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Drinking alcohol may trigger hot flushes and exacerbate mood swings in the menopause but cutting back can be hard. Author and wellness influencer Rosamund Dean shares the tips that have worked for her.
Anyone going through peri/menopause knows that the symptoms – from hot flushes to brain fog; dry skin to low mood – can be exacerbated by booze. It’s little wonder that many of us are trying to drink less alcohol, but it’s easier said than done if you’ve spent your entire adult life associating alcohol with socialising, relaxing, celebrating and commiserating.
I wrote my book, ‘Mindful Drinking: How Cutting Down Can Change Your Life’, because I started to realise that will power alone wasn’t enough to help me moderate my drinking. I needed a plan, with troubleshooting tips and strategies to make drinking less alcohol easier. This is what I’ve learned.
Consider why you drink alcohol. Is it social anxiety? A way to manage stress, anxiety or loneliness? Or is it habitual, and you can’t imagine your evening without a glass of wine? Then consider why you want to drink less alcohol. Is it to have more energy or focus, improved memory, less anxiety, glowier skin, better sleep or a stronger immune system? Understanding why you drink, and why you want to cut down, is a vital first step.
It’s daunting to rock up to a social event without the comfort blanket of a drink, so come prepared. See the menu in advance so you know which alcohol-free drink you’re going to order, and plan what you’re going to say to anyone who questions your choice. Focus on the benefits of having your wits about you in a social situation and remember that sober socialising takes practice. Once you start doing it and realising that you can, your confidence will increase.
They say what gets measured gets managed, so download an app to keep track of your drinking. There is Dry Days, Try Dry or Reframe, all of which will give you the satisfaction of ticking off another alcohol-free day. And if you have any friends who are also trying to stop drinking or moderate their drinking, then form a little sobriety support circle, where you keep each other updated on how you’re getting on.
Gone are the days when not drinking alcohol meant sadly sipping a tepid orange juice. Now there are so many great options.
Once you find an alcohol-free drink that you love, lean into the ritual of it. If you’re finding it hard to break the habit of an evening gin and tonic, you’ll be amazed how creating the same ritual with an alcohol-free version, such as Seedlip, scratches the same itch. Use nice glassware, pop out some ice, slice a lemon, and you’ll start to see that it’s less about what’s in the glass and more about what’s in your head.
If you have an evening where you fall off the wagon and drink more than you intend to, then it’s easy to wake up feeling like you’ve ‘failed’ and slide back into old drinking habits. Instead, see it as an opportunity to identify the people, feelings or situations that lead to you drinking more, and learn from it for next time. It will get easier, I promise.
Picture credit: Jacquetta Clark
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