Planning to take a break from alcohol can be more challenging than you’d expect. To set yourself up for success, it’s important to have tools you can lean on to get you through cravings without caving.
Here are 9 steps you can take to make it easier for you to relax or have fun without a drink in your hand.
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1. Write Down Your “Why”
Honestly, writing out your feelings will help you a ton during this process. Even just a couple lines each day so you can look back and see how far you’ve come.
Get yourself a cute journal dedicated to sobriety or your personal development in general.
There is at least one reason, but probably many, for WHY you want to take a break from alcohol. Write down everything you can think of and add to it over time. Start your list with your main reasons, and then continue listing out all the extra benefits that make it worth it.
Write a letter to your future self. Remind yourself of how you feel right now, of why you want to stop drinking or take a break from alcohol, and why it’s worth it.
Write a letter to the future you who caves and has a drink. Forgive yourself, reminding yourself you’re human, and to hop right back on that horse. You might not need it, but you’ll be glad to have it if you do.
Here’s some popular “whys”, to inspire your list:
- I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired
- I want to have energy to take my kids on adventures every day
- I want to be healthier and lose weight
- I want to model a good relationship with alcohol for my kids
- I want to improve some health issues: prediabetes, aches and pains, insomnia, blood pressure, cholesterol
- I want to lower my risk of cancer
Refer to your list anytime you feel a craving for a drink.
2. Tell Someone You’re Doing It
You’re more likely to stick with your commitment if someone knows you’re going to take a break from alcohol. It can even be several people. But if people will be checking in with you and asking how it’s going, it’s one more thing that’s likely to help you stay sober.
If you have someone doing it with you, even better! Spouse, friend, sibling, parent, child… ask someone to do it with you. An accountability partner can make all the difference.
3. Prepare Your Home
If your house is stocked with your favorite alcohol, your willpower won’t last long.
Get Rid of the Alcohol
If you can get your spouse/ partner/ roomie onboard, try to get all alcohol out of the house. If they’re not willing to do that, try to at least get rid of your big temptations.
My husband didn’t stop drinking when I did. But he was willing to drink only IPAs and dark beers (which I hate anyway) until I wasn’t tempted by other drinks.
Wine was my drink of choice, and 8 months later we still don’t have in the house… but probably because he rarely drank it anyway.
Stock up on Non-Alcoholic Drinks
There are a few different kinds of NA drinks. Some that started off with no alcohol (think, sodas or Hop Waters), some alcohol-removed drinks that are 0%, some alcohol-removed that are .5%, mocktails, and mocktails with NA liquor.
Some people are triggered when they taste an NA drink that tastes too much like alcohol. It can make you much more likely to switch back to the real thing.
Others find that the likeness in taste scratches the itch. A drink with .5% alcohol is considered non-alcoholic (a ripe banana has more alcohol than that), and will not affect your blood alcohol level at all.
As someone who preferred having drinks that tasted like alcohol, I felt less like I was missing out on the real thing. Target, Whole Foods, and BevMo are usually stocked with great choices.
If you’re looking for recommendations, here are some good ones I’ve found:
Completely Alcohol-free Drinks:
- Recess drinks (mood and the mocktails are my favorite)
- Fresca
- Tart cherry juice (a good red wine alternative, I mix 4oz juice, 6oz orange LaCroix)
- Pomegranate juice
- LaCroix
- Hop Waters
- Sparkling Ice
- Vitamin Waters (Kirkland brand is the best!)
Alcohol-removed drinks (that taste more like the real thing):
- NA Craft Beers (Athletic Brewing, Three Weavers, Best Day Brewing, Partake)
- Other NA Beers (Blue Moon, Corona, Heineken, Guinness)
- Sparkling Wines (white & rose)
- Other NA red and white wines are available, but taste more like juice than wine… great for an NA Sangria!
Mocktails with zero proof liquor (Ritual brand):
- Palomas
- Margaritas
- Mojitos
- Hot Toddy’s
- Any of YOUR favorite cocktails that you can swap out with an NA liquor
Try out a bunch over the month, and make your drink tastings a fun new evening activity. If you’re used to winding down most evenings with a drink, break the habit (of alcohol) before you break the wind-down routine.
4. Download an App
The Try Dry app is free, and a lot of fun for someone who likes to check off each day that you don’t drink. It also has options to mark planned drinking days, and track your unplanned drinking days, if you’re opting for a “dryish” month.
The I Am Sober app, also free (offers paid upgrade options which I don’t use), counts the days for you and lets you know when you hit milestones. But it doesn’t require you to log your days to track, if you want something a little more hands off.
