7 things to be grateful for on your Alcohol-Free Challenge – by Ali Roff

This week, many will be celebrating Thanksgiving – offering us the prime opportunity to consider what we are grateful for on our Alcohol-Free Challenge.

Things to be thankful for on your alcohol-free journey:

• The beautiful, crisp winter mornings

• Increased space for new opportunities

• Improved health

• A supportive community

• Increased mental clarity and capacity

• No regrets

• Pride in your achievements

Want to amplify the benefits of going alcohol-free? GET GRATEFUL ABOUT IT! Research has found that practicing gratitude can increase physical and emotional health, form stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure and better sleep, to higher levels of positive emotions and increased optimism, as well as more compassion.

Not only that, but gratitude can also help you achieve your alcohol-free goals by boosting patience and getting you closer to your target by increasing ‘effortful goal striving’ compared to those who don’t practice gratitude.

But feeling grateful isn’t always easy, so if you’re struggling to celebrate the good, not sure of the positives an alcohol-free life has to offer, or are just want to feel good on your alcohol-free journey, here are our seven things to be grateful for in a booze-free life…

The mornings

grateful for the crisp morningThe beautiful, glorious, crisp, cool, bright, early mornings. The mornings that you never knew even existed before – when, even if you were awake, from a little grogginess after a few glasses of wine the night before, to the full blown hangover that inevitably accompanies too many shots and a 5am bedtime, mornings didn’t feel so glorious. Every alcohol-free morning is an easy win when it comes to gratitude, and possibly the first one you notice, because from day one nothing feels as amazing as a crisp, cool, clear headed daybreak in all its vibrancy.

More space

Taking a break from alcohol can free up the time it consumes and monopolises, creating a huge amount of space in our lives for bigger, better, and more gratifying things (and so many more opportunities to feel grateful, hurrah!).

It can be daunting to fill the time we once used to spend drinking when we first embark on an alcohol-free journey – social events often involve drinking, and it can be easy to worry that the nights previously spent out partying will be empty and lonely. But all you need to do is hop onto the OYNB Facebook group to see the amazing things that members in the OYNB Challenge have taken up since starting an alcohol-free lifestyle. Many have taken up fitness and running challenges – 5k’s, 10k’s and marathons, or started yoga. Others have found they finally had time to sign up to the volunteering they had always wanted to get involved in. And many have found they have more time to spend with family and discovered that their relationships improved. They to gratitude here, is to focus not on what you’re missing, but on what you are gaining…

Better health

A few weeks into an Alcohol-Free Challenge, something wonderful often happens in the form of three little words: “You look amazing!”. Drinking causes dehydration and inflammation, which can lead to ageing of the skin, but a few weeks into the Challenge, many people have found their skin bouncing back and their reflection looking visibly younger and brighter. And it’s probably of no surprise that the rest of your body will be in better health too; the NHS website doesn’t mince it’s words when it comes to physical health and alcohol: “Alcohol is a powerful chemical that can have a wide range of adverse effects on almost every part of your body, including your brain, bones and heart.” In short, taking