Drunk Girls Gone Sober
The First 30 Days
Embarking on a sober journey isn't just about giving up alcohol; it's about rediscovering who you are without it. That's why we've dedicated an entire episode to the twisting path of the first 30 days of sobriety. We're pulling back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the ugly of waving goodbye to the bottle, arming you with the kind of insight only those who've walked this road can offer. From the daunting fears that creep in when you're facing the unknown to the surprising joys of newfound clarity, we're here to share it all—our stories, our strategies, and even our screw-ups. And let's not forget about 'retraining the puppy brain' to cultivate healthy habits that stick.
We're talking about those tricky social situations where the drinks flow and the pressure mounts. Find out how an 'Irish exit' might just become your new party trick, and why sober friendships could be the secret ingredient to your personal evolution. Laugh with us as we recount the trials of balancing work and sobriety, and the unexpected hilarity of navigating life's little challenges sans hangover. Whether you're sober curious or deep in the trenches of your own sobriety journey, this episode is an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes cheeky guide to not just surviving but thriving in a world awash with alcohol.
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to us. please click the follow button if you like us and leave us some feedback in the comments below! we will be back every Thursday with a new episode.
Embarking on a sober journey isn't just about giving up alcohol; it's about rediscovering who you are without it. That's why we've dedicated an entire episode to the twisting path of the first 30 days of sobriety. We're pulling back the curtain on the good, the bad, and the ugly of waving goodbye to the bottle, arming you with the kind of insight only those who've walked this road can offer. From the daunting fears that creep in when you're facing the unknown to the surprising joys of newfound clarity, we're here to share it all—our stories, our strategies, and even our screw-ups. And let's not forget about 'retraining the puppy brain' to cultivate healthy habits that stick.
We're talking about those tricky social situations where the drinks flow and the pressure mounts. Find out how an 'Irish exit' might just become your new party trick, and why sober friendships could be the secret ingredient to your personal evolution. Laugh with us as we recount the trials of balancing work and sobriety, and the unexpected hilarity of navigating life's little challenges sans hangover. Whether you're sober curious or deep in the trenches of your own sobriety journey, this episode is an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes cheeky guide to not just surviving but thriving in a world awash with alcohol.
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to us. please click the follow button if you like us and leave us some feedback in the comments below! we will be back every Thursday with a new episode.
So this week we're going to talk about, there was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
Speaker 2:That's what that song is in my. There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don't know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she'll die. Hopefully not this week we're talking about. That was pure ADHD, just crept right in there. Okay, sorry, I'm cold, so I've got blankets. It's fine, do you want some blanket?
Speaker 1:No, I'm okay. Okay, hi, tara, are you alright?
Speaker 2:No, so today we're talking about we are talking about the first 30 days of sobriety, tricks and tools to get you through it Right. So we're talking about, we want to help with, if we can, the first 30 days of sobriety, and we're going to walk you through week one, two, three and four.
Speaker 1:And our personal experiences of it, which may or may not be helpful, because everyone's journey is different.
Speaker 2:Give you our experience and our tools and tips of how we do it, because it is hard.
Speaker 1:You know and fear of the unknown like we spoke about last week is half the battle, because you don't know what you're walking into. And that's scary, it's huge.
Speaker 2:It's a huge, huge, scary thing to do. So, even if you're trying out what you're walking into and that's scary, it's huge. It's a huge, huge, scary thing to do. So, even if you're trying out, um, you know, a couple of weeks, or you want to do 30 days, or you're aiming to be sober, be very gentle with yourself, be very kind to yourself, speak to yourself really kindly, and when you get stressed or upset, we're going to try and divert you from picking up that drink to doing something else instead.
Speaker 2:So, tara, yeah, yeah yeah, that's me, um right. So your first week of sobriety. You've done it a few times. Now I've done it a few times. We'll between ourselves, we'll try and offer. Sorry, I'm so small I shrink into the sofa carly's been hit by a wave of adhd.
Speaker 1:She's been sitting on the sofa for too long. She's been sitting in the same room for too long I'm having a moment.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm all right, ready okay so, guys, my first week of sobriety I've done it a few times, um, and I think even when I wasn't in sobriety or being alcohol free, there were maybe two weeks where I'd go without drinking if there wasn't social events. So it was never the first week was never really an issue for me because I'd done it before, even when I wasn't trying to drink. So that was never like a milestone point for me.
