The BUZZ on Alcohol Free Trends!!! Season 3 Ep. 16

In 2023 the world saw "Alcohol Free" trending everywhere, in 2024 those trends are forecasted to  continue to grow. As 3 friends living beautiful alcohol free lives, we couldn't be happier to see this! This is why we have been doing what we do with LAF Life Podcast for the past 2 years, to help raise awareness and normalize living an Alcohol Free life!
From celebrities sharing why their removing alcohol, to a growing amount of recovery resources being share on social media; there are sober communities, recovery coaches, virtual meetings, sober podcasts, and lots of books focused on addiction & recovery. Getting the help and support we need has never been more accessible. There are a few trends we are seeing in the Alcohol space though that we are not big fans of.
Listen here to get the BUZZ on all things trending "AF" now!!

Shout Outs:
Couch Carrie Body Fit for Life https://www.bodyfit4life.ca/
Lindsay Sutherland Boal She Walks Canada https://www.shewalkscanada.com/
Recommended YouTube Videos to watch about what happens when you quit  alcohol:
https://youtu.be/0E8mClIa_0I?si=XcynhHBNWEtfNb-R
https://youtu.be/tYWlDOSSbhM?si=sz0H6BeXcVzDvC4i

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Kelly: https://www.instagram.com/pamperedkel/
Lindsey: https://www.instagram.com/hariklindsey/

**Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this episode are not professional or medical opinions. If you are struggling with an addiction please contact a medical professional for help.

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Song: Rise and Thrive
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Resources:
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Transcript

Kelly: 0:02

Welcome to the LAF life podcast, a lifestyle podcast based on living alcohol free and a booze soaked world. My name is Kelly Evans and together with my friends, Tracey Djordjevic, and Lindsey Harik. We share uncensored. Unscripted real conversations about what our lives have been like since we ditched alcohol and how we got here by sharing our individual stories. We'll show you that there isn't just one way to do this, no matter where you are on your journey from sober, curious to years in recovery and everyone in between, you are welcome here, no judgment and a ton of support. Hey everybody, welcome back to the LAF Life Podcast. This is Season 3, Episode 16, and tonight we're gonna chit chat about trends around alcohol and living alcohol free, yeah let's start chattin Hi ladies! Hey, Kel. Hello. Hi. Trends started happening when we started hearing about Sober October and Dry January and things like that. Seeing lots on social media and celebrities and things like that. So what do you guys think? January was something to do and be like, see, I can make it an entire month without drinking alcohol. I don't have a problem. I see a lot of billboards around our city, Kelly, here in Winnipeg about, Making sure you eat when you're drinking alcohol. But lots of promotions on the dry January and February was something too. I can't remember what they called it here in Winnipeg, but they were, they had named it and people were participating on Facebook and posting about it. I think February is dry Feb too. Is it? I think they're both dry. Yeah. Yeah, but I've noticed that I think that they're adding more months in, which is awesome because I know there's July too, right? Dry July.

Lindsey: 1:59

July. That's right. You're right. And

Tracey: 2:02

I feel like there was one getting squeezed in May or something. I saw something pop up and I was like, Oh, this is awesome. We're just getting more and more of these pretty soon. Every month is going to be dry. No, it is for us. We're trending with that. Yeah. Yeah. I do think it just, brings an awareness around, like people are doing this, it's a thing. And then people who try it, it brings an awareness around what their relationship to alcohol is and how they feel without it. Absolutely. I think that a lot of people after they do it definitely are more aware of how it makes them feel and probably even somewhat hesitant to go back to it. Although I think that a lot of people probably fall back into it, but then there's some diehards that are like, as soon as the 30 days up they're counting down the days and. They're celebrating, take back on the bottle. Yeah.

Kelly: 3:04

Yeah, but I was just talking to somebody the other day and they went for lunch with an old friend and they'd gone on vacation and drank too much and, just hadn't had a drink since then. That was in the fall. So months and months ago. Yeah. It wasn't a big deal. They didn't do this, dry, whatever month. They were just like, you know what, I don't feel great. And they haven't gone back to it yet. And maybe they never will. So I like that's happening too. There's no label on it. There's no definitive. I am this. and I need to do this. It's just yeah, I don't feel good with it, so I'm not going to do it anymore. So I think that's really cool that's happening.

Lindsey: 3:40

living in a culture of inclusivity and recognizing different diverse groups and making sure that people feel included, right? It's not just let's be honest, it's not just about LGBTQ now it's expanding into people who are alcohol free versus people who are drinkers. And I think just because we're in that culture of inclusivity, I think there are more spaces for people who don't drink alcohol and More options, we were discussing before we hit record that restaurants are offering mocktail menus and they're openly displayed now, whereas before you had to be like, Hey, I'm not drinking alcohol what can I get that doesn't have any alcohol in it? And someone would be like, why would you want to do that? Just that look, but yeah. Yeah, it's more socially acceptable.

