A couple who decided to give up drinking for one year and document their sobriety on YouTube have shared what they found most difficult.
More and more people everyday consider giving up the booze.
With a better variety of non-alcoholic beverages being served in pubs and bars and Gen Z being a 'sober-curious' generation, stories like this are becoming more common.
In 2022, Craig and Chyna Benzine decided to embark on a year of sobriety, giving up alcohol completely and documenting their progress on Craig's YouTube channel, WheezyWaiter.
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In their video: 'We Quit Alcohol for a Year, Here's What Happened', Craig and Chyna revealed their drinking habits and explained what they found most challenging about their journey.
"I feel like I'm going uphill all the time and my sleep is terrible," Craig revealed.
Whilst Chyna admitted to feeling 'tired', 'unmotivated' and 'foggy' and wanted to know whether that was just her personality or because of what she was putting into her body.
I think we all wonder that to be fair, Chyna.
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One thing that came up was around being sober when socialising with friends and not finding enjoyment in being out having to watch their friends drink whilst they didn't.
This is a worry a lot of people have, which makes sense considering how much of our social lives revolve around drinking.
Brunch, Christmas (sorry for bringing it up), work socials, you name it and there's a reason to have a cheeky glass of Prosecco turn into cocktails and then inevitably shots - or is that just how my Wednesday nights go?
"With the warmer weather has come more socialisation and the desire to have a drink.
"Now it's summer time, it's prime drinking season," Chyna explained.
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"Pre starting this challenge, every night I would be like 'ooo, I think I'd like a glass of wine', maybe an old fashioned. I never think about that at home, I think about that when we're at your parents house because they're having [one]."
The couple revealed how they tried 'proxy wines', 'NA beers' and 'non alcoholic liqueur-type things', but after a while, they stopped getting that urge.
It was around month four that Chyna revealed: "I don't miss drinking," and it seems that hanging out with friends sober also stopped being a concern.
Craig said: "I have had more opportunities to hang out with friends later at night but I just get tired and want to go to bed. They wanna keep going because they're drunk. Not always drunk but been drinking and that masks the feeling of being tired."
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For Craig, something else he found hard that he wasn't expecting was a change in his emotions.
"So the past like 3 or 4 days, I wake up feeling pretty darn good, but around 4 PM, exhausted, negative, kinda grumpy."
With feeling grumpy and exhausted also came something else unexpected, boredom.
"When we first quit, I was very tired and very bored," Craig said.
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"For a while there it felt like something was missing in the evening."
"Now it's like I've completely forgotten this isn't how it's always been."
"I'm kind of nervous for the year coming to an end. I feel like I need the parameters." Chyna said later.
When the challenge did end and the pair went back to drinking, it seems they were able to curb the amount they consumed.
Chyna admitted to not liking the feeling of drinking again and felt like she was 'done' halfway through an old fashioned.
Craig echoed her feelings and, even though he seems to be more of a drinker than Chyna, he also didn't feel the need to over indulge and woke up feeling fine.
"I feel like I have deeply changed... this has easily been the most beneficial challenge of my life," he said. While Chyna resolved, "I don't even have to restrain myself."
Well done to them both for sticking to it!
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support
Topics: Alcohol, Pubs, Lifestyle, YouTube, Health, Mental Health
Saskia Calliste