"I realised I had been binge drinking with gusto on and off (OK, mostly on) for over a decade, so I decided it was time to have a more balanced relationship with booze.
"While I know moderation is a great strategy for some, over the next several months my own attempts to ‘moderate’ were, quite frankly, exhausting. I was always thinking about drinking – or drinking less – and frequently ‘failing’ to achieve my own constantly shifting goals (from the ‘night off’ to the ‘three drink rule’).
"A brief flirtation with sobriety in the form of Dry July last summer was perhaps the first time that I began to seriously entertain the possibility of stopping. However, I quickly returned to my old ways and found myself in the exhausting ‘trying to moderate and never managing it’ headspace again.
"Then one evening in February 2018 I just… stopped.
"It has been a steady and quiet journey, watching the days add up and feeling my mindset shift from ‘I’m not drinking at the moment’ to ‘I don’t drink’ (alongside a parallel shift in how my friends and family see me). Is it difficult? Sometimes. Does it get easier? Absolutely. Has it been worth it? For me, yes. I’m not preachy about it (that would be hypocritical) and I am absolutely not suggesting that everyone should ditch the drink, but I know it’s been the right choice for me. I’ve seen changes in my overall health and wellbeing and I feel closer to many of my friends and family. I still enjoy socialising in pubs and going to gigs, so in a strange way nothing has changed, yet everything has changed.