The Sober Experiment

Protected: 30-Day Supported Experiment Members’ Area

Welcome to our private members’ area. We are excited that you have decided to experiment with sobriety and we are looking forward to sharing your journey. If at any point you feel you need extra support along the way. please be proactive and contact us at soberexperiment@gmail.com. We are all yours for 30 days, so feel free to make the most of it.

Daily Inspirational Videos, Activities and Access to the Private Facebook Group

You will receive daily emails to supplement the activities in your workbook. You should also consider joining our Private Facebook Group as an extra support.

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“You get clarity as you get sober”

Congratulations On Joining Our 30-Day Supported Sober Experiment!

We sometimes don’t realize how often we drink alcohol, or, how much we depend on that nightly glass of wine or beer. While drinking in moderation isn’t all bad, taking one month off will positively impact your future drinking choices. With just 30 days off, a whole new world could open up for you.  The 30-day mark is only the beginning — but already a number of positive changes will become very apparent.  You could find yourself losing a few extra pounds, you will feel happier, have more energy, brighter skin and get a better night’s sleep. When you reach 30 days sober, you will notice a definite improvement in your mood, with a more positive outlook on life and a renewed sense of purpose.  Studies have also shown that giving up for just one month could have positive long-term health benefits by reducing the number of drinking days later in the year.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing the Sober Experiment to support you through your sober journey.  May we wish you all the luck and love in the world.

After just 30 days off alcohol, you will start to notice the financial benefits and feel a sense of achievement having already abstained for one whole month.

To get started, click on the images below to download or purchase the journal on Amazon for £6.99 by clicking here.

The pros to drinking alcohol and the pros to not drinking alcohol. OK, let’s be real. If you didn’t think there would be any pros to drinking then you would never do it and if you didn’t think there would be any pros to not drinking then you wouldn’t be here either. We want you to be really honest with yourself here and list everything you think is good about drinking and everything you think will be good about not drinking. There is method in this madness – we promise. It’ll give you a really good idea of where you are and the reason you choose to drink.

To watch today’s video click here.

Expect the unexpected! In the first few days and weeks of stopping drinking, it seems to be all you can think about! Ever bought a red car and suddenly all you see is red cars? Day two is about identifying the times you would normally reach for a drink and formulating an action plan for what you will do when the wine witch comes calling! Preparation is key so you don’t get caught off guard. These don’t have to be huge activities, simply walking into another room to pour yourself a non-alcoholic drink can be enough to stop a craving in its tracks. Today is also a good day for a selfie – send it to us if you are brave!

To watch today’s video click here.

Sobriety and sleep. How amazing is a good night’s sleep? When was the last time you had a truly rested sleep, unbroken and long. After sleep we always feel better and sleep is proven to impact your physical and mental health. At some point within the next week (it may already have happened), you are going to experience your best night’s sleep in ages. This is because alcohol impacts sleep. Ever just been tired after a night out. That is actually a hangover from the alcohol messing with your sleep! Get ready for the sleep of your life and let us know when it happens.

To watch today’s video click here.

How Alcohol is sold to you! Birthday cards, TV shows, sexy models having a beer, and “funny” signs like “one prosecco, two prosecco, three prosecco, floor” to hang in the kitchen are just some of the ways the alcohol industry sucks you in. Look around and take notice of all the ways you are drawn in and all the ways alcohol is normalised. Did you know that alcohol is an anaesthetic and used to be used in surgery until it was finally banned in the 1970s for being too toxic? Hmmmmm – strange!

To watch today’s video click here.

Cravings. We crave alcohol at the strangest times. When the kids go to bed, when someone dies, when someone is born, when we are happy/sad/stressed/excited – the list goes on. What are the main reasons you use alcohol? How does alcohol help or contribute in this situation? Without alcohol, what other things can you do to ease the situation? Today it is about finding alternatives and more healthy ones at that!

To watch today’s video click here.

Self -care. In sobriety everything is more real. You laugh more and it’s hearty, and when you are sad – oh my god you will cry and you will feel it! When this happens and you’re no longer a victim of the alcohol trap thinking that alcohol is self-care, you need to have alternatives. True self-care is about face masks, hot baths, meditation, exercise, and healing. Your mission is easy today! Run a hot bath and light a candle. Indulge! Then look in the mirror and appreciate how amazing you are!

To watch today’s video click here.

