I want to start this one by advising, if you are taking any form of long term medication do not forget to order your repeat prescriptions. I made the mistake (for the second time) of not reordering my Sertraline this week when I was running out. I ordered it on Tuesday and it didn’t arrive until Friday, going three to four days without it was not good. By Friday morning I felt pretty awful. Physically not mentally. It’s a very odd feeling. If you haven’t had this type of medication before I am not sure I can describe it coherently enough to put you in the picture. It made me feel as if someone had thrown Harry’s invisibility cloak over me, and yet I could still be seen. A wave of exhaustion and fuzziness proceeded to surround me. I went into work on Friday but didn’t feel right, I couldn’t wait to leave. Slightly bad timing for this to happen as I have started a new job in the last couple of weeks which requires a one to one meeting with my new Manager on a Friday morning. All this, I have to say is my own fault. I had forgotten to reorder my prescription so I can’t blame anyone other than myself. I came home on Friday from work and got into bed, a waste of an evening really. Not good, must do better Nicholas.
So if you follow the blog, you may have seen that I recently was involved in a podcast with my friend Ross from Aesthetically Trained. It was a really humbling experience being asked onto my friend’s show, which he uses primarily to talk about fitness. To feel that he was able to trust me to do that with him is a really nice feeling. I know how important his business and brand is to him so being asked onto that platform to share my experience was great. I hope anyone who is out there thinking of making a change with alcohol can get a chance to listen or watch it. Taking that first step to confronting a problem you may be having could be to listen to this podcast. It was very much like that for me. I watched a number of the ‘Sober Clear’ episodes and knew that I had to change. Watching the episode back it has reinforced why I made the decision to stop drinking completely last year. I have discussed in previous blogs how it has made a huge difference in my day to day mental and physical health. Check them out for more detail.
One thing both Ross and I said was we didn’t want the podcast to come across as preachy or judgmental. It is the same for this blog. I am not here to pass judgement over anyone or proclaim that you should be living your life in a certain way. All I am hoping to do is share my thoughts and experiences with you. What you choose to do with that information is entirely up to you. No judgement or condemnation from me, either way. Because ultimately no one can help you better than yourself. I had to make the decision that I no longer wanted to drink booze. No one could do that for me. Yes, I had family, friends and Chloe around me at that time, but they couldn’t be there 24/7 to hold my hand or watch over me. I had to make the choice.
Today is Sunday, you may have had a big night out last night or on Friday. You may have had a great night, no drama and feel fresh today. But if you have over indulged and maybe had that one last too many drinks, how do you feel now? If you are feeling lousy, you know I have been there. I have talked so many times about having the ‘fear’. The anxiety of knowing I probably did something stupid but not knowing what. But that’s ok. Don’t be too hard on yourself. The question to ask yourself is, well what am I going to do about it? You can make a change right now. If you want to. One of the key points I wanted to get across on the episode was that your time needs to be occupied. To fill the void when you cut down or stop drinking. You need to, believe me. Most people have a finite amount of willpower. They can go without something for a short period of time before eventually giving in to the devil on the shoulder. Certainly, I was no different when it came to stopping drinking. I would always say next day after a big session that I wouldn’t drink again. But I knew I would. The people I was saying this to knew as well probably. I had a great chat with a good friend recently who has started his sober journey. He hasn’t quit forever but he wanted to trial going sober and examine the results over a period of time. He has just passed the hundred day mark and has noticed a considerable change in his life. Firstly, his output at work has increased and he is currently in line for a promotion. Secondly, his sleeping habits have improved contributing the upturn in his work results, Although I haven’t asked him, I imagine his physical health has improved too. It really is fantastic to hear about these new experiences and relationships people are having with alcohol and drinking. I can’t stress enough the importance of sharing to your support network if you can or anyone you feel comfortable talking to about this subject.
So as I said, it could be you are reading this today (Sunday 16th April) and you decide to make your change. Why not try a week with no booze? maybe two? See how you feel. No one is saying you have to give it up completely but hey you never know you might want to after a short experiment like this. Everyone has a different relationship when it comes to alcohol. How you continue with yours is down to you. I had mentioned in my last piece that I had felt a couple of wobbles. However, having watched the podcast I think is has re-centred and refocused my mind as to what I am doing and why. I don’t want to go back to where I was all that time ago. Yes I know there are going to bumps in the road and I am in no way perfect. But I can try to remain as committed to this as possible with the support of my family and friends. Knowing full well that it is for the best for me and for them.
Thanks for reading. Please get in touch if I can help you in any way with regards to your mental health and drinking. I would love to help.
Nick Denton
Sobering Thoughts
Dedicated to Joanne Blenkinsopp