Tracey: 4:27

Yeah, I've seen an uptick in that for sure in Ontario and restaurants that there's mocktail menus and actually some displayed on the table. Me and Randy went to a restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I was saying before we hit record here and there was a buzz free. Cocktail menu. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. It was really cute on the table, which I thought that's amazing because it was right there in your face. Yeah. And not hidden at the back of a menu, which they tend to be or typically are. And then I'm just thinking yeah, you're at like this, trendy restaurant and you get to point to this cool. Drink instead of saying Oh, have a virgin mojito, having to announce it, but you don't even have to say it's alcohol free. It's on the menu. This is everybody's. Yeah. I like that. I think it probably creates a different attitude towards it with servers because there was a time where servers would be like, Oh God, these people aren't drinking, you're not going to get tipped. Yeah, the

Kelly: 5:29

bill's gonna be too small. Yeah. So I think it really shifts the mentality that way too. And because they're making it still like a special drink, they can charge a little bit more for it. So it's still can be put in that category, if you're indulging. I think that's good for that industry for sure. Yeah. That's a really good point. Also have just noticed in general that, and maybe it's just my feed, but I don't think so that we were saying, there's a lot of celebrities coming out now, sharing how they have chosen to give up alcohol and the reasons why I see a lot of interviews with celebrities talking about that and not necessarily celebrities that are claiming they had Problem with it, but that they just came to terms with the fact that they weren't enjoying it anymore or their relationship with it had changed and they weren't feeling it was really adding value to their life anymore. And even celebrities that are coming out and being honest and vulnerable about how they've struggled with it, right? There are people writing books that Matthew Perry book, I always talk about it, I downloaded it on Audible and it was insane. I had no idea. No idea how he struggled so badly. It was horrible. And just to be that open and honest about it, it really paints a picture of a celebrity who has, access to all this money and the lifestyle and it's so glamorous and they can do and have whatever they want. And this individual is so miserable and so alone and isolated and sad because of, The alcohol use and the overconsumption and all of the near death experiences. And I'm just like, Whoa, I think it's becoming more normal to share these life experiences and to put yourself out there and, cause a lot of people feel embarrassed in shame. So I keep those things a secret, but when you have celebrities speaking out about it and how they've struggled, geez. It's eye opening. Yeah. Society tends to put celebrities on a pedestal I think that's strange, like for some reason think their life is perfect and that's helpful to, to hear that. Yeah. It's not. There is no, now we're talking about addiction, but like addiction doesn't discriminate at all. Yeah. Yeah, I see a lot of young celebrities to talking about it, which I think is great for the younger generations because they're a lot more influential. I think you said, Kel people, our age don't really look to celebrities so much as role models, but younger people do definitely. So I think it's great that there's some young ones out there talking about how they're not indulging in alcohol either. All these coaches now are emerging, it's not just AA anymore, there's new trends in how to get help and how to get the support you need when you're attempting to ditch alcohol for good, or, Evaluate your relationship with it. And, I think that's great. These people are reachable on Instagram and they have social medias and you can do zoom calls and do online coaching. I think it's just the resources are becoming more accessible. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, one of the reasons why we wanted to do this podcast is to show that there isn't just one way to do this. And yeah, even just in the last how long have we been doing this? Three years. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Three years. It doesn't seem that long. Two years. Three seasons. Sorry. Oh, two years. I believe. Yeah. Two years. And even in that amount of time, it's changed a lot. It has. I've said, look at how many podcasts have popped up in this space as well. When we started, we were one of a handful, it seemed definitely. I think we're still one of the select few in our region, like in Canada. I think it's becoming a lot more popular in the US but even people we've had on the podcast have started their own podcast since. Having them on as guests, which is great. It's amazing'cause it's just, yeah. The more people that are talking about it and the more. Different ages and different everything it's better to have as many people as possible talking about it openly without shame and just sharing our experiences. It's really helping normalize it, right? Normalize it. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. It's funny. I was talking to my mom about that the other day, she was talking about someone she knew recently that somebody in their family is an alcoholic. And I said, it's just about time people understand that there are successful thriving people with this problem. It's not just, the guy on the street corner. Drinking out of a bottle with a bum on the street, these are successful people out there struggling in the world and struggling with these problems and it's becoming more and more normal that it's that type of problem and people have to recognize that. Yeah, In general. I was reading an article that was saying in 2023, it became more of a trend, the whole alcohol free thing, especially an uptick and Alcohol Free free beverages and whatnot. And then in 2024, they're forecasting That there's going to be even more things coming about and I know here, you guys have the silver market in Winnipeg, which is awesome, which they've come to Ontario to now they've opened in Toronto. So that's amazing. It will be nice if we start to see more of those types of stores. But what I have seen is an kind of increase in coffee shops. Which I think is awesome, too. Oh, that's a good point. Yes.

