Living Alcohol Free

I thought it was time to document the resources that were helpful to me in my choice to live alcohol free. While I don’t talk much publicly about living without alcohol, it’s one of the biggest and best changes I have ever made in my life. And if sharing these resources is helpful to someone who is struggling to make a similar change, it’s worth putting this all down in a post.

Here are the resources that were most helpful to me.

Find a friend. There is nothing better than the buddy system when you’re doing something hard. I had a friend, not a close friend but someone who had been in the periphery of my life for years, and I knew that at one time she had been a drinker and now she wasn’t. So I reached out to her and she really became my mentor in this process–incredibly patient and insightful as she had faced the same challenge. I don’t think I could have done it without her. Throughout the entire process, she always gave me hope that there was something so much better was on the other side of this.

Read or listen to the “quit lit.” There are so many great books out there on this topic! Here are the ones that I found most helpful:
- Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
- We are the Luckiest by Laura Mckowen
- This Naked Mind by Annie Grace (she also has a 30-day class you can pay to take online that lots of people have found helpful)
- Betty Ford by Lisa Hill
- Between Breaths by Elizabeth Vargas

Follow some sober curious social media accounts. If you do a search on Tik Tok or Instagram, you will find people who speak to you about this subject. I love TheSoberMomLife on Instagram, run by a North Shore mom. She also has a weekly podcast that is incredibly helpful.

Track your days. You don’t have to do this, but it helped me–especially in the early days of me not drinking. The App Store on your phone has lots of options if you do a search on “sober days tracker.”

Visit your doctor. Early into my days of not drinking, I had a doctor’s appointment where I shared that I had made this change in my life. The doctor mentioned that there are medications on the market to help get you over the hump of those early days of sobriety. This might be something to consider if it is helpful to you.

Consider talking to a therapist. Everyone is different but I did talk to someone who was skilled in helping people who wanted to stop drinking. I kind of threw everything at wanting to make this change and I’m glad that I did.

Lean into your faith. If I ever questioned the existence of God before I stopped drinking, His presence has been felt over and over in my life since I removed alcohol from it. The amount of clarity I now have on so many things has been life changing.

Share your story. Once you’re ready, share your story to whom it feels right to do so. You will be amazed at how many people will admire your strength and maybe even be in the process of making the same change in their own lives.

Okay, this is all I have. I hope it’s helpful. The nice thing about being sober curious today is that it’s very trendy and lots of people are talking about it. You can find the people you need to help you make this change in your life. I am proof of this.

As always, feel free to message me with questions if you have them. My email is hello@annmariescheidler.com.

xo,