The lies we swallow about alcohol – by Jo Bega

I’m just back from a winter-sun holiday in Lanzarote. I swam in the sea, visited the volcanic vineyards, whooshed around the island on the back of a motorbike and ate some great tapas. It was fantastic – everything a holiday should be. And I did it all stone cold sober.

A few years ago, a holiday without alcohol would have been unthinkable. There’s the pints at the airport to get you in the holiday mood. A cheeky glass of wine on the plane. Cocktails by the beach and of course, every meal must be accompanied by a bottle of wine. How would you properly enjoy your food? And surely it would be rude not to accept the restaurants’ free nightcap of Bailey’s or limoncello…

Unhealthy relationship

But I have spent the last 500 days without alcohol and this meant a different kind of holiday. And, dare I say it, a better one.

I can honestly say that no aspect of the holiday would have been improved by the addition of alcohol.

Everyone’s reasons for quitting are different, but mine were that lockdown had shone a light on my slightly unhealthy relationship with alcohol. I was making more and more excuses to drink and was probably drinking one or two drinks, five days a week. And on the other two days I was thinking about when I’d be able to drink again.

In essence, I gave up because I found moderating my drinking quite exhausting. And so I decided that the 12th September 2021 would be my last drink.

Four gains

It’s pretty hard to give up alcohol if you feel you are always going to be missing out or end up living an incomplete life. So here are four things you gain from being teetotal:

A fantastic nights’ sleep: when I drank I often woke in the night and felt pretty hazy in the morning. Now I sleep like a baby, every single night.

Being 100% present: Your kids, loved ones and friends will thank you for it. And if you need to drive to the restaurant, or collect a teenager late at night, it’s never an issue.

A healthier body: alcohol is a poison, highly calorific and gives no health benefits whatsoever. Don’t believe the articles put out by the drinks companies that tell you a glass of wine a day helps you live longer!

Money savings: I’ve saved over £1,000 since stopping drinking. I can think of loads of better things to do with my hard-earned cash than piss it away down a toilet. Alcohol-free drinks are improving all the time and are much cheaper.

The narrative

Let’s take a minute to examine the lies we are fed about alcohol. Opening my eyes to the deceit that the drinks industry pushes (and society buys into) around drink made a big difference to me.

Every advert we see tells us a variant of this narrative: we need alcohol to relax, enjoy life, have a holiday, celebrate a birthday, a wedding, a funeral, a promotion, a Friday, a weekend or The Big Game. We need alcohol to lower our inhibitions and have a good time. Everybody drinks alcohol so if you don’t, you’re weird.  Even Jesus turned water into wine so it must be great!

Lies

But what if these are lies perpetuated by drinks companies? And what if we are helping them because we’ve all been sucked in?

Alcohol is expensive. It is bad for your health. It ruins thousands of lives through its misuse. It damages relationships, ruins livelihoods and causes untold accidents. Just go an A&E in any hospital on a weekend evening and tell me alcohol is good for society.

The drinks industry spends millions to provide a counter-narrative and it works. We swallow the lies they lace our drinks with.

In our heads

In addition, we need to remember that alcohol is a chemically addictive substance. It’s not easy to give up.

As well as our livers, it gets into our heads. We think we need it to relax or to have a good time. This dependency is worth examining even if you don’t consider you have anywhere near ‘an addiction’.  For many, drinking has become a signpost or gateway for transitioning between work and leisure.

For some, the suggestion of giving up alcohol makes them feel angry. Perhaps you are feeling like this now reading this? It is worth exploring that feeling. Why the defence? What buttons does this push in you?

Questioning the relationship

The purpose of this article isn’t to bring guilt. But I wanted to share my experiences of going against the cultural norm and the good things it had led to. I want to pique the interest of the growing number of people who are sober-curious and might want to try it out for size.

I believe it is worth questioning our relationship with alcohol. I am one of many people who have done so and have found a more fulfilling and improved life by giving it up.

Curious?  With the season of Lent coming up, why not give alcohol a break and see what benefits you experience?

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Jo Bega is a charity CEO and can be found on twitter @jozijozi