EP 198: Reader Question - Alcohol free drinks? Are they OK?

Sometimes it feels like an alcohol free beverage would take away the awkwardness of social situations. Other times, it feels like an AF beer would help erase some of our cravings. Is this okay? Find out what Annie has to say about this commonly asked questions. Subscribe to This Naked Mind on YouTube -

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Alcohol Free Beverages
I think, for me, how I would answer it is that, if you feel that alcohol free beverages are fine for you, then I think they’re fine for you, and so it really has to be an individual response. And I think that’s really important here. For me, once I stopped drinking, I lost the taste for one. So I haven’t tried any alcohol free wine. It’s not really that I’m opposed to it or anything, it’s just that I haven’t had any desire or occasion to try it, so I just haven’t.

There was once, over this last summer, where I was at a wedding, and everybody was ordering a drink or whatever, and my great uncle always is drinking alcohol free beers, he’s not drink beer in 40 years, or something crazy like that. I joined him and I had an alcohol free beer, and it was weird because it made me feel really disingenuous to myself, and this is because it looked like a beer. Like it was in a beer bottle, and everyone at the wedding, you know, it was my family’s wedding, so everybody knew that I no longer drink and that I had, in fact, written this book about no longer drinking.

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What Works For You
I felt like I needed to have this sign around my neck that said, “This beer doesn’t have alcohol in it, it’s alcohol free,” and it left me feeling really uncomfortable. So personally, instead of helping me fit in, it just made me feel awkward, and like I wasn’t being true to myself, and like I needed to explain myself to people. Not to mention that the beer just gave me a ton of bubbles in my stomach and that didn’t feel nice at all, so I felt really uncomfortable in that way. So I switched to a Shirley Temple, and they’re sugary but they’re delicious, and I enjoyed the night so much more after that.

Is It Helping You?
Many readers report that alcohol free drinks really help them. They help them bridge the gap between drinking and not drinking. They help them replace the habit with something that was once really habitual to be drinking alcohol on a regular basis and now you’re not, how do you replace that habit? Especially when you’re not really into the sugary drinks, and it gives them some type of satisfaction or relaxation. That’s great if it’s working for you, do what it takes to get yourself healthy and happy about this.

You know, others report it helps a ton with just feeling part of things when they’re out at the pub, and if they have a drink at hand it just kind of takes the pressure off, and it takes attention away from the fact that they’re not drinking. Which, they might not be on, you know, a rebel with a cause sort of thing. They might be just really trying to fit in, and trying to keep it together, and I think that also is a great benefit.

Keep Listening
Tune in to the complete podcast to hear what else Annie has to say about alcohol free beverages!

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