The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
The Next Round: What happens after you change your drinking?
With increased awareness regarding health in general making us more conscious of our good and bad habits and our overall well-being, we thought we’d share our top articles about Men’s Health for Men’s Health Week.
This year, Men’s Health Week runs from the 14th to the 20th June in the UK – catch our articles this week including Dougal’s inspiring story and the upcoming Ask Dru article where Dru considers why men tend to drink too much.
But it’s not just this particular week of the year that we care about men’s health. At Club Soda, we’re constantly guiding and advising men on how to live more mindfully, help to change their drinking habits to fit a healthier lifestyle, and discuss how to overcome the obstacles and complexities of being a mindful drinker in male environments. There’s still a very worrying gap between the genders when it comes to asking for help with our health, and we’re always keen to be a part of the conversation when it comes to improving men’s health.
Here’s a round-up of some of our top advice and guidance from the last few years. Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic on our social media pages and tag #menshealthweek!
Our 2018 Men’s Health Week piece featured Club Soda co-founders Laura and Jussi discussing some of the ways in which men seek help differently when it comes to health and alcohol issues. Laura discusses her Dad’s attitude towards his drinking from an outsider’s perspective looking in at someone they love, and Jussi talks frankly about his story about quitting alcohol and implementing more mindful and healthier practices into his life. The key lessons learned here is that although we all find different ways of reaching our goals, our actions and tactics are actually very similar – take a look at this thought-provoking webinar discussion from our very own team.
Men’s Health Week in 2018 coincided with Diabetes Week, and so we took the opportunity to raise awareness around preventable health problems and how to take action regarding pathology and addiction. Basically, rather than subscribe to the typical bloke “man flu” hypothesis, we discuss how men can take control of our own health and be proactive about our mental and physical health rather than turn to drugs or alcohol to mask symptoms.
This article is particularly interesting as it deals with how a change in perception and mindset can help both physical and mental health symptoms, and our anonymous guy interviewees give some really interesting insights into how to go about achieving better health while cutting down or quitting alcohol.
2019 saw us posting a guest blog from the brilliantly named The Plastered Prince. The article was as inspired as the name, focusing on how you can seem ‘healthy’ on the outside, but no amount of muscle-flexing could fix the damage not seen on the inside. As our guest blogger admits, cancer, liver, and heart disease weren’t even on his radar. ‘Waiter – another bottle!’. With some eye-opening statistics and more than one motivational maxim, this simultaneously hilarious and hard-hitting piece from The Plastered Prince is well worth a reread.
There’s much room for improvement when it comes to giving men advice on alcohol-related issues and helping men to speak out about health issues that can be affecting us. We’re less macho and more mindful when it comes to our approach to men’s health as you’ll see from the male-orientated content below.
Let’s be honest, both men and women deal very differently with stress, but the one thing we have in common is that we’re prone to pushing the “fuck it” button when we’re stressed. That’s where we often turn to addictive substances to block out overwhelming feelings. Learning to deal with stress is a major contributing factor to helping control our urges and keeping our complacency in check. If you’re feeling stressed and anxious this Men’s Health Week, then this article is for you.
Are you a new Dad and want to be more present for your new role? Rob Fink made some lifestyle changes to react to his new family responsibilities and found that the range of options available to him at the time really weren’t cutting the mustard. Big Drop is now flooding the alcohol-free beer market with over two million bottles sold in twelve countries. This article just goes to show that changing your drinking habits really can change your life….and other people’s lives as well. Cheers to that!
Marcus Barnes is a journalist, Club Soda member and has a few years of sobriety under his belt. This article is one of three pieces that Marcus wrote for us discussing some of the barriers that men experience when they’re changing their drinking. If, like Marcus, you’re wondering why men have been socially conditioned to suppress emotion, and you find that it’s pushed you towards unhealthy drinking habits, then this article as well as others from Marcus could resonate with you. This article is a transcript of a podcast we did with Marcus – keep reading for more inspiring men’s podcasts.
If you’re on the go and you’d rather listen to discussions regarding men’s health, then here are our top picks of podcasts about men, masculinity and drinking – don’t forget to check out our latest podcasts for general advice and discussions with some pretty inspiring people.
In a community where you’re more likely to hear the voices of women, this podcast amplifies the voices of men who have chosen to drink mindfully, and we think that there’s lots to learn from these discerning discussions.
Luke shares his experience of loss, anger, and how he pulled himself out of emotional shutdown to face his demons. A very inspiring listen!
One of our longest standing members and Club Soda Facebook admin (and all round sober superstar) Butch shares how he not only overcame his problem drinking, but how he takes time to celebrate his sober milestones to support and inspire those at the start of their mindful journey.
If this round-up has made you think about how you can change your own health for the better, then why not sign up for one of our free courses? Changing your drinking can be daunting, so we’ve put together a course that helps and supports you as you consider your first steps – How to Change Your Drinking is free, connects you with a community of like-minded people, and can help you change your drinking – and your health – your way. Join us today!
Join Club Soda for 10% off your first order of drinks for UK delivery. Plus get our latest news and special offers for members to choose better drinks, change your drinking and connect with others.
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