Tracey: 11:29

Yeah. Because, it gives people other places to go, other than a bar or restaurant, to meet up or to have a good chat, even to catch up with a friend. And my only complaint is that a lot of these coffee shops are not open late enough. Yeah. So I'm putting that out there in the world, you coffee shop owners out there opening up, you need to stay open later for people so that more people go there and not to bars and not to restaurants where there is alcohol. I wonder if there's going to be bars that are like strictly alcohol free that open. I don't think I've seen one. There is. There's sans bar. Are there? Yeah. Oh, yeah, we talked about it on the podcast before. It's in the U. S. I think there's more than one. Oh, I think there's more than one in the U. S., but whether we'll start seeing them here in Canada, Linz, I hope so. Interesting.

Lindsey: 12:27

Yes. That would be just awesome. Just no alcohol available in the building at all. It's all just non alcoholic options. That would be great. It's funny. My mom wanted to do that. Really? And I was like, Mom, I'm not prepared to go down that venture at this point in my life. And you shouldn't be either. She's whoa. In her 70s? Yeah. Anyways.

Kelly: 12:51

There's alcohol free events popping up, right? What did you post in our group chat there, Trace, about walks,

Tracey: 12:58

or? Yes,

Lindsey: 12:59

Yeah, so That's really cool. There's somebody else out there that is putting together, again, instead of meetings or whatnot, walks, where you can gather in your community, and there's different, leaders of some sort of these walks, and You can go on their website and check out if there's a walk in your area and then join these people for a walk, which I think is awesome. I love that. Yeah, what a great way to meet some like minded people and new connections. Absolutely.

Tracey: 13:32

Healthy connections. And get out in nature and get some exercise. Yeah.

Lindsey: 13:35

I know. And do exercise. Without alcohol, like I'm really sick of the gyms and stuff celebrating fitness milestones with alcohol I'm just, oh, it's so misaligned. I'm not a fan of that or like the yoga and wine events. I feel like I'm seeing less and less of those things though. I don't know if it's just my feed now literally feeding me things that I'm interacting with, which doesn't include those events any longer. But beer and yoga do not go together at all.

Kelly: 14:07

Alcohol, any sort of alcohol.

Lindsey: 14:10

I don't know the trend that I'm seeing right now is the alcohol with fitness

Kelly: 14:16

which is just complete and total bullshit.

Lindsey: 14:20

It doesn't mix. I can't stand it. I don't either.

Kelly: 14:23

I'll tell you what bothers me about that is somebody like me, when I was in it and struggling That type of culture, it's similar to the mommy wine culture, anything like that's making it okay, made me feel like I needed to figure this out. I needed to figure out how to control this alcohol thing, because it's such a part, and to drink normally, and to go to yoga and drink, or go to a gym thing and drink. And that's such crap because we know now that it causes 7 that. Yes, seven types of cancer. And with the seven, one is breast cancer. So for women it's seven, for men it's six.

Lindsey: 15:02

But here's another perspective on it. What do you tell the people, because I've heard this before you're going to die eventually.

Kelly: 15:09

What kind of quality of life do you want to have? For me. It's quality of life. I'm going to be 50 this year, and I'm so excited about it because I feel better than I've ever felt. And it's like a celebration. I want to be the grandma that does everything with the kids and travel wherever I want to travel to. It's quality of life for me. So I think that's a total cop out when people say that you're going to hear that a lot. I'm a lot. You're going to die anyway. Yeah. So you want to be a burden to your family. You want to miss out on your, you want to miss out on your kids and your grandkids. Yeah. And society and the healthcare system. Yeah. I was going to say, I think that's just another excuse. Yes. Another excuse. Right? Everything's bad for you. Yeah. That's what people say. Yeah.

Lindsey: 15:55

I hear that a lot.

Tracey: 15:56

Yeah. But that doesn't mean you can't eliminate some of the bad, or as much as you have control over. Yeah. Yes.

