Dry January: Push to reduce stigma of being alcohol-free
Scott Woolley from Port Sunlight has gone nearly nine years alcohol-free
As many people take on Dry January, a man who is nearly nine years sober is pushing to reduce the stigma that is attached to being alcohol-free.
Scott Woolley from Port Sunlight worked in drug and alcohol treatment from 2007, where he was exposed to the worst consequences of drug and alcohol use.
That inspired him in 2015 to stop drinking, quit his job and go travelling, before then launching sober collective 'Arclett' 12 months ago to inspire other people to start sober living, to get outdoors and fill the void left by alcohol.
Scott said:
"My early 20s, life was all around going out with my friends and getting drunk at the weekends and most of my energy through the week was just waiting to go out at the weekend.
"Because I understood addiction and how it worked, it really shined a spotlight on my own relationship with alcohol. When I started to get bad hangovers, spending money on alcohol that could've been spent on other things, I really just started to look at my own relationship with alcohol and think this isn't what I want.
"I was watching people move on with their lives for the better and they seemed really happy and there was part of me that was envious thinking that's what I want - they've got all of these benefits from not using drugs and alcohol, I want to try it but because there's such a stigma attached to being alcohol-free... if you were in your young 20s and you lived in the North West of England - if you didn't drink, generally people would see that as a problem and there'd be stigma attached to that.
"So I found it really hard and that's why I didn't commit to lifelong abstinence. I was kind of sober-curious for a couple of years so I'd not drink for three or four months but then a birthday party would come up and I'd get dragged out and I'd think I'd let myself down.
"It wasn't until a couple of years later, I ended up going travelling for 16 months and that was the opportunity where I was like right - I'm going to quit drinking, take a year away from alcohol.
"I was still kind of nervous to commit to never drinking again so I thought I'll have a one-year no alcohol challenge and that led to two years alcohol free and once I completed two years, I was like right I'm ready to commit to lifelong abstinence."
Many people are, this month, attempting their own journeys towards living alcohol-free for the long-term.
Dry January is a campaign run every year by Alcohol Change UK, with hundreds of thousands of people taking part.
Scott added:
"I think Dry January is a great time of year to be looking at your relationship with alcohol and how you could improve it. If you are dependant on alcohol, then I'd recommend seeking professional support and guidance.
"If you wanted to take part in Dry January, it is a great time of year to review your relationship with alcohol because there's lots of sober inspiration out there.
"It gives you perspective"
"I think it gives you perspective if nothing else - if you can take 30 days away from alcohol, maybe extend it when you arrive in February for another month and you could maybe just take it week or month by a time and see how you get on.
"There's quite a lot of people in our community who took part in Dry January last year and drank alcohol, maybe in the middle of the year and some people say that was a reminder why they didn't drink.
"The alcohol spectrum is so large - you've got people who are sober, sober-curious or somewhere in the middle."