I Gave Up Booze and I’m Having More Fun Than Ever

SOBRIETY IS MAGICAL –

Feb. 10, 2023 – “It has been deeply ingrained in us by the media, culture and our peers that alcohol is the best way to have fun, and therefore sobriety must be boring,” says Veronica Valli, a psychotherapist, recovery coach and author of Soberful. She says: “The truth is, with 23 years of sobriety behind me, I can’t think of anything that isn’t more fun without alcohol. But there’s more to stopping drinking than just stopping drinking. We have to learn a lot of new emotional skills.”

It is not just the tendency to use booze to numb stress, sadness and exhaustion, it’s how to behave in the good times too. When I had been sober for three months, I received a really big job offer – the sort that warranted a celebration. But without the option of going straight to the pub to raise a few glasses, I was clueless as to how to express my excitement. In the end, I went for an ice-cream.

In the years since, I have gradually become better at processing highs and lows without the accompaniment of booze. In the meantime, it helps to have some practical stuff up your sleeve to help those early days of sobriety feel like a pleasure, not an endurance. Whether you’re hoping to prolong the benefits of Dry January a little longer or thinking of going sober more permanently, here are some tips on how to keep having fun while you do so.