In this episode we welcome back one of our all time favourite guests to the podcast to kick off Sober October, author of Alcohol Explained, William Porter!

William's book played a huge part in Shazza's own sobriety journey - she read it early on and it made so many things click for her. He also played a big part in Ben's because when William first came on the podcast, Ben was moderating - but chatting to William was one of the big things that made him think he should give this full on AF thing a proper go!

In this conversation we talk about alcohol's influence on society as a whole, about why people who have been AF for a long time may experience a blip, and also about why more isn't being done by the people in charge when it comes to educating the public about the dangers of alcohol.

Of course, if you'd like to hear more about William's own story, scroll back to Series 2 and listen to the first episode we recorded with him - all the way back in October 2020!

We couldn't think of anyone better to kick off Sober October with, so thank you again to William for his time. If you're sober curious and doing Sober October, don't forget you don't need to do it alone! All the information you need about joining our community is below.

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Of course, you can always get in touch with us (publicly or privately) on our socials - @alcoholfreepod on Instagram, or search for "Over The Influence" on Facebook.

We'd love to hear your story - please get in touch with us directly at [email protected] or go to our website, www.overtheinfluence.co.uk

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If you love OTI and you'd like to hear behind the curtain, subscribe to the OTI Premium Podcast now!

Released every Monday and exclusive to subscribers and OTI Community members, the Premium Pod is Sharon and Ben talking through even more topics surrounding alcohol-free life, from how to not just survive but enjoy AF holidays to alcohol free dating!

Subscribe now! Released every Monday, cancel any time - just £5 per month.

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Over The Influence is produced by Ben Anderson for Sound Rebel.

Sound Rebel works with businesses, brands, charities & other organisations across the UK - go to soundrebel.co.uk now to find out how podcasts could help you to tell your story to the world.

If you feel as if connection with likeminded people would help as you try life without alcohol, join the Over The Influence Community now - and we can't wait to meet you!

For links to alcohol-related support services, please visit our website.

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All views expressed in this podcast are of the participants themselves, and not necessarily those of Over The Influence (OTI) Ltd. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this podcast is done at your own risk. We are not medical professionals but normal people giving their own experiences of removing alcohol from their lives, and as such this podcast should not be considered professional advice. If you are dependent on alcohol, or think you may be, we strongly recommend that you seek professional medical advice.

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We found hashtags and sober social media accounts really helpful in our early days alcohol free, as following them can help to reinforce that you are not alone! 

These are some of the hashtags we've followed:

#alcoholfree #stopdrinking #healthandwellnessjourney #zeroalcohol #idontdrink #sobercurious #healthydrinking #alcoholfreelife #soberaf #alcoholfreeliving #sobermotivation #podcast #healthpodcast #noalcohol #nobooze #sober #sobercurious #soberlofe #soberliving #sobercommunity #afcommunity #soberwomen #sobermom #sobermomtribe #sobersisters #sobriety #soberuk #soberjourney #sobrietyrocks #overtheinfluence #oti