Speaker 2:I my first few attempts. So my problem used to be not that I drink every day or drank every day, it was the binge drinking, so mine would be day four or five. So I'd be I'd be like, oh, forget the first four because I don't feel well enough.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't feel well enough to drink anyway, yeah and, and it was the day of feeling better.
Speaker 2:And my brain, my body's back, bad baby, but the brain worm tricking me and going right. Well, we know what to do because you feel better. Let's make you feel shit again. Let's get drunk. So four or five, and that would be pure. Use all the willpower I've got to not do it.
Speaker 1:So distraction, use all the willpower, I've got to not do it. So distraction. And how many times have you, if you're comfortable saying it, attempted not drinking? So how many times have you done that first week of trying to get through that first week?
Speaker 2:Oh, my whole life, oh my God, Repeatedly, that's the one Like day four or five is the hardest day for me. So if I, I'd usually fail on that day because I'd give up. But so the way my mind works is slightly differently to Tara's because I've got ADHD, but I would be like a bit insane by then. So my brain would really be the brain. One would really be digging deep on that day to make me fail, so I would clean my entire house from top instead of drinking yeah, clean, clean and clean.
Speaker 1:is it called transference? When you're maybe hyper, fixated, addicted whatever word you choose to call it on one thing and when you're trying to wean yourself off of it, you get hyper. Or maybe that's just your ADHD.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know how to describe it. Really the thought would not go away. The brain one was really really really strong Focus on something else. These are my personals Clean and go for a walk, go to a class, go swimming class. Well, you can do any club whatever, whatever floats your boat, whatever activities and exercise you you choose to do because a lot of my friends love hit and yeah, you know high intensity and I'm so yoga your body feels pain with hit?
Speaker 1:yeah, but it does with drinking so who am I?
Speaker 2:to try, I'd have to do something for me to settle and calm and focus. So mine would be yoga or going and swimming and cleaning.
Speaker 1:So that's, that's my three for for week one and how were you feeling in your first week of not drinking, when you had successfully finished those seven days? How were you feeling?
Speaker 2:yeah. So I actually think, from day the day after you're hung over to the next time you drink, you're fighting a battle anyway with yourself, because you feel shit, your anxiety is heightened and your depression is heightened. Especially if you've got ADHD, it's even worse. We're retraining the puppy brain, so your brain is actually a puppy. It thinks in order to fix your problems, we have a drink, because that's what we usually do, but we ignore that because your brain is confused. It does not work correctly in this first period of sobriety. It's wired, so it's wired and you have to rewire it. So the first 30 days you're rewiring your brain and you're, and everything improves over the weeks. Your cortisol, your cortisol levels and your dopamine is all out of balance.
Speaker 2:It's all crazy, it's out of whack sleep won't necessarily get better straight away and actually so really good for sleep, which I magnesium tablets magnesium tablets or you can try the herbal night or but for me that doesn't work but a magnesium tablet. And my firm favorite is five. Information overload is happening in my brain, so five chamomile tea bags I'm not kidding in one tea how do you feel about taking um, not even like over-the-counter stuff.
Speaker 1:It doesn't even have to be prescription stuff in your journey of not drinking.
Speaker 2:Well, the only thing I struggle with is sleep. I've never even been one to take paracetamol when I'm in pain. You know that I fell off a ladder I did nothing.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I always found really funny After, when I used to work in recruitment, and a lot, a lot of people would dabble in a snowstorm, let's say, and then they'd come in like rough as hell the next day. Yeah, and then I would say, oh, do you want a paracetamol, do you want anything for the headache?
Speaker 2:And they're like no, no, I need a peppermint tea. I'm to put all the like good stuff because they've done all the bad stuff, because, yeah, it's like you're not gonna put a painkiller in the body but we do everything else. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of people that do this, but who drink or, you know, partake in various other activities.
Speaker 2:Um try and be healthy in all other areas of their life by doing the exercise, eating really well, doing the green juices, yeah, so that then on weekends, whenever they would, they would. Yeah, basically go hell for leather and then try and fix that the following week leading back up to the drinking four or five days until they're good again. But it's important to know when you are changing a habit. It it's. It's hard. You have to discipline yourself and you really fight against everything that tells you to do the usual thing that you're doing.
