Alcohol Free Travelling

Alcohol Free Pin

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Why you should try staying sober, and how to do it!

That’s right, alcohol free travelling.

Are you still with me?

I can’t help but wonder how many people will turn away from this post after just reading the title! How many people will even click through to this post at all?!

Don’t fret, I am not about to slam anyone who likes a drink. Nor am I going to hypocritically preach that not drinking alcohol is the solution to easing anxiety and depression. In fact, choosing not to drink alcohol comes with its own set of anxiety inducing issues (which I will deal with later!).

What I am going to do is lay out the reasons you should try going alcohol free the next time you travel.

Stumbling Across the World is about sharing not only the positive side of travelling, but also the stresses that can occur along the way. As a traveller who also deals with Anxiety and Depression, my relationship with alcohol has been tumultuous whilst travelling. I’m going to share some of my experiences, and hopefully help you navigate the world as a sober traveller!

Alcohol Free Travelling

Social Drinking

Drinking alcohol is a massive part of social culture all over the world. As a Brit, the local pub is as ingrained into my social psyche as much as the cup of tea.

Friday nights after the working week, where do the 9-5ers go? In my experience, they go to the pub. Saturday nights, what do the 18+ crowd do? Clubbing, the pub again, girls night in, or going “out out” with the lads? So much of my social life is linked with alcohol.

My social media feeds are currently full of memes about Dry January with most implying that life without wine isn’t worth living. The idea that we need alcohol to get through the week is made humorous, and is completely relatable and ‘normal’.

And I am as guilty as the next person of conforming to this behaviour. Why? Because like many others, I do enjoy a drink! I’m a sucker for mulled wine at Christmas, and have spent many a summers evening sipping on sangria. I enjoy a gin and tonic, and have a soft spot for neat honey Jack Daniels as a nightcap.

What I will say is that when I drink alcohol it is because I enjoy the taste. I very rarely have more than one drink, and the few times I have gotten drunk have not been pleasant experiences. So choosing to give up alcohol completely isn’t really a bit deal for me.

Until it is….

Alcohol Health Risks

Of course we all know the basic health implications of drinking too much alcohol. You’d have to live in a cave to not know that booze is bad for your liver, damages your kidneys, and can have a serious impact on your mental health. But one quick look at the DrinkAware website and you’ll see that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Yet as a society, we are much more willing to cite the “fun” facts about alcohol: “Did you know a glass of prosecco has less calories than a banana?!”. Any half sensible person knows that this is a joke, and that a banana provides fibre, potassium, and vitamins whereas prosecco has literally no health benefits whatsoever. But I’ve still heard this fact used as an excuse to have a drink.

On an intellectual level we also know that alcohol is an addictive substance. Yet recognising the point at which drinking has become a problem is probably the most difficult part for any addict. I know plenty of people who have a drink every day, but they’ll insist they can go without if they want to. And maybe they can, but I can’t help but wonder why they DON’T want to.

Alcohol dependence also doesn’t necessarily mean Alcoholism. DrinkAware cites the following symptoms as signs of alcohol abuse:

  • A lack of interest in previously normal activities 
  • Appearing intoxicated more regularly
  • Needing to drink more in order to achieve the same effects 
  • Appearing tired, unwell or irritable
  • An inability to say no to alcohol
  • Anxiety, depression or other mental health problems
  • Becoming secretive or dishonest

If you think you or someone you know is suffering from alcoholism, please seek professional help. A list of useful contacts can be found here.

Alcohol and Mental Health

The thing is, you don’t need to be an alcoholic for alcohol to have a negative impact on your life.

If you suffer with anxiety and depression already, alcohol can exacerbate your symptoms. It can also negate the effects of any medication you are taking, rendering it pretty much useless.

Recognising Anxiety: Signs and Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder

This is what happened to me. More than once I’m ashamed to admit. I like to think of myself as a sensible person, who learns from her mistakes right away. Yet for some reason this lesson took a little while to sink in!

And I think the reason for this is in part to the way society treats drinking as a social activity. It can be very difficult when you are already socially anxious to go against the grain. When trying to fit in and make friends it is so easy to just go along with the crowd and have a drink. Even if it’s only one, doing this every evening is akin to skipping my medication every day.

