Blog #16: My alcohol-free year
It’s 19 days into 2021. This means I’ve reached 1 year of not drinking alcohol, in pursuit of the elusive goal of being migraine free.
When I began my no alcohol year early in January 2020, I thought when I reached the 365-day mark I’d feel like I’d achieved something monumental. When I wrote this blog about 6 months in, I hoped in 6 months’ time I might be sharing how amazing I felt and recommending you to give it a go.
However, my experience of going alcohol-free for a year, while overall extremely positive, hasn’t been life-altering, earth-shattering or momentous. But it has been good.
I wonder if it’s because I started my booze-free year at a time when alcohol wasn’t a huge part of my life. For context, in my 20’s and early 30’s, alcohol and I were great companions. I lived overseas for 4 years from age 23, and for 3 of those years I called London home. If you’re a fellow Kiwi who departed on your OE in your early 20’s, you’ll no doubt have some insight into my life living abroad. A good friend and I moved over there together, we were both single, both working as nurses and basically our lives revolved around having a bloody good time in London (aka a lot of pubs and clubs), a lot of travelling and a bit of work in between. Fun, boozy times.
Back in New Zealand, and as I got older, I like to think I became a bit wiser. By wiser I mean being more selective about what I drank and drinking better quality alcohol. Having kids in my early 30’s redefined my social life and with now school-aged kids, a fair chunk of my social life is midweek Mum’s drinks, a couple of cheeky G&T’s on the sideline while watching the kids play Friday night sport, a quick meal and a drink with friends or an ad-hoc weekend catch-up that doesn’t end in a late night.
I kicked off my no-booze year a few days after celebrating my 40th birthday in January. And what a year to decide not to drink. I had no idea at the time how non-normal 2020 was going to be. But I think the way 2020 turned out with COVID-19 lockdowns, no overseas travel and limited socialising for much of the year actually helped me to not drink.
I think it was easier to go completely alcohol-free rather than trying to limit a social occasion to ‘just 1 drink’, which inevitably turns into 2 or 3. For me, saying no to the first drink is easier than saying no when I’m a few drinks in and having a good time.
My family and friends have been super supportive of my alcohol-free year. My immediate family aren’t big drinkers, which has helped, and my husband was content enough to enjoy a cold beer while I enjoyed a cold Kombucha, switchel or sparkling water. Friends became used to me not drinking and always had a bottle of Kombucha chilling for me next to their wine. Sometimes they even served it to me in an adult glass.
I think socially, because I’m in my 40’s, the peer pressure isn’t there anymore to have a drink, or if it is, I just don’t care. That also probably says something about the company I’m lucky enough to be around. I think if I was still partying every weekend and in a different stage of life, giving up alcohol would have been so much harder. I must admit, I’ve had a lot of great times when I was drinking (which I mostly remember) and I completely understand the attraction of drinking while socialising. That was me for many, many (fun) years.
When I did go out over the year, most restaurants had non-alcoholic spirits on offer, so I’ve still enjoyed a ‘drink’ such as a non-alcoholic gin and tonic. I was slightly apprehensive about the lead-up to Christmas, holidays away and general summertime fun at the end of the year. Could I still enjoy work events, catch-ups, dinner at the beach, vineyard lunches without drinking? Well yes I could! By the start of the festive season alcohol hadn’t been a part of my life for so long it wasn’t difficult to stick to the soft stuff and still enjoy myself. Quite a revelation.
So, has being alcohol-free helped with my migraine attacks?
Mostly yes. Alcohol is a big trigger for me, probably in part because lack of sleep is another huge trigger, and if I’ve had a couple of drinks my sleep is generally rubbish. But, being alcohol-free hasn’t completely changed my life. While my migraine attacks have become less frequent and intense this year, I’ve worked pretty hard to incorporate lots of lifestyle changes to help. I’ve exercised more, worked on improving my gut health, dabbled in mindfulness, taken supplements, cut out caffeine, taken preventative medication and really prioritised my sleep. Plus, I’ve educated myself a lot about migraine disease and what I can do to help myself.
Drinking alcohol had become a bit like Russian roulette, and usually I was the loser. Not drinking alcohol has meant I’ve eliminated any chance of a migraine attack because of drinking, which is obviously a good thing. But not drinking hasn’t been the panacea to managing my migraine disease. But I never thought it would be. Going booze-free for a year was more about removing a known trigger and avoiding any additional alcohol-induced migraine attacks.
Do I have some inspirational thoughts about the effect not drinking has had on my life?
No. Unfortunately just not my thing. I’ve read other blogs about people not drinking for a year, or longer, and how it’s allowed them to reassess their relationship with alcohol or take back control of their life. And good on them, I love reading about people who’ve made a positive change in their life. But for me, alcohol has for a long time just been a side note in my life, something I enjoy now and then, and not drinking hasn’t provided me with any great epiphanies. I gave up for a year as another way to help improve my migraine disease.
I will add though, if you’re thinking about not drinking for a while, I do recommend you give it a go. It becomes less of a ‘thing’ the longer you don’t drink and there are some great non-alcoholic drink alternatives to enjoy. I know for many people with migraine disease alcohol is a trigger so less is probably a good thing.
Do I plan to start drinking alcohol again?
I don’t know. Being alcohol-free has been relatively easy, but this year hasn’t been the most ordinary of circumstances. Health wise I know being alcohol-free has been better for my overall health, but I don’t think the amount of alcohol I consumed prior to my one year of no booze influenced my overall health that significantly. I went alcohol-free purely to help with my migraine attacks and any overall health benefits were a welcome side effect.
I don’t miss a chilled glass of wine (though perhaps I could be persuaded to enjoy a rosé), but I am tempted by a cider, seltzer or gin and tonic. We have a few bottles of champagne at home and it seems criminal to leave them uncorked for much longer.
So, I’m fairly certain I’ll enjoy a few alcoholic drinks in 2021. Life’s too short to only enjoy a glass of Kombucha instead of a bottle of Bollinger. But I don’t have any desire to have a drink tomorrow; I think I’ll wait until a special occasion. Or maybe I’ll find it hard to have that first drink, knowing I’ve already gone 365 days without one.
If you need some non-alcoholic inspiration, my favourite drinks are:
Lyre’s London Dry Non-Alcoholic Spirit’ range with Fever Tree tonic water
Peroni Libera 0% - best non-alcoholic beer I’ve had
I’d love to hear if you’ve stopped drinking alcohol to help with your migraine disease, or if you’re thinking of giving it a go. Leave a comment or feel free to email me sarah@sayline.co.nz, join the conversation on Facebook or join the Migraine Down Under community in our private Facebook group.