Speaker 1:So someone told me about magnesium spray for your feet. Was it you?
Speaker 2:no, because I got magnesium for the spray that's meant to be. I got magnesium foot spray. That's meant to be really good. I got magnesium spray and sprayed it all over my body and had a full allergic reaction. I was itchy as hell.
Speaker 1:Your body is so sensitive.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, it was like, ah, I was scratching all over. It was awful, I had to just shower it all off. That doesn't work for me, and it doesn't work for me in the bath either. But magnesium tablets I do take one every night. Yeah, I take it about two hours before bed, because everything for me takes a while to kick in. And again, your tolerance is high.
Speaker 1:Yeah, my tolerance is high.
Speaker 2:I can fight. I also just fight against my sleep for no reason. I'm tired, but I'll fight it anyway. I don't know why it's rubble in me that's cool.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the first seven days yeah, so I find it particularly useful if I'm working just because we have such a lot of hours, I'm suggesting okay.
Speaker 2:so if you're working, great.
Speaker 1:Find a hobbitch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that's what I was saying. That's why there's cleaning. Oh yeah, obviously work can take up a part of your day, which is great. You want to be distracted, yeah. It's not a hobby part of your day, which is great. You want to be distracted. Yeah, it's not a hobby, but cleaning is a very therapeutic you you clean and clean space, clean mind yeah, and also, um, literally, you know feng shui, your bedroom.
Speaker 2:I changed my whole room around, cleared out all the underneath, cleared out the energy, continued to then repaint the room, redecorate it later. But so, to reiterate, what did we just cover in week one? Go to work, get a hobby, get a hobby, anything you want to do, but walking, walking. I used to find walking so boring, I would not walk anywhere and week one will be the worst.
Speaker 1:Like you will get the itch for it, you'll want it. Like I said, the first week wasn't necessarily my stumbling point. It was more. 10 days, 14 days into not drinking, that was where my itch came um. But you will get itching. You just have to surrender do not scratch the itch.
Speaker 2:It is chicken pox and you will scar. It is viral. It is chicken pox, you will scar, do not want to scar. So what we want to keep doing is ignoring the itch and stay busy. Yeah, exactly where other myths? You just do anything meet friends, but not to drink. I think the cinema, I think more coffees, anything else. Go for a bike drink, I think the cinema, I think going for coffees, anything else, go for a bike ride, I think, the more you.
Speaker 1:I think you just have to recognize it and surrender to it, because the more you try and fight something, the bigger problem you're creating no, but you don't want to surrender to the no one no, you don't drink. You just surrender to the fact that you want to drink and rectify acceptance you accept that we can't do this anyway moving on to week two, which is where I um, um kind of start. I wouldn't well, yeah, start to struggle, yeah, and oh, so you start to struggle week two?
Speaker 2:yeah, I just like continue to struggle day 10.
Speaker 1:Day 10 to about day 14 is where I really want to drink. Um, I definitely found myself uncomfortable in, probably, social situations in bars or anywhere where there was a lot of alcohol. I just couldn't be there.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, of course. So your advice is to stay out of social situations that are going to entice you into drinking.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, because I did not have the willpower that I have now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I do think, treat your brand new sobriety like a newborn baby. I made it my identity, yes, or, as Tara does, make it your identity. So you, you, what do you do?
Speaker 1:I tell everyone I'm sober, yeah, and I'm very open about that and I maybe it's the delusion I don't have shame about being sober anymore. I did before.
Speaker 2:Me too, and I don't anymore. And now I find it so weird. I'm like why would I feel ashamed to not drink? And I'll tell you why. Why? Because everyone makes you feel like there's something wrong with you for not drinking in social situations.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely, and it's actually about them, not you but when the whole wide world in his hands, what? When the whole world does revolve around you in your head? Yeah, it's more insecurity. It's not ego, it's insecurity that says it's you, it's you it's you.
Speaker 2:The first few times I did that, it it actually just did a whole number on me because, yeah, we're getting like, oh my god, you're so boring, oh what you're not doing this? And then I would be so confused and back to the oh, maybe I should just have a drink with everyone, because and you know, they'd be like, what are you on about? You're fine when you're drinking, you've got, you, don't have a problem. But I have a problem inside of me that I've decided to change. It's just a personal thing. So the accepting of not caring what everyone else thinks helps I actually got a weird kick out of questioning.
