Lori Massicot:

[00:00:00] Are you ready to take a break from drinking alcohol for a month? Because you're curious about how you would feel if you didn't drink. Why not try a dry July in one of the hottest, most summary months of the year here in the states, why not do something you never thought you would do not drink for the entire month and give your mind, body and soul a break wherever you are in the world.

[00:00:25] This is a wonderful episode for you. If you are ready to take a month off from drinking, a dry month can be fun, can be meaningful and Hey, a bit rebellious. If you let it be. And a dry month takes only one thing to get started. Your decision to go alcohol free for the entire month. Yep. You have the option and you can decide in a matter of seconds by saying I'm not drinking in July.

[00:00:50] Isn't that so cool. You get to choose if you drink or not. In this episode, I will share the origin and meaning of dry July to help spread awareness in my community who dry July [00:01:00] is for and why a dry month matters. We're gonna talk about following your sober curiosity to explore an alcohol free lifestyle for a month.

[00:01:08] Without focusing on forever or even day 31, I will go over the benefits of an alcohol free month and give you some tips to make it a cool experience. I've got you covered in this episode, whether it's July, January, or December 15th, you can create a dry month challenge for yourself. No matter the season or the reason.

[00:01:26] This episode is a simple approach to taking a break from alcohol, coming up for air and discovering new things about yourself along the way. Let's go. Hi there I am Lori mascot and I am the host of T 50 and beyond a podcast for women who are exploring and curious about an alcohol free lifestyle who wanna find more confidence in living alcohol free and aging.

[00:01:52] And I just want you to know that I'm super appreciative for you listening here today. If you're new. Hi, my new friend. And if [00:02:00] you're returning welcome back. My old friend, I am so grateful and honored to be. Part of this sober community. And this podcast has been in circuit of thousands and thousands of podcasts since February of 2018.

[00:02:16] And yet I feel like I'm just getting started or maybe I'm restarting in a way. There is a, a realigning to my mission that has been going on. This year, for sure. I'm gonna record a podcast next week midyear review, where I'm gonna let out some things that I'm thinking and feeling about 20, 22. And there's so many things going on in the world there always is right.

[00:02:38] And I think that when we come together each week and we meet together, We're exploring life. As we get older, it's not always easy. And that's why I feel a lot of camaraderie. I always just picture one gal out there who is listening. And that's the only way that I've been able to do this. When I first started this podcast, I thought there's gotta be one gal out there who [00:03:00] feels alone in her drinking.

[00:03:01] And who really needs to find sobriety as an option. There are women finding the podcast for the very first time women pre midlife in midlife and beyond who are searching for topics like how to quit drinking over 40. You know, we always search the topics that we need to learn more about. And there are women from all over the world who are waking up to sobriety and men as an option, and also finding podcasts for the first time.

[00:03:24] So. As the kids say, I am here for it. I'm proud of you for listening. The number one reason I started this podcast was to bring awareness to living alcohol free later in life, to talk about the things that we don't talk about with our closest people to remove any kind of. Stigma and shame around sobriety.

[00:03:43] We are in this together. Getting sober later in life is a movement and I'm honored to be a part of. And I want you to be O honored to be a part of it as well. Women are sober, curious later in life for many reasons and being sober, curious, according to Ruby Warrington, author of sober, curious, the blissful sleep, [00:04:00] greater focus, limitless presence, and deep connection.

[00:04:03] Awaiting us all on the other side of alcohol man. That's a good subheader and founder of club soda. Being sober curious means literally to choose to question or get curious about every impulse, invitation and expectation to drink versus mindlessly going along with the dominant drinking culture. When you get curious about sobriety, you become intentional about your drinking and you change the relationship with yourself.

[00:04:30] This will happen. This has happened for me. This has happened for so many women, my friends, my clients, you become an investigator and an observer and to your life, why you drink in your drinking habits that have embedded themselves into your subconscious. So you can learn from yourself and you can always again, choose to drink or not you team up with yourself.

