Did you go sober for October? While there are many reasons why you might have decided to take a month off drinking, here’s some background on the annual sober challenge, including tips, advice and support on how to stop drinking.
For anyone who started Sober October and has gone back to drinking, we’re also here for you. If you found the physical or psychological impacts of stopping alcohol suddenly were overwhelming or worrying, then that may be a sign of alcohol dependence. Take our free alcohol use questionnaire here or if you already know that alcohol is causing problems, contact Help Me Stop about alcohol treatment.
To book an assessment for alcohol or drug treatment, contact Help Me Stop. Message us on Live Chat or call 0208 191 9191.
What is Sober October?
It’s a fundraising event for Macmillan, to raise money for those living with cancer. While it is a fundraising event in its own right, many have adopted the month as a chance to take a break from drinking after the summer, and use it as a chance to press reset and take stock of their relationship with alcohol.
Anyone can get involved in the event, and anyone can, of course, decide to go sober for October, so here are some ideas on how to get involved, along with some benefits of giving up alcohol.
How to make the most of Sober October
Go sober and raise funds for a good cause
If you’re doing Sober October this year, then you might be fundraising for Macmillan. With this personal goal in mind, it will help to spur you on to complete the challenge.
However, if you find yourself experiencing strong cravings to drink alcohol, up and down moods, heightened anxiety, feelings that you can’t get through the month without a drink, then it’s worth assessing your alcohol intake. Take our free survey here to assess your drinking and get your results straight away.
Open up the conversation
Get talking to those around you about alcohol, sobriety, and see what stories other people have to share. There will be lots of talk throughout the month, so open up your ears and get involved.
Make lifestyle changes
Perhaps it is time to make some lifestyle changes that last longer than the month. Maybe it is to go sober for longer, maybe it is to alter your habits, make changes that work for you and that you’re going to stick to.
Again, if you notice that things get worse, not better, when you’ve tried to stop drinking, this is a sign of alcohol dependence. Contact Help Me Stop in confidence about intensive alcohol rehab.
Involve others
It is for charity, after all! Go sober and incorporate some fundraising into the mix for Macmillan. Get your friends involved, your family involved, and together you can make positive changes all around.
Sober October is also an opportune moment to talk to loved ones about either how you’re feeling or their relationship with alcohol. Sobriety is going to be amplified in the media this month, as well as lots of other people taking part in the event. So, if you want to open up, or you want a loved one to, now is a good time to get that conversation started.
It is also a poignant time to take a pause and evaluate your own relationship with alcohol, which you can do on our website by assessing with our free tool the severity of your drinking.
Remember, going sober doesn’t just have to be for October, and if you didn’t start the challenge at the beginning of the month, it isn’t too late to get involved.
Benefits of going sober
Going sober has a lot of benefits associated with it, and if you’re not sure what some of those are, here are a few.
More energy
You are likely to feel more energised and less lethargic than when you are drinking, even if it is only one. Again, if you feel worse mentally or physically when you stop drinking, then you should get medical help or specialist addiction treatment.
Better sleep
Removing alcohol from your life will allow your body to properly rest at night, meaning you get a better quality of sleep.
Lower health risks
Over time, stopping drinking can lower your cholesterol and also lower your risk of cancer, as well as boosting your overall health in the process.
Better mental health
Drinking is often linked to anxiety, depression and irritability, so removing alcohol from your life can leave you with a better mental state, and allows you to see the world and situations more clearly.
How to stop drinking
Stopping drinking can feel hard, but it is important to know that you don’t have to do it alone. If you have a problematic relationship with alcohol, then please get support to make lasting changes. Help Me Stop has a team of professionals who are here for you every step of the way. Whether you need advice about detoxification, or you need words of encouragement and accountability throughout your rehab journey, we are here to help.
We also have a range of free resources and services that you can find here, so you can find the solution that works for you.
Alcohol addiction help
We support clients from all walks of life and from different circumstances, helping them to put a stop to their addiction. No two paths are the recovery process is not linear, but we exist to make sure that every client who we come into contact with, has the best chance of rebuilding their life beyond addiction.
Sober October is for everyone, and while you may not feel addicted to alcohol right now, you may have noticed your relationship with it changing. It may be more than one glass of wine every night after work, or taking it too far when you go down to the pub on a Saturday. Addiction can look a variety of different ways, and it is often not the picture we have of it in our heads.
Addiction can take a hold of anyone, and at Help Me Stop, we are here to listen without judgement and to help you find a solution and life beyond addiction that works for you in the long term.
About Help Me Stop
Help Me Stop supports clients with drug and alcohol addiction to achieve and sustain recovery. We have face-to-face services in London, Hampshire, and an online programme. We offer a non-residential alcohol treatment programme meaning that our clients visit us for rehab, as opposed to staying on site.
This type of rehab is called Dayhab, and it offers a real opportunity to integrate recovery into daily life, without the need to step away from work or family commitments.
Our treatment programme centres around integrative psychotherapy, which blends a number of evidence-based therapies, including the 12 step approach to addiction treatment, person-centred therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, family therapy, art therapy, recovery workshops, mindfulness, and more. We work mainly in group sessions, and every client also has a one-to-one counselling session each week with their focal counsellor.
We help people from all walks of life to help them find a new path without the presence of alcohol. If you want to find out more about what we do, you can call us on number for a confidential chat, or you can email us on email. Together, we will help you stop.
