Becoming sober curious

The movement breaking down stigmas around sobriety

The sober curious movement is breaking down the stigmas long associated with sobriety. Here in Mallorca the One Year No Beer website is providing support for those who are sober curious and interested in changing their relationship with alcohol.

Normalising sobriety

“We drink out of habit and partly because we’re not presented with many of the tools that promise the same things that alcohol does: social ease, a quick fix to relax at the end of a hard day, a way to alleviate social anxiety, a way to forget our problems and spark our creativity, or a way to feel like it’s safe to be vulnerable in our close relationships. Alcohol promises all of these things on the surface level.” These words come from Ruby Warrington, author of Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol. 

We’ve all heard of Dry January, a concept which started back in 2012, where participants would take a month-long break from alcohol to feel a little healthier. Warrington takes this idea further, explaining that being ‘sober curious’ means, “to choose to question, or get curious about, every impulse, invitation, and expectation to drink, versus mindlessly going along with the dominant drinking culture.” The movement’s wider mission is to open a dialogue and ask ourselves how alcohol impacts us, individually and societally. It’s time to normalize sobriety and dismantle the idea that one is ‘boring’ without the social lubrication of alcohol. It’s not about judging others’ drinking choices – it’s about helping each individual feel empowered to examine their relationship with alcohol and make the right choice for them.

OYNB – One Year No Beer

Here on Mallorca Jen and Ruari Fairbarns have spearheaded the island’s sober curious movement by creating the community website oneyearnobeer.com. The habit-changing programme invites you to become the most productive, present and healthiest version of yourself by signing up to one of their challenges. Challenges range from a mini 5-day challenge to the 90-day reset and realign, or the 365-day ‘One Year No Beer’ challenge. Designed for anyone that feels they are excessively drinking or controlled by alcohol, OYNB encourages you to change your relationship with alcohol without using willpower, medication, therapy, or strict abstinence. Instead, their holistic programmes are geared towards helping you gain control over your drinking habits by rewriting unhealthy behaviour patterns, with support from a community of like-minded individuals. 

“Many like to think they can stop drinking without support,” explains one local OYNB participant. She describes how the OYNB community offers a compassionate, supportive platform, where you can share experiences and offer support to others. “I wanted to see what impact giving up alcohol would have on my life. I read so many positive messages from people who had completed the OYNB course I decided to give it a go.” Although she acknowledges she was not a heavy drinker, total abstinence proved to be a game changer in all aspects of her life. “My energy, focus and productivity all improved. I looked better, lost body fat and felt I could take on the world! Because you start the journey on the same day as many others it does become a family community – celebrating the successes and supporting the ones who are struggling.”

If you would like to delve a little deeper and explore your own relationship with alcohol, visit oneyearnobeer.com for more information and resources. 

Text by Ché Miller