Anxiety. Anxiety seems to be a common trait amongst drinkers. Either they drink because they believe it relieves anxiety – to get a bit of “dutch courage” or they suffer with “hangxiety” after drinking. What you will find is once you give up the booze, you need new healthy ways to manage your anxiety. You may become more aware of your anxiety after giving up the booze or you may find that it disappears altogether once you allow your brain chemistry to stabilise. Either way, an excellent way of managing anxiety is getting close to nature and feeling the moment. Take a walk, do it mindfully – really feel it!

To watch today’s video click here.

The Alcohol Industry. This is similar to what we did on day four but this time we want you to pay specific attention to the alcohol industry. The alcohol industry makes billions of pounds out of putting poison into drinks and disguising a taste that would not only repulse you in its neat form, but could even kill you if you had only a small amount. Today we want you to wake up. How does the alcohol industry cleverly make you crave a drink? Notice all the ways the dangers get overlooked! Come on, have you ever seen a drunk person advertising the very product they’re selling? Nope! Vomiting, slurring and staggering just wouldn’t cut it!

To watch today’s video click here.

Positive thinking. Have you ever told yourself you can’t have something? Have you then noticed you want it even more? Giving up alcohol requires more than gritting your teeth and going for it. Not only is it extremely addictive, making you crave it, but it is absolutely everywhere you look. This is why it is so important to change the way you think and feel about it and it begins with the way you think and feel about yourself. Once you start to realise your self-worth, you will no longer want to poison yourself. You are worth more. So, let’s get started with a few affirmations – practice these daily, starting today.

To watch today’s video click here.

Meditation. Practice meditating. Start small – just a couple of minutes each day has amazing health benefits and the beauty is, there’s no right or wrong way to do this. Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, control anxiety, promote good emotional and mental health, enhance self awareness, lengthen your attention span, improve memory (including age-related memory loss) and help with addiction.

To watch today’s video click here.

I don’t drink! How do you stop people constantly trying to get you to have a drink? For some people, this can be a stumbling block. We want you to become sober and proud to be sober. It takes practice and an air of confidence to get this right. So today, stand facing a mirror. Loudly and proudly say “No thank you, I don’t drink”. This is where you want to get to, but for now, the main thing is what you tell yourself. That’s right, it’s more positive mindset work. Simply switching from “I can’t drink” to “I choose not to drink” can be extremely empowering.

To watch today’s video click here.

Will I still have a social life? When you stop drinking, it can feel like you are giving up your social life. That doesn’t have to be the case. For some people, going to the pub like you used to do can be too much and can be a huge trigger, so avoid it. For others, they manage to do this relatively easily (usually because they have nailed day 11). Whatever happens, no one should be locked away because they choose a better lifestyle. So what else could you do? Get searching sober social groups or take up a new (or old) hobby with friends. Start small and you’ll soon be a sober social butterfly!

To watch today’s video click here.

Mindset. Have you met your wine witch yet? If so, you will already have heard the inner whisperings of temptation. Around day 13, it is so easy to feel you have managed it and can go back to moderation. In reality, moderation is rarely achievable, and when it is, it is blooming hard work. Today, we want you put the wine witch in her place. Remind yourself why you stopped drinking. Write your inner voice a letter and be honest.

To watch today’s video click here.

Sugar cravings. Did you believe you would lose weight when you stopped drinking and have you found you haven’t? Could it be the chocolate and cake that you now seem to eat so much of? Go easy on yourself. Alcoholic drinks are absolutely loaded with sugar so that you actually enjoy them. It’s is no wonder that when you cut them out, you replace drinking with eating. Over time you can deal with this properly and the weight loss might happen. For now, at best, you should allow yourself the odd cake/chocolate bar and where possible, find healthier alternatives.

To watch today’s video click here.

Moderation. Have you tried moderating alcohol before? “Tonight I will only drink three glasses, I won’t drink in the week, I won’t drink spirits”. Moderation can mean different things to different people and depends on individual drinking habits. One thing it does have in common for everyone, is the effort it takes to maintain it. If you are someone who has tried and failed to moderate, as so many of us have, how can you be sure whether you’re managing to moderate or not? In reality, the majority of people doing this experiment are doing it for the very reason that they haven’t managed to moderate successfully. Learning what moderation means to you can be a good starting point.

To watch today’s video click here.

Mindfulness. Have you ever truly thought about why you drink and what you actually enjoy about drinking? What triggers your cravings to drink? At what points are you perfectly content without a drink? How can you recognise and relieve triggers so that you don’t pick up a drink today? Simply understanding the points in your day, or situations and circumstances that make you want to drink can help you to build new healthier habits instead of reaching for the booze.