[00:04:51] That's how I like to put it. You become a. Who's curious about your wellbeing and you pull yourself out of the same old, same old routine. We [00:05:00] are generation who grew up with the normalization of drinking. Let's face it.

[00:05:04] It was normal to drink before you're 21. It was normal to drink. Every night to unwind. We saw that in our elders and we saw that in people around us. It's the messaging. If you had a tough day, then you drink it's normal to drink. If you're lonely, happy, or sad, frustrated, angry. If you're grieving, if you're just having a really.

[00:05:27] Funky day, have a drink. You deserve it. It's normal to drink, to celebrate, to commiserate and to feel more confident in ourselves to socialize, build relationships and loosen up to have sex. Even when we're married for decades, normal means the usual, average or typical state or condition it's not good or bad to be normal.

[00:05:44] It's not right or wrong. Normal is normal. Most of us strive to be normal. I know I did because it's terrifying to stand out. I don't wanna be different. I don't wanna cause any attention to myself. We fear that we won't be accepted, loved, understood, liked [00:06:00] included, or part of a relationship with even our closest people because of alcohol.

[00:06:05] If we give it up, if everyone drinks out a normalcy, hear me out on this, we'll all get to the end of our lives. And say to our spouse or our sister or our best friend, I wish I had stopped drinking. And they look at you and say, I wish I had stopped drinking too. And then we say, I drink because you drink.

[00:06:27] And then they say you, I drink because you drink. Are you seeing the conversation? Are you feeling it? I cannot imagine any of us will get to the end of our life saying I wish I had more time to drink. Well, what if. because we're not having these conversations that we come here to have with each other. We just don't know what is going on.

[00:06:48] And the people that we are either drinking to please to conform with even strangers, we don't know what's going on in other people's lives. So we have to look within and [00:07:00] we have to align to our path. And our future at 54, I'm terrified of not living a life aligned in my personality, my ideas, my creativity, and my wants and needs my values and my authentic self for that reason, being at the end of my life and realizing that I lived it for others, let's not do that.

[00:07:21] The narrative around drinking alcohol is changing. Like I said, I'm one of many podcasts in the sober community that are out there spreading the word about sobriety.

[00:07:29] People know sobriety is an option for all. Not just for a certain group of people, the problem drinkers, the alcoholics, it is for all. And that is why dry July is such an important event. This beautiful, powerful generation of women and men in midlife and beyond can band together to show our younger generation that you don't have to be normal.

[00:07:49] I'm so on board with that, that it is okay to do what you wanna do and not give in to drinking for others. Our generation has been through a lot of tough stuff. [00:08:00] A month off from drinking. It's a really big deal. It's a really big deal. And is it gonna be easy? Not for a lot of you, but it's something that you can do.

[00:08:11] It is totally doable. The collective wisdom and strength that a band of midlife women have when we come together is unstoppable. Whether you're in person or not, whether you are here, I am with you. There is a band of midlife women who are coming together.

[00:08:28] You may have heard of dry July, either on a podcast or social media and thought it might be interesting to try, or you may not have any idea what dry July is.

[00:08:36] And you're here to learn more about why you would want to spend July dry or you've heard it. You've tried it. And you either got sober because of it. Lots of people have done that, or you lost interest on July 4th and went back to drinking

[00:08:50] either way, what matters most is that you're here and that dry July exists. I wanna spread awareness in my community because a lot of women don't even know that sobriety is for [00:09:00] everyone. I will repeat that over and over again. It is for everyone, the casual drinkers to the problem, problematic drinkers, we all fall on the scale of alcohol use disorder.

[00:09:11] Dry July is a campaign that challenges people to abstain from drinking alcohol for the month of July to support people affected by cancer. The challenge is ran by dry July foundation. I have found this wording and a little bit more that I'm gonna share with you on their website, which is linked in the show notes.

[00:09:29] It's a nonprofit organization that runs the annual dried July.

