Greg1/ On January 1, 2024, I stopped drinking alcohol after waking from a nap at a New Year’s Eve gathering, watching the room’s quiet intoxication and feeling out of place. #SoberCurious
2/ It wasn’t planned as an experiment at first, more a permanent shift, built from months of notes about stupid conversations and lingering doubts from occasional drinks.
3/ The rule was absolute: no alcohol in any context, no exceptions, just removal and watching what followed in social settings and daily routines.
4/ Early weeks passed easily, the decision fresh, and friends treated it as another of my habits, like dancing or standing desks, with light jokes that oddly strengthened it.
6/ Friction appeared too: stepping away from drinks meant stepping back from some social patterns, accepting a quieter circle.
7/ Over months, weekends changed – no dissolved mornings, more time for writing, reading, or gym sessions instead of recovery.
8/ Behavior settled without the exaggeration alcohol brought; arguments faded, embarrassment the next day became rare.
9/ A year on, sober at the same gathering, the evening’s progression felt predictable – louder voices, looser talk – from the outside.
10/ After fifteen months, a curious drink with a friend brought back the fatigue, but now it framed as a cost, trading clarity for a moment.
11/ That view lingered: alcohol as a sacrifice for social ease, not reward, leading to small changes like clearing glasses from the kitchen.
12/ The experiment ended there, but drinking stayed rare, situational – not ruled out, but no longer central. Full story → https://gregonliving.com/the-alcohol-experiment-what-happened-when-i-stopped-drinking-for-15-months-817e077e7995
