If you tell someone you've managed to stop smoking you will get a big pat on the back, well done, you have ditched an addictive drug. Very few people, apart from Mrs Doyle in Father Ted, will talk you into having a cup of tea. When it comes to refusing a glass of prosecco, reactions are very different indeed. Why? Why on earth are you refusing? You can make an excuse, say that you're driving, on antibiotics, doing Sober January, on a health kick, trying to lose weight. After a while the excuses run out and your friends become suspicious. Some will be subtle about it, others will be very direct: Are you an alkie then?
Ok, say you admit that you are concerned about your drinking and have decided to stop altogether. Then you get a variety of responses too. But you'll be drinking on your birthday, won't you? What about Christmas? You were never that bad, just cut back a bit. That's at the gentler end of the spectrum. Some of your friends will accuse you of spoiling everyone's fun, of ruining the party, the Christmas, the occasion. Some will decide to drop you from their social circle completely. You might start to feel like a social pariah.
Meanwhile you have started to enjoy the benefits of living your life free of alcohol, free of the head chatter, the will I or won't I? Your skin is clearer, your sleep is better and you never have a hangover. You start to perform better at work, be more present with your partner, your children, your family.
You want to tell your friends about it, share the magic, like you would tell them about an amazing diet, a wonderful new activity that everyone can enjoy, but you risk their negative reactions, so you keep it to yourself.
AF Loud and Proud wants to make living AF something to be proud of, something to shout out from the rooftops, because it is authentic, it is exciting, and it is very far from boring. Help us to spread the word and give credit where it's due to those with the courage to bin the booze.