Maybe it's your first time, second time, it doesn’t matter. But you have just done 30 days or so without alcohol, woohoo, go you.  Even if you didn’t manage it 100%, if you did most of it that’s pretty good.

Hopefully you feel good; really good.  You are sleeping better, you look better, feel better, hell, people have even noticed. There is something different about you.  Glowing skin, it's easier to work out, your working day is so much easier, there's no more days wasted with hangovers, the list goes on. But the bottom line is you feel happier, healthier and life is easier.  Who wouldn’t want that?  It's like a magic pill in reverse. 

So, if you feel that good why would you go back to drinking?

Obviously, I would love it if you continued being alcohol free, given that you feel great why wouldn’t you want more of that?  Come on, tell me why you want to feel tired, low, anxious, embarrassed, sluggish, puffy and...

I had one of those classic moments in my life where everything goes wrong and you find yourself exactly where you don’t want to be. 

Even though it was the worst day of my life it also turned out to be one of the best; although I didn’t know it at the time. 

Alcohol was a huge factor in what was going wrong for me.  Well I am not saying it was alcohol’s fault, obviously it was 100% my responsibility, however when I stopped drinking it made a huge difference to my life.

A lot of people drink, a lot of people drink too much, and mostly people don’t seem to think this is an issue.  However, I want to put it to you a different way. Try this: take a break from alcohol, 30 days or maybe 90 days.  It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of time, then see what the difference is and what the benefits of not drinking alcohol are.  I guarantee you, your life will improve. 

The benefits of giving up alcohol

On a simple, logical level,...

It’s that time of year again……….Christmas party season.

I know I cant believe I am talking about it, but we need to.

It can be a real test for those of us that have given up something or are struggling to gain control.  Or maybe you’re someone that struggles to regulate your intake of anything.

It depends on what your poison of choice is as to how difficult the Christmas party may be.

Alcohol is probably the top one, it’s pretty much everywhere anyway, but something happens at Christmas that seems to make alcohol multiply like I have never seen before. Or is it just me!!?

Food and sugar is another hard one, the whole thing is about food.  What is it that happens to your place of work on the run up to Christmas. It seems to turn into a junk food feeding ground: pastries, cakes and chocolate you name it its available by the bucket load.

So what can you do if you are alcohol free, on a healthy diet, attempting to reduce or even just want...

Does your job cause you stress? Do you struggle to get everything done and find it hard to switch off? Maybe you even struggle just to get the priorities done. You may have a difficult manager, colleagues, working environment or maybe there are changes happening. All these things can impact on our emotions at different times.

Maybe you have a big role, getting paid a significant amount and you just think this is how it is, its normal to struggle, feel stressed and wired.

Stop right there.

Stress can be a habit, a way of being, something that we get into or something that we just do and accept. Then we may drink to relax, to come down off the stress, or wind down at the end of the working day.

Before you know it, you are drinking 1 bottle of wine a night, maybe 2 bottles or more.

This is such a huge subject and one I could talk about for a whole day, but I will attempt to cover the most important points.

Bottom line, you don’t have to feel like this, I don’t care how...

Top Tips from the Ladies. 

In the UK in November it’s alcohol awareness week. I have participated in this for about 10 years in some way. Basically, it’s a good chance to raise awareness of different issues relating to alcohol.

This year is all about change.

So I thought I would ask the ladies in the amazing Women who dont drink Facebook group - "What is one thing you have changed, that helped you, to reduce, take a break or stop drinking?"

This is what they said:

I changed my mindset from, this is too big a challenge, I can’t do it, to: I am going to try, really try.

I can honestly say that the Women Who Don’t Drink group has helped me immensely. When I get a craving, I login to women who don't drink and read posts of ladies going through the same experience, encouraging one and other to stay focused as to why we chose to stay AF.

My mindset definitely but that only changed when I accepted that this was MY problem and took full...

Times are changing.  Our workforce is more diverse than ever and is set to be even more so.  People are living longer and working longer.  Our new millennials and next generation workforce are looking for something very different than the traditional 9-5 old school working cultures.  They drink less and take less drugs than generations before them. 

This is a challenge for business owner’s and leaders to provide an environment that works for many different generations.

It’s a no brainer and I am sure any employer, manager or leader knows that when your employees are under the influence of anything it effects their performance.

It is estimated that 17 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol alone.

So why is it that something that causes us so many problems in our society is an acceptable part of doing business in some working environments?

Alcohol is a drug and if all drugs where re-classified today, alcohol would be a class A...

Is alcohol stopping you from getting that promotion?

At last count a study said that there are 8-14 million working days lost a year due to our alcohol use.  That equates to £7 billion due to lost productivity through unemployment and sickness.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg240.pdf  Dont mix it a guide for employers.

That’s a crazy amount of money and days lost if you are an employer.

However it’s not surprising as we are a nation of drinkers. Approximately 9 million people drink over the recommended guidelines; that’s the population of London.

Some of us will remember a time (it may still be happening in some work places) when alcohol was a lubricant to business deals; a lunchtime meeting with wine, an early evening with scotch.  We like a drink and there is nothing wrong with that (in moderation), as long as it’s not causing you any problems.

Some questions for you.

·         Do you drink...

Anxiety is something that comes up quite a bit in my line of work. Not for me personally. Well, obviously I experience some anxiety from time to time, because I am a human being. But it’s not debilitating or an issue for me.

It comes up in my groups and 1-1 coaching.

If anxiety is an issue, where alcohol and drugs are concerned; the first thing to do is to deal with the substance. Most drugs are going to make this worse and alcohol is no different.  A side effect of drinking alcohol is anxiety. We can also experience anxiety after drinking and if we withdraw from alcohol.

For the majority of people when they take a break from alcohol the anxiety will significantly reduce.  For some it will still be there.  But there are things you can to do to help. Don’t give up, try things and get yourself a tool box of stuff that works. Things that either give you a break from the anxiety or help you manage it.  Anxiety takes up a lot of energy and can be really...

Hear me out.

I am sure you are thinking she isn’t even in a long-term relationship so how does she know. Well, my Mum and Dad were together for 50 years, until Dad died. Then I have a good number of female friends. Very close female friends actually; that have done it and are still doing it. As we all know, if you are in a long term committed relationship it’s a work in progress.  And I have noticed some correlations between living alcohol free and maintaining a relationship. 

When you are in a long-term relationship with someone, you don’t give up on them. Well you might feel like it, you might have down time. But you love them, so you understand, life isn’t always simple and straight forward and people definitely aren’t.  You practice patience, commitment and understanding.

You take the rough with the smooth. You know it isn’t always going to be moonlight, roses and hot sex (well it might be for some, of which I am very happy for...

 Yes, it’s a bit of a thing at the moment. This stopping drinking, taking a break lark.  Which I have to say I love.  I am not jumping on the bandwagon, I have been on it for years.  But I am super excited that it's starting to become a thing.

I am not a kill joy, or evangelical at all, I just want everyone to take a break and see how they feel, like an experiment.  If you want to go back to drinking after say, a 3 month's break you crack on. I just want you to know, to experience it.

In a world where we are talking about mental health, self-esteem, anxiety and depression, it’s a no brainer. Alcohol is going to make all these things worse.  I am not making it up, it’s a fact, alcohol is a drug, the side effects of which are anxiety and depression.  If emotions, how you feel about yourself, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, anything like that is an issue for you, seriously please take a break from drinking.  You will feel...