Deciding to change your drinking is a really big step, but often, it’s hard to know which is the right way to go about getting started. That’s why, at Club Soda, we’re here to support you through each step of your journey. From helping you to decide whether to cut down, quit, or just take a break to real-life inspiring stories and low to no alcohol drink ideas. Whatever you feel you need to do to have a happier relationship with alcohol, we’re here for it.
Let’s start from the very beginning, though (a very good place to start). We’ve put together a whole section of our website called (you guessed it) Getting Started. It’s a section packed with our most comprehensive articles and podcasts on how to make those first steps towards your new adventure. Here, we hope you’ll find the answers to questions you might have and tips from people who have gained insights at the beginning of their own journeys.
Getting started with some wise words
At the start of any journey of self-discovery, it’s useful to have some helpful tips. Many of our articles are based on things that our community have learned and like to share with each other about changing their drinking.
Changing your drinking is a process not an event is a great starting point, written by Club Soda co-founder, Laura. This article focuses on the cornerstone of all behaviour change: it is a process that can take different lengths of time, depending on who you are, your circumstances, or even on the physical you. This piece helps you think about the practicalities of this process, ready for you to make that first step.
If you’re ready to give up the booze for good, then How to Quit Drinking gives you all the details about our fantastic course which helps you kick the habit. This article explains how taking this course helps you to deep dive into the planning around giving up alcohol with comprehensive self-assessment and personalised feedback.
Don’t just take our advice, though. Things I wish I’d have known about drinking is an inspirational story written by successful sober millennial Millie Gooch of @sobergirlsociety where she shares the things that she wishes she could tell her younger self about booze.
One thing we all worry about when we change our drinking is how others will feel about our decisions. In fact, it’s common to worry that people won’t find us as interesting or want to hang out as much if we’re not doing what we used to. How not to miss out is a webinar that shows you that although you’ll probably feel some FOMO, you’re gaining far more than you’re missing. And if you’re ready to start showing your friends and family that you can socialise without getting sloshed, How to say no without feeling guilty is a great piece of advice from our weekly Ask Dru content.
Getting started with getting healthy
Changing our drinking is usually part of a broader aim to improve our health. For some people, the hangovers are just too ruthless. For others, though, it can be far more serious. At Club Soda, we don’t intend to provide you with medical advice, but if you are worried about your health, some of our articles can help you to decide whether you should contact your doctor to discuss giving up or cutting back for your physical and mental wellbeing.
If you have become physically dependent on alcohol, then you might be worried about withdrawal symptoms. In this article by co-founder Dru Jaeger, we discuss how your doctor can help you avoid the risk of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms so that you can change your drinking safely.
A topic that seems to go hand in hand with cutting down drinking is about whether or not this will affect our weight. So we decided to give a little insight into the sugar and calories in alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks so that you can consider your consumption for yourselves.
We know how drink can affect our sleep – one too many and we can be passed out early, but then what follows is not so restful. So what happens if we give up drinking and our sleep doesn’t immediately improve? Well, you wouldn’t be alone. Why can’t I sleep? is an article from 2015 that is revisited time and again y new members of the group trying to gain better rest. Coping with drinking dreams is another hot topic in the early stages of changing our drinking.
Getting stuck into some delicious new alcohol-free drinks
Who said non-alcoholic drinks were boring? Nobody, that’s who – with an intensely expanding market for low and no alcohol drinks, there’s a little something for everyone’s taste. Whether you’re looking for a really sophisticated wine for dinner dates, want to explore the huge range of alcohol-free beer and ales, or are intrigued by botanicals and something a little more tropical, you’ll be surprised at the sheer range of fantastic drinks available to you.
As well as our comprehensive piece on alternative drinks to alcohol, we recommend listening to our introduction to low and no alcohol podcast. This is a really informative webinar that we did in November 2020 with Tom from Wise Bartender. If you’re not already familiar with Wise Bartender, then check out this fantastic online shop for low and no alcohol drinks. Laura and Tom take you through an introduction to low and no alcohol drinks, ranging from alcohol-free beers and wines to non-alcoholic spirits, and share much useful information on the way.
We often focus on particular drinks, and on brands and ranges that have just hit the market. You’ll find lots of content like An Introduction to Non-Alcoholic Beer written by our Drinks expert Anja Madhvani. If you’re interested in a particular type of drink or want detailed recommendations, we also have a Drinks category for you to explore.
Still not sure where to start with non-alcoholic drinks? Then why not sign up for our monthly subscription box and let us do all the hard work for you? Each month we release two boxes. One is a wine subscription box, and the other is a discovery box, so you can taste the newest products on the alcohol-free market. We even host online tastings of the fantastic products in your monthly box so that you can ask questions and learn more about the tipples that tickle your taste buds! Our boxes are only available in the UK, but we have information about buying alcohol-free drinks online around the world, and other alcohol-free drink subscription boxes.
Getting Started: Our Top 5 articles
Our aim at Club Soda is to help you cut down, take a break, or quit alcohol for good, if that’s part of your personal journey. We know there’s a lot to get your head around, so if you only wanted to read 5 articles to get you on your way, these are some that we think will really help.