Cheat Codes- 5 Happy Side Effects of Getting Sober
When you first quit drinking, you are more than likely so focused on the task at hand that you aren't even thinking about what life might be like once you make it past the initial cravings and withdrawals. But once you do get to that happy place of self-discovery, there are so many new experiences you get to have through sober eyes. It feels like getting the cheat codes to a video game after playing on difficult with a busted controller. Here are the top 5 happy side effects of getting sober.
You lose a lot of weight pretty fast - depending on your drink of choice, the average alcoholic beverage is 150-200 calories. If you were as horrible a drunk as I was and drank yourself blind most nights of the week, that can be thousands of empty calories a day! Alcohol is typically full of empty calories and has no nutritional value, worse yet most alcohol is full of sugar which leads to all sorts of health problems and complications. Just be sure not to replace alcoholic beverages with sugary soda drinks, which are worse because you get all the negative effects on your body without even getting drunk.
You save so much money - at the height of my debaucherous behavior, I would spend anywhere from $30- $100 every day on alcohol, I would drink at home, alone, like a sad sack, so I didn't go out. But for those of you who are bar flys or fond of the clubbing scene, you know how much more expensive drinking socially can be. The drinks at the bars are more expensive because you are paying for the atmosphere as much as you are for the alcohol, not to mention you have to get some nice new clothes to go out in. Tack on to that the cost of an Uber if you are being responsible and not driving. it costs a lot to be a drunk! One of the happiest surprises I did not anticipate was having money in my bank account once the weekend was over.
Waking up without hangovers is pretty great - You have so much energy and do not have to dedicate the first three hours of your morning (or whenever you decide to wake up that day) to what I called “righting the ship” which included copious amounts of Pedialyte, unhealthy amounts of Tylenol, and PLEASE no loud noises while I violently throw up in the shower. With shaking hands I would tie my tie and head off to another day at the funeral home, such a lovely life I know. Why would I ever give up something so glamorous?
Life isn't boring without alcohol, it's more exciting - One of my biggest reasons for going so long before I quit drinking was that I thought that life would be mundane without alcohol, it was my whole life, I couldn't imagine what I would do to pass the time. Once you are sober you realize exactly how much of a depressant alcohol really is on your life, or how much it holds back your potential from experiencing life to its fullest.
Your quality of sleep improves - many people abuse alcohol as a means to fall asleep, and while alcohol does make you fall asleep initially, it interrupts your normal sleep patterns, making you feel tired and sluggish and not feel as though you received an adequate amount of sleep. Ironically this can lead to developing sleep disorders such as insomnia. Alcohol keeps you from reaching rapid eye movement or REM sleep, which is where your dreaming occurs. When you quit drinking you can reach those deeper levels, your dreams can become more vivid, and you wake up feeling rested.
All in all, there is going to be a big adjustment period after you put down the bottle, living life without numbing yourself can be overwhelming at first. It has been a hard road for you to get to this point probably, a lot of sacrifice of the old and familiar for a fresh new start, and with that comes many unforeseen blessings along the way, take them all in stride because they are rewards for you correcting your path. The path of sobriety is an exhilarating and scary journey, you are going to learn to like yourself again and through that become the best version of yourself you can be. Enjoy the ride and trust me when I say there is so much to look forward to!
