“I’ve never felt
younger and more
full of life and
with more energ y.
That’s the result,
and that result
is addictive”268 SEPTEMBER 2019
program starts with ditching alcohol. For this reason, Dr Josephine
Previte, a University of Queensland senior lecturer and consumption
and culture expert, says a new group of ‘mindful drinkers’ has emerged.
“People are concerned with the health and wellbeing of their bodies,
and in doing so they’re asking and challenging Australia’s culture of
this almost ritualistic engagement with alcohol.”
For this mindful bunch, whose days are bookended by meditation,
their schedules brimming with spin classes, Pilates, nutritionist
appointments and trips to the farmers’ markets, it’s incongruous to
whittle away that hard work, and remain dedicated to such a schedule,
byoften drinking alcohol.
Making that choice ever-more palatable are the myriad low and non-
alcoholic drinking options on offer, a market which Bon Appétit
magazine estimates could grow by more than 30 per
cent in the next three years. Edwards calls kombucha a
“godsend” for non-drinkers (though it does contain
a smidge of alcohol), while companies like Seedlip
specialise in herbal alcohol-free tonics that would dupe
anyone into thinking it was real gin. Then in June came
the local launch of Lyre’s, a range of 13 crafted spirits
(think classics such as gin, whiskey, dry vermouth and
even absinthe) that are allsansalcohol. “The finest range
of non-alcoholic classic spirits the world has ever seen,”
boasts the brand’s website.
Wellness clubs can also feel more like nightclubs,
thanks to the after-hours roster of dimly lit high-
intensity workouts to the beat of dance floor anthems
from Drake and Kanye. And in Britain, where pubs are as ingrained in
tradition as the monarchy, there are even a slew of new ‘dry’ bars
redefining boozy nights out.
“People want to be at the top of their game consistently and alcohol is
falling foul to that, not only because of the hours that you’re actually
drinking and therefore disengaged and unable to work, but the hours
you’re spending hungover, not able to think straight, not being able to
produce work and make decisions,” says Ruby Warrington, the New
York-based British author ofSober Curious.
According to Warrington, there are many shades of grey on the scale
of alcohol consumption. Historically, we’ve set drinkers into two camps:
so called ‘problem’ drinkers, who might even sign themselves up to
a 12-step program; and everyone else, who fall under the ubiquitous
umbrella of social sippers. Social drinkers, says Warrington, may find
themselves wading through the murky water between what’s
considered socially acceptable drinking, clumsily defined by how many
drinks other people in their friendship group are knocking back per
week, and a bubbling sense that a sharper version of themselves lies in
limiting their intake.
“I was the one in my friendship group who would never drink more
than two nights per week, never passed out, never threw up, never
blacked out, and so many of my friends had far worse consequences, so
[I thought:] ‘I’m fine then,’” explains Warrington. “But then in my head
there’s a voice saying: ‘This doesn’t feel fine.’” For her there was a sense
of uneasiness that arose after a night’s drinking. “If you’re hanging
all of your happiness on your Friday night drink, then that would be
a good moment to take a step back and investigate what might be
underneathsome of those cravings.”
In the name of research and a rising desire to tap out of the drinking
merry-go-round, I swapped bottomless wine for kombucha during
a recent Saturday night dinner with friends at our local Italian
restaurant. As everyone around me ordered drink after drink in what,
to the sober eye, was quite a repetitive loop, I felt two equally powerful
pulls. Firstly, that I would really love a glass of wine in my hand and,
secondly, that I was curiously more present. I eventually took myself
home at 10.30pm, just as the vino bianco tempo was peaking, with the
conversation veering from engaging to trivial (I also had to remind
myself that no-one likes a judgey teetotaller).
As both Warrington and Edwards point out, feeling
on the social periphery in the early days of abstinence
is to be expected. It helps, however, to flip your
thinking from what you’re missing (the dance floor
frivolity, the first-sip head-to-toe warmth) to the small
gains. “There’s definitely awkwardness at first,” says
Warrington. “Your brain’s freaking out, because it’s
going: ‘Hold on, let me have a drink’ and you just need
to keep ignoring it.” Setting expectations among your
friendship group helps, as does swapping in something
alcohol-free between rounds. “Often we can find that
we actually drink quickly when we’re hungry or
thirsty,” says Leo.
Aside from the very real benefits, ranging from sounder sleep, less
anxiety, more energy, weight loss, better hair and skin and a healthier
bank balance, the most conspicuous advantage of less booze is more time.
“When I was spending most of my weekend drinking and sometimes
drinking during the week, it always felt like I was two steps behind the
schedule, and now I’m always two steps ahead and there’s a sense of
relaxation and confidence that comes with that,” says Warrington.
Of course, for every study labelling alcohol as a health risk (the latest,
and most compelling, was the most recent Global Burden of Disease
study, which found that there’s no safe level), there’s another praising
the benefits of resveratrol, an antioxidant in red wine that has been
found to promote heart health. How you choose to act on this knowledge
is ultimately personal. For some, that might mean scaling back mid-
week drinks, or only toasting special occasions, when you know you
will appreciate a good drop. For others, it might be total abstinence, or
savouring just one lolly-coloured cocktail on a night out. For Edwards,
it was during this year’s fashion weeks in New York and London, of all
places, where you can be sure the only thing more abundant than the
clothes is the free-flowing champagne, that she truly reaped the
benefits. “I was clearer and meeting new people and having amazing
conversations and I was attracting people who were sober, and having
all these amazing connections. I’ve never felt younger and more full of
life and with more energy at the age of 39. That’s the result, and that
result is addictive.” ■