[00:09:34] The dry July foundation raises money by participants signing up and getting folks to sponsor them while they spend July exploring an alcohol free lifestyle. Remember when you used to do a jogathon, you always had to do, you know, those jogathon back in like elementary school, I'm thinking, and you had to go around and you ask people to sponsor you.

[00:09:53] It's that kind of a thing. And I know what most of you are thinking like, hell no, Lori do not ask me to get my coworkers and my next [00:10:00] door neighbors to sponsor me in a dry July challenge. I totally get it. I'm not asking you to do that, but also why not? you can create a team to support cancer research.

[00:10:12] And I know that I'm releasing this podcast and doing it a little bit earlier than I normally do this week.

[00:10:17] It's very close to July 1st. You can do it. You do not need a lot of prep to get this done, let's talk about cancer for a minute and drinking alcohol and the correlation from the national cancer Institute's website, the national toxicology program of the us department of health and human services lists consumption of alcoholic beverages as a known human car.

[00:10:40] The evidence indicates that the more alcohol, a person drinks, particularly the more alcohol, a person drinks regularly over time, the higher his, or her risk of developing an alcohol associated cancer. Even those who have no more than one drink per day and binge drinkers, those who consume four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for [00:11:00] men in one setting, have a modestly increased risk of some cancer.

[00:11:05] This information is just smart to know. I don't use scare tactics here. No one could have scared me into quitting drinking except myself. I was completely terrified of spending the next 30 years of my life drinking. Since I had drank for 30 years getting the same results year after year, then I was about health risks.

[00:11:22] If we skip over the risks of drinking at any age, we run the risk of letting drinking alcohol and ethanol. Car oxygen known to put you at a higher risk for not only cancer, but also brain damage, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, depression, take over our physical and mental health.

[00:11:41] And I am not going to let alcohol take you down or over. Not on my watch. A dry month could be the opportunity to support something. Really important is cancer research and organizations. And it could be that month where you just say, okay, I am doing this [00:12:00] for myself.

[00:12:00] I'm going to explore what sobriety will do for me and be part of this challenge. . You can do this on your own, knowing that you are an ally of this organization, you can donate on their website and follow the account on Instagram, or just search the hashtag dry July and do your own thing.

[00:12:19] And when you go to Instagram and you go up to the search bar and you type in dry July, you could either put the hashtag sign in front of it, which is the number sign, or you can just type in dry July. It's super cool. And if you're new to sobriety or you're new to Instagram, that is something that you can use as a tool to inspire.

[00:12:40] Virtually and dry July is just a wonderful way to find that comradery if it's virtually or in person, knowing that Marge in Missouri is taking a month off from drinking and Barb in Brisbane is abstaining from alcohol and Kathy in Kentucky.

[00:12:54] Man, she's decided to stop drinking for a month knowing. Is comforting, [00:13:00] inspiring and very helpful. And this is why I can get on board with the dry buns challenge. When I quit drinking, there was nobody I was alone and that's what I chose for myself. In 2013, I went alone. I thought that everybody in the world drank and Lori Ivy mascot was the only one who didn't.

[00:13:21] and I didn't like it. It's yucky just talking about it. Two years later, I found Instagram and then I started talking about it cuz other people were talking about it. I thought, well, shoot, this is so helpful. I love this. It completely changed everything for me. So to never discount the virtual support that you get here is the disclaimer that I wanna share on the dry July website and what I want you to highlight to know if dry July is for you.

[00:13:49] Dry July is a fundraising campaign aimed at challenging social drinkers to change their habits for a month and make some healthy lifestyle changes. We would encourage [00:14:00] people to drink responsibly and stick to the recommended daily guidelines for the rest of the year. We advise heavy drinkers or people dependent on alcohol to speak with their general practitioner before signing up to dry July.

