Mar 12 2021
The first month alcohol free is extremely challenging for most people as they adapt to a new lifestyle. In this episode, I will take you through the seven strategies that I think are most important for a first month sober. I have also created a free workbook which outlines these seven strategies that you can download on her website: www.themindfullifepractice.com/sobergirlsyoga.
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Intro: Welcome to the “Sober Yoga Girl Podcast” with Alex McRobs, international yoga teacher and sober coach. I broke up with booze for good in 2019 and now I'm here to help others do the same. You're not alone and a sober life can be fun and fulfilling. Let me show you how.
Hello. Welcome to Episode 2 of Sober Yoga Girl. I'm Alex McRobs, your host, international life coach, and yoga teacher. So, today I'm gonna work you through seven strategies that I would recommend if you are taking a month off of alcohol. Now, this is a list of strategies that I actually created into a free eBook workbook on the website, themindfullifepractice.com/sobergirlsyoga. If you go to that website, themindfullifepractice.com/sobergirlsyoga, you can download all of these strategies as a workbook, and then you can work your way through them as you are going alcohol-free. So, the first strategy that I would recommend if you're going alcohol-free is to Eliminate the question. I think one of the biggest problems that we encounter is if we end up in a social situation where someone is pressuring us, or we end up on a night when we're feeling lonely and we wanna have a drink. If the question is open that I'll maybe have a drink or maybe not, you're more than likely to pick up the drink. So, I would say, eliminate the question whatsoever. I am not drinking for these 30 days. No ifs, ands, or but. There's no question. Because as soon as you open the door to maybe, then you're more likely to have a drink. So, that's the first strategy, eliminate the question. The second strategy is Find your whys. Every single time I work one-on-one with a coaching person, or if I start a new silver girls yoga challenge, we always start by coming up with your reasons why you are alcohol-free. And the reason why is because if you have a list of all of these reasons why, it can be super powerful whenever you have an urge to drink, you have a craving, you can't remember why you're doing this, you're like, I just want to go have a beer with your friends. Have your list of reasons why. It can be as simple as, you know, I want to be sober for my kids. I want to be sober because I want to be healthier. I want to be sober for my mental health. That was a big one for me. I want to be sober because I am spending so much money partying. So, find your whys and I always say, Find your whys, you'll find your way. So, if you have a list of reasons why, you can always circle back to it and just remind yourself of why you're doing what you're doing. The third strategy I would recommend to everyone is to Count your days. Now, I know for some people this is not very inspiring, and they don't like counting their days, and they prefer to just, you know, say I'm alcohol free for whatever period of time, and that is totally okay for everyone that's different. For me, personally, what really motivated me was taking off another day on the chart. Right? So, every time I knew it was day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, the numbers were motivating for me. And then, when I hit milestones, like when I hit double digits, day 10, that was huge. When I hit 14 days, two weeks, that was huge. When I hit 28 days, you know, it was something to celebrate. And so, if you count your days, that can really help you stay on track. You can use an old-fashioned charts. In my workbook, I've created a chart that you can just tick off. You can get tons of awesome apps online. If you just google sober apps, you'll come up with a bunch of them that can track your day's alcohol-free, but definitely find a way to market. Actually, I knew someone on a sober Facebook group who said something amazing once. They said, you know, they have a jar and they put a marble in the jar for every single day. And then, they hit a point where it was full, and then they put the lid on, and they just have it, and it's just all of their days. And that kind of gave me shivers. So, everyone has a different way of doing this but I think counting your days, for me, was personally motivating. Now, the fourth thing I would always recommend is Accountability. Okay? You need to tell the people around you what you're doing, because if you don't tell your significant other that you are going sober or if you don't tell your friends that you're going sober, then they are going to pressure you. I don't want to say they're going to, but they might pressure you into drinking. So, you need to be transparent and honest with everyone about what you're doing and why you're doing. And that can be hard, and if you don't feel comfortable telling people, then maybe just take a break from the social situation for a bit until you feel ready. But I made it very clear to people from very early on. I'm quitting alcohol, and it's because of my mental health. And even if that made them uncomfortable to be in a bar and hear me shouting over the music, you know, I'm sober because of my mental health. It helped. Because once people understand what you're doing and why you're doing, then they'll have more empathy, and they'll be able to support you more. Right? So, there's a huge partying culture but if you're not clear with people, and you're just like, Oh, maybe I'll have one, maybe not. I don't feel like it. I'm driving. There's more of an open window for people to put on the pressure, but if you're super clear, and honest, and upfront, then that's kind of, in my experience, I've found it's eliminated. And if people do pressure you, then they are not the most awesome friends. So, that is step number four. Accountability. Make sure that you share with people what's going on with you, so that they can support you. The fifth thing I would suggest is to Do something different. Okay? In the very early days, if you end up in situations where people are drinking, people are partying, there is more of a tendency for you to kind of collapse into it and end up having a drink. So, my strategy was to do something totally different. I went to the gym. I went spinning. I hung out with new people. I played guitar. What else did I do? I did some writing. I spent time doing things other than being at the pub, other than being at the party, you know, even if you're missing an important event like someone's birthday, your commitment to being alcohol-free is the most important thing. And if you don't make it a priority, then there is a chance that you'll have a slip up. So, I would say, Do something different until you feel like you're strong enough to be in those situations around alcohol, and your friends that are real friends will understand that. Now, the next thing I would say is to Plan what to say. Okay? So, one of the hardest moments is when you get into that moment where someone says what do you want to drink. And if you don't plan what you're gonna say, then you can be in a moment where you think, Oh, I guess I'll just have a beer. You know? So, I would check menus ahead of time, see if they have an alcohol-free option, see what their mocktails are, decide in your head. It's almost like when I became vegetarian, I would look at restaurant menus ahead of time and make sure that they had a vegetarian option. Right? It's almost the same thing. So, you have to look and see if there is an option like a mocktail, like an alcohol-free beer, that's the best thing if you have a Heineken zero, because then, no one can recognize that you're having something without alcohol and you just fit in with everyone else. But I would definitely recommend to plan what to say before you end up in social situations around alcohol. All right, this is your seventh step. Give yourself something to look forward to. Whether it is a little celebration with a friend, whether it's a special treat. Once you hit your milestone and whatever your milestone is, whether it's 30 days or 90 days, or a year, plan something special to celebrate. So, for myself, when I hit 30 days alcohol-free, I planned a sunrise walk. And that was super special for me because it was something to do that was really significant, because throughout the month of sobriety, I had been up at the sunrise and enjoying the sunrise. And so, doing something to mark that, that was kind of relevant. It was really special for me. So, do something different, give yourself something to look forward to. So, give yourself something for your milestone to look forward to. So, that is kind of just a very quick seven strategies for your first month alcohol-free. Now, this is all a free eBook on my website which is themindfullifepractice.com/sobergirlsyoga. So, you can download that eBook if it helps you to write and work away on it, and please let me know what you think. Don't forget to like and comment and share this podcast, so everyone who would benefit from this resource can have access to it. I hope to meet you soon in one of my zoom yoga classes or online on Instagram, or Facebook, or Tiktok, or twitter. Have a wonderful day. See you soon. Bye.
Outro: Thank you so much for tuning into this episode of Sober Yoga Girl with Alex McRobs. I am so, so grateful for every one of you. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss the next one and leave a review before you go. See you soon. Bye.
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