Many are making active decisions about whether they will drink on a night out,and plan how many they will have in advance.

Many are making active decisions about whether they will drink on a night out,and plan how many they will have in advance.Credit:iStock

And it’s clearly striking a chord,with non-alcoholic wine being the fastest growing drinks category in Australia. Joey understands why the movement is making waves. The 45-year-old writer used to work in advertising,where drinking “was part of company culture”. It was easier for her to count the nights when she didn’t drink than the ones when she did.

Last year,Joey was chatting to friend Faye Lawrence,founder ofUntoxicated (“an alcohol-free social tribe” that hosts regular events),about her experiences. When Faye told Joey about the “sober curious” movement,Joey’s interest was piqued.

“It wasn’t like I said,‘I’m going to be sober curious,’ ” she says. “I just went,‘You know what? There’s a lot to live for in this world. I’m coming to an age where drinking every single night is not pleasant at all,and it’s time to start feeling a bit healthy.’ ”

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So what does being “sober curious” actually mean? Joey explains it’s about making active decisions as to whether she’ll drink when she goes out. She also plans how many glasses she’ll have in advance. In the past,Joey wouldn’t keep tabs on her intake at all,allowing her glass to be refilled constantly. Now,she makes a choice to have,say,two glasses. And she sticks to it.

But there’s more to being sober curious than just saying no to booze,or cutting back on the grog. Instead,Joey explains it’s also about saying yes to really engaging in a moment,and not covering up feelings with alcohol.

“Clarity is a very underestimated state of mind,” Joey says.

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Dr Hester Wilson,a GP with a special interest in addiction medicine,is happy that more people are viewing a sober night out as a valid choice rather than a “dull and boring” option.

She says alcohol may be legal,but it’s “by far” the substance that causes the most negative impact in our society in terms of work,relationships,family and accidents. Even at supposedly “safe levels”,Wilson says alcohol increases your risk of cancer,heart disease and liver disease.

Dialling back the booze can also have a positive effect on your weight and fitness levels. Plus,Wilson adds,it’s good for mental health. “Alcohol is a depressant,so if you choose no to drink it’s going to improve your mood and level of anxiety.”

She says lots of people drink to “hide their wounds or block out bad feelings”,but that such behaviour only paves the way to “problems with alcohol and your life” in the long term.

Joey couldn’t agree more. She often used drinking as a temporary solution to her problems. The next morning,those problems would come rushing back with full force,coated in a thick layer of self-loathing that left her feeling deflated for the rest of the day.

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Nowadays,when Joey rolls out of bed after a sober night out,or one where she only had a tipple,she feels like a different person. “I actually wake up and go,‘Wow,this is amazing.’ It’s a really good feeling.”

This article appears inSunday Life magazine within theSun-Herald and theSunday Age on sale July 4. To read more from Sunday Life,visitThe Sydney Morning Herald andThe Age.

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