To watch today’s video click here.

Won’t power. How many times have you heard this: ” wow, what amazing willpower to give up drinking”? Doesn’t that just make you think how horrible stopping is going to be? How gruelling and torturous it will be to use all your energy and strength to not reach for a drink today? We have big news for you! Quitting the alcohol doesn’t have to be that way. You do not have to spend your life feeling as though you are missing out and lacking something in your life that you miss and crave. A shift in mindset to focus on all the reasons you don’t want to drink alcohol, the truths around it and the risks associated with it can be one of the biggest tools in the sober toolbox and help you to actually not want it.

To watch today’s video click here.

Boredom. In the early days, even for people who didn’t drink everyday, time seems to expand in sobriety. Suddenly, you are waking earlier, you aren’t mindlessly drinking your weekend away and time doesn’t fly by in a blur. It is during this time, you can start to crave alcohol as the boredom kicks in and you simply don’t know what to do with yourself. You are an adult, yet you don’t know what to do other than drink in your spare time. When was the last time you played a board game, went to the cinema, walked in the woods, did some exercise, meditated, played your guitar, danced like a crazy person or picked up an old hobby? Now is the time to find yourself all over again and achieve your life dreams. Sobriety is the gift that keeps on giving.

To watch today’s video click here.

Stress. Many people drink to self-medicate their stressful lives. Whether that be a drink to “help” wind down at the end of the day or week, or a drink to take the edge of a stressful life event. Alcohol is actually a depressant and will NEVER help you deal with stress. Sure, it numbs the initial feelings and makes you feel temporarily more relaxed, but when you wake up the next morning, the stress that caused you to drink in the first place will still be there. Not only is the stress still there, you now have a hangover to deal with and as the body has tried to counter the effects of the alcohol by producing stimulants, often you haven’t slept well and suffer from “hangxiety” or beer fear! Healthy stress busters can help and over time, with a clear head, you will learn how to tackle all life situations head-on!

To watch today’s video click here.

Meeting new people. Quitting drinking can cause you to re-evaluate your social circle. If everyone you know drinks, it can be challenging. At some point, you need to make sober friends and what about sober dating? Many people use alcohol to give them a bit of dutch courage, and without it, you can feel exposed and vulnerable. Taking a few well-planned steps to meet new people who just “get it”, can help you to achieve a full and happy social life. Laughs will be louder, conversation will be deeper and memories will be made. You can start small with this one, joining a sober support group on Facebook, following sober accounts on instagram or simply meeting up with existing friends for coffee or a walk, away from alcohol, can help you to gain confidence around sober socialising.

To watch today’s video click here.

Effects on the body. When we ask people what kills those who drink too much, they usually answer Liver disease. And whilst that is true, it is not the biggest killer. Stroke and Heart Attack are the biggest killers. Did you also know alcohol causes seven different types of cancer? Bowel, breast, laryngeal, liver, mouth, oesophageal and pharyngeal. As humans we always think it will happen to someone else and we won’t be that statistic. Often, even knowing the risks won’t stop us. However, it can help to serve as a useful reminder that alcohol is a poison that we are literally soaking our organs in. Did you know it was banned for use as an anaesthetic in the 1970s because it was too toxic? Speaking of anaesthesia, if you do drink alcohol before surgery, you are at a significantly higher risk of death or complications!

To watch today’s video click here.

Power of the mind. Your mind can be your most powerful enemy or your most powerful ally!. Have you ever had a bad day and everything just seems to go wrong? Most of that is honestly down to mindset. A simple switch, a fake smile, a bit of loud dance music and things can turn around quite dramatically. Knowing this can mean you can use your mind as a tool. When you next have a social occasion or situation where you might encounter alcohol, visualise how you want it to be. Think about what you will wear, what you will order at the bar, visualise dancing and chatting or relaxing with your favourite person. Write down your vision of how the event will be and compare it to the reality – you might just surprise yourself!

To watch today’s video click here.

Advertising. So we have already looked at the ways that alcohol has been sold to you over the years and if you’re anything like us, it’ll make you a bit angry that you have been tricked. When you start to realise that the very product of drinking (a drunk person) is never used to advertise alcohol, surely you have to think about why. Do you honestly think alcohol would sell if the adverts showed vomiting, fighting, blacking out, weeing in the street, cheating on partners and other hideous yet “normal” drunken incidences? How should alcohol be advertised. What would an honest advert to your younger self look like now your eyes are wide open?

