100 Days Alcohol-Free: Reflecting on the Experience

Earlier this year, I decided to take a break from alcohol. I’m in my mid-forties now, and after spending the past year focusing on my health, it started to feel out of place that I was still drinking. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, and alcohol was never a real problem for me, but it just didn’t seem to align with the healthier lifestyle I had worked so hard to build. The more research I read about the effects of even low levels of alcohol consumption, the more I began to question my relationship with it.

What began as a short-term challenge has since evolved into a test run for something more. I started to wonder what life could be like as a non-drinker.

Today marks day 100 of my alcohol-free challenge, so it felt like the right time to document some reflections and think about my next steps.

The Experience

Looking back on the past 100 days, I’m surprised at how easy it’s been to avoid alcohol. I think this is because drinking was never a deeply ingrained habit for me. I wasn’t someone who poured a glass of wine at the end of each weekday or lived for Friday night happy hours. My drinking was more sporadic and mostly linked to socialising, where alcohol often made things feel easier.