The surprising stigma of sobriety | Gill McKay | TEDxUniversityofEdinburgh

My Homework!

Having spent my entire adult life with alcohol as a close companion, I finally broke free in January 2020. The fear of impending lockdown and retirement, and the extra time I might have with my 'evil friend' moved me to an action that I have never regretted and wish I had made sooner.

Now I want to help people who have made the decision to change their relationship with alcohol.

Being of a 'certain age' alcohol has been a constant part of my life, occasionally making a brief exit to accommodate the birth of my children, the mortgage crisis (1980's) and other times when money was tight. However, alcohol never seemed to get on my 'cut backs' list. I wonder, with the similarities of today's financial crisis, how many people will be faced with similar choices?

Never having hit 'rock bottom' I couldn’t understand why I couldn't stop using this drug to numb out my fears and anxieties. Being a grey area drinker, with no 'off switch' I really couldn’t see a way of breaking the cycle of drinking that I had subjected myself, and my loved ones around me.


My daily routine would include a 'couple' of beers at the end of a 'hard' day (as I deserved it!) a bottle of wine with dinner and maybe a G and T (no measures in our house, just a hefty dose of Gin) or two before bed.

Although I had recently had periods of not drinking sometimes lasting 100+ days, I had never really come to terms with the thought of a life without alcohol. That all changed in early 2020 as I was considering retirement (which I still have not managed to achieve!)

I could see that more time (and a comfortable income) was only going to end up in the wrong place. The impending lock down provided a much needed 'push' to do something.

I can only describe the last 2+ years as a fantastic journey , and one that has only just started. Having so much more quality time available to me has changed so much.

Now I would like to share my experience with others, who like me, have decided that they want a different relationship with alcohol, but, like me, didn’t know where to start.

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