HOLD MY BEER: Navigating the Shift to a Dry Compass
The Alcohol Years! (Images: Damien Wilkinson/ Katie Flanagan)
In the middle of last year—June 1st, 2025, to be precise—I made a quiet decision to change my heading. I decided to stop drinking alcohol.
I didn’t make a grand vow or commit to a lifetime of sobriety. I didn’t want the weight of an "everlasting promise" overcomplicating things. Instead, I felt the need for a "reset." After 40 years of alcohol being an integral part of my daily landscape, it had become less of a choice and more of a default setting.
“Fancy a pint?” and “Go on, have another” were phrases practically tattooed on my social calendar. I was curious to see what would happen if I simply stopped.
The Quiet Departure
Surprisingly, there were no bolts of lightning. No thundercracks. The world didn't stop spinning, and—perhaps most interestingly—nobody really noticed. I didn't make a song and dance about it; I just wanted to see where this new path led. I expected a moment where a craving would hit or social pressure would "shame" me back into a pint, but it never came.
While I walked this new line, I found myself driven by a new hunger: reading. I immersed myself in the stories of those who had mapped this territory before me. I started with a healthy dose of scepticism, but as I moved through works like Sean Alexander’s Sober On A Drunk Planet and Annie Grace’s This Naked Mind, things began to click.
While my own relationship with alcohol wasn't as severe as some of the stories I read, the traits were recognisable. I had a tendency to overindulge, was certainly in denial as to the extent of my drinking (see start of sentence!) and while I functioned perfectly well the next day and didn’t really suffer from mega-hangovers, I began to ask the most important question of my Second Act:
"Do I actually need this?"
Recalibrating the Body and Mind
The North of Here journey is about optimisation, and the physical benefits of this shift were undeniable. Within days, my body felt recalibrated. My sleep patterns smoothed out, the "brain fog" lifted, and I realised I was no longer pouring a significant portion of my budget down the drain.
With this newfound clarity, I added a new gear: running. Being alcohol-free made exercise feel like a reward rather than a chore, reinforcing the benefits of the journey.
Navigating the Social Wilds
The real test, of course, is the social "obstacle course."
I’m fortunate to have a sympathetic partner who also went alcohol-free a few month’s before me, for health reasons—a co-pilot in this journey that I cannot understate. Together, we’ve learned to navigate pubs and bars with a new set of criteria. It’s a strange shift to choose a venue based on whether they have a decently chilled Zero Guinness or a well-stocked fridge of alcohol-free options, but it’s becoming increasingly easy.
The reaction from others? Mostly impressed. Interestingly, younger generations seem to find non-drinking a complete non-issue, which makes the "pressure" feel like a relic of the past. Some of the older generation though, seemed to find the decision more puzzling, a throwback to how ingrained alcohol has been in society over the years.
More Alcohol Years! (Images: Damien Wilkinson/ Katie Flanagan)
What is also helpful is that it is also apparent that many others are following this route.
The growth and proliferation of Alcohol Free beers, ciders and spirits is a great example of the changing patterns in consumer demand.
It’s also very encouraging to see others publicise their own journeys, not just in the form of books. Whilst attending a recent gig (Ricky Warwick & The Fighting Hearts) comments from Ricky Warwick on his own journey resonated as loudly as his guitar with me.
12 Months In: A New Perspective
I’m approaching the one year anniversary mark. The most profound shift isn't that I’m "resisting" a drink; it’s that I simply don't want one. I’ve reached a point where I’ve cemented the concept of freedom over deprivation.
“I’ve kicked the alcohol crutch away.”
Yes, it alters the experience of a night out. There is a physical limit to how many alcohol-free beers you can drink, and your tolerance for the "looping" conversations of those who’ve had a few too many certainly decreases. But the trade-off—a peaceful night's sleep and waking up with a sharp, refreshed mind—is a price I’m happy to pay.
The compass is set. I’m staying the course.
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Resources for the Journey
If you’re looking to recalibrate your own relationship with alcohol, these were the maps I used to find my way:
Sean Alexander: Sober On A Drunk Planet series
Annie Grace: This Naked Mind
Simon Chapple: The Sober Survival Guide
Stoic Philosophy: Finding groundedness in the face of old habits. As Epictetus said “Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.”
In addition, the use of a tracker App (Dry Days by AlcoChange) continues to provide a useful source of validation and encouragement! It also gives you a mind-blowing estimate of what you have saved in £’s, which can be very enlightening too.
