Although I definitely do not consider myself to be an alcoholic of any sort what so ever, I don't rely on it and I don't drink in the mornings, every night or anything like that but I have been prone to binge drink on the weekends with my friends here in Australia. I find I am prone to drinking on the weekends, because obviously this is when parties are or when we go out to celebrate a win or a loss with my local footy team. I enjoy having a few beers and settling back and relaxing on life, I feel like this is quite common for my age group around 18-24 ( even much older) people still drink heavily to enjoy life on the weekends. Although there have been some great times out on the town, around pubs or with my mates. I have really noticed that it is something that affects my mental health, in particular my anxiety and I notice that the day after a big night I find myself feeling quite a bit distant and detached as well as anxious/depressed so it's not really worth me drinking excessive amounts on the weekend. I've set myself quite a large goal purely for the purpose of my self worth and feeling much better about myself as a person as well as saving some money! The goal I have set is to not drink for 3 months at all, so I am looking for distractions in my life and things to keep me happy and occupied that don't involve drinking.
I think that AFL ( footy) is a fantastic distraction for me on the weekends as it helps me focus on exercise as well as keeping fit and playing the game which I really enjoy. I think that I find physical exercise and sport of any kind like golf a great distraction as well as tennis too. I am planning to play a bit more touch football as well as potentially taking up a martial art to keep me occupied, fit and busy and focusing on something worthwhile to keep me away from drinking. I think simple things like going out for dinner on a Saturday or Friday night could be really beneficial for me as well as potentially going to see a movie, and that way I can keep myself occupied and focused on what I want to do as oppose to drinking. I'm sure that I will also be able to head out with friends and not drink, as I do have very supportive friends who will help me to not drink if that is what I was to do ( I realize I am fortunate in this regard as a lot of people don't actually have that and are peer pressured into drinking).
Although 3 months may seem like a long time to give up alcohol completely, I do think that this will have a tremendous impact on my mood/wellbeing as well as saving a huge amount of money for me, for a potential holiday overseas. I think there are many people who are caught up in this world of binge drinking on the weekends and developing a problem in that aspect of drinking. But I also think there are many people who would find themselves in a similar position to me and would like to help themselves get out of the drinking way of life. I think one of the major reasons this is a huge problem in Australia, is that it is legal and is socially acceptable to get drunk on the weekends with friends. There are so many people who do this and are caught up in it, it would be great to see some people get out of there comfort zones and change the way and perspectives that they have on drinking and drinking in general. It will be really interesting to see if I can get to the 3 months and I look forward to this challenge as I know I have plenty of support behind me. Feel free to leave a comment on whether you drink or not and whether you gave it up or not as I would be really interested to know and would love to support you as well.
Happy steeming everyone and I hope you can all gain something from this post :)
Henry