If you’re looking for something with more resources and aid than just tracking drink-free days, check out the Reframe App. If I’d needed extra paid support this is where I would have started. They do have a free trial available as well.
5. Set NA Rewards for Yourself
Make sure your rewards have nothing to do with alcohol!
Breaking the habit of celebratory champagne felt weird. In the beginning, I’d splurge on more expensive NA drinks as rewards because that was the norm for me.
If you make it to the end of the week, month, or 90 days, don’t celebrate with alcohol. So many people go right back to drinking at the end of their challenge, as their reward. Plan from the beginning to do something different.
If you hit your alcohol-free goal, buy yourself a chocolate cake! Or your favorite candy. If you hit a weight loss goal, buy yourself new clothes. If you reach a personal goal (decluttering your house, starting a side hustle, baby proofing your toddlers room, completing a professional certification) find a motivating reward for you!
Find big and small rewards, and make a list! My small rewards are usually sweets or new clothes. My big reward is a Disneyland trip.
6. Curate Your Social Media
Scrolling through your phone and seeing alcohol glamorized will only make you feel like you’re missing out. I found sober accounts by following hashtags (#dryjanuary, etc.). As posts showed up under those hashtags, I followed my favorites.
Adding a little sober motivation from others to your daily routine can really help reshape your mind and attitude about the day. There are only a handful I followed in the beginning:
- #sobercurious (Instagram won’t let users follow hashtags for much longer)
- @jenleehirst
- @soberflourish
- @mykindofsweet (host of Sober Mom Life Podcast)
- @suzesober
- @fit4jessie
- @mommydoesnotneedwine
- @thegymnurse
If you have any great sober accounts to follow, leave them in the comments below!
7. Read Quit Lit
I’d never heard the term Quit Lit before I took a break from alcohol. There are so many great book options out there. Quit lit books are your best bet for a big-picture, well-rounded informational source on alcohol.
Many of these books dive into the science of what alcohol does to your body. It also talks about deeply ingrained social stigmas, unconscious behaviors, and how to combat emotional triggers.
Once you understand the science and psychology behind alcohol, reading about more personal sobriety stories is really inspiring.
The Best Quit Lit Books to Get Started:
- This Naked Mind by Annie Grace
- Quit Like a Woman by Holly Whitaker
- The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
- We Are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen
- Allen Carr’s Quit Drinking Without Willpower
- The Sober Diaries by Clare Pooley
8. Listen to Podcasts & Audio books
Listening to the experience of others will help you feel much less alone. Hearing how others have handled difficult situations, moved past guilt, gotten sober without the support of their family, etc. is so helpful and inspiring.
Podcasts are one of the best tools you can lean on. You can hear other’s experiences, know that you’re not alone, and learn more about the affects alcohol has on your body.
So I recommend having a little voice of encouragement in your ear to get you through the hard times.
Check out this Huberman Lab Episode, and The Sober Mom Life podcast if you’re not sure where to start.
9. Identify Your Triggers
This is likely something you won’t work on until after you stop drinking. When you least expect it, you’ll notice a stronger-than-usual urge for a drink. Pay attention to what is making you feel that way. Learn how to cope by finding another way to address your emotional need.
Melty toddler days were one of my biggest triggers. I’d lose my patience with her, shut down emotionally, and be spent for the rest of the day. For times like this, grab an NA beer, turn on some soothing music, and wait until someone (probably your partner) is available to give you a breather.
Another unexpected trigger is really nice weather. On a warm, sunny day when you’re chilling at the pool, beach or lake, a nice cold Corona would hit the spot. So again, grab an NA drink to substitute, and read through your list of “whys”.
Cravings tend to only last 20-30 minutes, so 99% of the time, they will go away by the time your first drink is finished. If you do still find yourself wishing for one, find another way to keep your mind, body or hands busy. Go for a walk, do a puzzle, take a shower, kick a ball around with your kid. Something out of your norm to snap you out of it.
Your Journey with Alcohol is Unique
Finding your balance is personal to you – take encouragement from what works for others, but don’t expect it to be what YOU need. Learning what works for you, and how to cope with your triggers, will take some trial and error.
Give yourself grace. It’s ok if you don’t get it right the first time. Or the hundredth. What matters is that you keep trying. If something isn’t serving you well, move on to the next best option.
To read about some surprising ways alcohol can effect your health, and why a break might benefit you, check out this post.
I hope you thrive during your alcohol free experience!
xo Kaylie
