AFTER the excesses of the festive season, thousands of people sign up to Dry January every year.
This year, the movement celebrated its tenth anniversary and more than 175,000 people in the UK took part.
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And while Scots still have a tricky relationship with drink — a quarter of the nation still regularly drinks more than the recommended alcohol allowance — more people are jumping on the booze-free bandwagon, and not just for January.
Sobriety, once considered a taboo, is now celebrated as a lifestyle choice with more events and gatherings giving swally the swerve entirely.
Kirsty Mulcahy started trying to give up drinking when she was 27. Now 47, she celebrated her sixth sober birthday on December 28.
Grey area drinkers
The Edinburgh Sober Coach runs Sober Buzz Scotland, a community interest company that supports people who consider themselves “grey area drinkers” to build the confidence to leap into an liquor-free life.
This includes those who binge drink, to those who try to cut down and fail each weekend.
She said: “My problematic drinking looked like two or three bottles of wine a night. I still held down a job, I was functioning but I was hiding my drinking and I was just dying inside.
“When I finally stopped in 2018, I struggled to find a community or even people talking positively about their sober lifestyle.
“I was aware that there were groups like AA and SMART recovery, but I didn’t see anybody recovering out loud and that was important to me.
“I wanted to get it across as an empowered decision and you can love your life after alcohol.
“I’m now the healthiest and fittest I’ve ever been, I’ve run a half-marathon and I am meeting my career goals.
“I now never think about drinking. I still party, I still go to clubs, I still really enjoy myself. I just don’t drink.”
Kirsty holds “walk and talks” where sober people and those considering giving up or reducing their alcohol consumption meet like-minded people who understand what it is like to be alcohol-free.
She added: “Many people turn up to meet-ups and are not “out” as sober yet because they are concerned about what people might think of them.
“At these events, people can share all those concerns knowing others are in the same boat. They can become real-life friends as a community and accountability is so important.
“More people are now online sharing the best version of themselves and there is a huge push on places like Instagram and TikTok, so it is not hard to find other open sober people — it’s not like when I first gave up.”
Kristin Lamb, from Edinburgh, gave up drinking along with her partner Calum, in June 2022.
The events planner said she was sick of hangovers when she decided to empty the contents of her drinks cabinet after her final night on the tiles.
Kristin said: “The day after we decided it was over, we poured out all the bottles in our house, which was a lot.
“Then we cancelled all our nights out for the next month.
“I don’t think we drank more than the average millennial but we were just sick of the hangovers and the money that we were wasting.”
But after several months of hibernating, Kristin set up Sober And Curious on December 31 last year, as a response to the lack of alcohol-free events in Scotland.
She explained that other sober groups were helpful online, but most of the events were based in England.
Her Facebook Group has 800 followers who are all passionate about giving up booze without giving up on fun.
Kristin launched a series of alcohol-free events in Edinburgh, including a booze-free brunch and a meet-the-producers event at the capital’s Radisson Blu.
She said: “We sold out that event and had these amazing alcohol-free brands who told us a bit about their story and let us try their drinks.
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“Our guests even got a little goody bag with another three alcohol-free drinks to enjoy.”
She added: “It’s becoming less of a stigma to go to a social event and not drink alcohol and with the growing number of fantastic alcohol-free drinks – some people don’t even realise that you’re not drinking.”
MY VIEW: JENNIFER JONES
WHEN I first tried to stop drinking eight years ago, I would have been lucky to have been offered a warm Irn-Bru as I tagged along with drunk friends as the designated driver.
Now the choice of both alcohol-free alternatives and sober socials is growing.
I packed it in proper last November and have just celebrated my second Christmas without alcohol. So I’m now a dab-hand at saying no to offers of “just have one” or the prolonged questions about “why can’t you moderate?”.
I’ll tell you why.
The benefits of not drinking outweigh the ability to handle a handful of drinks. Where is the fun in just having one or two anyway?
My anxiety is gone, my skin is better, I can handle the challenges life throws at me and don’t even get me started on the eight hours of perfect, restful sleep every night.
The cost-of-living crisis also plays a huge factor in it. Drinking alcohol is expensive. As are hangovers – they don’t feed themselves when you hit the takeaway apps the next day.
I used to worry if I would be considered “boring” if I stopped drinking, but now I find it boring if I spend too much time hanging around a pub.
I now have time to do things I’ve always wanted to do. Instead of just talking about my goals after spending another day rotting in bed, I’m finally taking action.
From learning the drums, travelling to new places and lifting 100kg in the gym, it’s all for the taking.