I’m Not Drinking for 30 Days
Avoiding post-alcohol depression to improve my mental health
After last month and plenty of pride events, I felt empty. I had fun celebrating being me, but there was something off.
Celebration often equals parties, drinking, and staying up late to hang out with friends. Although these things can be enjoyable, I have limits, and I exceeded them.
I don’t like waking up with a hangover, wondering why I acted the way I did the night before. It can be little things, like saying something silly I wouldn’t say sober, but they still take a toll on me the next day. I now see that drinking truly affects my mental health.
It might be common knowledge that alcohol is a depressant, but I also use it as a way to let loose when I’m feeling anxious or nervous about crowds or meeting new people.
For my own well-being, I decided to go 30 days without drinking. So, throughout the month of July, I’ll be staying sober. It’s already Week 1 for me and I’ve done a good job, but I haven’t been exposed to any situations where I would want to drink yet.
This experiment wouldn’t be complete without me writing about it and analyzing how I feel.
I have a few theories and ideas that I’ll be putting into practice this month:
- There are certain groups of people that drain me, so I feel the need to drink to keep going. If I’m not having a good time, I’m allowing myself to leave without putting myself down.
- I do not like to wake up late on Sundays, so I’ll think twice about staying up late on a Saturday night.
- I can be just as fun when I’m not drinking. Sometimes, I put myself down for not being an extroverted person, but if I’m not in the mood to socialize, I don’t have to force myself. I know my limits.
The main reason I’m doing this is to prove that I can. I’ve been dependent on certain things before, like people or my phone, so I can notice when I’m starting to form an unhealthy relationship with something and I like to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
I’ll find the balance between having a good time and enjoying a drink or two versus using it to survive situations I don’t want to be in.
Setting boundaries is essential for my mental health and I’m happy that I’m putting myself first.
Once this month is over, I will take a step back and analyze how I felt. I have a feeling that it is more about the situations I put myself in than alcohol consumption. It lets out certain feelings that I’ve been repressing and that I should be addressing sober.
