Quit drinking with The Alcohol Experiment taking place at Mindspace Stamford
When someone tells you they don’t drink, what do you feel?
Pity that they’re missing out on ‘the good life’? Or envy that they exercise such self-control?
As someone who’s sworn they’ll “never drink again” enough to know I’m not always true to my word, joining a 30-day ‘alcohol-free experiment’ seemed a reasonable option.
A month without drink is, after all, nothing new to those who have managed ‘dry January’ or ‘sober October’.
The plan follows The Alcohol Experiment™, a book by Annie Grace which has been developed into a real-life course in Stamford by sobriety guru Carol Urry.
Carol gave up drinking in October 2019.
“I was in a wine club and easily spent £450 a month on drinking at home and in the pub,” she said.
“I was using alcohol to de-stress at the end of each day and my alcohol consumption crept up to at least a bottle of wine a day.”
Carol’s decision to give up alcohol came after her son became stuck at Birmingham Railway Station on a bank holiday and she was unable to fetch him because she had been drinking.
Reflecting on that, she also admitted to herself she wasn’t giving family life 100 per cent because of the foggy head, the hangovers and poor sleep caused by alcohol consumption.
She followed the advice in Annie Grace’s book, which aims to reprogramme the way we think about alcohol.
“People in our society mostly have a positive view around alcohol compared to smoking, drugs or habitual gambling,” she said.
“Friends wouldn’t tease someone for refusing a cigarette or for not smoking a bit of weed, but people who refuse an alcoholic drink do face some stigma and have fun made of them if they aren’t drinking at a party or down the pub.
“I encourage my clients who are pressured into drinking to say they are up early for work, taking medication or cutting back for health reasons if they feel uncomfortable socially.
“I find it sad that they have to justify why they aren’t drinking and seen as an oddity.”
Carol has already run the 30-day experiment with a small group of men and women over the summer - people who contacted her to say they were keen to take back control of their lives by shaking off alcohol.
Emma Allman, a peer support worker for Shine, who helps people through the NHS and the charity MindSpace, was in that group. She describes the effects of giving up alcohol as ‘phenomenal’.
“I was drinking too much and too regularly,” said Emma.
“I started a new relationship and we were drinking together a lot, then I lost my mum about 18 months ago and I drank more.
“Whole weekends were annihilated.
“To have reached the end of a month without alcohol is amazing.
“During the 30 days I didn’t want to drink, even if I had had a tough week. Usually that sort of thing would give me carte blanche to go home and sink a few drinks.
“I’m not sure if I will give up drinking completely forever, and certainly at a wedding I would be able to raise a toast and not lose control.
“I feel a lot more in control and my health has improved.”
Once the 30 days are over, Carol remains available to chat to, and can help people extend that initial month by a few days, weeks or more.
- The Alcohol Experiment in Stamford starts on Saturday, October 1, with the first session over Zoom and then meeting at MindSpace in Broad Street from October 6.
- For details email Carol: warriormumcoaching@gmail.com
'A month off once a year will help me stay in control'
Having made it through 30 days without drinking, have I given up forever?
The short answer is ‘no’ - but that’s not to say my ‘experiment’ was a wasted effort.
Despite very much enjoying beer, wine and more besides, I didn’t really miss them during the drink-free month and it was actually rather exhilarating to wake feeling fresh-headed every day.
I certainly saved money, probably consumed fewer calories, and won a fair few brownie points ferrying friends back from the pub.
A month off drink at least once a year is my target, to make sure I stay in control.