One of the most important benefits of mindfulness is being attentive to what is happening in your body. What's going on in your mind, and your environment. Mindfulness is what being sober curious is all about.
Let's talk about what it means to be sober curious. More and more people are choosing to try sobriety. Trends are moving towards a more sobriety-minded focus with the intent of self-awareness as a daily practice. Being sober curious means to bring a mindful approach to your drinking and substance intake habits. Alcohol is such a large part of our social and cultural experience. Alcohol has somehow become a part of everything we do. Popular culture has a huge influence on our lives and behavior. Most of us have started drinking underage during sensitive developmental periods causing effects on our growth. We all have had negative experiences with the substance concerning ourselves and others.
Booze has very much become an attachment of a night out. While a serving or two of wine is not wrong. The potential for the unintentional action of a glass or two transitioning into a bottle or more can easily become a routine. Our impulsiveness when it comes to drinking alcohol is common and can severely throw off the balance of the mind, body, and budget. Sober curious is mindful drinking and turning repetitive habits around to grow happier and healthier every day.
The sober curious individual is going to go out, or stay in as the case may be in our current situation, and decide, "You know what?! Today or tonight I am going to be alcohol-free. I am just going to see what that experience feels like. I am going to notice how I feel when I'm doing what I would normally do with a different type of drink in my hand, or maybe no drink at all. I am going to explore how I feel in my body. How it changes up the conversations and how I spend my time. I will check in with how I feel the next day, or even at the end of the night. I will pay attention to what my memory is like and if there are any differences in weight gain or loss."
If you decide to do this over an extended period, you're just bringing an extremely mindful approach to your drinking and or substance habit. In a world with COVID-19, now is a perfect time to practice being sober curious. Now more than ever, people have to spend time at home with themselves. When so many routines have changed, now would be a great time to take a close look at self-awareness and a mindful approach to rebalancing your life. Spending so much time at home ables you to zero in and start to observe your behavior.
Get curious about anything that feels like it's become stifling! What feels like it's taking control of your life? Now's the perfect time to get curious about what it feels like to either decrease the frequency of use of that thing or remove it. Start to pay attention to what happens!
Try to be sober curious for a week or a month. See what life is like and how the body and the mind start to change a little bit with the absence of alcohol and or whatever else you use to take that edge off. Write down your experiences. Start recording your daily changes and feelings. Maybe develop a hypothesis! What if life could be kind of fun without copious amounts of alcohol and/or drugs? Inspire a new understanding of life. Develop a new perspective with the information you gather. Observe yourself as a third party. Be a non-judgmental, unbiased observer of your situation.
Get curious and allow vitality to restore in your life. Your efforts will be a rewarding, eye-opening experience. What have you got to lose? A couple of pounds, anxiety, headaches, and hangovers? What do you have to gain? A couple more hours in your day, better sleep, a clear mind, more money in the bank account, improved relationships, improved self-worth, emotional recovery, new skills, and increased health. What you gain is truly unlimited. Allow yourself to find the unexpected joys of being sober.
