At Lyres we love to support like-minded people. That’s why we’ve partnered up with Vic and Lucy from the Sober Awkward Podcast. These two ex-binge drinking party girls really do tell it like it is and certainly bring some humour to the sober and alcohol-free community.
We caught up with them to find out why they started the podcast and what giving up alcohol means to them.
Australia based Sober Influencer Victoria, has been logging her sobriety journey on her website www.drunkmummysobermummy.com for over two years.
Her tales of misadventures into parenting and sobriety are brutally honest and often hilarious. Jokes aside, Victoria believes that people are becoming more aware that binge drinking is affecting anxiety and mental health globally. Her blog urges readers to seek help for mid-range drinking problems and her message is that, surprisingly, being sober is not boring at all… It’s a better and more authentic way of living.
'I think the world is starting to recognise that binge drinking, and any sort of over-drinking is having massive impact, not just on the individual but families, communities and mental well-being. Ant thankfully we’re beginning to recognise a place between the pub and an AA meeting where some are falling through the cracks and even though they’re suffering are not getting the help they need.
After I had kids, I started to use alcohol to escape the mundanity of motherhood, but hangovers with a baby crying in the next room made me feel awful guilt and shame, but because I wasn’t passed out in the gutter (too often) I didn’t reach out for help. I carried on binge drinking and missed out on getting professional support because my problem didn’t seem bad enough. My drinking was clever, never alone and never before 6pm so I looked like I was just drinking like everyone else around me, so it got diluted, absorbed into the crowd and was missed for far too long.’
Victoria believes a lot of people get stuck in a place where they know their drinking is out of control, yet they don’t feel it’s severe enough to deserve intervention. Victoria ended up getting therapy to find out why she couldn’t control her drinking and now, after being sober for three years, she has teamed up with her newly sober friend Lucy Good, the founder of the single mum network www.beanstalmums.com.au to record a podcast all about their personal journeys to sobriety.
‘We called the podcast ‘Sober Awkward’ because that’s how Vic and I feel a lot of the time.’ Says Lucy
‘Learning how to be sober socially is really hard and there are some extremely awkward interactions that you have to navigate. Things like going to a bar for the first time, telling people that you’re choosing sobriety and even sober dating. Doing anything you used to do drunk, sober, can be very confronting which is why the motto of our podcast is -
‘Feel the awkward and do it anyway!’
We want our listeners to know that we find those things awkward too and it’s all part of this zig zaggy road to sobriety’
These two party girls bring comedy and honesty to the sober scene. They both have a passion for helping people who are having negative repercussions from drinking and hope their insightful chats about being awkward and sober will help others seek support.
‘Our podcast is aimed at anyone questioning their drinking habits, we want to reach people and let them know we’ve been there. We’ve both experienced shame and anxiety because of alcohol and we hope our positive and sometimes thought-provoking conversations, reach people that feel ready to make some changes in their lives. We are both proof that there is life after alcohol and it’s not as awful and boring as some might think. I think Lucy and I would both agree that becoming sober in our 40’s was the best choice we ever made.’
So, things are changing. There are sober bars popping up in cities all over the world and people are starting to realise that getting so hammered they can’t walk most weekends might not be as fun as they used to think, especially when it’s making us so mentally unwell. So perhaps trying a new way of socialising might soak up all this mental anguish and being the imperfectly, perfect version of you just might be enough?
‘Just being you, without booze, is awkward, but those first interactions do get easier.’ Says Victoria, ‘I look forward to sober socialising now. I know I’m going to have fun, have real authentic conversations, no hangover and remember the whole entire night! It’s brilliant, I might even do some sober dancing occasionally, I’ve still got a few swan dives in me yet!’
Vic and Lucy’s podcast address’s a place that has been missed, a type of ‘socially acceptable alcoholism.’ A common sort of drinking habit that is cheered on from the sidelines and feels so ingrained in us and in society, that imagining another way is unfathomable.
But as they have discovered, sobriety, with all its awkwardness, is so much better than drunk.
'We’re so glad that Lyres are here to support sober people in these sometimes ‘awkward’ social situations. Giving people the option not to drink when meeting friends takes away a lot of unwanted pressure. Offering alternatives to alcohol is a fantastic way of de-stigmatising what it is to be sober and how the alcohol-free community are treated socially.’
So, have a listen to their podcast, sometimes just knowing that there are others feeling like you is enough to step out of a bad habit… and into a new way of life.
Lyres are so pleased to be supporting these two inspiring, funny women and hope you will enjoy this brilliant podcast as much as we have.
Sober Awkward Podcast Collection.
Follow Vic @drunkmummysobermummy & Lucy @beanstalksinglemums
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