Sobriety Rocks - Who Knew! | Janey Lee Grace | TEDxNorwichED

I have a question I'd like you to ask yourself what my life be better physically and emotionally without alcohol it's the question I asked myself regularly the answer was always held yes but I didn't really like that answer I prefer to carry on drinking so come with me back to 2017 or 2016 or in fact 20 years previous to that it's 3 a.m. I've woken up again the ceiling is spinning Oh God how much did I drink oh I had one with luncheon we shared a bottle with dinner or was it two why can't I stop drinking I'm gonna make a deal with God Lord if you're listening please I've got such a busy day tomorrow please let me avoid a hangover and I swear I'll never touch a drop ever again it's 6 p.m. the following day and a much chirpy ur voice is in my ear oh this sums over the yardarm time for a sneaky glass of Sauvignon Blanc its wine o'clock you're not drinking what are you talking about you're not drinking of course you're drinking sober and a gram of Boar's you've had such a busy day you deserve it it's your treat alcohol is good for you I've read it in the press it's good for your heart in moderation so just have one make it a large the first voice that you heard was my conscience the second was the voice of the wine which the Beast the addictive voice in my head you see I had an addictive voice in my head and a former u.s. social worker Jack shrimpie drank heavily for 20 years and he refused to believe that he was powerless against alcohol he founded rational recovery and he wrote a book of the same name and he identified that some people have this addictive voice but if we can recognize it we can assume full responsibility for our recovery I also did not have an off switch when it came to alcohol I absolutely could not stop finally though it was time and I decided to try dry January 2018 fully expecting to start again in February but in fact I never looked back a whole new world opened up to me and I discovered to quote the most perfect book title by author Katherine gray the unexpected joy of being sober just to be clear I didn't ever have a rock-bottom moment I didn't fall from grace I didn't drive under influence I didn't miss a day of work I didn't actually have a hangover so God kept his side of the bargain I was what's known as high functioning high bottom oh how I wish I tried all kinds of therapies over the years I had kinesiology and reflexology I had aromatherapy and craniosacral therapy I saw therapists for EFT and TFT and NLP ABC I saw the GP and sometimes I would ask can you help me I'm worried I'm drinking too much and the answer was always few glasses of wine a night sounds pretty normal to me because alcohol is normalized in our society it is everywhere it is ingrained it's the social glue that sticks everything together from baby showers christenings freshers week weddings parties funerals barbecues celebrations commiserations and everything in between and you see we've been brainwashed into thinking that there are just two types of drinkers there are those at rock-bottom alcohol dependent and there's everybody else happy social drinkers who are just occasionally a bit lightweight and can't hold their beer in fact the reality is very different it's a spectrum I would highly recommend you get off the booze elevator before it hits rock bottom in her excellent TED talk Joline Park identified grey areas of drinking I reckon there's at least 50 shades of grey and definitely not sexy and you know when people do decide to quit the booze so often they're ridiculed sober shamed instead of being congratulated for the sober heroes that they really really are you see there's something wrong with alcohol alcohol is the only drug that we have to justify not taking and you know here's just a few little statistics for you according to alcohol change UK alcohol is linked to 200 illnesses including 7 different types of cancer liver disease is on the increase with 29,000 people suffering and the cost of the NHS is 3.5 billion pounds a year the global Commission on drugs policy found that when you take into account not just harm to the individual but in fact harm to others family breakdown crime impact on the economy impact on the health service alcohol comes out top the number one most harmful drug but I can already hear you thinking below that's not me I don't cause anybody any harm but a recent life search survey found that 24 million people in the UK admit that they self-medicate using alcohol to drink daily to ease their stress and their anxiety and that's ironic really because alcohol is a depressant it doesn't cause mental health issues but it surely exacerbates them there is good news the tide is slowly turning and we're starting to call time on drinking in the UK many Millennials are choosing not to drink at all we have the rise of the sober curious and the mindful drinking movement and this is borne out by the huge rise in popularity in low alcohol and alcohol free drinks brought to us by the big players as well as the artists and bands and breweries and you know people who do decide to give up drinking find some incredible benefits people report better sleep better sex regulated weight they report clearer skin better eyesight who knew and here's a thing sober hair yep luscious shiny looks people report that their anxiety dissipates and they feel notably happier many people say they find a sense of purpose they find that suddenly they can take on new challenges they can start a new career they can form a charity they can write the book they always wanted to write you see alcohol steals your joy it takes away your spirit literally and being sober can make you brave if you did decide to look again at your relationship with alcohol you would be in very good company sober celebrities include to name just a few Zac Efron Kim Cattrall Elton John Russell Brand Zoe ball Brad Pitt I could go on maybe that's why they look so good so I'll ask you again could my relationship with alcohol disappear could I feel better physically and emotionally without it and if the answer is possibly yes then I would urge you to challenge yourself to 30 days 60 days 90 days even better because the detox is good for absolutely everybody but don't try and do it on your own get some support and encouragement and motivation so that you can focus not on what you're giving up but on what you're gaining you see the opposite of addiction is connection and there's so much support out there now it's literally changing we all know about Alcoholics Anonymous and smart recovery but there are online communities such as club soda there's a whole mindful drinking movement including festivals there are dry bars popping up in towns and cities across the UK sober meetups sober morning raves there are sober dating apps and sober karaoke I'd like to try that one there is copious amounts of quit lit that's books about giving up and podcasts so try and form some new habits so that you can forge new neural pathways in the brain I do have just one word of warning for you though when you've been rocking it sober for a few weeks or maybe months you might find yourself somewhere where alcohol is available it might be a bar it might be a party it might be your kitchen and suddenly the wine which will come calling and she'll whisper in your ear well done you you've got this you can have one drink now just the one I'd like you to recall the excellent TED talk by Amy Cuddy your body language shapes who you are adopt a power pose look the wine which in the eye and say here you thank you now [ __ ] off thank you [Applause] [Music]

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 105,311

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Health, Culture, Life, Life Development, Personal growth, Society

Id: NktRXVUmQC8

Length: 11min 14sec (674 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 26 2019