How to Drink Sober Using Mindfulness So That You Can Truly Enjoy That Craft Cocktail

A dead-simple system to get the most out of your lovely beverage

A dead-simple system to get the most out of your lovely beverage

Photo by Dannie Sorum on Unsplash

To say I’m a ‘beer geek’ would be an understatement. My love for craft beer has been a huge part of my life since I was drinking age. I’ve spent countless hours reading about the history, tasting the beers, and talking to people who have made this amazing beverage what it is today.

People who love beer drink for the same basic reasons: They like the taste. They like the feeling of having something in their mouth that tastes good. They enjoy the social aspect of sharing a drink with friends, and/or they enjoy the creativity involved in making a unique beverage using different ingredients. This is the exact opposite of drinking to get drunk … it is drinking to experience. That said, it’s easy to overdo it… and get in the habit of overdoing it.

Though I’m not an alcoholic, I do like drinking… maybe a bit too much. Being more mindful of drinking not only increases our enjoyment of things like craft beer or craft cocktails, but also helps ease the negative effects.

The effects of unmindfulness

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the average adult consumes about 7–8 litres of alcohol per year, and heavy drinkers consume much more than that. It’s no surprise that alcohol can play a role in health problems. There is plenty of research showing that “heavy alcohol use can damage the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and many other organs.”

In the U.S., the consumption of alcohol is very high. Almost half of the adults in the U.S. drink alcoholic beverages. Of those people, most drinkers consume more than one drink a day. But there are many reasons why drinking too much alcohol can be harmful to your health. For example, when you drink alcohol, it increases your chances of getting into accidents. It can cause many health problems. It can also lead to poor health habits such as smoking and lack of exercise.

That said, there are benefits to drinking alcohol, if it is something you enjoy. While there’s truth to that, alcohol also acts on the mind in several ways. For one, it can help people unwind and loosen up after a long day. Drinking can also help you be more social and relax in tense situations.

What is “mindful drinking?”

Simply put, mindful drinking is the act of achieving maximum positive effects from alcohol while minimizing the negative effects. Mindful drinkers do not drink until drunk. Mindful drinking is a practice that emphasizes moderation and focuses on enjoying the moment. People often discuss mindful drinking in relation to alcoholism, but there are plenty of other reasons to engage in this practice besides the prevention of substance abuse.

The first step in changing your attitude towards alcohol, you must understand what it means to be mindful in any area of life. Mindfulness is the awareness that comes from paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. It’s what you do when you focus completely on whatever you’re doing at that precise moment in time. This kind of focused attention helps you get into a flow state where you’re more likely to experience true happiness. It also improves your performance and outcomes in all areas of your life. When it comes to drinking, I try to be as mindful as possible.

Recently, I went through a really tough time. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was trying to manage teaching from home and two rambunctious toddlers. Under normal circumstances, I would have downed at least a couple of large beers a day. Instead, I cut way back on alcohol and really paid attention to everything going on around me. After a while, I realized I could stay more alert, perform at a higher level, and make better decisions. It turns out that this was the perfect time to learn a few important lessons about the link between mindfulness and better drinking habits.

How to practice mindful drinking

The goal of mindful drinking is to enhance self-awareness, relaxation, and the ability to enjoy life more fully. You must learn to pay attention to what you are doing when you drink. Are you drinking too fast? Too slow? Too much? Too little? If you find yourself getting “lost in the bottle,” you’ve gone too far. The best way to avoid going too far is to keep things simple: plan ahead, track your drinks, and figure out alternatives that you can deploy strategically.

Here are three steps that will help you do this.

Plan ahead

The first step is to plan. Before the week begins, choose which days you can enjoy your drinks the most. Identify days where you might be tempted to drink more than usual. Once you’ve identified the days you will be drinking, determine how much alcohol you will consume on each of those days. If you really enjoy a nice beverage while watching a movie at home on the weekends, plan a few drinks for those days. Being mindful means being strategic about when you enjoy your drinks. If you are home late after a stressful day at work, that’s maybe not the best time to truly enjoy a drink. Perhaps you need a cup of tea or an early bedtime instead.

