungover, full of guilt/shame/fear, physically ill and in a bad mood.

How did I do this for years and then hate myself when I wasn’t happy with my life?

If I could look back on myself, on Day 1…

this is what I would tell her.

Listen Honey,

Start by tuning in, instead of tuning out.

You don’t need to seek outside yourself for love, acceptance, and peace of mind.

Pursuing meaning and purpose will prove so much more valuable than the pursuit of pleasure.

Those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.

You are worthy, you are enough, and there is nothing wrong with you.

You’ve done a great job dealing with some heavy shit, give yourself credit.

Not everyone is going to understand or like you and that’s ok.

You don’t have to be perfect, you get to be whole.

Discomfort and pain are part of life,...

It is Saturday morning. 

I don’t have to get up.

It is 6:30 and still dark out.

I roll around in bed.

Pet the dog.

Lay and enjoy the slowness of the morning without the rush to get up.

My eyes are wide awake.

My body feels mostly good.

Maybe slightly puffy from the sushi last night, but my head is clear. 

I awake with energy and joy.

I decide to get up out of bed and make myself my first cup of coffee.

I am excited for this early morning alone time, because I am at the end of a great book.

I turn on the lamp, grab my blanket, and settle in on the couch.

I finish this 5 star read, as the sun rises. 

I treat myself to a Starbucks run for my next cup of coffee.

Today is Halloween.

I have a fun day of holiday baking, crafts, and movies planned with my teenage daughters.

Because of the COVID pandemic, we are not attending our usual costume parties, treat or treating, and other neighborhood activities.  

We planned our own Halloween agenda weeks ago. 

I...

When asked what I do, I tell people I help others take a break from alcohol.

Then I launch into a definition of gray area drinking, coaching, and ending the stigma.

People usually respond with, yeah you don’t have to quit forever though, right?

You don’t work with like really bad alcoholics?

There’s a difference between someone who can never drink again and someone that does Dry January.

Then I rant about alcohol being toxic substance that creates dependency.

I talk about it being progressive, and blah, blah, blah.

But here’s the thing:

What if alcohol was poisonous for everyone and not just some of us?

What if anyone had the potential to become an ALCOHOLIC, because of alcohol?

What if anyone, whether ALCOHOLIC or not just decided to stop putting poison in their body?

What if anyone, no matter how much alcohol they consumed, just decided to start looking internally instead of externally for their own peace and happiness?

What if not drinking ever again led...

Will I lose weight if I quit drinking?

This is one of my most asked questions.

I can’t guarantee anything about the scale, but I can share my experience.

When I quit drinking, I let myself eat whatever I wanted, with abandon.

I didn’t have a sweet tooth until I gave up alcohol.

Without wine, my body craved sugar and I indulged.

Alcohol had a hold on my brain and giving it up was hard.

Super hard.

I let myself consume whatever I wanted, craved, and needed.

I only had one exception: no alcohol.

That was the only simple rule imposed.

For me, this was the only way to make it through the first hours, days, weeks and months.

Giving up alcohol was enough.

More than enough.

This was my life’s work.

To grab a Twizzler instead of a drink.

This simple type of transformation is profound.

If you know, you know.

I went out for coffee and dessert instead of drinks.

I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Whatever tasted good and whatever comforted me.

I allowed it.

...

One of the greatest gifts of sobriety, for me, has been the ability to feel joy.

This may sound silly, as alcohol is sold as a rip roaring good time.

I had some good times in my drinking days.

The good times, however, were often clouded by my own shame and fear. 

Now that I am sober,  I have re-learned how to feel childlike joy in everyday moments.  

While drinking, I grew to be afraid of joy. 

It was like if I acknowledged feeling joy, then it would be taken away.

If I looked at my kids sleeping and felt overwhelming gratitude and love for them, it was immediately replaced with “what could go wrong?”

I was afraid to be ok, happy, content. 

It was easier to complain, than to recognize that in this moment, all is well.

We aren’t supposed to feel happiness. 

Who do we think we are? 

It felt like bragging to say,

“things are good, I am happy, healthy, lucky...hashtag blessed!”

It was as if there is only so much of...

You can live a big, juicy life without alcohol. 

I am 900 days sober and living a brave, and adventurous life. 

Day 1 and Day 900 look completely different. 

On Day 900, I still drink.

I still like to over indulge. 

I love going out and having a good time. 

I don’t need alcohol to do it. 

In fact, alcohol took away from all my fun for years. 

Getting rid of alcohol has been the most fun and liberating experience of my life!

Just last night I was at a happy hour where I enjoyed two craft cocktails free of spirits, followed by dinner with my husband where I enjoyed a Hoppy Refresher. 

I was relaxed, free, and present. 

Last weekend I played cards with friends and had 2 NA elderberry gin and tonics with extra lime. 

I was not always comfortable socializing without alcohol. 

I grew into my alcohol free confidence. 

In my first month year sober, I had a lot of anxiety about going out and socializing without alcohol. ...

Want to level up your life? I can help.

What if I told you that you could have all this just by giving up one thing. 

Would you be willing to do it? 

Giving up this one thing will save you money. 

You will look better. 

The results are proven, 

Your skin will become clear and bright. 

Your overall health will improve. 

Every system in your body will run better and age slower. 

Your productivity will improve. 

You will have more energy, clarity and focus.

Your mood will be more positive. 

Your mental health will improve and feelings of depression and anxiety will decrease. 

You will sleep better. 

Your fitness levels will increase. 

You will have improved relationships with yourself and others. 

Your confidence will grow.

The gray matter in your brain will grow, making you smarter.

You will lose weight. 

Saying no this one thing, will have you saying yes to so much more. 

You will free your headspace, and...

International Women's Day, March 8th, 2020, is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.

The IWD 2020 campaign theme is drawn from the notion of 'Collective Individualism.'

We are all parts of a whole.

Our individual actions, conversations, behaviors, and mindsets can have an impact on our larger society. 

Collectively, we can help create a gender-equal world, and we can all choose to be #EachforEqual.

It is proven that when women do better, countries do better, communities do better, businesses do better, and families do better.

Equality is not just a women’s issue. It's an issue for everyone. 

Supporting women not only helps women, it helps everyone. 

One thing keeping women down is increased alcohol consumption. 

Unfortunately, alcohol is reported by Dr. George Koob, Director of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, as  “a growing women’s health issue.” 

He...