20 Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol

If you are planning to quit drinking, but you think that you might have to give up on the โ€œgood timesโ€, then you couldnโ€™t be more wrong.




What do dedicated social drinkers and outright alcoholics see when they give up โ€˜spirits?โ€™

Of all the culturally conditioned behaviors weโ€™ve mindlessly adopted, alcoholism is one of the most curious.



We know it is highly detrimental to personal health and that it directly contributes to myriad societal problems including violence and drunk driving.

We also know that the alcohol industry is exceptionally lucrative while at the same time the police state uses this addiction to extend their authority.

Some argue that alcoholism is a spiritual disease and that the consumption of โ€˜spiritsโ€™ is a means of giving the self up to our inner demons. Dr. Gabor Matรฉ sees alcoholism as a means of covering up personal trauma and emotional pain, yet even without getting too deep into this, itโ€™s easy to see that abstaining from booze has some pretty incredible benefits for those seeking better health and greater awareness in life.




But what do dedicated social drinkers and outright alcoholics see when they give up โ€˜spirits,โ€™ as they are called, and what can the observations from newly sober people tell us about the sicknesses running rampant in our society? What can we learn from them about the conditioned

Here is a list of the many common things people realize when they quit drinking booze, as compiled from a number of personal stories found online, all listed below in the footnotes.

Here Are 20 Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol

1. The first major thing people see is a dramatic improvement in overall physical health. This commonly includes significant weight loss, improved digestion, greater energy, and less fatigue, clearer skin, and they do wake up with even mild hangovers, headaches, or nausea.

2. Improvements in mental health include decreased overall anxiety, improvements in depression, much higher levels of mental clarity, improved memory, better concentration, increased sense of connection, decreased levels of stress, higher self-esteem, greater motivation, and a more positive outlook on life in general.

Related: 7 Indicators You Are Dating An Alcoholic

3. Sleep dramatically improves. They find it much easier to fall asleep, they sleep much better throughout the night, and they feel much more rested upon waking.




4. They commonly see big changes in their attitude towards other people, noticing that it tends to be easier to see things from the perspective of others as they feel less self-absorbed. They find it much easier to be empathetic towards others.

5. Quitting drinking typically saves a great deal of money.

6. They save a great deal of time as they get their evenings, night-time, mornings back. They frequently embark on new endeavors or try new activities that were impossible to do with an alcoholic lifestyle.

7. They realize that they donโ€™t actually need to drink to have fun and enjoy themselves at parties and social gatherings, thus exposing the great cultural lie that alcohol equals a good time. For many, they discover that alcohol actually strains social relationships rather than strengthening them.

Quit Drinking

8. They begin to see themselves for who they really are, no longer using alcohol as a mask behind which to hide. This can be both enlightening and startling as they are forced to accept both the good and the bad aspects of the self. They must then choose how to confront the emotional realities of their life. Something that is all but impossible with regular consumption of alcohol.

9. They realize that alcohol tends to make personal problems worse.

Related: Less Drinking, More Self-Care: 5 Fun Things Recovering Alcoholics Can Do Instead of Drinking




10. People find they have fewer regrets when living alcohol-free. Not only do they not do stupid, risky and troublesome things when drunk, but they also are more available to experience more from life.

11. Quitting is both very difficult and very easy. The first stretch when they stop drinking is the most challenging, as the cravings for booze must be reckoned with, yet once theyโ€™ve experienced sobriety, they find it is much easier than they had imagined to stay sober, even when hanging out with drunk people.

12. For some reason, it really makes drinkers uncomfortable to be around someone who is abstaining. They realize that people who drink are incredibly judgmental towards non-drinkers, and will try anything to get a sober person to join the party with a drink. They will even make fun of you or put you down.

13. They notice that many people are just assholes when they drink. This is not always easy to see when partaking in booze with everyone else, but with the clarity of sobriety, many find that the quick-witted social rock stars appear that seem so impressive at the bar are just really attention seeking jerks.

14. They realize that booze-fueled conversations are actually boring, ego-driven, and quite superficial, as well as highly prone to aggressiveness, bickering, fighting, and ill sentiments.




15. They realize that people can be just as toxic as substances and that many relationships are not able to survive without the crutch of booze. They tend to learn a great deal about who their true friends really are.

