Reset in Progress

November 2025

A little pause before the festive season…

I’ve decided to take a little break from alcohol — just six weeks, really a small reset before everything goes mad for Christmas. I wasn’t sure whether to mention it yet because I’m only a week and a half in but I thought maybe it’s worth sharing, in case anyone else has been toying with the idea too.

For me, it wasn’t about drinking a lot. It was more that I was drinking often — a glass of wine in the evening when all the work was done and the day was finally quiet. It was my signal to myself that the day was over but it also meant my body never really got a break.

A big motivator for me was a feeling that alcohol might be affecting my sleep. I’d fall asleep easily enough but I’d wake in the middle of the night with a racing mind — full of worries or sometimes just a restless buzz of thoughts. Since I stopped, that’s changed. My sleep feels deeper, calmer. I very occasionally wake now but I feel steadier.

The truth is, I’m not sure how much else has changed yet — there’s a lot going on in my body these days so it's hard to know what's affecting me (hello, perimenopause!) — but giving my system a bit of a rest can only be a good thing.

What’s been surprisingly easy is skipping the midweek glass of wine. I make a herbal tea instead — and two biscuits on the side (you have to treat yourself somehow!). It still feels like a little evening ritual, just a gentler one.

What I think will be harder are the nights out. It’s easier to relax when you’ve had a drink, isn’t it? But I’ve realised if I’m going to do this properly, I also have to let myself enjoy things fully without alcohol — not shrink back or feel like I’m missing out.

So that’s my experiment for the next few weeks. A small reset, before Christmas. Not forever, not a big dramatic change — just a pause, to see how it feels.

If you’ve been thinking about doing something similar — maybe now’s a good time. There’s something nice about knowing someone else is doing it too. Let me know!

Caragh