MattyBoy

I went to visit some university friends over the weekend who are unaware of my alcoholism and they were keen to take me on a night out in Liverpool - anyone in the uk will know Liverpool is a well known destination for hen nights, stag dos and catering for people who fancy getting a bit squiffy on a Friday night. Some in here would say it was foolish for me to go on a night out so early in to my recovery(11 weeks sober) buti felt I had to see if I could it. If I could handle a sober night out in Liverpool then I could hand.e any situation sober and I had to see if I was up to it. It was a make or break thing and i had to test it. So here's what I noticed:

1) people don't care as much about the fact that you're not drinking as muchas you do. I to,d my friends I was taking anti biotics and no further questions were asked. The bartenders didn't look at me funny for ordering a coke without any vodka and generally no one batted an eyelid. Th only people who will put pressure on u to drink are those with a problem with alcohol.

2) you get drunk on the atmosphere. I noticed as my friends got more and more drunk, my consciousness altered to. It may have been caffeine intoxication from too many red bulls but I definitely got more rowdy and outgoing when i realised everyone I was with were too pissed to care.

3) you avoid getting into trouble. Niightclubs are notorious for fights breaking out, almost always induced by alcohol and watching with a sober eye can help keep your wits about you and stop you or your mates getting into any violent situations.

4) I can dance sober! And actually not look like a total prat!

5) I enjoyed myself ten times more than if I was drunk and no hangover the next day!

All in all, it was an incredibly positi e, confidence boosting experience and I hope it can help to show other young people on this site who don't want to isolate themselves socially that alcohol is not essential to having a good time. Its merely an accessory which you're better off without. On a night out there's absolutely no benefit to gettin drunk. It's fun at first but it goes downhill quickly and is nowhere near as enjoyable as having a clearheaded all night and if u wants little buzz there's no harm in having some caffeine before you hit the town.

Sasha4

I am so glad you posted this.

I feel exactly the same.

Its an eye opener going out or being at a party sober.

A few drinks in, no-one cares if your drinking or not. Nobody really notices.

Its the people who are worried about their drinking that pressure you the most.
I think this is because it distracts the attention away from them.

It is so nice the next day when you have no hangover. You don't have to slob on the sofa, sweating alcohol out of your system.
Its just another day and you can get on with what your doing.

And Matt did you not find that drunk people are so, so, so tedious and boring?!!

My best to you
xx

soberlicious

Great post. I too experienced that shift in thinking very early on. There is no place I could go that would cause me to drink, so I am truly free to go any place I want and do whatever I please without fear. Quitting drinking does not mean the fun stops. Quit the contrary.

I am not young (but young at heart), but I did go through my early 20s to my early 30s as a nondrinker and went out, danced, dated, etc happily without booze. Ironically, it wasn't that atmosphere that led me to try drinking again.

karate

Just as much fun sober , done it a lot .

MattyBoy

Haha yes I did find my friends when drunk were more tedious and tended to repeat themselves a lot, but in some ways it was quite liberating knowing that be ause they were drunk I could let myself go too, but still have the clarity of being sober. It was really interesting observing how personalities changed when they got drunk, for example, some of the more reserved members of the group would suddenly become more outspoken etc and reminded me of how my personality changed when I was drinking.