Sober for today?
What good is getting sober if you aren’t going to do it forever? Many people believe take an “all or nothing” approach to sobriety, but is that really necessary? For some people, the idea of never having a drink again can be daunting, maybe even so scary that they never attempt to stop drinking. So what can we do? It turns out, even short periods of sobriety are beneficial to your mental and physical health! So how is staying sober for a today beneficial to you?
Physical benefits
There are physical benefits to skipping the drinks for a day or two. Your body is a self-cleaning oven, and your liver and other internal organs are always working to clear the debris from your fried food binges and your 2 for 1 draft nights out. So skipping even a few days at a time allows your body time to do what it does best without piling more work on it. Anyone remember that old I Love Lucy scene in the chocolate factory, where she gets quickly overwhelmed by how fast the production line is moving and totally stops doing her job well? Imagine your liver as Lucy on the production line, and give her time to do her job effectively without overworking her so much she gives up!
Mental benefits
You know the drill–you drink at night, and wake up in the morning feeling awful. You swallow a few Tylenol and chug some water and pray people don’t speak too loudly. Just when your body is starting to recover some stability, it’s cocktail hour again. By now you feel better, so you’ve forgotten the repercussions of last night’s party and you’re ready to start again. Rinse and repeat. But abstaining for a night or three will allow you to break up your routine of drink/recover/drink and give your head time to clear the cobwebs. Maybe you don’t even like your routine, but you’re so used to it you just follow it blindly. Maybe you don’t even remember what feeling “fully clear” feels like because you’re just on the edge of it when you blur it again.
Taking some time off from your usual routine of drinking can give you that mental clarity and maybe a fresh perspective on why this is your habit. It allows you to really see and feel what your day is like, rather than blurring and dodging your life–and that gives you the space to decide if you like what you see.
Social benefits
I know, this one seems crazy. Most of us don’t watch a football game without a beer in hand. You’d be hard pressed to find a ladies social event that didn’t include a few bottles of wine. It has become so socially acceptable that it has become the norm to include alcohol at every gathering. After all, we’re just unwinding with friends, right? But you don’t have to get blind drunk to miss some of the best parts of social gatherings, the little nuances of a friend opening up to you, noticing without being told when your friends maybe aren’t in the best place or need a little support–the kind of support that will never be found if you’re on your second pitcher. Being fully present in body and mind with your friends is like giving them a gift–the gift of you, unaltered. You’re more able to listen, and really hear them. You’re more able to connect in a way that alcohol would never allow, even though you certainly feel close when you’re crying “I love you guys!” so much after a few margaritas.
Schedule a dry group event and see how much more you learn about your friends. Notice how much easier it is to talk about the good stuff, the meaningful stuff, when you aren’t slurring your words and they aren’t too sloppy to hear you. Feel what it really feels like to be among people who love you, rather than imagining it through the pink haze of alcohol, and reconnect with yourself and your friends, sober.
A new habit of sobriety
Maybe you aren’t ready to give up drinking forever. Maybe it hasn’t come to a point where drinking has destroyed your friendships, relationships, or ability to work. Hopefully it never will. But maybe taking a few days off will give you a new habit of sobriety, one where you live fully and embrace life the way it is rather than needing beer goggles to get through it. Maybe just a few days will be all it takes to see clearly that your life can be rich, full, and beautiful without the need for any substance to change the way you feel.
If you want to hear more about the impact that living a Centered life can have on your relationships, your parenting, your career, give us a call at 800-556-2966 today. You don’t have to “go to rehab” to learn something new about yourself and how amazing life can be with a clear body and mind.
