I decided to stop drinking and have my last drink on 28th December 2018. Although I was not an everyday drinker, I was what some may call a ‘problem drinker’ – I would binge drink. I am a 55-year-old single mum of an 18 year-old. When I broke up with my partner in March 2003,

I don’t count last Mother’s Day. It was rubbish. In an effort at pre-baby normalcy, I organised a cycling trip but fell off my bike in spectacular fashion, smashing my shoulder so it would be useless for months – not ideal for stealthily manoeuvring a sleeping baby in to her bed. No one wished me

This week, we have a guest post from our mates at Sober in the Country, curated by Shanna Whan.  I can’t speak for anyone else’s experience of beating their alcohol addiction. In my case, there was this tiny, seemingly inconsequential moment – the kind that happens thousands of times a day – that proved the

My name is Amber.  I am a chef and have been in the hospitality industry for about 20 years. I believe that it takes a certain type of personality to become a chef. There is a craving for achievement, a passion for perfection and a desire to go above and beyond. Over my career I have

This February I participated in my second unofficial Feb Fast. When I completed the first Feb Fast the year before, I did it as part of a group. I finished it and went right back to the way things were. This year, instead of just a month without drinking, the Fast became a re-evaluation of

I blogged a few weeks ago, from the halfway point of my first ever ‘HSM Challenge’ – a three-month period completely off the booze. I’ve now reached the end, and here’s a brief summary of what I discovered: The first couple of days were disorienting, and I received unsolicited feedback from my spouse that I

The last time I drank alcohol was 1 year and 1 month ago. Why was it so easy to give up drinking? I can honestly say that there was no decision made to ‘stop drinking’. I simply didn’t have an urge to drink in the months that followed that last drink, and before I knew

In its earlier days, Hello Sunday Morning encouraged people to “do an HSM challenge” – a period of three, six or 12 months completely without alcohol. I recently started working as Head of Marketing with HSM and decided to get into character by giving this a go for the first quarter of this year. I

If you’re used to connecting with your partner over a glass of wine, then Valentine’s Day – and other romantic occasions – can sometimes be daunting. For example, many of you will be very familiar with those moments in life when the kids are finally in bed, the chaos has subsided and a drink together

It doesn’t feel like long ago that I struggled to go just one week without alcohol. So it’s hard to believe that it’s now been two years without a drink. My original goal was to stop drinking for a year. However, after seeing how much my life changed in that year, I decided to stick