Sober Curious: My Two-Week Break From Alcohol and Cannabis
<p>I’m nearly finished with a two-week break from booze and cannabis.</p>
<p>I haven’t gone two weeks without alcohol since I had my tonsils removed over a year ago. Before that, I can’t remember the last time I went a single week without a drink.</p>
<p>I set a two-week sobriety goal after a Saturday night of drinking and getting high that brought on one of the worst panic attacks of my life.</p>
<p>There I was in front of the freezer, burying my face in my partner’s chest while holding ice to the back of my neck. I focused on the frigid ice and the cold water trickling down my hot skin, trying to ground myself. Trying to deepen my shallow breathing and slow my speeding heart.</p>
<p>The nightmare lasted for two hours, and there were moments when I was sure I’d need a ride to the emergency room.</p>
<p>All this after coming home from a short trip out of town. My boyfriend and I went to a Jimmy Eat World concert and had an amazing time. Coming back to the real world after our too-short mini-vacation and immediately worrying about kids, bills, schedules, and freelance work made something in me snap.</p>
<p>I turned to alcohol and edibles with a vengeance as a form of protest. And after that terrible panic attack (which felt more like a near-death experience), I knew something needed to change.</p>
<p>I knew I put way too much poison in my body and labeled it “self-care with a glass of mommy juice.”</p>
<p>I knew my weight gain, climbing blood pressure, and sugar intake needed to be managed.</p>
<p><strong>I set a goal of two weeks. Fourteen whole days, completely booze and edible-free.</strong></p>
<p>The bad news? It’s been more challenging than I thought.</p>
<p>The good news? It’s been more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.</p>
<h1>The sober curious movement</h1>
<p><em>Sober curious</em> is a term I just heard for the first time last week, when I started digging into sober podcasts as a way to distract myself from my wine cravings, of which there were many.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/black-bear-recovery/sober-curious-my-two-week-break-from-alcohol-and-cannabis-33afdb4594b5"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>