When Sober Curious Strikes Past Dry January

In the beginning of 2025, the previous US Surgeon Basic issued an advisory on the hyperlink between alcohol consumption and cancer risk. Whereas this can be a sobering name to motion, there is no such thing as a denying that sober curiosity has elevated just lately. From Dry January to extra manufacturers creating alcohol-free drinks to the rise of mainstream mocktails, now greater than ever even informal drinkers have gotten sober curious and inspecting their relationship with alcohol.

Final 12 months in Episode 146 of the FBG Podcast, Sobriety Coach, and Founding father of Sober Wild, Krysty Krywko, Ed.D, joined our EIC Alison for an interview on sobriety. At present we’re persevering with this dialog with Krysty. Dry January has handed however definitely not the questions on what we are able to do if we’re serious about a sober (fully alcohol free), or damp (a discount in alcohol consumption), life. 

Tam: Ought to we strategy ingesting as all or nothing, particularly if we’re sober curious?

Krysty: I feel it’s a really private determination, however in case you’re any form of an everyday drinker (that means three or 4 nights per week “simply to unwind”) then alcohol is impacting the way in which you’re feeling – mentally, emotionally, and bodily – your physique simply doesn’t know there’s one other means. When you’re not ingesting throughout the week, however then ingesting a few bottles of wine over the weekend, you by no means actually get the possibility to see how your physique and thoughts reacts to no alcohol. Anna Lembke, in her e-book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, talks about how “abstaining from our drug of alternative for at the very least 4 weeks offers clarifying behaviors. Perception that merely just isn’t potential whereas we proceed to make use of.” In different phrases, you haven’t any thought how shitty you actually really feel while you’re utilizing a substance that’s making you’re feeling shitty. It normally takes a couple of weeks to your physique to regulate to the truth that you’re now not consuming a poisonous substance.

Tam: Are there concerns/finest practices to go from Dry January to extra of a Damp February and past? 

Krysty: So, I don’t actually know the reply to that query, it actually depends upon what your motivation was for Dry January. Was the plan to only see in case you might make it with out ingesting for 30 days? Or had been you in search of actual well being advantages? Or did you understand that your ingesting has elevated over the previous few years and you realize you wanted to take a break?

Moderation, which is de facto what Damp February is all about, doesn’t work for lots of people. When you spend numerous time bargaining with your self every time alcohol is concerned, which ends up in numerous “guidelines” round your ingesting, you would possibly need to take a step again.

You may not even concentrate on these guidelines. They’ve simply grow to be a part of your interior chatter. That chatter would possibly sound like this:
I’m not going to drink on my own.
No ingesting earlier than 5:00 p.m.
No laborious alcohol throughout the week
I’m solely going to drink white wine (or beer, or vodka, and so forth.)
I can’t have greater than two drinks on per week evening.
I can’t drink greater than two nights in a row. 

The top days of my ingesting had been full of elaborate and arcane guidelines that had been continuously shifting as I broke one after one other. I used to be letting myself down day by day, and that form of self-disappointment was like a relentless stream of micro-cuts to my soul.

Take a second and take into consideration why you’re placing so many guidelines round your ingesting. You would possibly simply determine that it’s now not value it.

Tam: If somebody is studying this pondering “I wouldn’t have an issue with my alcohol consumption however need to take a extra conscious strategy to what I eat/drink,” what questions ought to be explored when serious about alcohol consumption? 

Krysty: One of many first issues we have to do is transfer away from the language round ingesting and the idea that there are “downside drinkers” after which everybody else. This results in disgrace, stigma, and judgement.

A way more helpful, and life like, mannequin to make use of on the subject of speaking about alcohol is the concept of ingesting occurring on a spectrum. That’s the place the concept of “grey space drinker” emerged from, which encompasses everybody from the every-now-and-then drinker to those that are bodily hooked on alcohol. The fantastic thing about this mannequin is that you simply don’t have to hit any kind of a all-time low earlier than you possibly can discover your relationship with alcohol, you get to determine at any level on the spectrum what’s best for you.

When you’re able to get trustworthy with the position alcohol performs in your life, I might counsel sitting down with a pen and paper and answering the next questions. Get inquisitive about your self, and take the time to reply actually. Don’t cloud your responses with disgrace, or judgement, or what your bestie goes to assume. That is about you and the one life that you’ve, and whether or not or not you desire a poisonous substance to play a task within the creation of that life. 

Is alcohol nonetheless working for me?
How is alcohol making me really feel?
What areas of my life has alcohol taken over?
Does ingesting align with the particular person I’m now?
What would “future you” inform “current you” on this scenario?

Tam: What if our pals have gone again to ingesting after Dry January, however we try to proceed. Do you’ve got solutions/suggestions for the way to make this a part of my life-style with my ingesting pals? 

Krysty: You would possibly want to seek out new pals – haha. However, severely, if your pals actually respect and assist you within the selections you make in your life, then it shouldn’t be an issue. However, in the event that they’re frequently making an attempt to push you to start out ingesting once more, whining that you simply’re not enjoyable anymore, or that one shot of tequila received’t do any hurt, then you definately would possibly have to rethink who you’re spending time with. It’s essential determine for your self what you need to do with the time that you’ve, and the individuals you spend it with. 

Moreover, in case your buddy group is closely immersed in ingesting tradition – that means most social actions revolve round alcohol – then you definately would possibly want to seek out some new peeps that love to do various things.

Tam: Any favourite “drink” hacks to switch that Friday evening cocktail? 

Krysty: I’m essentially the most primary sober particular person round – and I’m pleased with ingesting a seltzer on my sofa to unwind after a busy week. However, I do know that folks have completely different wants, and I get that within the early days of going alcohol-free you may want one thing a bit extra thrilling. Fortunately, the alcohol-free market is on hearth! There are such a lot of merchandise available on the market – assume flavored seltzers, glowing teas, alcohol-free beers, wines, and spirits, kombuchas – I actually might go on and on. I’m frequently impressed on the locations the place I discover alcohol-free drinks – Goal, Dealer Joe’s, Complete Meals, common grocery shops, and native alcohol-free bottle retailers are beginning to supply such all kinds. My solely warning is be intentional when utilizing alcohol-free merchandise, particularly issues like alcohol-free wine or beer. When you’re downing a bottle of alcohol-free wine most nights of the week, it’s form of like ripping off one bandage and placing on one other, and also you would possibly need to discover why you’re caught in the identical behaviors. 

Did you do Dry January this 12 months and keep a dry or damp February? What’s your sober curious hack? ~ Tam