The other reason I think it took me a while to figure out that I needed to stop drinking like this, was because I only did it when I was travelling. I rarely drink at home, and certainly not every day. If I go out then I usually drive so don’t partake in alcohol. It’s easy to go without.

Travelling however is a different story, and let me tell you why.

Travelling and Alcohol

Alcohol can be a prominent presence in the traveller lifestyle. When you are a solo traveller, one of the easiest places to meet people is the hostel bar. When on a group tour, one of the most used ways to break the ice is to go on a night out to a bar. For many societies, drinking alcohol in moderation is normal adult behaviour, and it is very easy to settle into this lifestyle.

Alcohol also lowers inhibitions and can help you relax initially, so if you are a socially anxious person, having a drink might seem like a good idea. If you are moving around a lot, then this process of meeting new people happens every couple of days.

Plus (and this is perhaps the flimsiest excuse, but one I’ve used myself nonetheless) alcohol is CHEAP in so many traveller friendly countries. In fact, in parts of China I visited, beer is cheaper than bottled water. It was certainly cheaper than Cola.

So it became easy for drinking daily to become a habit.

My Experience Travelling and Drinking

The first time I went travelling solo was on a trip to Hong Kong, China, and Japan. I joined a group tour of China with The Dragon Trip which was amazing. The group I was with all got on really well, and we went out together most nights.

It took me about 8 days of having a daily alcoholic drink to realise that I’d made a mistake. I started to feel anxious, paranoid, and depressed. I was unable to enjoy myself fully, and had to take significant breaks away from the group to just cry, practice breathing exercises, and meditate.

It took me another week of diligently not drinking alcohol to start to feel stable again.

Annoyingly, this wasn’t the first time I’d done this to myself.

Whilst travelling America with my friends I got into a habit of having a daily drink (especially during Mardi Gras in New Orleans). This coupled with the stress I was already feeling (being my first long term trip) meant I completely broke down on no less than three occasions during our trip. And in all honesty, I didn’t really recover properly until I got home.

Experiencing a bought of mental ill health whilst travelling is always going to be a hazard for me, but I have learnt how to manage things better now.

And one of the ways I do this is to travel sober.

Staying Sober

So what’s it like when you decide to stop drinking alcohol, and try staying sober?

During my periods of alcohol abstinence, I constantly had to explain why I wasn’t drinking. I was met with slightly bemused looks from my colleagues when I ordered a soft drink in the pub. There was no outright pressure to have an alcoholic drink, but a general sense of not belonging or not joining in was felt.

I tried just saying I was driving (“well you can still have one can’t you?”), that I was on medication (slightly uncomfortable and not really anyone’s business), and just outright saying the truth: Alcohol makes my anxiety and depression worse.

And do you know what? Telling the truth was by far the best decision I made. It stopped people from teasing me (albeit in a friendly way), and put an end to being offered alcoholic drinks.

15 ways to deal with Anxiety: Find what works for you

So what about when your are travelling?

Such upfront honesty when dealing with people you’ve just met however may seem daunting. Can you really tell someone you just met that day (who you may be travelling with for the next two weeks!) that you suffer with mental health issues?

In my opinion, yes, you can and you should. Being open and honest about mental health is by far the best thing we can do to break down stigma and get people talking. It’s not an easy thing to do, and I myself have had some negative experiences when sharing my story. But the negative responses are the vast minority. Almost every time I talk to someone about my anxiety and depression, they have a story of their own.

Remember that travellers are an eclectic bunch of people, and most of them didn’t set out on the road to stay drunk.

Realities and Practicalities

If you are still unconvinced that giving up alcohol whilst travelling is a good move, then all I suggest is that you take a moment of honest reflection. Ask yourself WHY you don’t want to travel sober.

I am not suggesting you give up drinking completely. As I said earlier, I too enjoy a drink now and again. In fact I plan on having a glass on bubbly tonight when I go out for dinner.

I now know exactly how alcohol impacts my mental health, and having one drink with dinner, once a week, is not going to effect me at all. I also know that if I do have a drink every day, I am undoing all the good work I have done to maintain a stable, positive mental state.

Next time I travel I plan to stay sober. I’m sure there will be challenges, and days when I wonder what the point of not having a drink is. But as I reflect and meditate I will remember my reasons, and hopefully see the positive results of staying sober.

Alcohol Free Travelling: Why you should try staying sober on your next trip!
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