In this solo episode, I recount my experience with experimental sobriety (meaning spending months in a row sober with only a handful of drinks in between) for the past 3 years. It all started senior year of college where I saw the immediate benefits of eliminating alcohol from my life and simultaneously experienced the shame projected onto me by friends and the college drinking culture overall. Through my own personal story, I highlight my biggest learnings, challenges I overcame, and my general thoughts and opinions on drinking, the complicated relationship most of us have with it, and why I think sobriety is one of the most phenomenal teachers available to us. The relationship I have with myself has become rock solid because of my commitment to being authentic even when it’s awkward and uncomfortable —  and I have experimental sobriety to thank for that. 

Be sure to share this episode with a friend and subscribe if you enjoyed it!

**Please keep in mind that this is through the lens of exploring sobriety mainly for fun and for health reasons not related to alcoholism or addiction. Know that my experience is just one possible iteration of the complex presence alcohol has in our lives and I invite you to take what resonates and leave the rest.**

Key Points:

• How the discomfort we have with ourselves has led to enormous social pressure to drink and peer pressure or shame when others choose not to drink.
• The difference between drinking to supplement the experience and having the main activity be drinking.
• My theory on how alcohol suppresses one’s consciousness and presence.
• My experience with drinking so much that I don’t remember things and the alarming lack of consciousness.
• Why you can’t be fully authentic by relying on alcohol to “be more of yourself”.
• What it was like to be sober during my senior year of college, being shamed by friends, and going out while being the only sober one.
• The immediately visible benefits I felt from just one month sober and reducing inflammation.
• How uncomfortable it was to be shamed for not drinking and having to explain myself which then caused shame in others around me.  
• The dynamic of triggering people simply because you are sober and how others will project their insecurities onto you.
• How hitting a mental low in mid-2020 exposed my negative relationship with alcohol and inspired me to do a 3-month sober challenge that produced life-changing shifts and enabled me to spend the majority of 2021 sober.
• Experiencing the difficult side of sobriety and managing the extreme self-awareness that can stop you from enjoying the moment.
• How drinking a lot for the first time in months this summer reminded me of and confirmed the bandaid effect that alcohol has for negative emotions and anxiety.
• How becoming profoundly comfortable with yourself makes sobriety a lot easier and very enjoyable.
• Why using an outside mechanism to cope is just prolonging your healing and stunting your ability to experience your full self. 
• How experimenting with sobriety can provide a beautiful and profound learning experience for coming home to yourself and creating a positive relationship with yourself. 
• Why sobriety gives you opportunities to explore yourself in more contexts because you are fully present and fully aware.

Links:

Bella Solanot on Instagram

100% BS on Instagram

Check out my Substack

Grab some