A man who has been sober for the past nine months after drinking for 45 years has given some advice to the people who are nursing a weekend hangover and telling themselves they're fine.
Ian Callaghan has been sharing some of the things he's learned since going sober after he got out of the cycle of drinking, having said he 'accepted sluggishness, fogginess and feeling 'off' as ageing' but since quitting drinking realised what the real reason was.
He described an 'avalanche of wellness' coming his way after ditching alcohol, and his latest message has been for those who he reckons are kidding themselves over how they're feeling after a night out.
Taking to social media, Ian put up a post for the people who were 'still hungover pretending you're fine' and had some tough words for them, as he urged people to stop the 'lies you keep telling yourself'.
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"Miserable Sunday reality check. You're not broken, you're just hungover and full of lies you keep telling yourself," he wrote in his post.
"That knot in your stomach, the guilt, the anxiety it's not 'Sunday blues'. It's your body begging you to stop poisoning it every weekend.
"You call it blowing off steam. I call it self-destruction in slow-motion. You've spent your weekend neck-deep in denial, and now you're sat there sweating gravy, scrolling TikTok, trying to feel human again.
"Meanwhile, I'm sat with a clear head, a coffee, peace in my chest, and zero shame. That's not bragging - it's what happens when you stop hitting the reset button every Monday and actually change the game.
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"You don't need another 'one more night out' or 'hair of the dog'. You need to stop outsourcing your happiness to a pint glass. Here's your reminder. Misery is optional. Sobriety isn't punishment. Freedom starts when you stop trying to escape your own life.
"Now crack open a bottle of water, take a walk, and face your truth. Or don't, but stop pretending the hangover's worth it."
Ian had previously said that back in the days when he drank he 'lived in booze' and built a routine around 'pints, takeaways and lies'.
He also said that one of the major changes in his life was losing friends along the way as 'pub mates fade' but reassured people that 'the ones who stay meet the real you'.
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Others who've walked the same path as Ian have said similar things, explaining that your relationships with your friends would change as you were changing a lot and your social calendar would be heavily affected too.
Another chap who got sober, Mark Manson, said that 'you start to find out what you actually truly enjoy' when you go sober after realising 'much of my social life, my friendships, my hobbies had been this kind of lie'.
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, Lifestyle, Mental Health, TikTok
Joe Harker