PRESS RELEASE: Grey Area Drinking and Fun in Sobriety

I’m Sarah, an ex Grey area drinker and a passionate ambassador for sharing my story and letting other women know what life without booze is really like. It’s not what I thought! And I know that fear of sobriety being ‘boring’ as well as what our friends will think holds so many women back from considering it as an actual life choice. For me and so many other women, sobriety is the biggest secret we’ve ever been let into!

I am based in Perth, originally from the UK and have lived here in Perth over 10 years. I’m a 44 year old mum of 2 and almost 2 years ago I had my last alcoholic drink. I had definitely fallen into the ‘mummy wine culture’ set where there was champagne at every play date and wine at 5pm every day ‘because I deserved it’. My alcohol consumption was steadily increasing and my mental health was steadily declining, though I had no reason at that stage to correlate the two. Even at an appointment to see my GP with mental health issues, I was never asked about my drinking. I was a classic ‘grey area drinker’ and being an all or nothing type person, moderation was virtually impossible for me. I also now know that physiologically, moderation is really hard for so many of us. As I entered my 40’s, my hangovers got worse, my sleep got worse, my anxiety got worse and my relationship with myself got worse. I decided to take a short break from alcohol in 2017 and it literally changed my life.

Over a period of 2 years from 2017-2019 I dabbled with ‘’cutting back’ and ‘moderating’ my drinking but found both impossible both due to lack of support, peer pressure and not fully understanding why it really is so hard to have ‘just one’ when it comes to alcohol. I didn’t identify as an ‘alcoholic’ and did not want to be forced to give myself that label, so I did not attend recovery meetings, but I couldn’t find any other form of in-person support in Australia.
Finally I stopped completely in April 2019. I learnt so much over my 2 years of being ‘sober curious’ that by the time I set the date to completely stop, I had a strong toolkit ready to support me.

Since then I have learnt so much about ‘mummy wine culture’, the impact of alcohol on our mental health, physical health, sleep and overall wellbeing. I also learned about the term ‘grey area drinking which relates to the spectrum someone is at with regards to their drinking, rather than the old school approach of it being “alcoholic” or “social drinker”. The spectrum is broad and many individuals in the middle of this spectrum are struggling with so many of the issues I also experienced, but don’t know where to turn for help.

When I stopped drinking for good, I became a member of many facebook groups for sober and sober curious women but they were all UK based. After discovering there was nothing in Perth in terms of sober meet up groups to support women who wanted to stop drinking, I set up my own meet up group – “perth sober socials” which is growing in popularity and I will soon host an alcohol free cocktail party in Perth. We meet on a monthly basis to socialise without alcohol.

I also host a large online community of over 1600 women across the globe supporting and encouraging each other. One post in my running group letting women know I was running a dry January challenge with daily support to those who wanted it saw over 600 women sign up in a few hours – a clear sign of how many women are truly seeking support but don’t know where to turn.

I also know from my extensive reading that the opposite of addiction is connection and providing women with a safe place to feel supported and connected is the critical part to helping them explore a life without alcohol. I have left my job in the corporate world to re-train as a women’s health coach and launched my coaching practice last year. My first program “rediscovering me’ sold out in 2 weeks. Since then I have commenced a coaching accreditation in ‘grey area drinking’ which I will complete in March. I will then be qualified to coach individuals who are ‘grey area drinkers’ and finding it hard to stop.

So many women are suffering alone when they don’t need to, especially in Australia where the sober movement is much slower in it’s growth.
I am so passionate about spreading the word and supporting women to feel comfortable to socialise without alcohol, handle the reactions of friends and family when they announce they want to stop drinking (this is absolutely critical as often it’s the constant ‘just have one’ and ‘you’re so boring’ that causes us to pick up a glass again) and ride the wave of ‘feeling all the feels’ as we do when we stop drinking. I am also really passionate about sharing that ‘sober doesn’t mean boring’ and I still have a full and active social life, still love getting dressed up and going out and if anything, I am having more fun and living a more fulfilling life than ever before. Sobriety has been the greatest gift.

My online community can be found at “the women’s wellbeing collective” and my website, instagram account and website can be found at slrwellness.

There have been so many benefits to my sobriety which have included weight loss, sleep, energy, improved relationships with my husband and children, mental clarity, positivity, motivation, connections, my skin, my fitness and reconnecting to myself. At 44 I finally know who I am and what I want and I’m not hiding behind a bottle of prosecco. My relationships are more authentic and I have a much more fulfilling and purposeful life. It has been the greatest gift and I am so passionate about sharing this with as many women as possible.