2 minute read
Sobering thoughts for the Festive Season
Mother’s Little Helper
This winter is a good ti me to rethink your coping strategies without relying on alcohol. Gaby Conn chats to Kate and Mandy of Love Sober to fi nd out how
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With alcohol presented as an essential component of celebration and connection in the UK, especially during any festive season, opting for a sober life may seem, for many people, like waving goodbye to their social life. But having discovered the fulfi lment and liberation of an alcohol-free life themselves, Kate Baily and Mandy Manners now support other women in discovering the same - challenging the stigma around problematic drinking, and the assumption that boycotting alcohol needs to feel like a sacrifi ce.
At Love Sober, a Community Interest Company, drinking is looked at on a spectrum, with a focus on ‘Grey Area Drinking’ - alcohol misuse that affects 10 million Brits. Appearing “normal” on the surface, and not fi tting into the ‘alcoholic’ stereotype, this behaviour goes unquestioned, meanwhile having a detrimental impact on women’s mental health, quality of life and all-round happiness. Kate & Mandy encourage mothers to ask themselves how drinking makes them feel and, if the answer is negative, to feel confi dent in asking for help and support. With the pandemic rendering us predominantly house-bound, and the festive season fast approaching, it can be a natural time for alcohol misuse to fl are up. Kate and Mandy’s advice to women who might feel apprehensive for this period, is to set their boundaries, ask for help and be okay with saying no.
Love Sober stress the importance of self-care, of “fortifying yourself with the good bits, so that you can cope with the bad bits” in life. They take the approach of dopamine-sourced learning - the key to changing habits around alcohol being rewards, rather than abstinence. By giving yourself a ‘sober treat’ every day, such as a bunch of fresh fl owers or a bubble bath, the dopamine-fi x that would otherwise come from alcohol is still being obtained, but from a healthy, positive source. More than just self-indulgence, they describe this method as “brain training in disguise”. They also advise to “keep the rituals, and change the ingredients”, for example swapping the 5pm glass of wine for a non-alcoholic drink.
With the knowledge and guidance that Love Sober has to offer, this year could be an opportunity to strip this festive season of the dreaded hangovers and “hang-xiety”, instead experiencing it with a new-found energy, confi dence, presence and sober vitality. n
