66 Days - Sober Challenge

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 6

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Sobriety saves your skin !

As you progress through your alcohol-free period keep an eye on your skin.  There is no mystery about whether or not drinking is good for your skin - it's not.  It dilates your blood vessels, saps moisture, causes wrinkles and loss of elasticity. It bloats you, makes you sensitive to sunlight and increases the chances of skin cancer. If you want some photographic evidence of this then go to our website homepage and check out Nicola - before and after drinking pics - stunning!

 

If you're enjoying this challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

 

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks. 
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 5

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our websitehttps://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Goodbye letter to alcohol

One of the techniques we recommend at our workshops is the "Goodbye Letter to Alcohol" - the idea behind this is that for some of us our relationship with alcohol can be as harmful as with an abusive lover.  You can read my letter and others on THIS WEBSITE If you are doing this Sober Challenge then you are not contemplating a major and painful breakup but you are  having a "trial separation" from what sometimes feels like your "best friend".   During your alcohol-free period you will find that alcohol is everywhere - to stay with the abusive lover analogy  just imagine if you had used all your strength to ditch him and then he kept popping up everywhere you went - looking gorgeous and obviously wanting you back!  (as if he knows he still has a hold on you) Your alcohol-free period is giving you time to examine your relationship with alcohol (with a clear head ;-) - check out those letters on the website to see if any of them resonate with you, educate yourself about just what alcohol does to your brain and body - and make plenty of notes in your trusty journal.  Keep an open mind - this is an experiment and no conclusions allowed before the end of the challenge!

 

If you're enjoying this challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

 

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks. 
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 4

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Build a new path

If you have been drinking regularly for 20 years then you will have a “neural pathway” in your brain which has been created by this consistent habit. A nice analogy is to think of living in a cabin deep in the woods and every day you take a walk to the lake – there are a variety of pathways to get to the lake but you prefer to take the same one every day.  Eventually this pathway will become quite deep and you will no longer even think of taking a different path.  The good news is that recent research into neuroplasticity has shown us that these pathways can be changed.  Your pathway to alcohol has been built up over the years by your “false beliefs” (eg.  I need alcohol to de-stress, I deserve a drink after a busy day etc)  - list your “false beliefs” and turn them on their head (eg I can exercise to de-stress,  I deserve a mocktail after a busy day etc)  Then you need to “do the work” and make the changes – which will enable you to build a new path with a more healthy destination!

 

If you're enjoying this challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

 

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks. 
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 3

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because that's how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

Alcohol and your meds

If you are taking anti-depressants then this alcohol free period could be just what you need. Lots of medications interact with booze, but SSRIs can actually lower your tolerance to alcohol and get you drunker faster. They can also make you more likely to have blackouts. BTW when you have a blackout it's not that you have "forgotten" stuff - more that your brain was so soaked in alcohol that it was unable to make those memories in the first place - scary stuff! Remember your antidepressants can't make you any less depressed if you are drinking alcohol every day - because alcohol itself is a depressant!  The alcohol might give you a brief "lift" but then it will let you down again - and your mood will be lower than if you hadn't had a drink.  So if your spirits begin to lift during this period, you  may want to stay off the booze and really give those meds a chance to do their job.

 

If you're enjoying this challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website - https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

 

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks. 
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

66 Days Sober Challenge - Day 2

This is a series of 66 mini podcasts - to support you through a 66 day alcohol free challenge.

The challenge lasts for 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website  https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

 

About that 'buzz'

 

There is a cultural myth about alcohol that the more we drink, the better we will feel.

In reality, those first couple of drinks do indeed take you "up" - the body experiences an energising effect - creating a feeling of sociability and relaxation.  That's why we love it so much!

Those clever "moderators" will recognise that initial "buzz", enjoy it and then switch to non alcoholic drinks as they continue to enjoy their evening.

However those of us without an "off" switch will seek to deepen and increase the "buzz" so will continue to drink alcohol.  Sadly this is when the depressant and negative effects of alcohol are likely to click in - bringing us down, rather than prolonging the high.

That "downer" may come at the end of the evening with drunken tears, at 3am when you wake up feeling swamped with anxiety - or in the morning with a good old fashioned hangover - but it will come - thats the thing about alcohol (and any other drug) there is a high price to pay for the buzz...

A good thing to remember is that the "euphoric high" we get after two or three glasses of wine will only last about 20 minutes (!) and drinking more alcohol will only result in negative consequences so use your 66 days to forgo the "chemical highs" and work out what gives you a "natural high" instead...

 

If you're enjoying the challenge then please think about joining our community HERE

Or just check out our website -  https://www.tribesober.com

Any questions? - drop us a mail at membership@tribesober.com

 

The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks. 
Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za.
Delivery is available throughout South Africa.

66 Day Sober Challenge - Welcome Day One!

This is the first of 66 mini podcasts - we have chosen 66 days because thats how long it takes to change a habit.  

We have published an e-book called "66 days to sobriety" (available on our website https://www.tribesober.com) - this book contains 66 pages of tips, tools and motivation so I will read a page a day for these mini podcasts.

I will also update you on the healing taking place in your body and mind as you progress through the 66 days.

So here is the first one:-

 

Be a Rebel!

A lot of this sobriety game is psychological – that’s why our workshops are based on creating a “mindshift” rather than coming from a place of deprivation and willpower. When you think of the billions spent by the liquor industry to brainwash us into believing that we need their product it's little wonder some of us get hooked. The wine industry has done an exceptional job at targeting the ladies so that some of us feel it’s impossible to have a full and happy life without it! And then you have the fact that drinking alcohol has become so normalised; that it makes its appearance at just about every event from a Christening to a Funeral. Not to mention the fact that alcohol is chemically designed to be addictive. Its the lubricant that oils our social life, it's the gasoline of fun! Or is it? How about we get a bit rebellious here and go against the grain, move out of our comfort zone and even defy social expectations a little. I know I started to drink because I just wanted to fit in Yes it takes a fair amount of confidence and courage to socialise sober - and to dare to be different. But it does get easier and we have so many “alcohol free” choices available these days. So maybe its time to rise above all that social conditioning. After all, we got wise about cigarettes - we now know they kill you and are not particularly cool or sexy. The latest research on alcohol maintains that there is no “safe level” of alcohol and if we want to be really healthy then we may need to “ditch the drink” entirely. Let's get ahead of the game and see booze for what it really is - a poisonous trap. The Sober Spring Challenge is sponsored by Drink Nil, South Africa's first store to  specialize in alcohol-free drinks.  Browse their huge selection of non-alcoholic wines, bubblies, spirits, beers and mocktails online, at drinknil.co.za. Delivery is available throughout South Africa.