Speaker 1:But when people would say, oh, go and have a drink, you are, and you're drinking blah blah, I say why do I need to drink? Yeah, I loved putting them on the back foot.
Speaker 2:You, I can see you wanting to do that, yeah, whereas so we're like the polar opposites here. I'm the opposite to tara in that I want to go out, I do not like missing events, or so I'm. I love a social situation, and I do. You think you get a fomo. I just get really annoyed at myself. It's whether or not you feel strong enough to not give a fuck what everyone's saying or you're not gonna be um convinced to drink again.
Speaker 1:Also, it's the temptation and having to. I find people boring after yeah, however long and especially with sobriety as well.
Speaker 2:You, you get to the end of your evening much quicker than everyone else, or much quicker than you would if you were drinking and the third, you don't move up one level with the rest of them.
Speaker 1:No, but I can give myself time where I really love being out with people and appreciate it. Yeah, but after, like after so much time, I'm I'm done, I'm out, I'm going to bed, I've got a blows class in the morning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would challenge myself, because it's just what I do, and I would go out and I would do it and then I'd be really like oh okay, I'm annoyed now. I'm annoyed that I haven't been able to sit in the bar and have a drink, so I have stayed but not enjoyed and then I've gone home.
Speaker 1:That's sadism. What's it? Sadism, what's the word when you enjoy inflicting pain on yourself?
Speaker 2:sadism, sadism, yeah, inflicting pain on oneself yes what I've learned after each week is oh, I feel a little bit differently now and actually I'm not going to be hard on myself and I have to be kinder to myself and go okay, look, it's okay, you can be in that situation now. It's not forever, so just come back when you're ready.
Speaker 1:How long did it take you to be at ease like that? Because I know, once I hit the 10-day mark or the 14-day mark, I stayed very much uncomfortable for a long time. But when I got to about six weeks sober, I'm thinking why am I doing this? I've proved it to myself now. I'm still uncomfortable for a very long time I again am the opposite.
Speaker 2:But I really think, just do what you think is best for you and judge it. Just trust your own intuition based on whether or not you can go out. If you can't go out, don't do it, just don't. Just do nice things for yourself.
Speaker 1:Have a hot bath again, do some exercise, journal stay really busy and I would say, if you are struggling, just stay away from the pub.
Speaker 2:It's just way too and if you're really, really struggling, go to aa, find a meeting and go. Go and sit in a meeting, because there are so many people who understand your brain thought there that can help you if you need that extra support. You can't actually do everything on your own. Some people can, some people can't, and there are lots of resources for that. I think that there there's online meetings that you can jump in if you really you know, if you're upset or whatever you can. You can do therapy if you can afford to do therapy.
Speaker 2:But again AA is free and there are lots of people that can give you extra support if you need it.
Speaker 1:The first couple of times when I did the 90 day stints I was hard knuckling. What does that mean when you're you know you're going to drink again? I wasn't doing it for this for the right reason of being sober and actually bringing that right back to this.
Speaker 2:So I do think a lot of people, the pressure or the reward of knowing that if I do this for this amount of time and then I'm going to reward myself with a drink, actually makes the non-drinking process very much harder.
Speaker 1:I had to remind myself why I was doing it, because that was my biggest help.
Speaker 2:So this is what took me a long time to work out, but go on, so I do continue.
Speaker 1:So when I was even doing nice things for myself, rewarding myself, it always got to a point where I feel uncomfortable that I wasn't drinking and then I was really forcing myself. I wasn't being present, I wasn't enjoying it. I don't think a lot of people that choose to be sober enjoys being sober, because there's a reason why you have to stop, so no one really ever truly enjoys it. I want to drink now. Do you want to drink?
Speaker 2:but that's not necessarily true, because you do enjoy being sober. You actually really thrive and you're happy. So you do enjoy. But there's also parts of me that really that's brain work that wants you to create havoc with the world, chaos and fuck up your shit so much fuckery that I could be doing yeah, but we ignore that part. So in these sort of by the second week your brain pathway has already changed and I've had a really good point before I'm sorry, tarik, go on.
Speaker 2:What was it? Oh, were you saying no one wants to be sober, no one does?
