Quitting Drinking Won’t Make Life Perfect – And That’s Okay

If you spend any time scrolling through sober accounts online, you might think sobriety instantly transforms you into a glowing, 5 am-rising, journal-writing, ice-bathing beacon of health and productivity. The kind of person who meal preps quinoa salads, runs 10k before breakfast, smashes through a busy workday, and is tucked up in bed by 9 pm. Perfect, right?

But life isn’t perfect. It’s real. It’s messy. And sobriety, while wonderful in many ways, doesn’t magically fix everything.

Right now, I’ve hit a bit of a blocker. I’m not exercising (unless you count two slow 25-minute dog walks a day). I’m not eating badly, but I’m also not making the healthy, colourful meals I picture in my head. Think jacket potato and baked beans instead of a vibrant poke bowl. And, yes, those lovely Greek treats in Lidl keep finding their way into my trolley.

I don’t have children to manage (a massive shoutout to all the mums juggling full-time work and family, I honestly don’t know how you do it), but I am spinning plenty of plates. A full-time job, coaching, developing my courses and digital products, trying to plan and video social media (trying being the keyword), scheduling emails… all while living in a house that hasn’t had a proper clean in months. Quick hoovers and frantic paw-print wiping are about as far as it goes lately.

It’s getting me down a bit, if I’m honest. I’m not seeing my mum as much as I’d like, and friends get squeezed into the diary once in a blue moon. I keep telling myself I need to give myself a kick up the backside, but doing that when you’re already stretched thin isn’t so simple.

You see, whether you drink or not, life can still feel stuck sometimes. The difference is, I’m not adding another problem into the mix anymore. I’m not waking up foggy-headed, nauseous, or full of regret. I’m not pouring poison into my body or fuelling my anxiety.

And that’s the thing I’m most grateful for every single day; I’m not anxious anymore. That, for me, is huge. I wake up clear-headed, steady, and grounded. Life might not look perfect, but I know I’ve made the best choice for myself.

And I trust that, in time, things will fall back into rhythm. I’ll get back to regular exercise, better food prep, maybe even a tidy house. But even if I don’t get it all “perfect”, I’m still living a life that’s mine, one that’s calmer, steadier, and sober. And that’s enough.

So if you’re beating yourself up because your sober life doesn’t look like the influencers’, try this instead: notice what is better (maybe your sleep, your mornings, your mood, or simply your self-respect), and let that be enough for today.

You can still want more for yourself – more movement, more connection, more creativity – without turning it into another perfection project. Change doesn’t come from hating where you are. It comes from treating yourself with compassion, then taking one small, doable step at a time.