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MAKE MORE ROOM IN THAT PRETTY HEAD OF YOURS!

A friend recently said to me, “Now that I’ve stopped drinking, I just have SO much more mental real estate!” I loved this description so much I had to share more about it. Here’s the truth, when you take a break from drinking, you just have so much more head space, or “mental real estate” as my friend put it.  

Here’s what my headspace looked like when I was drinking– first, I wanted to make sure I had the proper amount of drinks before going out for the night, then when I was out, I was constantly monitoring how much wine was in my glass, how much wine was in my girlfriend’s glasses, when we would order the next bottle, would I have to do it or would someone else?, what if the people that I was out with didn’t want another one-then what!?, did I have enough wine left at home for a night cap. Do I look drunk right now? Am I getting sloppy? Some evenings it was all the thoughts, some evenings it was just a few- but the point is it took away from the purpose of why I was actually out with those friends- to connect with them.  

Here’s what my headspace looked like when I was trying to moderate my drinking– make promises all throughout the night out that you will only have a certain amount of drinks, when that promise fails – move on to the next one, make sure to drink water in between drinks so that you drink less, etc. etc.  Try not to succumb to the peer pressure to have one more than you originally promised yourself. Will I really be hungover if I have one more?! The truth is when you’re trying to regulate your drinking – it takes up A LOT OF HEADSPACE, sometimes even more than when you’re not counting the drinks. (Making and breaking promises to yourself is also a sure fire way to totally lose faith in yourself, but we’ll leave that for another day.)  

Here’s what my headspace looks like now on a night out. Listening to friends about what they are currently going through. Connecting with them fully. Not thinking about drinking. The ability to full engage in a conversation without thinking about the drinks. Being able to grow friendships more deeply because I am actually focused on the person, instead of the ethanol in a wine glass. Being happy, appreciating the evening.  

We already know that not drinking is one of the biggest things you can do to help your mental health, and I think this is idea of mental real estate is part of the reason why. When you take the worry and anxiety out of a night out- and thoughts centred around how much you are or are not drinking- it honestly does open up a whole new world for you to be present and connect with the people around you.  

I truly believe that you shouldn’t wait one more day to take a break from booze. It’s a total and complete life changer and the best decision I’ve ever made. If you want to talk about taking a break from your nightly wine, I’d love to chat with you. Simply book a discovery call here

If however, you’re going to be one of the ones (no judgement, I did it too!) who waits until January to take a break – then I am excited to tell you that I am working really hard on an awesome Dry January course for 2022. There is going to be several different ways to take the course, one with coaching and one without. It’s going to be awesome, and you can register your interest for that here, now