It's the start of January 2023 and we are all beginning to think about how we want to spend our year - and if that's just living your best life without making any resolutions, that's bloody brilliant.
If you are thinking about starting the year afresh and want to make some healthy changes, you might be considering living ‘hangover-free’ by cutting your alcohol consumption. For most people, Dry January provides a much-needed respite from the ongoing dangers of living in a society obsessed with alcohol – as well as an opportunity to reevaluate their relationships with booze. Whilst we're not telling you that you should give up booze (because it's your life and you should do what makes you happy), if you are considering making a change to your drinking habits, we've enlisted the advice of Emily Syphas, a Transformational Life & Addictive Behaviour coach and speaker who helps to empower others to live happy and hangover-free, to share her story.
In 2018, Emily founded Sober & Social after years of being in a negative cycle with her drinking and the impact this had on her mental health and wellbeing. She then decided to embark on a journey of ‘hangover-free living’, and sharing her passion to help empower and inspire others to lead their most healthiest, happiest and hangover-free life and we are seriously here for her empowering advice.
Here, Emily reveals how living ‘hangover-free’ for 365 days totally transformed her life, and shares some helpful tools if you're looking to cut down on alcohol and make some healthy changes to your life….
“I have to stop drinking because it's making me eat. It's making me break my diet.”
"It's the start of January 2023 and we are all beginning to think about how we want to spend our year. Maybe you have decided to look at your alcohol consumption? Maybe you are wanting to exercise a little more? Make more healthier food choices? Upgrade your career? Find the love of your life? Make more time for your friends and family? Save money?
"What if I told you that living hangover free for 365 days would give you a higher probability of all of these things? I can only talk from my own personal perspective but looking at my relationship with alcohol back in 2018 was one of the most positive yet difficult things I have ever done in my life and that's why I want to empower and inspire you to give it a go too so you can have your own transformative experience in 2023.
"What is hangover-free living? Hangover-free living is a less labeled approach to making more positive choices around your alcohol consumption which can mean going totally alcohol-free or drinking in a very mindful and minimal way if total alcohol-free living doesn't feel it's the best place for you to land. (NB. I do recommend the challenge of one year with no alcohol for the best results).
“If you are looking for some guidance on living hangover-free or want to reevaluate your relationship with alcohol, here are my top 10 tips for living your best hangover-free year…”
I think it's important to create some space and sit down with your current relationship with alcohol. Journal on these questions - what do I gain by having alcohol in my life? What do I lose by having alcohol in my life? How would I feel if I woke up every morning hangover-free?
What is your big WHY? Write down why cutting down or cutting out alcohol is important to you. Maybe it's wanting to feel healthier, be more present for your children, saving money, giving yourself more time, wanting to have less regrets, more clarity, more motivation, better friendships, building more confidence. It may be many different things but I think it's key to be crystal clear on this from the get go to inspire you to stay on track.
You want to be feeling as good as you possibly can throughout this whole process so creating a routine each morning that raises your vibration is essential. This can be running, meditation, yoga, journaling, walking, writing down gratitudes or whatever else FEELS good to you. Set your alarm an extra 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes earlier and make this a non- negotiable.
A year can perhaps feel a long time when you are first starting out so just look at the month ahead instead of the year ahead. If this feels too much bring it to a weekly or daily basis and create a mantra around this. ‘Today/ this week/ this month I choose to live alcohol free so I can do the best for my brain and body and wake up each day with clarity’ (feel free to make a mantra that feels most aligned to you and to change it on a regular basis).
Plus, your mantra for the month ahead.
The best way to feel supported and motivated is surrounding yourself with like minded friends that are on the same journey as you. This might feel tricky if your friendships have mostly been built around alcohol but it's the perfect opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and take yourself to some alcohol-free events. To get you started I would recommend checking out Sober & Social, Club Soda and Morning Gloryville.
Start making notes of the moments of joy you feel away from alcohol. Maybe it's simple things like waking up with a clear head and enjoying your morning cuppa, being more present when you are with your friends, enjoying delicious alcohol-free cocktails or being out in nature. Whatever it is, write it down in a journal or on your phone. You will start to create a more positive story around hangover-free living in your mind and focus on what you are gaining which will help you not only stay on track but WANT to do this.
One of the BEST things about an AF life is that you can quite literally have it ALL. You don’t need to worry about whether you will be able to make your plans the next day or if you will be too hungover to go out two nights in a row. You can go out until the early hours and make the gym class, go for the brunch you booked in and make the family lunch showing up as your best shiny hangover-free self.
This may sound a little errrm boring but I think it's really motivational to use the money that you would have spent on booze to put away and either save it or use the account to treat yourself to something nourishing and good for you (yes spa day, I see you).
This has been absolutely key for me in finding my flow in social situations, feelings like I am not missing out and really enjoying my hangover-free life. There are so many amazing drinks to explore but here are a list of my favourites - Clean Co , Lyre’s , Caleno, Trip, Pentire, Three Spirits , Everleaf, French Bloom, Oddbird, Lucky Saint , Nirvana Brewery, Fungtn, Wild life Botanicals
The best thing about going alcohol-free is that you get to create your dream AF social life and spend time doing things you actually enjoy. You will find yourself wanting to expand your social life outside bars and pubs, find alcohol free events and explore new things.
If you are wanting to explore an exciting and epic night out with all the fun and none of the hangover then come to a ‘A Night Less Wasted’ on 21st January at one of London’s hottest locations hosted by myself and Spencer Matthews serving delicious Clean Co cocktails with DJ Fat Tony on the decks. Get your tickets here A Night Less Wasted