To watch today’s video click here.

Feeling angry. When was the last time you got angry? What happened to trigger it? What did you do? Often, anger comes from somewhere else. It arises from fear, stress, frustration or anxiety about a situation or circumstance. There is a really good reason for counting to 10 when you feel angry, it allows you to process the root cause and often just nips it in the bud. Anger is, however, a perfectly normal human emotion, so give yourself a break. Next time you feel angry, try to look beneath it. What is really going on? Now practice techniques for dealing with is, scream into a pillow, exercise vigorously, shake it out!

To watch today’s video click here.

Depression. Alcohol only adds to or causes depression. That is because, alcohol is a depressant drug. It does not have the ability to make you feel good over the long term, so if you are someone who suffers from depression or even sadness, alcohol will exacerbate it. People sometimes use alcohol to self-medicate or numb their sadness but it never takes away the root cause. Using alcohol means you never actually deal with the cause of the depression and many people remain undiagnosed because they didn’t even know they were suffering depression. So many sober people seek therapy in their sobriety when they realise there are events or trauma that they didn’t address and you may also decide to do that. In the meantime, there are simple things that you can do to start feeling more positive. Start by thinking what (other than drugs or alcohol) truly makes you feel happy? Why not try to do more of it with all this extra time you seem to have now?

To watch today’s video click here.

Effects of ageing. It’s selfie day. Get that day two selfie out and compare. With three weeks sobriety under your belt, you will be seeing and/or feeling the differences. Have the shadows under your eyes started to fade? What about dry skin, blemishes and wrinkles? What do your hair and nails look and feel like? What physical differences can you see and feel? Alcohol ages you and your brain, no least because it is a toxin that you are pouring into your body and soaking into your cells. Even at this stage, the lack of dehydration will start to show. Let us know your thoughts on this one and if you’re brave enough, post those selfies in the group.

To watch today’s video click here.

Benefits. When that voice starts chatting in your head, what does it say to you? Does it say things you wouldn’t say to your worst enemy? Write down negative things you say to yourself or about yourself to others. Now reframe them. For example, you could change “I haven’t lost any weight during sobriety, what’s the point?” into “I feel amazing and this will soon start to show in my weight if I keep going”, or how about “I hate being the only sober one at the party, I am so boring” into “I choose to be sober, I don’t end up talking shit to everyone and am always so grateful in the morning when I am the only one without a hangover”. Mindset is very powerful in sobriety – give this a try.

To watch today’s video click here.

Gratitude. Referring to your day one activity can be really useful at this point. Why did you decide to try sober? What were your positives of not drinking and drinking? Over the last four weeks, what have you been truly grateful for that you wouldn’t have experienced if you hadn’t been sober? Being grateful, even for small things, even when things are not going well, can lead to fulfillment and greater happiness. Gratitude can also stop you feeling negative emotions such as resentment, envy or fear of missing out. A healthy mind often means a healthy body, practice gratitudes – there’s ALWAYS something to be grateful for.

To watch today’s video click here.

Taking control. During the last few weeks you will have faced cravings, triggers, stress, anxiety, worry and many more negative emotions and experiences. If you have got to this point sober, you have clearly built a toolbox that has allowed you to be resilient. You didn’t crack! If you did relapse at any point, you will have learnt lessons. What made you relapse and what would you do next time that situation arises? These are the tools that you are building in your sober toolbox that you have been hearing from everyone in the sober sphere. There is no right or wrong in this toolbox, it is very personal to you and you will keep building it. So, what is in it?

To watch today’s video click here.

Your decision. So we are at the end of the experiment. Or are we? What will it be? Will you carry on for a bit longer, go back to the alcohol or quit for good? Will you try to moderate? Whatever your decision, it is yours and yours alone. We are not magicians and we never promised this journey would be easy, but we did promise it would be worth it. If you decide to moderate, please ask yourself if the effort will be worth it. If you were a successful moderator then why did you want to take a break? If you decide to go back to drinking as you did before, go back to your WHY. Why did you take a break? If you decide this is forever, great – it gets better and better and better. And if you decide to try for a little bit longer, keep in touch via DM so we can support you along the way. Whatever you decide, we are glad you gave this a go and gave yourself the gift of sobriety. You smashed it!

To watch today’s video click here.