Why I'm Sober Curious

Why I’m Sober Curious.

I haven’t had alcohol since June 9, 2021.

Am I going to be sober forever? I don’t know the answer to that. But right now, being sober is the best decision for me, and here’s why.

In May 2021, I read a book called Sober Curious. Everything she wrote about in her book struck a chord with me, so much, that I was moved to try it.

What is Sober Curious?

“Sober curious simply means that you’ve chosen to avoid alcohol for personal or wellness reasons. It involves curiosity about the reasons fueling your desire to drink and the way alcohol affects your life.”

A few reasons why I’m sober curious right now:

I decided alcohol was keeping me from my wellness goals.

I don’t really enjoy the taste of alcohol.

I really do not like how it makes me feel (especially the next day).

I was tired of the roller coaster I was on: drinking, eating bad foods, letting loose, then restricting to “make up for” what I’d done.

I wanted a clear mind to process my grief, as hard as that is.

I knew I needed to find better, more sustainable coping strategies and I couldn’t do that if I just kept using booze to cope.

I don’t want to die young, and I’m going to do everything in my power to keep my body healthy.

I wondered what being sober was like.

For years I wondered what being sober was like. My life was so entwined with alcohol it seemed unfathomable to stop. But the sober curious book gave me permission to not decide the rest of my life right now. Instead, it helped me see that it’s not all or nothing, and it’s not permanent. I can be curious about sobriety, try it, and see how it goes. So far, I’m loving it, and have no plans to go back to drinking.

Did I have a problem?

Last fall, I told a close friend that I was coming up on 100 days of sobriety. Her first reaction was, “I didn’t know you had a problem!”

I don’t know if I had a problem or not. I wasn’t chugging vodka behind closed doors, and I wasn’t getting drunk on weeknights. But I was drinking when I didn’t really want to or need to.

My why: I want to be a role model for my kids.

Looking back at my life, I had used alcohol to cope with some of the really shitty things that happened to me, and I didn’t want to keep that pattern going. I want to find better ways to cope, so I can teach those ways to my children.

I want better for them. So I will do better for them.