Speaker 1:I don't think people do want to be sober, that drink. I think that that it's a life choice where they it gets to a point where they have to be sober.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, I I yeah, so I was just fucking up too much shit and and for me, and I really resented it, I did resent it and I did hate it, and there are still days where I want to kick off. I went out with some of my friends I hadn't seen for ages. Last week it was the afternoon, huh is this when you had to leave, I had to leave because it it was a situation what that I've learned to let go of Instead of persisting.
Speaker 2:I must stay in joy for the endurance, because I resent the fact that I can't drink, but I can't drink. So they were all having wine and it was sunny and I was on a rooftop with a pool and I was getting so annoyed.
Speaker 1:I would have left too, but I wasn't getting annoyed at them.
Speaker 2:I was like I was. I was just annoyed at the situation because it was one of those temporary moments where I wanted to have the wine and the waitress kept trying to pull me a glass. She brought me over a glass three times and my friends, being very protective of my sobriety, were like no, and I was like guys, it's okay. I'll literally just say to her look, if you give me that drink, there's gonna be a problem, so what?
Speaker 2:choice do you want to make? Um, but it wasn't. I just got to a point and I'd got everything I wanted out of that situation, as in the enjoyment from my friend's company, and I was like, okay, guys, I'm gonna go now, because I have to go home and paint my hallway.
Speaker 1:But what do you think would have happened had you had that glass of wine? Let's play devil's advocate.
Speaker 2:Well, I know what would have happened it would have been, I would have been out for the evening. I would have been out out out, out baby like more wine.
Speaker 2:Carry on. I think worst case scenario used to not work on me and now it really does work on me, because my brain's changed and I go from okay, right, so have that glass. I let myself go on in my mind go and have the glass. And then what happens? Well, in two hours I'm going to be a nightmare, not, and I'm not going to want to go home and I'm not going to want to stop drinking.
Speaker 1:I make myself an ick. So if I think in my head, what if I drink this? I'm gonna be like I'm gonna get like this ick, this is gonna happen.
Speaker 2:Ick, I'm gonna wake up in the morning ick and no one wants to be an ick no, they don't make yourself an ick.
Speaker 1:How long does it take you week one, week two, week three, week four or even longer to get to that point of rationale in your brain for anyone who's just starting their sobriety journey?
Speaker 2:well, that is a trick question, because we've we, you know this as well. Yeah, we've tried. We've played this game several times over in order to get to the point, so it's not. I wouldn't say it's week one, week two, week three, week four. It's until it clicks within you and, and I think, when you fail, you try again. Sorry, we took a break there. We had to get coffee.
Speaker 1:I actually then emptied the dishwasher and tara started spinning around in circles and then we ended up making the coffee and then remembered we haven't finished the episode podcast.
Speaker 2:Yeah, all right, so we're back in week three. Back in week three, um, we were just talking about. I said it's not how many times. I don't think it's a certain amount of weeks till it clicks. It clicks when it's when it clicks and it depends on the level of support you need and the amount that you've drank and the brain worm how strong your brain worm actually is circumstances and I think what has made the want and the will, what's made you go sober your circumstances, the want, the people around you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the support and the want to be sober more than the need to drink absolutely what Was there anyone else apart from?
Speaker 1:well, you were obviously sober first anyone else doing it when you were doing it.
Speaker 2:No one was doing it. When I was doing it, I told the story in our, I think, our first podcast that I'd met someone from years ago who was sober and he introduced me to a lot of other sober people and actually they were incredible supports and they were so, like you know, such great people and that encouragement alone was helpful and if I needed someone to talk to if I was having that day, I would call one of them instead of yeah, drinking, and would you also find yourself socializing with them a lot more, rather than friends that did drink in those initial couple of weeks?
Speaker 2:yeah, definitely um, I was. I also was picking friends that I think your closest, most dearest friends, who understand, you know, no matter what, yeah. Like who you can just go for coffees with where it's not going to be drink related. Yeah, did you find that as well?
Speaker 1:Yes, because I wouldn't go anywhere near a situation with alcohol involved. Yeah, so it would have to be friends. That required little to no social battery. That it wasn't forced. I didn't need any Dutch courage Dates as well, which we'll cover on another episode. Oh yeah, so good dating. That didn't happen for a long time because I thought I needed a drink. So anyone I was surrounding myself with or going out with required little to no um like social battery.