Lindsey: 16:03

Yeah. There are people that I know that work really hard on their fitness. Like I'm talking, they put in the work at the gym. The diet, they're doing their macros, they are eating super clean, and yet they say out loud and complain they can't lose the weight. And I'm like, wait, I see you drinking wine every weekend. People just don't want to give that part to you. And I just think man, like all of this hard work that you're putting in, you're just flushing it down the drain every weekend when you are partying hard with your girlfriends or you're relaxing and celebrating or however you use it. I'm just like ah, give the no alcohol route a try because I bet in six months you would see Results it really does a number on your liver, which is also responsible for processing fat and stuff right, your whole body is out of whack if you're drinking alcohol and trying to Live a certain healthy lifestyle and you have certain fitness goals. I just don't think that it works yet. And then there are people that do drink, they can drink and they do hit their milestones and their fitness goals and the things they what's happening to their insides. See, I feel like there's a lot of people that maybe they ignore all of that stuff because they only care about what they look like. So what about the quality of life? What about 10 years from now, 15 years from now, 20 years from now, what's happening on the inside?

Tracey: 17:34

I just want to give a shout out to a friend of mine, actually, that owns her own fitness business. And I had posted and shared something she shared on her page the other day, body fit for life. Her name's Carrie. Hi Carrie. Yeah, we will put a shout out to her in our notes here. But yeah, she's Carrie. Yes, she shared some really great information on alcohol and fitness and what it does to your body and how it is counterproductive for your progress. And she even admits, which I appreciate this about her, she admits she drinks. And she admits that it affects her progress as well. Kudos to her for that, for explaining to people what the effects can be, and admitting that her herself struggles with that. But she's not promoting drinking, she's telling you. That it will affect your progress if you decide to drink alcohol. So I thought that was great. And I liked seeing that opposed to the, Oh yeah, come do some yoga and drink some wine at the same time, oh yeah.

Kelly: 18:44

Yeah. Yeah. She's definitely done her research by that post.

Tracey: 18:48

Yeah. Yeah, that was great.

Kelly: 18:51

So yeah, that's a trend that we would like to see go away.

Lindsey: 18:55

Fitness and alcohol, right? Don't mix. They don't mix. Yeah. That one's not a good one. Yeah. But again, so happy to see all the other good things trending. The other thing I'm seeing a lot of is YouTube videos where people are trying a temporary alcohol free, like I'm not going to drink for a thousand days. And then here's what happened when I didn't drink for a thousand days. And I've seen some really awesome videos on that where people go into all the details of. How it changed their life and all the changes they felt, which I think is very powerful for anybody out there. That's considering it. Definitely go on YouTube and watch a couple of those because they are very inspiring and I think they're really well done actually, by a lot of the people that have done them. what are some of the things that they experienced? Oh, talking about the clarity, the mental clarity, the energy, the creativity, like all the things that we talk about, but there's people going through it, just expressing it in a way that's really impactful. And I love that people are sharing that and showing their journey through it. There was a couple on there that I watched that were great. Chris Williamson, who's a podcast a very famous podcast host of modern wisdom. He did it too, and he has a good YouTube video on it. Yeah, there's a bunch of people out there, so it's really great. I can definitely put some of the ones I've seen in our show notes as well for people to check out. Yeah, I definitely didn't realize, and I'm sure a lot of people don't realize how much more space it creates, like getting rid of the alcohol creates space for anything that I felt was lacking in my life. Time to do things,

Tracey: 20:50

that's what a lot of people say to you. Oh my God, I had so much time, all of a sudden,

Kelly: 20:54

creativity, reconnection with nature. It just creates space for all of the things that your intuition is telling you that you're missing. And then some, cause then there's even more on top of that. It's wide open space.

Lindsey: 21:06

That could be scary because I think people can feel bored at first. I know. I did. I did. Yeah. I was like, I don't know what to do. Yeah. Like I wanna watch Netflix and, but I'm it, but that's where drink wine. Yeah, that's right. Yeah. So I don't know. I would feel in the beginning really bored and then over time, like over a few weeks that tended to pass. And then I realized how tired I was. Because I think I said on another podcast episode, come Friday, I would be really tired just from the work week. And I knew I was tired and I knew what I needed was to go home and probably go to bed early, but I would stop at the liquor store and buy my bottle two bottles of wine and I would drink, start drinking after I ate dinner Friday, right? And I would stay up till three in the morning. So I'm intoxicated. I'm up late, pushing my body to stay up. And then I'm eating super late because I'm drinking like, oh my God, and snacking. So yeah. And now lindsay, that created space for what? Lindsay is a master at Napping. Napping. Yeah, I was like, squirreling, squirreling out because here's the thing, Saturday, more than half the day would be gone recovering, right? I would be like, so sick, so hungover. So you don't actually realize how much time. When you actually have it and you're not hung over, you're like, wow, okay, what do I do? And you're not getting good quality sleep when you're drinking anyways.

Tracey: 22:33

When you're screwing up your circadian rhythm, really, because like you said, and I was reading something about this today, actually in my menopause coaching that I'm taking about how Yes. When you push yourself past what you should do as a steady bedtime. Yeah. You're messing up your circadian rhythm. So then top that with having alcohol in your system and your sleep's going to be disrupted and everything else. It's just, it's so bad. It's not good. No, it's not shocking that when you stop like you, Lynn's, You feel tired. So tired. When you probably should, yeah. I think it just all catches up. Because you aren't pushing yourself fast. Exactly. You're where you should be. And the problem is that a lot of people, including myself, we use that as our wind down time. Our wind down activity. Yeah. And then end up pushing ourselves way past what we should and then really pay for it on the other side. Yeah,

Lindsey: 23:39

total opposite. The other thing I was just thinking that came to mind is I'm noticing a lot of apps have you guys heard of reframe? So these things are trending now where it's like an app you download to help you moderate. how much you drink. So this is the other thing. It's like the sober curious thing is trending. And then I'm noticing moderation is now trending where there are these apps. You download it. I don't know what is involved. I've not downloaded this app, but I want to because I'm curious, but it's supposed to help you like, say you're somebody that drinks. Eight drinks a week. It's going to help you go from eight to six, from six to four. And it's to slowly cut back on your drinking. And I feel like that's trending. What do you guys think?

Tracey: 24:27

I've seen it definitely coming up in my feed. I don't know what it's about either, but I agree. So I want to shout out to the girl we were talking about earlier, or the organization about the walks. It's called She Walks Canada. Yes, she is also created an app. I'm not sure what her app is called and it hasn't been launched yet, but I know her app is more around actually providing coaching. That's cool. And some other things as well. But yeah, so in saying that you're right, Linz, I am seeing that as a trend for sure. I know we had Chrissy on here in, I think, season one and she was talking about an app as well that was just starting at that time. I think it was called Live and it was all geared towards living alcohol free as well.

Lindsey: 25:19

I think maybe that's not as scary. Just saying, that's it, you're stopping drinking I think maybe that's why it's gaining traction. Because if you're thinking to yourself, Oh God, like I, I can't do this anymore. I know I need to cut back. That's what I started out saying. I have to cut back. It wasn't like, I have to eliminate this altogether. I feel like that's such a final thing. It can be so intimidating that I think people, start out moderating and then they eventually get to zero and realize, wow, I don't need this anymore. It's that little crutch along the way okay, I don't know. I didn't moderate. I was just gave it up completely all in one go, but I know that everybody's different and maybe not everybody's going to be able to do that. I couldn't. I tried. That was pretty exhausting. The only drink that you could control was the first one. I've heard that before and I was like, dang, that applies to me. Cause if I'm having one, I'm having 27. Yeah,

Tracey: 26:18

I think it's something that they can experiment with and in private, right? Because they can just download it to their phone and do it on their own without having to like. Shout out that they're trying this or doing it. I think it's the privacy of it and the experimentation of it. It's something that they can experiment with at low cost to themselves. And yeah, I think that's why it would be intriguing as well.

Lindsey: 26:47

Here on the Reframe app, not that I'm plugging them, but they're saying six steps to drink less, or signs you drink too much, the ten benefits of sobriety. These apps are designed to help people cut back. And again, that awareness, right? Like it is all bringing an awareness of what is your relationship with alcohol and how do you feel when you don't drink or drink way less? Yeah.

Tracey: 27:15

And also showing everybody what we're trying to do, that there's not just one way to do it. No, there are so many options. There that may be able to moderate, that may be able to wean themselves off and that works for them. And as they drink less and less, they see how much better they feel. Although that wasn't something that worked for us because we were more all or nothing type people, which a lot of people are too, that struggle with alcohol or addiction. But there are people out there that probably. Could moderate or could practice that anyways, and it might work for them.

Lindsey: 27:52

And I think it takes practice, right? Because I think it's really scary when you've been doing something for so long. It just becomes that security blanket and. I think people, that's just exactly it. People need to practice. And I like that's a really good point about apps is it's private. You can download it on your phone. You don't have to be face to face with anybody. And it's something you can work on your own. It's like going into what I did, which I think Kelly did as well. I went into a Facebook group, right? When I was becoming curious about giving up alcohol. I went into a group that nobody I knew would be in. And that I could just, on my own time or whatever, be in there and investigate what's going on in here, pique my curiosity, basically. Oh

Kelly: 28:39

my gosh, I remember reading people's posts and then creeping their profiles and then being like, Oh my gosh, they're just like me. Like we were talking earlier about I call it in the gutter. Like I thought I didn't have a problem because I wasn't in the gutter, but yeah, that was interesting to create their profile and be like, Oh they have a normal looking life. Just like I do. Yeah.

