1 Year Without Alcohol

Intro

Welcome! At the time of writing this blog, I just recently went over 1 year of not drinking alcohol. I wanted to take some time to reflect on that decision. While I am happy I was able to stop drinking, 2020 was probably not the best year to do so, but if I could stop during that time, I’m sure anything is possible. Moving on, here are the things that have been on my mind as it relates to sobriety.

Why did I do this?

The first question I’d like to go over is “what made me want to stop drinking”? Ruminating on this, I’ve come to acknowledge that there are three reasons. 

The first reason was because I wanted to save money on my trip to Japan last year. I’ve written a lot about that, so I won’t go into it on this blog, but this was the inciting factor. The second reason was due to drinking fatigue. Mind you, I never drank a lot. At most I would have maybe 4 glasses of wine a week, but it was still becoming bothersome. I do enjoy being tipsy, and being surrounded by fun and exciting energy, but the older I get the more of a negative effect drinking has on me. In my early 20s, jumping out of bed after a night of drinking was just easy. Now, I’ll be lucky if I can wake up before 10am after a night out. I’ve grown to value my time so much more as I grow older, and losing that much time, on a weekend no less, is unacceptable to me now.

The last reason is perhaps the simplest, and it hit me around the time NYC shut down in march. It was “Well, I’ve gone on long enough, how much further can I go”? Sometimes the simplest thoughts can be the most effective, and if I’m being honest, this reason might be the most consistent one for me these days.

What have been the benefits?

So after all this time of sobriety, I’ve nailed down the benefits. The biggest benefit is that I’ve saved a lot of money. Drinks in New York are very expensive, and if you were a social drinker like I was, that adds up. How much? Somewhere in the ballpark of $150-$200 a month. That’s money that could be used for other more productive things (like investing).

The next benefit is that I have a lot more time on the weekend to relax. Whenever I had a night out, I would also have a late morning. Instead of waking up at 10am or 11 am, I can wake up anywhere between 5:30am or 7am (depending on how cold it is). This extra time makes a difference and it feels like I have an extra half day to my weekends, and it’s nice to go at my own pace without feeling the need to rush.

Speaking of extra time. The amount that I gain from not drinking has opened me up to more hobbies. I can do my errands early in the day and pursue new methods of learning later on. Or I can hang out with friends, or play video games. Sky is the limit. I have so much extra time in fact, recently I’ve struggled to find things to occupy myself with and have just been napping until the weather gets better.

The lack of hangovers might be one of the bigger pluses. I never really suffered from them as I’m good with moderating my intake, but even than sometimes you can be surprised. Especially as you get older and your body changes. Drinking in your early 20s vs your late 20s are vastly different experience. Knowing that I’ll wake up the next day without a hangover is one of life’s great pleasures.

Lastly, I can socialize with people without alcohol as a social lubricant. I started going out alone and drinking as a way to learn how to be comfortable meeting strangers, but it can quickly turn into crutch. By removing alcohol as a means to socialize and meet people, I was able to actually learn how to talk to people. Real confidence instead of fake confidence.

Will I continue?

After a year of not drinking, this is the most pertinent question. I never drank too much, so having one here or there might not be out of the realm of possibility. Irrespective of that, I definitely will not be drinking with the same frequency as before. I like bars and being social in them, and have elected to get alcohol free drinks if I do visit them.

On the other hand, it is also a very real possibility that I won’t drink alcohol again. If I keep myself out of situations where the consumption might be seen as “necessary”, a la at a bar, there is almost a 0% chance I will drink alcohol. There might be 1 or 2 special occasions where I might have to drink, but otherwise the compulsion has faded.

Outro

Not drinking wasn’t something I really was actively planning to do, but I am glad I stopped. It has only been a positive in my life. It’s very rare that anything is as completely beneficial as this situation has been for me, but I am loving it. Unfortunately I was unable to take advantage of my full sobriety last year, but this year I definitely will.

Thanks for reading!