[00:14:14] The definition of a social drinker is one who regularly drinks alcohol in various social settings, but does not allow the drinking to disrupt personal life or create mental, emotional, or physical problems. It's important to know this. This is not something. For you, if you feel like you fall outta that category of social drinker and you know this about yourself and you're not alone in this, a dry January could be harmful to your mental and physical health.

[00:14:42] And I wanna encourage you to talk to a doctor before eliminating alcohol. No matter what time of year it is, you're definitely not alone. I was more than a social drink. At the end of my drinking, when I was in my forties, I was a binge drinker. I would drink bottles in a day, not glasses. I would [00:15:00] typically drink Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then I would be hungover until Wednesday.

[00:15:05] And so I just want you to know that I never want you to go cold Turkey on this. If you feel like you are at. Risk for withdrawals and you know what? You can always reach out to me how hello, [email protected] My email is always in the notes. If you need just some encouragement and support to either make an appointment.

[00:15:25] Check into a rehab facility or just talk to somebody cuz I know what it's like to be alone. Like I said, and, and you don't have to be alone. You're never alone. Not on my watch. Okay. That's the second time I've said that I completed my first dry January in January of 2012. And that's the same premise as dry July.

[00:15:44] You take. January off. I took 31 days off from drinking because I overloaded myself with food and alcohol during the holidays. And I had started questioning my drinking around 2011 ish. What's going on. That's when I was doing all my research, am I an [00:16:00] alcoholic?

[00:16:00] What does this mean? If I am, what do I do? You know, all of these things, I woke up to the fact that my drinking was more than what I thought it was when I started drinking at 14. At that time, I was someone who needed to abstain from alcohol completely, but I didn't realize that until August of 2013, when I decided to eliminate alcohol was no longer an option.

[00:16:23] And when I quit drinking, I didn't know too much about myself. My drinking patterns were something I buried my head in the stand about. I didn't know what was leading me to the drink, why I was drinking, even though I didn't wanna drink anymore. I didn't know what I wanted in life. My purpose. What made me happy?

[00:16:40] All I knew is that I really wanna feel better and more particularly I wanted to stop feeling like I was in a constant loop of feeling bad the same day on repeat. I didn't realize how much alcohol was affecting my mental and physical health. And it wasn't until I stopped drinking. That I was able to [00:17:00] differentiate the difference between the aftermath of alcohol and my baseline, my natural health and wellness.

[00:17:06] That's where I wanted to be. I wanted to know how am I really feeling and women and men from all over the world are discovering an alcohol free lifestyle later in life for many different reasons, and most are giving it up for better health mood. Peace clarity because it doesn't make them feel good.

[00:17:24] They can't process alcohol, like they used to, and they went better for themselves and that's okay. It's okay to want better for yourself. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to realize, you know what, this may be taking on a whole new level at this stage of life. And I wanna get it under control. I want different for my.

[00:17:47] Let's talk about some benefits of a dry month. Taking a month off from drinking can help you. Number one. Know the difference between how you feel without drinking versus drinking. Like I kind of just talked about going alcohol free [00:18:00] later in life is the ultimate self discovery practice. When you drink, you're caught up in the drinking loop that starts with a trigger and a craving, and it ends with the same old stuff.

[00:18:10] The most important benefit as we get older is to determine what is causing us to feel a certain way. You know, you're busy, you've got lots to do and not a lot of time to do it. You fuel yourself by getting through your day, getting to the end of your day and drinking, and you never allow yourself time to ask, why do I feel this way?

[00:18:28] What is happening? And for me, I was in the middle of perimenopause. When I quit drinking at 45, I was in the thick of it. I felt foggy every day, inflamed. Moody a F Ooh, I was moody. I was overweight. I was very stiff all the time. I was tired all the time. I was going through the motions and I did not wanna stop drinking front.

[00:18:54] Let me tell you this. And highlight this, this wasn't me. I didn't wake up and go. I just cannot wait to [00:19:00] stop drinking. I am so looking forward to it, I wanted to buy all the skincare products I wanted to diet and lose weight. I did start exercising the month before I quit drinking. God, let me throw an exercise.

