If you are mulling over whether reducing your alcohol intake might have a positive impact on your life, you’re not alone! There is a rapidly growing number of ‘sober curious’ people taking a closer look at the role alcohol plays in their lives. Sober curious is not necessarily synonymous with sobriety - resulting from alcohol addiction or abuse. It basically means you’ve made a choice to reduce (or avoid) drinking alcohol for personal or health reasons - albeit physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It also involves some questioning of the culture of drinking and curiosity about the patterns of alcohol use in your life. Sober Curious is not a new phenomenon, challenges to ‘drop the bottle’ during Dry January or Sober October have been around for a while and have the same intent – health, wellness and re-evaluating our relationship with alcohol. What is however different, is that the sober curious movement leans towards a lifestyle of ‘mindful drinking’ - an ongoing lifestyle choice of being aware why and how much alcohol we drink, with the sentiment to reduce the frequency and amount of alcohol we consume, to improve our health. What are the reasons we choose to pick up a drink? These are really good questions to ask yourself… And there are a myriad of reasons we do, often seemingly good reasons too - like wanting to unwind from a long stressful day, wanting to socialise and bond with friends, coping with anxiety and stress, sparking creativity or a finding a way to feel safe and vulnerable in our close relationships. The question is: Why do I feel that I need alcohol in these situations? What would happen to me if I didn’t drink? You may not need to cut out alcohol entirely, but pausing for a while to reflect could help you find more productive ways of navigating yourself in those situations. It’s not just about feeling better the next day because you are not hungover or foggy in your head. It’s how you will feel in the days and weeks that …
The Dry January challenge – What do you drink when you’re not drinking?
Dry January spilled across from UK, Europe & US in recent years and it is gaining momentum as a global trend to abstain or reduce alcohol consumption for the month of January. There are numerous well-documented physical, mental & emotional benefits to “dropping the bottle” for a while and taking some time out to re-evaluate our relationship with alcohol. A key success factor to Dry January is having healthy, great tasting non-alcoholic alternatives to replace those ‘go-to’ alcoholic drinks. This is often a challenge with a limited range of non-alcoholic drinks readily available in supermarkets & liquor stores. However, recently launched online store, zerodrinks.co.za has revolutionised this space and created SA’s most comprehensive & accessible offer of healthy Non-Alcoholic drinks across Beer, Cider, Wine, Sparkling Wines, Gins & Spirits, and Mixers. Things have moved on considerably over the past few years and the advancements in brewing, distilling and de-alcoholising have resulted in Zero Drinks’ unique and sophisticated offer of non-alcoholic drinks that solve the predicament "What to Drink when you are not Drinking”, getting you through Dry January and beyond, on less alcohol... CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …