The words we use to identify ourselves, even if we don’t say them out loud, can have a big impact on how we treat ourselves, so it’s worth noting the difference between these terms if it matters to you.
Sober Curious
Someone who is considering what life could be like if they drank a little less booze, a little more often, and whether removing it altogether could lead to a permanent overall improvement.
A sober curious person isn’t necessarily hanging up their drinking hat tomorrow, but it’s certainly a possibility for a future version of themselves; so, in the present day, they practise various moderation and reduction techniques to see how it all fits and what would work best for them.
Mindful Drinker
A mindful drinker, on the other hand, has no foreseeable plans to quit drinking, but they do want to minimise the negative effects when they do.
Mindful drinkers are looking at various ways to moderate in multiple situations and aim to find ways to keep alcohol as part of their social life, but to relegate it to a supporting role rather than the lead character it may have been playing before.
Flexible Drinker
A slightly newer term that refers to people who sometimes drink and sometimes don’t. They can take it or leave it, and that choice is made in the moment based on what will serve them best.
Similar to the flexitarian diet, but with booze instead of meat.
Moderator
A moderating drinker is the umbrella term for someone who is trying various ‘drink less’ techniques in their life.
Put simply, anyone who actively considers altering their drinking patterns (rather than it being a passing thought, or not requiring much effort) is practising the act of moderation.
Which one are you? Do you have to pick one? Does it matter?
The beauty of finding your way to the Mindful Drinking & Moderation in Midlife platform is that here, we don’t care what you call yourself.
It really doesn’t matter.
What matters is that you’ve recognised there’s a change you want to make to the way you allow alcohol to show up in your life, and that you’re taking steps to better your relationship with booze.
You don’t always have to know what the outcome will be, or where you want this exploration to take you.
A lifetime of abstinence is absolutely fine if it’s the right fit for you. As is continuing to keep alcohol in your life in some way, shape or form if that means it becoming something you enjoy rather than something that takes enjoyment away.
You don’t need a label to take back the power of choice from alcohol.
The ‘Fast Answers’ series gives you quick answers to your big questions about mindful drinking and moderation in midlife.
See more Fast Answers here or go deeper into this topic with Am I Still Me Without the Martini?
dive deeper into this topic with Am I Still Me Without the Martini?
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