Sober October: Tips, Benefits, and How to Make It Through the Month

Happy Sober October!

You may have heard of these trends: “Sober October,” “No Booze November,” or “Dry January”.  Whichever month you might choose to take part in, taking just four weeks off from alcohol can be a small but very significant part of your sobriety journey. For a lot of people, one month off alcohol is a pretty manageable and realistic goal. It’s short enough that you can kind of always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but long enough to see just how much of an impact alcohol makes on your overall life.

Sober October is a great way to really gauge your relationship with alcohol, while giving you time and space to decide how you want that relationship to look once you go back. Whether it ends up being an easy challenge or a difficult one, you’ll likely come out feeling pretty damn accomplished and stand with some more confidence.

Taking a month off, a week, or even just one night is all in service of your mental, physical, and spiritual health, and should absolutely be celebrated as huge wins. Because small victories add up. You might remember the really nice walk you ended up taking on that crisp, early October Saturday morning (the one that you would have been sleeping through if you drank the night before). You might remember just how much better your body felt and how clearer your head was. It's usually the bad stuff like hangovers and bad decisions that LEAD you to sobriety. But it’s the good stuff like clear-headed mornings that MAINTAIN your sobriety.

So, if you're up for a Sober October or another monthly challenge, here are some tips to help ensure your victory:

Do it with a buddy!

Whether a partner, a friend, or a coworker, having someone to hang out and binge Halloween candy with makes it so much easier. 

Make fun, fall plans!

Plan a scary movie night with your besties, complete with snacks, candles, apple cider, and blankets. Put on a cute fall outfit and go to the pumpkin farm or apple picking! (Pics or it didn’t happen!)

Try out a new hobby!

Been putting off booking a pottery class or learning guitar? Perfect time to give it a whirl. Bake those apples you picked into a pie!  

And maybe most importantly, DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP IF YOU SLIP.

You took the step to give sobriety a try, and that is movement in the right direction, which is a HUGE accomplishment. You can always start again. Remember, you cannot shame yourself into change, only love yourself into evolution.