Tracey: 29:04

That's a good point. And I think to even I'm gonna shout out my Peloton sober squad, hashtag sober squad even these sports groups or you think something like Peloton has nothing to really do with not drinking, but yet us sober people, or the people who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, come together within these groups and we create these little subgroups. So now there's a Facebook group and I'm in it and There are thousands of people in it. We have almost 5, 000 people in it. And you come together and you're doing a Peloton ride and you see your other sober squad people on there from all over the world. And you're like, dang, we're in this together. And people share some really heartbreaking posts in there. One person the other day, and they're able to share anonymously too. You can post as an anonymous member, One person was like, I'm just done. I can't do this anymore, but I also can't stop. I don't know what to do. And then everyone's Hey, did you know we have zoom meetings? I was like, what? So I'm like reading the comments and these people within this group that have this similar passion of, spinning on the bike or just, doing the, the workouts, are banding together. To make their own meetings on zoom. Anybody can attend them. And I'm that's really great. Sobriety is poking its head up and all these different activities and groups. And I don't know. I just, I love it. I love seeing that the support.

Kelly: 30:32

Yeah, the community, I think community is essential. I don't think for me, I was super lonely, trying to do things in private and things like that. That was torture for me. I was just like living in shame and it was awful. And it's not until I found that community feeling like you're describing lens is that's when I was like, okay, I'm not the only one. That feels this way. I'm not the only one that struggles with alcohol that's so important. That's, one of the positives of social media is that we have these groups and things like that. And there are in person groups and there is AA and there are other in person groups that are not AA. And, there's lots of options for community, but I think community is essential for this when you're really struggling. Yeah.

Tracey: 31:20

And what a great platform for that Linds because that is trending like Peloton is. Yeah, it is. Yes, it is. And then that aligns with a healthy lifestyle. Yes. So that's such a great platform for it. I love it. I am fortunate enough to have had that experience in some of the fitness facilities. I've chosen to go to in my area too. My friends at free to be, they asked me to speak there and they definitely supported the girl that owns that Jim does not drink herself. She went alcohol free during COVID also our friend Deb, who was on the podcast, I believe, in season 2. I met her at a yoga studio here in town that also she hosted, Sober seminars there. So it is great to see it, especially when it does align with a healthy lifestyle and seeing people in the health and fitness industry supporting it. That's really great. Yeah. It's really the perfect platform for it. Yes. So it is a shame when people go the other way. It makes me question even the gym that I love, that I'm a member of here. I'm like, am I going to renew in April? I don't know. I don't know. Cause it's really expensive. And sometimes I'm like, huh. And it's funny how these things come into your life and not everything is permanent. And it, helps you transform and kickstart your journey. Then you're like, you move up or you go a different direction or you go this way and you're like, Oh, that's where I want to be now. Yeah,

Kelly: 32:56

When it's time for a change, I told you guys in our group chat that I changed yoga studios after six years. I was shocked. I know, we had talked about it And I have an attachment to it because I cried when I thought about leaving. And, we talked about that on an episode too, like having attachments to things and having that awareness around attachments. I'm like that means it's time for change. So found a great little new little yoga studio. And my first friend that I made there, maybe she's listening, met her in the change room. And if after a few conversations mentioned that we have this podcast. And then she told me that she's eight and a half years. It's alcohol free. Gosh. Amazing. Yeah. I love those synchronicities and things that happen and I never think that anything like that happens by accident, but yeah, follow that gut feeling, that curiosity Linds, maybe there's something different down the road for you. Yeah, it's interesting because that happened to my sister in law as well. She goes to a gym she loves. She really connected with the owners and became friends with them. But then she started questioning some of their practices because they were doing these Yeah. Outings that involved alcohol yoga and wine, tasting and stuff like that. And she started to question do I really want to be around this? Because I don't really think it supports or aligns with my needs. My health goals, so not that she stopped going to the gym or anything, but I think she just second guess spending her time with the people that she was just getting to know as someone new in her life and how it might not make as much sense as she. Had hoped kind of thing. Yeah, change is good. Change is healthy. Yeah, it is good. Yeah,

Tracey: 34:44

absolutely. I'm proud of you, Kel for that. Oh, thanks.

Lindsey: 34:47

Yes. That's been a positive. That should be

Kelly: 34:49

said for sure. Yeah, there was, it wasn't alcohol related, what was going on there, but there was stuff that was definitely not in alignment with Me and I did not want to be spending my money there anymore and it was a lot of money, so right.