Planning ahead can also help you spot days where you are more likely to over-consume. For example, did you tend to over-drink on weekends or during the week? If so, you may want to cut back on alcohol during those times. Also, were there any occasions where you seem to have had more alcohol than you needed in order to feel “funny” or “good”? If so, cut back on alcohol during those times.

A healthy goal is simply to reduce your alcohol consumption by a certain amount. The only real decision you have to make is how much you want to reduce it by. To really do this, though, you need to also track what you drink.

Track your drinks

The second step in learning how to drink responsibly is to learn how to track your drinks. This is a simple concept that will take a while to sink in. The most obvious thing about tracking your drinks is that it makes you aware of how much you are consuming. However, it is not merely a matter of awareness. Awareness is the first step. You must then act on that awareness. Something has to be done about it. You must be decisive.

Tracking your drinks gives you a chance to decide if you really want that second or third drink, or if you are better off grabbing something to eat. However, if you learn to track your drinks, you will discover you are often much more than “just a little” over-drinking. In fact, sometimes you will find you are drinking far more than you need to in order to enjoy the experience.

Tracking your drinks will also give you an opportunity to develop a strategy for dealing with your cravings. For example, if you learn you overindulge when you are bored, come up with something exciting to do that you only do during these times, like playing video games or watching an episode on Netflix.

To change these patterns, you’ll need to be strategic by using the information you get from tracking your drinks. If you are honest with yourself, you will discover you are often very willing to overindulge because of the effect alcohol has on your judgment. Therefore, if you are going to learn how to drink responsibly, you must learn how to use the information you get from tracking your drinks in order to make better decisions.

Be strategic

Finally, you will need to be strategic about how you use the information you get from tracking your drinks. If you have a hard time staying focused when you drink, consider having a Plan B. That way, if you are at a party and you feel overwhelmed, you can always leave without feeling guilty about it or distract yourself with something else.

You will also need to develop a strategy for dealing with your cravings by being aware of your triggers. For example, you might not feel the urge to drink until you sit down to watch television or go out for a meal. If that is the case, then you should make sure you plan for alternatives during those times. If you drink alone, you might have the tendency to drink more. So keep closer track during those times.

Additionally, you will need to learn how to deal with social situations where you might accidentally drink too much. One way to reduce your alcohol consumption during these times is to plan. If you know you’ll be drinking, then you can plan to go to a party and arrive early. You can avoid the trouble that comes from drinking too much by being conscious of your intake. Or you can plan to go to a bar or a restaurant where you can order something without alcohol.

If you are serious about making changes, you will need to look at your drinking patterns. You will need to be more conscious of the amount of alcohol you consume and how you are using it. You will need to set some goals.

Tracking Challenge

Okay. So maybe “sober January” is not for you. I get it. But instead of going cold turkey, try keeping a detailed alcohol consumption diary for a minimum of 30 days. Whatever your routine, try to keep it consistent for two weeks. Next, write the times you usually have your alcoholic beverages. Include not only the time you consume the beverage but also the time you felt the effects of the alcohol. For example, if you have a cocktail around 6:30 p.m., include in your log the time you how you feel from the effects of the alcohol (maybe an hour or so later).

It’s important to understand that alcohol is a depressant and that it affects your judgement and your ability to think clearly. This means that you may be able to get away with more than you normally would if you’re under the influence of alcohol. You should try to be more aware of how much you’re drinking. It’s also a good idea to know what you’re drinking and what it does to you.

At the end of the 30-day period, analyze your diary. Are there any patterns you can identify? Where did you drink too much? What situations helped you be more mindful?

There is no reason to feel guilty if you have had a few drinks. Enjoy your time with friends and family, and don’t let anyone tell you to have a glass of wine. If you don’t want to drink alcohol, you should not feel bad about it. However, you should know the effects of alcohol. You can’t just drink mindlessly.

By the way, I use an app called Sunnyside that helps me keep track of drinks in real-time via text messaging. Every week, I get a report, showing me how that week compared to my baseline drinking (before the app) and previous weeks. Sunnyside also asks me to plan out my drinking at the beginning of the week … which is half the battle!

If you would like to try it, check out my affiliate link below.

Sunnyside - Healthier Drinking Habits That Fit Your Lifestyle
146 million U.S. adults drink alcohol, and 47% want to cut back. If you're one of them, we have the tools to help, and…cutback-coach.sjv.io