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Hello, darling heart, and welcome to the drink less, live better podcast. This is the podcast that helps you to see that drinking
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less doesn't need to be stressful, lonely, or boring. I'm your host, Sarah Williamson, and I decided to have a year alcohol
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free as a little life experiment and haven't looked back. With my experience and training, I now help other women with their
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alcohol free or drink less adventures. I'm here to tell you that you can be truly joyful without alcohol in your life. Join
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me here each week to find out how. This week is alcohol awareness week, and this year, the focus is on alcohol and relationships.
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Ah, yes. That heady, heady mix. When I was thinking about what I'd put out on social media this week, I wrote down husband,
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kids, wider family, old friends, new friends. I thought of all the different people in my life I had or have relationships
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with and what part, if any, alcohol played in them. I was getting ready to think hard, make notes, formulate the best way
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to tell the stories, and then I remembered something or more like someone. It's me, of course. What a div. How could I not
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have listed myself? Now, this episode is not about to be the All About Me show, but here is the thing. I had spent years years
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thinking that alcohol made me a better version of myself. It made me more sociable, more outgoing, more relaxed, less stressed,
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less lonely, less boring, and of course, much much funnier. I had no idea that the better version of me was the one that was
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sober powered, not alcohol fueled. The bits I chose to spend less time remembering are the stories of repeating myself endlessly,
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falling over, puking, unintentionally offending someone, leaving my shoes in the back of the taxi, and, of course, worse,
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which I won't share with you here. I was convinced I had to play the role of the life and soul of the party. I was first on
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the dance floor and, last off, could always be relied upon to have one for the road at the end of the evening, and I thought
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I was happy. Well, I suppose I was on the surface. I walked around with a smile on my face. I live in a nice house in a lovely
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town with my almost normal family and dog. What could my problem possibly be? Well, duh, obviously, it was my relationship
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with myself. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and if I could go back and have a quiet word in the ear of younger me, I'd say
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stop. Just stop. Be. Now, younger ago me would have had a few choice words to say and would have been in no position to listen,
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to pay attention, or even consider the possibility of a problem. But there was a problem. I couldn't just be. I couldn't be
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still. I couldn't be quiet. I couldn't be relaxed by myself. I was in a constant state of doing, and this this was what was
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wrong. I remember my lovely friend, Helen, asking me if I'd ever tried to meditate, and I can really clearly remember my answer.
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God, no. I absolutely do not want to be still and listen to the voices in my head. That would be torture. We laughed, and
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she casually mentioned that maybe that was the exact reason why I should try it, and we moved on. Years later, I know she
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saw in me what I wasn't willing to see in myself. And, of course, she was right. I'm here to advocate meditation for you 2
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if it feels good. For too long, the voices in my head had been critical and scathing. The voice that talked to me at 6 PM
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endlessly mentioned a glass of wine as a reward for getting through the day, and the voice in the morning questioned why I
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drank the wine the night before. The voice wanted to know if I was a good enough mum, a loving partner, a talented employee,
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a loving friend, whether all the roles I was fulfilling in life were going okay. What I never asked myself was about my relationship
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with myself, which I now realize is the most important relationship of all. Making the decision to stop drinking alcohol was
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the greatest gift I ever gave my relationship with myself. It gave me an opportunity to grow in ways I never would dreamed
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of. And the very best thing of all is that the voice in my head, which is, of course, me, is altogether kinder, less judgmental,
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and more forgiving. I can honestly say I much prefer myself now. I wear a necklace with a b on it. I bought it as a little
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sober gift to myself to remind myself to stop, to just be. Check out the social media hashtags this week for alcohol awareness
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week. You will find lots of inspiring stories and lots about people's relationships. Thank you for live better.com. I'd love
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it if you could 5 star rate this podcast and leave me a review. All that shizzle helps, you know. Thank you, and, PS, I believe in you.
