As a 19 year old student, I find myself constantly surrounded by people who love to go out, have a good time, and drink a lot. I recently decided to try going out more and not drinking for a number of reasons. The first being that it almost always affected me in a negative way, especially in a time of low mental health. The second being the Lucy Moon (my favourite youtuber) made a video about her relationship with alcohol and her attempted sobriety. This encouraged me to try giving up drink for a while to see if it would help to improve my relationship with going out and alcohol. Another reason for trying out sober nights was because I always felt as though I needed alcohol to enjoy going out, but realised quite soon that sometimes sober nights are the best nights.
My first time
My first experience of going out without drinking occurred over summer. I was heading to a gathering for a friends birthday in a bar and before going out I made the decision not to drink that night. I hadn’t been feeling all that good but I couldn’t miss my best friends birthday! So I gave it a try. My boyfriend was also not drinking that night which made it so much easier. Rule number one of enjoying a sober night out; it’s always good to have a sober pal. As the night went on and I noticed the alcohol starting to effect those who were consuming it, it made me feel increasingly happy that I had decided not to drink. I held long and interesting conversations with people without losing track of myself half way through. From that night on I realised that going out wasn’t as scary as my brain had made me think it was, and that although going out and not drinking can be daunting, your whole body will thank you for it the next day.
Food!?
One of the biggest benefits of not drinking on a night out is the amount of money you save when all you need to pay for is a taxi and a soft drink or two. You’ll even have leftover money for food! And trust me, spending money on pizza rather than drink is well worth it. You’ll come home feeling full and sleepy, with no buzzing mind to ruin your night’s sleep.
No Pressure
Sometimes it can be difficult to even contemplate the idea of going out and not drinking. Alcohol can of course be fun and add to the excitement around going out. But just because it seems like everyone is drinking and you’ll be the odd one out if you don’t, it’s not impossible to enjoy the night without it. There should never be any pressure on you to drink, and if there is, maybe the situation is the problem.
I’ve found that after taking a break from alcohol (and going out in general) I have a much better relationship with both. I can now easily go out and have one drink or none and know that having more than that would not have improved the night. Sober nights out can be great because they guarantee a full memory of every conversation and new face. They also ensure a settled stomach and zero headache in the morning which is a huge positive. So if you ever feel like taking the step to going sober, even for one night, just remember that you’ll feel so proud of yourself once you do.
Photo by Andrew Knechel on Unsplash