I gave up drinking three years ago – this is what you need to know before you do too

Laying off the booze was meant to feel good, says Melanie Rickey, so why did it leave her feeling so awkward and anxious? Here she explains what she needed to do to get to a ‘happy sober place’

Melanie Rickey struggled with what is known as ‘Washing Machine Brain’ after she stopped drinking alcohol (Supplied)

At my local pub for lunch the other day I requested a bottle of my favourite alcohol-free beer, Lucky Saint. “I’m afraid...,” the barman admitted in bewildered disbelief, “we’ve actually sold out of all our alcohol-free drinks today.”

Blame “Go Sober for October”, one of two alcohol-free, month-long schemes that now punctuate each calendar year in Britain. That and the fact that more people are moving from being sober-curious to giving up completely. Four million British adults are now teetotal and one in four Gen Zs choose not to drink at all. Combine that with the number of moderate drinkers who switch between non and alcoholic drinks on a night out hitting an all-time high of 40 per cent, and you can see why our local boozers are having to rethink how they stock their bars.

I’m someone who gave up drinking three-and-a-half years ago, and it’s quite a novelty to have so many comrades at the pub. But there are certain things everyone partaking in Go Sober for October should know if they are considering it for the long term.