Ever felt judged or misplaced because you said 'no' to that glass of wine or can of beer? Or perhaps you're the one throwing the party and want to make your sober friends feel included? Buckle up for an episode that provides useful and practical advice to navigate the social landscape as a non-drinker, and tips to party planners on how to respect and accommodate their sober friends. We shed light on the social challenges faced by non-drinkers and share insights on how saying 'no thank you' to alcohol is a complete response that requires no further justification.
Our second segment is an absolute treasure trove! We explore two amazing resources - one free, one paid - that could prove instrumental in your journey to discover the level of sobriety that is right for you.
Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
Ever felt judged or misplaced because you said 'no' to that glass of wine or can of beer? Or perhaps you're the one throwing the party and want to make your sober friends feel included? Buckle up for an episode that provides useful and practical advice to navigate the social landscape as a non-drinker, and tips to party planners on how to respect and accommodate their sober friends. We shed light on the social challenges faced by non-drinkers and share insights on how saying 'no thank you' to alcohol is a complete response that requires no further justification.
Our second segment is an absolute treasure trove! We explore two amazing resources - one free, one paid - that could prove instrumental in your journey to discover the level of sobriety that is right for you.
Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss an episode!
Welcome to the Catholic sobriety podcast mini-soad. These shorter episodes provide quick tips and information that you can refer back to when you need it most so you can achieve and maintain your desired level of sobriety. I am your sobriety coach and host of this podcast, kristi Walker. Let's get started. In today's episode, I have something for the non-drinkers and the drinkers. So, first of all, if you have decided to drink less or not at all, I have four things that you could do to navigate events or parties or social gatherings without drinking. And then, after that, for our friends who are party planning, I have four things that non-drinkers want their friends to know. So let's dive in. Since this is a mini-soad, we need to get to it right away. So first we're gonna start out with four things that you can do, as a non-drinker or someone who is looking to reduce or eliminate their alcohol consumption, to navigate social situations. The first thing I want you to remember is that you are not alone. You might feel that way. You might look around the room and think, oh my gosh, I'm literally the only person not consuming alcohol right now. But even if everyone seems to be drinking, I can tell you that your example of not drinking and your ability to stick to it can be an example that will inspire someone in the future. So you may have a friend who is struggling. Maybe she's worried about her drinking. Maybe she is wondering if it's becoming a problem. If she can see you show up and not drink and still have a good time and be the same fun person you've always been, that will inspire her and it will help reduce some of that fear that comes up when people think about not drinking. A lot of times they're like what will I do at social situations? That's like. The main thing that my clients come to me with is like how am I going to navigate social situations? What am I going to say if they keep offering me drinks and all of those things? So we work through that, but I want you to know that your example can inspire others.
Speaker 1:
Number two one of the things that I've learned is just to keep a drink in your hand. So, of course, non-alcohol, non-alcoholic drink is what you want. I usually go for a sparkling water and a splash of lime in like a pretty glass. If you order it and they give it to you in just a regular glass or something that looks like a water glass. You can ask them to put it in a nice glass like one that they would use for cocktails, and I've never had anyone turn me down on that. It's just festive, it's fun. Plus, it keeps you feeling like you're part of everything, and having something in your hand also can prevent people from continually asking you if you would like a drink.
Speaker 1:
Number three know what you want to order ahead of time. So if you kind of have in mind that maybe you would like to try some fun mocktails like I like mojitos, virgin mojitos or you know, I don't know what else do I like? I usually just do sparkling water with a splash of cranberry juice. I also love non-alcoholic beers or wines and a lot of places have those now. They carry more than one quite often. So just kind of keep in mind what you would like to have when you first get there, look over the menu and decide what sounds fun to you. And then also, I highly recommend going and listening to my it's not my last episode, but two episodes ago episode 49 on navigating events by having a party protocol. So go there and that will help you develop a party protocol so that you can plan and be prepared.
Speaker 1:
And then the fourth thing I want you to do is just keep reminding yourself that you are building your sober muscles. So if it feels really hard for you, that's okay, it's going to. It's like first day at the gym, it's hard. Second day at the gym still hard, Maybe even a month at the gym it's getting easier. But you are continuing to build that muscle and as you build that muscle, it just gets easier and easier and you get stronger.