Speaker 2:I was very comfortable with them exactly like the most minimal, which is the easiest people to be around, where you're completely yourself, whether you're having a good day or a bad day. That is so support is really helpful. And again, and not find non-judgment again, find your sober people yeah, non-judgmental people, people that just are going to accept and help you with it. And actually all my friends have been amazing. I went out on a night out on Saturday for one of my friend's birthdays at home and all of our mates were there. One of my other friends wasn't drinking. She didn't drink either, but I had the best night ever and I laughed so much I peed a bit.
Speaker 2:I'm only kidding. That happened. Is that why you dreamt? Yeah, maybe I think it was the fear.
Speaker 2:So last night I had a dream that I was peeing in a warm sea and I told Tara this morning because I woke up and went, oh my God, I actually need to go to the toilet. But I was like, oh my God, I could have just peed in my real life. I didn't do that, but it might be because I laughed so much as in I couldn't breathe laughing. It was so, it was too much. I just had so much fun. But I went home at 20 past 10. I did a sneak out, I told one person I was leaving and then sent everyone the text that's another big tip the Irish goodbye.
Speaker 1:Irish exit. It's an Irish exit. When you just go, you don't say goodbye, because you spend 10 days of the year people spend saying goodbye to people. It adds up to a really long time. I hate doing the goodbyes to go around, bye, bye, especially when I feel like I'm leaving too early. Irish exit irish exit.
Speaker 2:I woke up really fresh the next day and to all the group with like, oh my god, I'm hanging, I'm dying, but I don't want to sound like a preacher or like I'm on a high horse, but I do secretly love it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do secretly love it when others are in pain, and I'm not.
Speaker 2:Wow, okay, I'm going to hell. I don't.
Speaker 1:What's the point of it if you can't enjoy it, Carly?
Speaker 2:No, I do. You might as well be drunk and gutter with them. Listen, I feel, I feel. What is that word? Proud of myself, yeah, what is that?
Speaker 1:word Proud.
Speaker 2:Pride, I feel proud and I'm like grateful, but everyone's different, so I still give the sympathy, whereas Tara is clearly a cold-blooded killer. Sniper in the night, I tell you um, which is fine, each their own well you have to get a kick out of some something.
Speaker 1:Now you do that. That's what I'm missing.
Speaker 2:I think the kick I think we all need a bit of work life balance, because we've got a lot of life. I have too much time less, less work or too much time, but I'm so busy yeah, so am I.
Speaker 1:I don't have time for a job you don't have time, sorry.
Speaker 2:Won't you schedule in this podcast? Won't be turning up to work yeah it's actually mad that now we have to incorporate work again into life. But we also need to get paid. I need money.
Speaker 1:I need to survive. It's so hard being a young, vulnerable, single girl whenever I tell anyone this it's met with silence, disbelief because disagreement the poor, me.
Speaker 2:Victim mentality doesn't work on many people, especially when you are 31.
Speaker 1:I I was with a friend yesterday and I was like we're only 30. And then she looked at me.
Speaker 2:I was like one oh there's a second where I genuinely but my friend stayed the other week and said, oh my god, I can't believe we're 35, and I said, well, neither, because we're 36.
Speaker 1:So sorry to burst your bubble, but we are 36 and if that's not depressing enough to drink, let's move on from talking about our age.
Speaker 2:But um well, I don't think it's depressing. I think you, you grow and you learn, and I'm. The one thing that I regret is not finding out all of this sobriety stuff sooner. I think you're a good age to find out. Yeah, I don't Like your whole 30s now are going to be fantastic. I've got my whole 30s.
Speaker 1:I don't regret anything. No, I don't regret anything. I grew because of it. The consequences weren't so severe that I, like epically, fucked up my life. I turned it around. I only lost a shoulder and a knee at one point yeah, a lot of fun was had.
Speaker 2:Um, would I change it? Some parts would I have had. I would have liked to have the knowledge that actually going out and drinking all the time isn't a normal practice. Like I would have liked some knowledge more awareness about it.
Speaker 1:I don't care about that.
Speaker 2:But hey-ho, it's happened and here we are and we are who we are today. Thank you, universe. Amen. But going back to week four, right, so by week four.
Speaker 1:I and I had I don't know if it was this year or last year, I think it was last year. It was a friend's 30th, so it wasn't this year, it was last year and his birthday was at the end of January and it was in town and everyone else was drinking. He'd hired a venue and I thought he's my best guy friend so I couldn't miss it. Yeah, but I made the decision and I knew I was. I was doing my 90 days. It wasn't just dry january. I made the decision to drive there so I couldn't drink, but I it very much changed the trajectory of that again tara.