Lindsey: 35:04

Yeah, but you have the confidence I don't know my drinking version probably would have just been like saw something that I didn't agree with and then just continue to go anyways. But you're like, no, I have the confidence to say to myself, wait a second, I don't quite feel aligned here. Something feels off and I'm going to take action and do something about it. And it's painful. The change is not something you were, looking to do. But. I don't know, you're able to make that tough decision and let go of something that you were super attached to and move on. And it's going to be, I think it's going to be a really good experience to meet other people. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelly: 35:44

Yeah. Sometimes you got to shake things up. This seems to be my year of shaking things up. I moved. Yeah, all this stuff. So it's exciting and not knowing what it's all going to look like or how it's all going to play out is pretty exciting. I like it.

Lindsey: 36:00

I was going to say another trending topic that popped into my head is People saying that they're sober, but California sober, using psychedelics or marijuana, but not drinking alcohol and saying, I'm sober. There's so many different trains of thought on that. But I think even that topic and those things like psychedelics, I've not experienced. Haven't experienced those things myself personally, so I can't really comment on it, but I feel like I'm hearing more about it. There's lots of research around psychedelics and healing really good stuff. We talked about this on the podcast before the series to watch is how to change your mind. Ooh, wait, is this on netflix? Yes, it is so eye opening, Lindsay, I think you'd really like it. I'm writing it down right now because I'm gonna, I have Alzheimer's, I'm gonna forget when we get off this. I'll be like, what was that called?

Kelly: 37:00

How to change your mind. How to change your mind. But yeah, we talked about that too on an earlier episode about the definition of sober and how I think we should just let people define it. themselves. Like we're here to talk about alcohol free. I've had really good experiences with psychedelics and healing. That's good to hear that. Cause I was like, Oh, I should try. And then I'm like, I'm scared. We can definitely talk about my experiences. I'm happy to share. Yeah. And you could yeah, there's all kinds, but I think you should watch that series. One of them is specifically on mushrooms, but there's four different episodes.

Lindsey: 37:36

It's really good. I'm going to watch for sure. Cause I feel like I want to learn more about it. I was really judgy about it in the beginning. I was like because,

Kelly: 37:46

yeah, because they were, and same with cannabis, there's another I think the best One that I've seen documentary is called the grass is greener writing it down. Yeah, it's really good it'll change that like the judging Your perspective because in my opinion like after watching those I think that those two things Specifically should never be classified as drugs like we saw in the 80s the war on drugs and all that stuff. Yeah, it's pretty interesting stuff I believe in plant medicine. I really do. I think that's why though you see a lot of new and trending terminology for being sober. It's not just one umbrella anymore, right? It's not just being sober. There's alcohol free. There's, sober curious, and I think that's why people are coming up with these terms, because that's what they can relate to and identify with. Even we say, none of us really like the term alcoholic, right? It's a label that's yeah, it is a very negative label. It is. That's what some people can see is for sober too, especially if, they do color outside the lines, so to speak. We were sharing today, this was a potential topic for a podcast, but there's even trends this is being researched now from a genetic point of view and genes are being looked at, is addiction a disease, is it a choice? I think there's a more trending research although I know they've been researching this since the eighties, but I think we're now just hearing about it. And I think there's a lot more awareness that research is being done and. I think there's more curiosity about it. Like, why is somebody unable to stop drinking? They literally can't stop thinking about it. Somebody like Matthew Perry, somebody like me, I'm like, okay, if I don't have alcohol, I'm not thinking about it. I don't miss it. I've gone so long now that I don't like, I don't know what it's like to fight every day trying to stay sober. But there are people who That is their reality. Yeah, I think we're just, yeah, there's a lot more research, I think, being done on those kinds of things now and more curiosity about it.

Tracey: 40:04

The good news is it looks like some of the research is supposed to be being done for the good to help put together, preventative treatments for this kind of thing, or identify it a lot earlier than, we have been able to. So that in itself is amazing.

Lindsey: 40:24

Even with that being said, there was that thing that I shared in our Facebook group today in the LAF Life Facebook group. It was from Annie Grace. And when I read it, it literally blew my mind. Before you drank alcohol, you didn't miss it. You didn't think about it. You were happy and free. And I'm like shit You were happy and free. But I don't miss something that I've never done. I don't crave something that I've never done. So is that the answer? I think we're leaning towards that where we're going to eventually be in a world where people just don't even try alcohol. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelly: 41:03

Our natural state as humans is peace, right? So anything that takes away that piece is something that's been piled on to us, some sort of conditioning or belief or, is alcohol such a thing?

