Today’s health trends all seem to be branded with cool names. Take the term “sober curious” for example. What are people talking about when they use this term? It means someone is thinking about drinking less alcohol or taking a break from it.
Healthline.com explains that sober curious means you’ve chosen to avoid alcohol for personal or wellness reasons. It involves curiosity about the reasons why you drink, and the way alcohol affects your life. Unlike people who stay sober because of dependency or addiction, sober curious people may not necessarily meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder or intend to give up alcohol permanently.
There is no denying that alcohol is a part of our social culture, and luckily for many of us we can take it or leave it if we feel like it. But according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and Addiction (CCSA), research shows that no amount or kind of alcohol is good for your health. It doesn’t matter what kind of alcohol it is—wine, beer, cider or spirits, drinking alcohol, even a small amount, is damaging to everyone regardless of age, sex, gender, ethnicity, tolerance for alcohol or lifestyle. That’s why if you drink, it’s better to drink less.
Sober curiosity often begins with some concern about alcohol’s impact on your life. It usually involves some questioning of drinking culture and your own patterns of alcohol use. Maybe you need alcohol to get yourself in the mood to socialize or have a drink every night to ease the day’s stress. You’ve noticed, though, that drinking doesn’t really do much to address those issues, and you often end up feeling even more anxious.
Regardless of what gets you thinking about your drinking, drinking less benefits you and others. It reduces your risk of experiencing:
• Disrupted sleep.
• Digestive issues.
• Memory problems.
• Increased anxiety, depression, and irritability.
• Disagreements and other conflict with loved ones.
The CCSA reminds us that the more alcohol you drink per week, the more the consequences add up. Even three to six drinks per week (that’s two beers or two glasses of wine every evening, or half a case of beer on the weekend) can increase your risk of developing several types of cancer.
If you have ever had trouble quitting drinking no matter how much you want to and find that this is impacting your life in a significant way, perhaps it’s time to talk with a trusted friend, a counsellor, or your health care provider.