[00:19:14] Maybe that's the missing piece for the past decade. What can I do other than take alcohol out? Because again, I was burying my head in the sand. It was so far down. Once I plucked it up, I. Holy shit. I got to. Take the alcohol out. I gotta give up the drink. And that was one of the hardest realizations of my life.

[00:19:34] It was the best realization of my life, but you see what I'm saying? You don't have to want this for yourself in the beginning. What you're doing is just exploring what it could do for you and finding really how you feel without having the, the after effects of alcohol. And like I said, I drank Friday, Saturday and Sunday towards the end.

[00:19:53] And I was hung over till Wednesday. I mean, I had one good day. And during Thursday, I couldn't wait to drink on [00:20:00] Friday. So it was just that constant loop of the same old stuff. I want you to cherish the knowledge you will learn during a dry month, cuz it can be life changing and then you ask yourself, wow, I'm learning so much.

[00:20:14] I do sleep better when I'm not drinking. I am in a better mood. Pay attention. Number two, you can create better habits taking a month off from drinking, add a new habit that you enjoy. And one that supports an alcohol free lifestyle. And then you're gonna learn more too, about your drinking habits. What is that go to that you're doing that is leading you to that drink.

[00:20:34] You can create a new habit, like an everyday habit of journaling or meditating, or it can be a weekly habit of Saturday morning yoga. So for example, If one of your drinking patterns, your go to is to drink on Friday night, you get to the end of a busy week. You're tired, and this is your pattern. You go out for drinks or you just have your drink at home and you cannot wait.

[00:20:57] T G I F whoop. You could do that [00:21:00] without drinking. There's still T G I F without drinking, you get into this pattern. And what you really wanna do is get up and go to hot yoga on Saturday morning. But, you know, Typically, you may hit maybe one or two classes out of the month, but you are not going every week.

[00:21:16] Like you want to, and you can just create a weekly habit of getting up and going to hot yoga every Saturday. And if you know that you won't go when you're hungover challenge yourself and say in July, I'm gonna go to four or whatever five classes it is. I don't know how many Saturdays are in July four classes in July.

[00:21:34] And then when you do that, then you'll start to notice. Well, maybe I wanna build on another new habit. Maybe after yoga. I wanna treat myself to a coffee or I wanna go and, and do something. Maybe I'll walk on the beach or something like, that's just all part of this really great exploration into sobriety and living alcohol free, all the cool things you can add to your life, not take away.

[00:21:55] Add number three for benefits, the makeover. [00:22:00] Do it for the makeover. Never again. Will you hear from anybody, especially your coworker, Jan, who wants to tell you every morning? Barb, you look so tired. Alcohol is a diuretic. So that leaves you feeling dry sluggish puffy the next day, and greatly impacts your sleep. You're not getting that deep sleep when you're drinking. I notice skin changes within the first 30 days.

[00:22:21] And then I noticed that I was eating better. I was no longer hungover and eating hot dogs in the morning to soak up my alcohol. I was making better choices. I wanted to take better care of myself. And that was a new experience for me. There was a legit. Reason to take better care of myself because I was starting to notice what I was aiming for to feel better.

[00:22:42] I was starting to get these little glimpses of well. Wow. I feel better. So what's what else can I do get curious about what you'll look like at the end of the month? It's okay. I believe that sober glow comes from within, so it's not just about the outside appearances, but I've had lots of clients use this one [00:23:00] as their motivation to stay alcohol.

[00:23:02] Number four, elevate your confidence when you're doing the same thing over and over again, especially if you're caught up in the loop, I'm not drinking today. And then you drink and then the next day you're feeling really bad about yourself. I know that feeling sister, doing this and challenging yourself and not drinking.

[00:23:19] Just take it one day at a time. You do not have to look at the whole month. Just one day at a time. Let yourself be confident. Let yourself say. I'm really starting to accept that I can trust myself and that I can follow through and that I can do this. And number five, it's just about self discovery. Get to know yourself better.