Speaker 1:
So now we're going to move into the second part of this mini-soat, and that is four things that non-drinkers would love for their friends to know. The first thing is we aren't judging you, just like we don't need to explain our choices to drink or not drink, or to never consume alcohol, or to only do it once in a while. You don't have to explain your choices to us and we don't expect it either. So let's just clear the air we are not judging you and we know that you're not judging us. Number two yes, we are having fun A lot of times, people who drink.
Speaker 1:
They just don't think that we're having fun if we don't have a drink, or they are so super sweet and go out of their way to make sure that we have whatever we want to drink. So they might be like oh, do you want a soda? No, thank you. Do you want a this? No, thank you. Do you want that? No, thank you. Just, we'll let you know what we need if we need it, and we appreciate your care and concern and we absolutely love you for it. Also, if you can plan some activities that don't revolve around alcohol, that would be amazing.
Speaker 1:
So, whether you have some board games or dancing or video games or I don't know, maybe like a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt, something creative and fun. I just saw some fun Christmas games where they had okay, I don't like cotton balls, but this game looked really fun. They had a whole bunch of cotton balls on a table and the person was blindfolded. They had a spatula and a paper plate and they had to get as many of the cotton balls on the plate as possible. Whoever got the most won. So fun little games like that are great.
Speaker 1:
Number three if we say no thank you, you don't need to keep asking us Like that's a complete sentence. We're saying no thank you, don't ask anymore. If we need anything, we know that we can ask you and we know where to find you. And number four, we will love you forever if you give us some fun non-alcoholic options and affirm our choices not to drink. So, as I said before, you know, it's great to have some fun things like non-alcoholic beers, non-alcoholic wines, non-alcoholic spirits so you can make mocktails, even have non-alcoholic champagne. So having low alcohol or no alcohol options are great for those who aren't drinking. It's also great for those who are drinking because then they can transition from the regular alcohol to the non or lower alcohol but still have those festive adult beverages and not feel like they're missing out. At the same time they aren't dealing with the effects of over consumption, but again, just having great sparkling water, fun drinks in pretty and fun glasses, having maybe even some mint leaves or lime slices, and things like that are always wonderful.
Speaker 1:
Before I close, I wanna tell you about two things If you are a woman looking to reduce or eliminate her alcohol intake. The first is my sacred sobriety five day kickstart. It's free and it takes you through five days of discussing my pearl method how to stop making snowballs and start cultivating precious pearls so that you can manage your mind around alcohol and get clarity and confidence around your drinking. So, whether you choose to drink or abstain. You can do that from a place of peace. Again, that's free. You can find the link in the show notes or you can go to my website, the Catholic sobriety coach, and you will find it there.
Speaker 1:
The second thing is a program that I just launched called the sacred sobriety lab. I talked about it in my last episode, episode 50. So if you wanna learn more about that, please go over and listen to that episode. But if you are looking for authentically Catholic tools and resources to help you achieve and maintain your desired level of sobriety in a way that glorifies God and honors your faith, then the sacred sobriety lab is what you've been looking for. So we are going to not look at our drinking or alcohol consumption from a place of judgment. Instead, we are looking at it as scientists, which is why it is a lab and we're testing and trying. Now.
Speaker 1:
The great thing about this is there are no rigid rules. I will not be telling you when to drink, how to drink or how much to drink. This is something that you are going through and making the choices that are right for you. So some of the modules that are included first of all, we do preparation with the Holy Spirit. We start with a Holy Spirit Novena, and I give you some other information. The first module is managing your mind. Second module is you are not made for comfort, which is on our spiritual gifts, and the third is your North Star, where we dive into your why. The fourth is caring for your castle interior and exterior. And the fifth is this is only the beginning, where I talk even more about navigating social situations, and then I have tons of bonuses in there as well.
Speaker 1:
So the exciting thing is is I have a founding members price which is good only through December 31st 2023. So if you want to get the Sacred Saberati Lab at the best price it'll ever, ever, ever be, I suggest doing it before December 31st. You can use it whenever you want. You can start it after the first of the year. If you want, you can start it during Lent. If that appeals to you more, you do it. However works best for you, but I don't want you to miss out on this price. The price will be going up. You will have lifetime access to the course and any additions, enhancements or improvements that I make to the lab you will have access to that, which is super exciting.
Speaker 1:
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about those two amazing resources one free, one paid and if you have any questions, reach out to me. I'm here for you. Well, that wraps up today's episode of the Catholic Saberati Mini-Sode. Thank you so much for joining me and please be sure to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss a thing. And remember I am here for you, I am praying for you. You are not alone.