Tracey: 41:17

this could be a whole nother topic, but I know how many topics are we going to talk about today. Randy was saying to me after he listened to our spirituality and sobriety episode. He was saying, when we're talking about the whole concept of people using alcohol to come out of their shell. Oh, yeah. He was saying, do you think that people would feel the need to do that if there wasn't so much societal pressure on them for everything else, like parents pushing kids to go find friends, go play with friends, then parents and society pushing people, you need to find a partner. All those things require you to be social or have social skills. If we didn't feel so much, underlying pressure to do all those things, would we then feel as much pressure to drink or use alcohol to bring us out of our shells if that wasn't our natural state?

Lindsey: 42:18

So let's say you're around a bunch of people that you have nothing in common with and you have a hard time socializing with. You use alcohol to tolerate it. Yes. Exactly. You numb yourself with alcohol so that these people become more tolerable. So I think that's a clue, right? You're around the wrong people. You're just around the wrong people. It's not, I need to add in something. You need to take away something like, yes. Oh, that's so good. That's a real good.

Tracey: 42:51

I think I sent you guys a clip of someone talking about how people think that I'll call makes people interesting or fun when in reality, most people that. are heavy drinkers are some of the least interesting people you'll meet. Yeah, because they just repeat themselves all the time. And I'm talking about myself, but yeah, thinking I was funny or a good dancer or whatever. It's just, I was annoying, I think. Interesting. Do you truly learn actual social skills when you're drinking? No, because in order to have an intellectual conversation with someone you're not. I'm going to use alcohol for that, because your intellect should come from a clear minded person, not someone who's intoxicated, because as soon as you get intoxicated, you're not on an intellectual level, you're just on the, I'm doing stupid shit. And I can't make clear decisions. Your brain is turned off yeah, basically you're off, you're not switched on. Things aren't firing properly. You're not processing properly and you're not going to fricking remember anything. And yeah, you look and sound I don't know. It's not very flattering, right?

Kelly: 44:13

No, exactly.

Tracey: 44:14

If it was flattering, I'm sure we'd all get drunk before we went on a job interview, right? Oh my gosh. And if alcohol really did help you socialize, right? Wouldn't we all just be, downing some drinks before a job interview? Nobody really I shouldn't say nobody. I'm sure there are people that do, but yeah. But I think it goes back to that's because that's what society is instilled in our minds. Society is instilled in our minds exactly what Randy was saying or what Kelly was saying, all the systems out there and society is instilled in our minds that's what being social is. And that involves drinking.

Kelly: 44:52

I think, back to having curiosity around things. I really think that's such a Curiosity is such a gateway to understanding why we believe the things we believe. Or why you got judgy about that thing, Linz. Curiosity. And taking your own path, like, why did I do this thing? And that's why I find therapy so helpful. It's like, why am I doing these things in my life that are making my life harder? And just getting really curious about it. Curiosity.

Tracey: 45:25

Yeah, that's good. That's a good point. Asking yourself the why.

Kelly: 45:30

Yeah. Like, why do I believe this thing? Why? And like, why do I think that I can't go to bed with wet hair? This is such a weird example, but I had this belief that I could never have a shower. I said that to somebody. I'm like I can't go to bed yet. My hair is wet. And they were like, why? Oh, my mom told me I couldn't, so I was like 40 something years old when I said that I'm like, huh, why do we believe the things we believe? Yeah.

Tracey: 45:59

Yeah. Because an adult was telling you that when you're a child. Yeah. It goes back to the people around us building these belief systems for us. Why did we believe life was better with alcohol, Yeah. I think we touched on a lot of great things, a lot of great trends that are being shown out there. The good news is that alcohol free is trending. Yeah. And talking about alcohol is trending. Talking about our relationships with alcohol is trending, and I love it. Evaluating those relationships is trending. Yes. Yes. There's all kinds of books about alcohol and alcohol use disorder yeah, some really awesome books that you can read. Those are trending topics right now, and I think it's a really good, it's a good thing. Yeah. Thank you. I agree.

Lindsey: 46:47

All right, everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in again and joining us here on the LAF Life Podcast. You can find us on Instagram at LAF Life Podcast. Don't forget to check out our website, laflifepodcast. com. We post content and have discussions over there and our Facebook page as well. We will see you back here next Tuesday with another brand new episode. So until then, you guys know what to do. Keep laughing.

Kelly: 47:17

Thank you for listening. Please give us a five star rating like and subscribe, share on social media and tell your friends. We love getting your feedback and ideas of what you'd like to hear on upcoming episodes of the LAF life podcast. If you yourself are living alcohol free and want to share your story here, please reach out.