[00:23:40] You are going to. Explore a dry month, but if you do it and you just count the days you're gonna be missing out on all the things that you can learn about yourself, how do you do this? How are you showing up for yourself every single day? What are you learning about not drinking? What are you experiencing a day [00:24:00] after you would typically drink?

[00:24:01] Or what are you experiencing on a day that you would drink and you don't how. Awesome is that you're learning more about yourself, your capabilities, and I hope that you're gonna shift your perspective a little bit about what alcohol really is and why you need it, or why you Don. Okay, let's talk about planning for a dry July.

[00:24:23] You don't have to do all of these suggestions. I'm just gonna give you a few tips to inspire you and create a plan, you know, yourself better than I do. So find something that works for you. Make it really simple and just get started. Number one, my biggest tip. Find your why. All of those benefits that I just highlighted, they are all great.

[00:24:44] But if you don't have a personal reason why you want to explore an alcohol free lifestyle, no matter if it's seven days or 31 days going alcohol free will just be something you say you'll do. And that is when you lose interest quick. I've been there. Fill in the sentence right now. I want to [00:25:00] explore an alcohol-free lifestyle because there's your reason.

[00:25:05] And that is all. You need to take a break from drinking. Number two, get your mindset straight. Remind yourself you are exploring an alcohol free lifestyle for a month. Not forever. Nothing is written in stone. I think this is one of the greatest things about a dry month. You can do anything for a month.

[00:25:23] Focus on what you're thinking and feeling and doing daily, not on day 31 or thinking this is going to be forever. Remember you get to decide if you drink or not. Shift your mindset, reframe this experience for yourself. I'm adding to my life. I am having fun doing this. I'm learning more about myself.

[00:25:42] Number three, get a buddy. Do it ask your best friend Barb to join you if she says no, that's okay. Show Barb how it's done, having accountability, whether it's virtual, like I mentioned earlier and support and knowing that other people are doing this, remember margin Missouri, [00:26:00] it's just fun. And it's very, very helpful.

[00:26:03] Look on Instagram, follow that hashtag and see what you find. Number four, write a celebration letter to yourself that you will open on August 1st. This is a fun tip and something that you really will look forward to write a letter to yourself and tell yourself how proud you are of yourself.

[00:26:21] Be compassionate, set yourself up for progress, not perfection by saying, dear me. I'm so proud that you're trying. I am in awe of your strength and determination. Build yourself up in this letter before you start this and then put it in an envelope. You can put some little heart stickers on it. You can doodle on it and you can just say, oh, yay me.

[00:26:41] And then you can also say, I knew that you could do it. Yes. And then you open that envelope on August 1st, number five, document your month. This is so fun and really. One of the best tools that I have had in my sobriety is the fact that I started [00:27:00] documenting my sobriety from day one. You learn about this alcohol free experience by creating an alcohol free journal.

[00:27:07] You could just get one journal. You can get one notebook, grab your pin some gold stars, stickers to give yourself those gold stars, some highlighters and add in every day. This is how I feel. This is what I'm learning. What I love about not drinking is.

[00:27:25] Or another cool way to document is by taking a selfie every single day. Especially if you're on board with the benefit of the makeover, see the progress, and then create a collage for yourself at the end of the month. And you line up all of those photos. So good. Number six, add some rewards. Yes. You deserve treats.

[00:27:45] And if you're thinking I shouldn't have to reward myself, I should just be able to do it. I get it. But come on. Treats are fun. No matter what age we are and very well deserved going alcohol free for a month, like I said is totally doable, but it's not easy. [00:28:00] Treat yourself friend,

[00:28:01] here's some free treats. The simple pleasure. Plain sheets. Maybe you redo a corner in your home for a peaceful meditation corner for yourself, or you repurpose some things in your home and you just change things up because this is your intention. You're going alcohol free. You wanna change things up and then I'm all for investing.

