What Happened When I Had One Drink After Six Months Sober

"Sometimes we crave things we’ve outgrown, and only by revisiting them do we realise we’re not going back, and we’ve finally moved on." Lisa Precious

The Things We Leave Behind (and Then Wonder If We Should)

Sometimes we leave something behind for a good reason, but later on we start to wonder if we did the right thing. We think we miss it, and forget why we decided to let go in the first place.

But when we revisit these things—whether it’s a food, a drink, substances, places, or even people—we often realise we’re not actually missing them.

It‘s more like a memory, feeling, or habit. Later on we find ourselves thinking: Why did I ever like this to begin with?

Why I Gave Up Alcohol (Even Though I Wasn’t a Big Drinker)

About six months ago, I decided, after a fair amount of research and soul-searching to quit alcohol entirely.

People who knew me well were a little surprised. “Why?” they’d say. “You hardly drink anyway. All you have is a couple of glasses a week and that’s fine.”

True, but I looked forward to those glasses. A bit too much, and if I’m being completely honest, I actually fancied a glass of wine with dinner every single night. And that little pull had started to make me uncomfortable.

I don’t like having attachments to anything. So, I swapped my favourite glass of rosé wine for sparkling water with a splash of fruit cordial. Actually, I really liked it. I loved sleeping better with no more middle-of-the-night overheating or pounding heart, and most of all, I loved not feeling drawn to wanting a nightly glass of wine.

A Fancy Meal and a Curious Glass

Fast forward to now I’m touring with my husband, and to kickstart the journey, we stayed at a hotel with a four-course meal and a complimentary glass of champagne.

I was really curious to know how would my body respond to one small glass of alcohol after completing six whole months without it.

It Was Just Like Smoking—Romantic in Memory, Awful in Reality

Well… it actually took me over three hours to finish that tiny glass. I didn’t enjoy the taste nearly as much as I had remembered, and I definitely couldn’t drink at the same pace as before. It felt a bit like when I quit smoking twenty five years ago. For a while I’d catch a whiff of the scent and think Mmm, but the day I actually tried one again, it tasted absolutely awful. I remember wondering how I had ever liked it to begin with.

That night, after just one small drink, I woke up again overheated, nauseous, and a little annoyed with myself. I knew the relationship with alcohol was truly over.

Turns out, life is much more fun on the sparkling water.

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I’ve written about the effects of alcohol consumption before—in fact, my most-read newsletter ever was all about the spiritual and scientific consequences of drinking. If you’re curious about what alcohol might be doing beneath the surface, I’d really encourage you to give it a read. It might help you see your own relationship with it a little more clearly.

👉 You can read that one below