“I have always been a curious individual, so it was unsurprising that I was ready to explore the hype of alcohol as soon as I could when I was a teenager. As someone who often felt stuck to the floor by the weight of anxiety, I drank to feel lighter. Yet as I grew older, the feeling of lightness waned and drinking didn’t feel worth the cost; the preparation and then the fear that followed what seemed to be a night of forced fun didn’t align with me anymore. As I moved into my mid-twenties, I became intrigued by the world of holistic health and began spending more time outdoors than I ever had before. I lived in Cardiff for a large chunk of my twenties and although it was renowned for wild nights out, I longed for the days when me and my friends would escape the city and drive into the Brecon Beacons for days of wild swimming, hiking and silliness.

So, in 2022 I decided that I wanted to fill my life with more moments of authentic joy by stopping drinking altogether. I spent my first sober summer driving myself to and from the beach for early morning dunks in the sea, and hunted for new coffee shops where I could scribble my overflowing thoughts onto paper. It was incredibly liberating taking myself off to do things that I would have been in quiet awe of before; that one person sat comfortably in a restaurant reading their book or that one swimmer in the sea braving the temperatures. Removing alcohol from my life has allowed me to become one of those people, to push myself beyond the realms of familiar comfort so that my self-assurance could grow.

Now that my emotions aren’t intensified or muted by alcohol, I find it much easier to listen to what it is my mind and body truly need on a day-to-day basis and am currently completing my yoga teacher training. I have spent more time outdoors than indoors, tried countless new classes and swapped chaotic nights for routine-filled mornings. There is no better feeling than waking up with an abundance of gratitude for the small, once mundane, parts of your every day.

I feel called to include a beautiful connection my psychotherapist made when I was telling her about my current routine. I shared that I now go for a walk every morning after waking and the only guidance I give myself is to always walk towards the brightest part of the sky. My therapist’s response was as follows ‘Josie, please use this as your own reminder that you are now instinctively moving towards brighter days and a lighter life’.”