[00:28:23] In some treats so you can buy fresh flowers every week. That's one of my favorites, maybe a new workout outfit before you start, cuz you're gonna focus on exercise a summer dress, a new Fitbit, a new quit lit book or a personal development. And then also free things that you can treat yourself with. At the end of the week, you could go to that class, that hot yoga class, another thing that you can do for free at the end of the week is to set yourself up with something that you look forward to. We all need something to look forward to, and we're never too old for this kind of stuff. So it could be just a Friday night walk could be a Friday night in your [00:29:00] bookstore, just walking around, browsing, getting that new book, treat yourself.

[00:29:04] You can add a reward daily once a week or at the end of the month. It's up to you. And in case you're doubting, if you're worth this. And that a reward is something that you deserve. I want you to come close right now. My friend, it's just you and me right now come a little closer. You are so worth it. You are so worth this.

[00:29:29] Number seven, create a mantra theme of the month. When I quit drinking, my mantra was whatever it takes and that helped me focus on doing something else, like exercise, writing, cleaning anything, but drink. And through that mantra, I created some new great habits for myself. Also a theme for your month can stem from your reason why.

[00:29:49] So for example, let's say you finish the sentence. I want to go alcohol free for the month because I wanna sleep better. Your theme for July can be sleep. Maybe you start listening [00:30:00] to podcast on the topic, reading a book about sleep or building a better evening routine that helps you sleep. What this does is help you focus on something else rather than I'm not drinking, which is really focused on alcohol.

[00:30:12] The thing that you're taking a break from, what I want you to do is focus on what you are adding to your life during your break. Can't say that enough, here are some of my favorite mantras. Let it be simple. I am capable. I can do hard things. I'm not drinking today. Number eight, track your progress by celebrating your wins.

[00:30:35] Not the day. Say no to a barbecue. You didn't even want to attend because you are focused on yourself for the month of July. Hell yes. Celebrate had a tough day and you didn't drink. Turn on your favorite song and dance. Like no one is watching and celebrate yourself, pat yourself on the back and say, yay me.

[00:30:55] Just like you would a. . We can't expect others to cheer for us.

[00:30:59] When we [00:31:00] learn to cheer for ourselves, we don't need them to, we don't want them to. What do you think? Are you ready to take your break from alcohol? If you are say out loud with me right now, I will not drink in July because, and then fill in your reason on the count of 3, 1, 2, 3. I will not drink in July because I've got too much living to do.

[00:31:26] That's my reason, as I mentioned, you don't have to start a dry month, like dry July or dry January or sober October. You could do it at any time. So if you feel better doing it during a month where you aren't challenged by holidays and events, go for it. Look at a dry month as an opportunity to explore how you feel and what you'll learn about your habits and drinking patterns.

[00:31:46] Not as a test sobriety is not a test. It's a gift that you give yourself later in. Go to dryly.com to learn more. The link is in the show notes. Remember, this challenge is for social drinkers. If [00:32:00] you need support and you just wanna talk it out, please email me. I know you can do this. I am still with you.

[00:32:07] You are a trailblazer and part of the sober movement that is happening, and I'm honored to have spent this time with you. If you're still here at the end of this episode, I applaud you. And I wanna hear from you click the email me link in the episode notes and email me with subject line. Dry July and inside the email, this is your code.

[00:32:29] Add a fist bump emoji to let me know that you are going to explore an alcohol free month, no matter whether you participate in July of 2022 or October of 2025, I want to hear from you and I will send you back a really fun encouraging. I will be back next week with a midyear review episode. Join me by following this podcast or subscribing depending on where you're listening.

[00:32:55] So you get weekly episode notifications, and if you wanna stay in touch with me and my endeavors [00:33:00] that are upcoming, please sign up for my email community to get on the alcohol free habit. Wait list. You can also click the link in the show notes to join that. And I will see you next week. Trailblazer, please take care of yourself.

[00:33:12] Peace.