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How to Have Fun Without Alcohol

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Andy Smith holding up a bike
Feeling great the next day is not boring at all

How to Have Fun Without Alcohol !

Drinking and having fun have been culturally intertwined since man discovered how to ferment alcohol. Romans ate and drank so excessively together that they created the Vomitorium - an actual room to be sick in.

Many people believe that you can’t have fun without alcohol. After all, social occasions seem to run more smoothly with a drop of alcohol to lubricate proceedings, and hosts are often judged by their ability to provide a never-ending supply.

We know key social celebrations in many cultures are built around wine and song - we raise toasts and the beginnings and ends of life. Alcohol companies spend billions on ads showing us beautiful people laughing and drinking together and how much you can drink is often directly linked to status. It is no surprise that we struggle to see how you can have fun without alcohol.

Learning to have fun without alcohol will lead to new hobbies, relationships, and ultimately, a better life.

The numbers

Alcohol isn't always enjoyable; in fact, too much of it can be detrimental. The fun has a downside that is well documented in healthcare journals. Alcohol is a factor in xxx deaths as well as contributing to major diseases, innumerable breakups and family misery. Over 50,000 each year seek help from their GP for their drinking in the UK.  

Even though we know about the downsides, we still love the drink. One reason why life doesn’t seem as fun without alcohol is because alcohol reduces our inhibitions. It makes us feel funnier and more confident, it helps take the edge off anxiety and steel the nerves. 

This is fine if you can take it or leave it, but for many of us, moderation is not an option on our menu. One of the reasons many people continue to drink too much is that they think that the drink-free version of themselves will shine less brightly and be less fun. In practice the reverse is true but some re-framing is required.

However, if you fear fun-loss, here are 5 ways to have fun without alcohol and reasons why drinking less won't feel like a bad call: 

Booze doesn't make you fun  

Yes for those few minutes at the beginning of an evening when you get the buzz, alcohol can feel like the fun starter. It may seem like the event won’t be any fun without alcohol involved, but this pattern tends to lead to booze-filled nights.

It all starts with giddy positivity, before lurching into shouting while not listening and repeating yourself. Then, before the stagger begins into clubs and cabs, becoming ill on buses and in laybys, it doesn't take much to escalate into disputes, overreactions, and even violence.  This is then followed by 24 hour hours of toxicity and self loathing. Is all this worth that 30 mins of fun?  

Being able to remember is fun

When you overdo it, you can often end up not being able to remember what happened the night before (or worse wishing you couldn't remember...). Going out and staying sober means you can remember the good stuff and tiptoe around the rest without getting your shoes dirty.

Going out and having fun without alcohol can only enhance your experiences and allow you to reflect on amazing occasions.

Booze encourages bad choices

Ask them when they are sober and very few people expect to drink-drive or get into a fight. But alcohol changes our choices and rarely for the better.

Alcohol increases your likelihood of risk-taking and affects your judgment around those risks. Whilst things can go wrong at any time, there is a correlation between the people in A&E on a Saturday night and excessive drinking. Anyone visiting the Emergency room on a weekend evening with a genuine medical condition is often confronted with hoards of incoherent, abusive refugees from the local drinking establishments.

Learning how to have fun without alcohol greatly decreases your risk of injury and harm, improving overall well-being.

Feeling great the next day is not at all boring

Alcohol is a toxin. We know this and drink it anyway. But excess alcohol poisons your body and leaves you able to do nothing but lie on the sofa, moan and eat toast. Going to work on a hangover is too horrific to think about.

Would you rather drink cheap shots in a bar, puke all over yourself, and then wake up the next morning without your wallet or phone? Or dominate your exercise, spend time with friends in the sunshine, and have a fantastic day? Learning how to have fun without alcohol allows you to do the things you love without alcohol holding you back.

Being sober means saying goodbye to the headaches, the sweats and the smell of booze coming out of your pores. Nothing boring about that. The crushing anxiety and guilt that follows a hard night, is your body's response to having a depressant forced on it. Over the course of the following day, the craving begins (all addictive substances create cravings that can only be satisfied by their creators) which also manifests itself as anxiety.

The best intentions of the morning after start to ebb away quickly when the sense that a drink will make things feel better really ramps up. Which it does - for a while. The cruel irony is that the need to drink is driven by the behaviour of yesterday, and non-drinkers don’t experience this.

You are interesting anyway.

The fact is that you can learn to have fun without alcohol. You are fun anyway. Without booze, you might not be as loud, as pushy, or as dominant, but that might be a good thing.

Alcohol is so mixed up with the good times that we struggle to see what it brings to the party. And the answer is chaos. 

If you can see the upside in having fun without alcohol, you are more likely to embrace them. Culture has told us for so long that we are better and brighter squiffy than sober, but the stats don't lie. Booze might be a party starter, but it rarely provides a glossy finish.

The confidence you sought from alcohol was probably born of the desire to not embarrass or make a fool of yourself. And how did that turn out?! Life is interesting enough, don't let alcohol tell you that it is the fun when actually the fun is in each and every one of us.

Learn how to stop drinking now by watching the 30 minute free webinar, 'How to get control of your drinking and move on with your life' here.

Join our Facebook support group to get help and advice for others in similar situations. To find out more about how changing your drinking can transform your life, join for our free webinar or online course on quitting drinking.

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Author of Sober In Seven and wellness and sobriety coach in the UK, here to use my own experience of overcoming alcohol addiction to support you on your journey to a better healthier life.

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