Why I Stopped Drinking Alcohol

I’ve just completed a 30-DAY ALCOHOL EXPERIMENT.

No alcohol (in my case, wine) for 30 days.

My intuition had been nudging me to stop drinking for a while now and right around the holidays, I felt it was time.

When I embark on my journey to glow 2 years ago, I knew I’d have to make some changes if I was to heal my skin. I made a lot of dietary changes to support my skin’s healing, but wine was the one thing I was holding on to.

Even though I knew about the statistics (alcohol is a known carcinogen, it will mess up your hormones, your sleep and your clarity of mind) I wasn’t ready to face the facts.

Many women in my doTERRA community were modeling an unwavering commitment to living AF. Thought leaders in the field of holistic medicine — women I trust and admire —  were also speaking out about the negative side-effects of alcohol. These women courageously admitted that they just couldn’t stick to the 3 glasses of wine a week, the maximum safe dose for women. Every time I read their posts, my little ego mind would rebel and come up with excuses as to why I was the exception to all the rules.

But deep down, I felt a deeper calling. A calling for more energy, a clear mind, better sleep and yes, clear skin.

A deeper calling to show up fully in my life. A calling for more presence, a deepening into my purpose, mission, and vision.

Surprisingly, quitting alcohol wasn’t that hard even though it was part of my evening rituals for years. That shows how easy and effortless lifestyle changes can be when we feel 100% in alignment with a decision.

There’s something really powerful about feeling an inner call for change. This feels very different than “discipline” or forcing a new habit to take shape. It’s an inner shift that organically creates the space for change to occur.

One exercise I did at the beginning of the experiment was to list the pros and cons of drinking. I was surprised to see that I only had half a dozen pros and 36 cons! When you see it on paper, it’s hard to deny the facts that alcohol isn’t serving you!

I’ve never considered myself an emotional drinker, nor an alcoholic. For me, wine was part of my evening ritual of cooking and enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day.

Even though I didn’t consider myself addicted to alcohol, I quickly realized that I was addicted to the sugar IN the wine. Through my research, I discovered that alcohol is highly addictive not just emotionally but physically. I had never considered that that was the reason why breaking the habit had been so difficult.

Now that I’ve successfully completed the 30-Day Alcohol Experiment, I’m ready for the next phase: I’m going for 365 days AF and I’m excited at the new possibilities this journey will bring.

I’m not saying that I will never drink again. But right now I feel so clear and strong in my resolve that wine just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.

This shift in perspective has also enabled me to see how much alcohol is EVERYWHERE: in the tv shows and movies we watch, in every celebrations, parties, get-togethers and networking events. Our society is glamourizing alcohol and I think it’s time to rethink the true benefit of drinking or at least to question our habits.

Please do not read this post as an invitation for you to stop drinking although if you feel called to, I’ll cheer you on. This is not about judgment, I’m not judging anyone who drinks and I’m not judging myself. This is about self-exploration and doing what feels right for us on our journey to glow.

In case you’re curious, here are some of the cons from my list:

1. Waking up in the middle of the night to pee or from alcohol induced anxiety, then staying up because I can’t fall asleep anymore
2. Waking up tired (which is the worst)
3. Lack of energy during the day, need to nap at 3pm
4. No energy to exercise
5. Weight gain
6. Homonal imbalance
7. Feeling like I’m operating on low battery or that my battery never fully recharged
8. Lack of clear focus
9. Shiny object syndrome (because I couldn’t focus my attention)
10. Dehydrated skin
11. Breakouts
12. Rosacea more “red”
13. Sluggish liver, bad digestion
14. Feeling bloated
15. No patience, mood swings
16. I’m someone with high positive energy and I want to live life to the fullest! You need energy for that!

If you would like to dive deeper into how you can start eliminating foods that you may have a reaction to, listen to this podcast episode.

Love & light,
Caroline

PS: If you end up writing up your own list, feel free to get in touch on Instagram if you’d like to share your results!