Speaker 2:One of tara's triggers is not having her car with her.
Speaker 1:If I don't have my car, what am I responsible for myself, like I don't have a dependent. I'm not with child, I'm not with puppy, I'm not with kitten, I'm not with vehicle. I have no dependents, I'm just in charge of myself. And if my car is not there, there's always public transport to get me home.
Speaker 2:So what's stopping me? No, I don't public uber x, uh, uber safely guide me home. Um. So also, I think on week four, yeah, you've realized your brain's changed quite a bit and your dopamine levels are somewhat normal. It's balancing out, they are balancing out and there is a whole you know research there's loads of research on this that are brain scans of weekly of when you've stopped drinking and how much the brain changes and the progress week the progress of the body, your body is phenomenal the brain worm never leaves.
Speaker 2:Though it's a little cockroach, it survives everything.
Speaker 1:There's no exterminating it. You just learn to live with it as a pet. Nothing was easy for me for the first six weeks, until I which time? Didn't it? No, the first time I did 90 days, I knew I was drinking on my birthday, which?
Speaker 2:is at which.
Speaker 1:I was very much like I said, hard knuckling it. I was like right, I can do it. There's, there's a finish line inside, I can do it, I can do it. That I still wanted to drink and I knew I was going to. And then I got really messy and then actually no, before I did the first 90 days I done dry January and the same friend who had that birthday party, who I didn't drink at, it was his birthday the end of January, beginning of February, and I just got can I say, shit face. Yeah, I just got shit face at his birthday and then I snogged his best friend and used his best friend for a lift home. Drinking doesn't always make you a good person. Yeah, anyway, less aware. So I did that. But I knew I was going to drink at the end of the 30 days. I knew I was going to drink at the end of my first 90 days. I knew I was going to drink at the end of my second 90 days. What was my point, don't know? Oh, after week six it gets easier.
Speaker 2:Week six, but we're not going into week six.
Speaker 1:We're just doing four weeks. Equally, it's made me so proud to know that I can do it and can overcome something that I never thought I'd give up the rewards yeah, definitely outweigh the benefits of drinking?
Speaker 2:yeah, because there are none but people with the brain worm it's much more of a struggle. I just don't people without the brain worm, because loads of my friends can drink and have a nice time and have a few, but then I think what's the point?
Speaker 1:because, because, you have a warped version vision because you've got a brain worm alcohol is so detrimental to you in every single way, what is the point in drinking just to enjoy it? You can't Okay, in your personal opinion.
Speaker 2:In my personal opinion, yeah, because we're not preaching and we're not God. But people Highly favoured may be Blessed and highly favoured, but Just not godly if people can enjoy it great but. If you can't. If you are the 40 that have the brain worm, then yeah, but but do not punish yourself, and no matter how many days you do, just be just be rewarding.
Speaker 1:Be proud of yourself for doing yeah um, there's not a lot of people can do it, and that's why they don't choose to do it, and that's why they want you to drink yeah, and also, maybe don't set yourself a date that you're gonna drink again just see what, how far you can go.
Speaker 2:That is the best advice we can give.
Speaker 1:Tara, amen, just enjoy the benefits and reaping the rewards of the first four weeks, yeah, or the first week, or two weeks, or however far you can. Also, your skin gets better Glowing. Oh, and your? I didn't think I could glow anymore, you didn't.
Speaker 2:And yet you do. And yet here we are glowing.
Speaker 1:I'm an angel, okay, angel, okay, okay, until next time yeah, thank you for listening.
Speaker 2:Please keep following us. We are now on youtube and and tiktok and instagram at drunks girls gone sober. If you want to ask us any questions or tell us any stories, please dm us. Yeah, we hope that you have a lovely week stay sober.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't want to be. Ya, why do you have to do that every time?
Speaker 2:I don't know, like, why are you saying wouldn't want to be to the people that are listening to us? We're gonna cut it bye guys.
Speaker 1:What, oh, you didn't stop it? No, because I said the bye guys, it's still going. I, I'm really scared to stop it okay, thank you for listening.
Speaker 2:We will see you next week. Bye stop, yes.