So you've given up drinking. What now?

Drinking alcohol is one of life’s great pleasures... but if you drink like I used to, it can also ruin your life. Stopping can be tricky, especially if your cultural milieu is booze-based. Here are some tips on avoiding the tipples, from my personal experience.

Giving up in order to be more healthy or because you’re sick of hangovers is one thing, but cutting it out because you’re alcohol dependent is another. Putting down the glass can bring its own problems, especially with boredom. Box sets are a good place to start…

Try moderating your drinking first. Keep a chart and write down what you’re consuming for a week or two. It might work out for you this way, and it may also demonstrate that moderation isn’t possible. Stopping straight away can also be dangerous, so consult your doctor on that.

When I got sober, I went to AA. There are other support groups if you have misgivings about its “spiritual programme”. That said, the desire to stop drinking is the only entry requirement, and there are more secular meetings now than ever before.

Having friends you can call upon when you want a drink is important – and preferably not incorrigible old friends who might persuade you to go to a bar. I wasn’t ready to turn my back on the pub for two years after I got sober... and it just made me miserable.

Discovering what you naturally enjoy can make all the difference. I was horrified to discover that I enjoyed walking around art galleries and meeting up for nice coffee. Gigs became even more enjoyable because I could remember what happened when I woke up the next day. 

Alcohol is the go-to social lubricant and, without it, things can feel awkward or even strange. But being lucid, on your game, and even charming, is a reasonable trade-off for feeling a little uncomfortable. You’ll also not burp in anyone’s face or say something you regret.

Be prepared to see things you’ve always loved start to sour slightly, including some friendships. I know someone who’d been involved in football all his life only to discover that he didn’t actually like watching football after all. He’d only been in it for the blowout.

Filling your time with new hobbies is a natural step, but be mindful that addictive personalities tend to find new addictions like running. One of the great boons for me was discovering meditation, which helps regulate compulsive behaviour and heightens meta-awareness.

Finally, it’s worth looking at the roots of your drinking... unless, of course, you drank yourself into a stupor every night just because you liked the taste. For some (like me) drinking was a way of dealing with confidence issues and deep-seated pain. Therapy was the difference.