It’s that time again – time for fun, festivities, and in most cases…lots of boozing! If, like us, you’re living a hangover-free life, don’t worry about FOMO during the festive season. There are plenty of AF fizzes to keep you in the mood to have fun this party season! Keep reading to uncover our favourites…

Our founder Emily Syphas was stuck in a destructive cycle of drugs, drink and unhealthy relationships and now she lives hangover-free. Here’s how…

I started my sobriety journey back in 2018, out of urgency. I was stuck in a destructive cycle of drugs, drinking and unhealthy romantic relationships. My mental health was at an all time low and I knew I needed help. At the time I was working in the nightlife scene in London and literally got paid to party. I knew I needed to make some serious lifestyle changes but wanted to continue doing my job, living my life to the fullest and not have to compromise on my social life. I decided to embark on living an alcohol-free life but not holding myself back because I no longer was drinking.

Was I going to be sober forever? Could I go from a problematic relationship with alcohol to an unproblematic relationship with alcohol? And what does it take to moderate? Do I need to be so labelled for the rest of my life? I started to explore and expand my horizons on different learnings around changing my relationship with alcohol away from full-time sobriety (something that isn’t often spoken about in the sober space). I am also a coach and help others with their relationship with alcohol, but moderation or occasional drinking isn’t something I have ever been able to do. I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of alcohol coming from a now unproblematic space and answer my questions.

I couldn’t find the language to use around my exploration. Did I want to go back to regularly having alcohol in my life? No, but I did want to explore what alcohol means to me so I created the concept of hangover-free living which as a baseline meant I lived a life with no hangovers.

I want to highlight this is going to mean something different for each person as we are all so individual. For some it will mean no alcohol at all and for others it might mean one or two drinks on a night out, but it’s open for you to decide what this means to you (through my exploration period this meant maximum 2 drinks, with food, over a few hours, with people I trusted and no more than twice a month). Crucially throughout this time I still very much saw myself as someone that doesn’t drink rather than someone that drinks alcohol occasionally.

When I talk about hangover-free living, I don’t just mean alcohol. I mean hangover free from regrets, hangover free from anxiety and hangover free from bad habits. It’s about taking your power back and creating a healthier and happier way of living that feels more accessible than having to fit into a label (if this doesn’t work for you).

Sober October is upon us once again, and given the last few months in the world we feel it’s the perfect time to put down the booze for 31 days to reset and reconnect with ourselves. A survey conducted by Alcohol Change over lockdown concluded that more than a quarter of people have drunk more during lockdown, and 1 in 5 people have been drinking as a response to stress or anxiety. It’s a great opportunity to put healthier habits and coping mechanisms in place for the last quarter of the year. We think a month off (although we would suggest 3 months if you want to really feel the benefits of an alcohol free life) is enough time to reap the rewards of better sleep, improved skin, feeling more focused and motivated, improved mood and have more energy. There really is nothing to lose by going alcohol free (apart from the booze) but everything to gain.

To help keep you motivated and on track, we have put together our 5 top tips to help you through a Sober October:

CBD is one of those wellness crazes that doesn’t seem to be going away. And for good reason too; its countless benefits target a myriad of issues. CBD products can be used to treat conditions such as chronic pain, inflammation, migraines, epilepsy, autoimmune diseases, depression, and anxiety. 

Short for cannabidiol, CBD is one of the many cannabinoids, or chemical compounds, found in marijuana and hemp. You’re probably already familiar with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – however unlike its counterpart, CBD is not intoxicating or psychoactive. So what does this really mean? It’s not going to make you high!

There are now an abundance of CBD brands to choose from. But if you’re new to the CBD party, this can be somewhat overwhelming – so we’ve narrowed down our absolute favourites so that you can take your pick from the top CBD brands to help you wind down and relax. 

Mindful drinking can happen in many different ways. It can be deciding to only drink alcohol on special occasions, limiting yourself to one or two drinks on a night out, or drinking lower percentage drinks. Mindful drinking could be checking in with yourself before you drink, asking yourself how you feel, and making sure you only consume alcohol when you feel good. It could be not drinking alcohol at all and literally being mindful that you don’t want to drink anymore.

See below our top tips for being a mindful drinker in 2022:

Let’s talk about the magic of mushrooms. And no, not the ones that probably come to mind! While magic mushrooms are definitely growing in popularity as a form of healing within the wellness world, mushrooms can be magic without having any psychedelic properties.

Using mushrooms for medicine and for their incredible properties isn’t a new thing. They’ve been used by our ancestors for centuries. However, we’re now fortunate to have so many brands popping up that feature mushrooms as one of the core ingredients to help enhance our daily routines and wellbeing practices.

Summer is on its way! And we don’t know about you, but we can’t wait for days in the sunshine with friends featuring an AF drink in hand!

However, we also know sunnier days can be triggering for some, so we wanted to remind you of the fabulous benefits of an hangover-free summer season.

When it comes to living a booze-free life, the stigma is unfortunately VERY real.
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​You may have been met with weird looks when you say you’re not drinking, been called boring, or just felt overwhelmed by the amount of alcohol advertising you see everywhere. 
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​Living a booze-free life in a society that is built for getting boozy is tough. But there are things we can all do to help tackle the stigma…

There is no magic wand when it comes to living your best booze-free life. However, one of the most powerful tools you can learn to harness…is the art of saying NO.

Get comfortable saying no to things that you don’t want to do, to people that don’t make you feel good about yourself, to situations that you find triggering, to situations where you want to say because that’s what everyone else is doing

Learn to love saying NO. Here are five things to start saying no to on your booze-free journey…

It’s a cliche, but it’s so true: the best and longest relationship you’ll ever have is with yourself.

​Getting to know the real YOU, why you think the way you do, why you act the way you do, why you feel the way you do – that’s the true secret to living your most fulfilled life.

​And you know what’s guaranteed to get in the way of knowing yourself on a deeper level? Yep, that’s right: ALCOHOL.

​We don’t need to tell you the HUGE number of benefits of breaking up with booze, but this has to be one of the best. It can be terrifying, but it’s so worth it.

​Learning to love yourself starts with KNOWING your true self and ditching the drink is the perfect starting point. Get used to spending time with yourself. Get used to embracing those uncomfortable moments where the voice in your head doesn’t say what you want it to. Build a real, fulfilling relationship where you can truly LOVE YOURSELF.

Here are our top five tips: