Episode 40: Living the Sober Life with Janey Lee Grace

Janey Lee Grace is an Amazon No 1 Best-selling author, commentator, and co-presenter on the UK’s biggest radio show, BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon. Previously she was a backing singer with George Michael and Wham!, Kim Wilde, Boy George and had her own Number 8 chart hit with 7 Ways to Love as Cola Boy.

Janey has written five books on Holistic living including the number One Amazon bestseller' ‘Imperfectly Natural Woman’ and currently writes columns for many magazines, and offers PR and media training. She hosts the annual Janey Loves Platinum Awards to recognise the best in natural and organic products and services. After ditching the booze in January 2018 Janey has launched a podcast ‘Alcohol Free Life’ and runs The Sober Club focusing on sober self-care.

In this episode, we talked about:

“Alcohol is the only drug we have to normalise not taking”
Alcohol is ingrained in our culture for all manner of social occasions
‘Grey area drinkers’ - there’s a broad scale of people’s relationship with alcohol
Rather than asking “am I drinking too much”, ask “would my life be physically and mentally better without alcohol”
The link with anxiety
It might be difficult in the initial phase of ditching alcohol
Benefits are so widespread including weight regulation, or less concern about weight, and improvements to sleep, skin and joints
Mental benefits included a renewed sense of hope and clarity, and feeling brave enough to do something they’ve always wanted to do such as starting a business or travelling or doing something creative
“Alcohol steals your joy and being sober can make you brave”
Janey started The Sober Club as she realised there were lots of resources to help people stop drinking alcohol, but she wanted to align with her experience of holistic living (e.g mindset, meditation, self-love)
Stopping the term ‘giving up drinking’ as you’re never giving up anything. Janey uses the term “ditch the booze” instead
Janey had tried to ditch the booze for many years. She interviewed many Hay House authors and the conversation was often about self-love, but she wasn’t practicing it herself. She describes it as inauthentic as she was controlled by alcohol and didn’t know how to stop
Clare Pooley’s book : The Sober Diaries helped Janey to stop drinking alcohol on New Year’s Eve
Deprivation isn’t a good tactic psychologically. The new approach to sobriety spins this on its head for a more positive approach
The fear of being ‘sober shamed’ for not drinking alcohol
Prepping in advance by telling people that you’re not drinking (for whatever reason you choose) and calling the venue ahead and seeing if there are some alcohol-free options
The rise in alcohol-free drinks for grown-ups
Your good friends will support you in not drinking alcohol, and if they don’t, it’s time to cut them loose
0% alcohol is the biggest area of growth for some drinks brands
Some people replace alcohol with sugar. The craving for sugar can be a chemical imbalance that requires support
Turning to exercise can be a good replacement for dopamine as well as other aspects of self-care such as yoga, walking in nature, meditation, hypnotherapy
Sitting in stillness even for 5 minutes is helpful and can then be increased over time
It can be confronting to engage with feelings instead of numbing out with alcohol
The brain isn’t fully developed until 21, so drinking before that age is damaging
Alcohol is linked with over 200 illnesses, including 7 types of cancer, not including mental health issues
The impact on others
Alcohol is the number 1 most harmful drug
David Nutt’s book ‘Drink? : The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health’
Lifesearch did a survey where they found that 24 million people self-medicate with drink and drugs
Seek professional help if you are clinically dependent on alcohol
Mindful drinking
A period of total abstinence (at least 30-90 days) rather than just reducing intake