16. They begin to understand that alcoholism is in large part an environmental disorder, meaning that it is just as easy to not drink once a reasoned change has been made to their environment, who they spend time with, who they work with, and what they do in their free time.

Related: How to Stop Addiction to Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigarettes

17. Alcohol is the least fulfilling and least interesting buzz available when compared to many other mind-altering and mind-expanding substances people take to alter consciousness.

18. They find it easier to make healthier choices in general, choosing better foods, drinking more water, taking more exercise, and purposefully sleeping better.

19. They find that not drinking allows them to experience a greater level of spiritual awareness and consciousness in their everyday lives.



20. They find that a return to drinking alcohol is often immediately gratifying with one or two drinks, but that shortly after consuming even a small amount of alcohol they feel crappy, lethargic, spaced out, dizzy, and off.

Final Thoughts

Not drinking alcohol can give you a serious edge in a society where most everyone else is boozing it up on a regular basis. The zeitgeist of alcohol is that it makes life more fun, but the reality is that it is a massive industry pushed onto the public which has created a culture of self-destructive behavior.

Changing your personal habits to improve your health, mental clarity and a spiritual awareness are challenging, but doing so is perhaps the single most critical facet of personal development. Many people find that abstaining from booze makes this process much easier.

Sources:

โ€“ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-things-i-learned-during-my-year-without-alcohol_b_5291015
โ€“ https://edlatimore.com/10-observations-from-2-years-of-not-drinking
โ€“ https://www.thrillist.com/vice/lessons-i-learned-from-quitting-drinking-for-one-month
โ€“ https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-sober-alcohol-drunk-booze-perspec-1231-20151230-story.html
โ€“ https://www.raptitude.com/2017/05/five-things-i-learned-from-not-drinking-for-four-months/
โ€“ https://www.annawickham.com/stop-drinking/
โ€“ https://greatist.com/live/lessons-learned-when-i-stopped-drinking-for-a-year
โ€“ https://soundcloud.com/superdutytoughwork/67-the-benefits-of-sobriety


Sofia Adamson is a contributing writer for Waking Times with a keen appreciation for matters of science and the spirit.


This article (20 Common Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Sofia Adamson and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio.

Common Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol
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On April 21, 2025, the world bid farewell to the spiritual giant, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He passed away at the age of 88, leaving behind not just a legacy, but a voice that called out for mercy, championed the forgotten, and reminded us all of our shared humanity throughout his 12-year papacy.

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20 Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol

Written By:

If you are planning to quit drinking, but you think that you might have to give up on the โ€œgood timesโ€, then you couldnโ€™t be more wrong.




What do dedicated social drinkers and outright alcoholics see when they give up โ€˜spirits?โ€™

Of all the culturally conditioned behaviors weโ€™ve mindlessly adopted, alcoholism is one of the most curious.



We know it is highly detrimental to personal health and that it directly contributes to myriad societal problems including violence and drunk driving.

We also know that the alcohol industry is exceptionally lucrative while at the same time the police state uses this addiction to extend their authority.

Some argue that alcoholism is a spiritual disease and that the consumption of โ€˜spiritsโ€™ is a means of giving the self up to our inner demons. Dr. Gabor Matรฉ sees alcoholism as a means of covering up personal trauma and emotional pain, yet even without getting too deep into this, itโ€™s easy to see that abstaining from booze has some pretty incredible benefits for those seeking better health and greater awareness in life.




But what do dedicated social drinkers and outright alcoholics see when they give up โ€˜spirits,โ€™ as they are called, and what can the observations from newly sober people tell us about the sicknesses running rampant in our society? What can we learn from them about the conditioned

Here is a list of the many common things people realize when they quit drinking booze, as compiled from a number of personal stories found online, all listed below in the footnotes.

Here Are 20 Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol

1. The first major thing people see is a dramatic improvement in overall physical health. This commonly includes significant weight loss, improved digestion, greater energy, and less fatigue, clearer skin, and they do wake up with even mild hangovers, headaches, or nausea.

2. Improvements in mental health include decreased overall anxiety, improvements in depression, much higher levels of mental clarity, improved memory, better concentration, increased sense of connection, decreased levels of stress, higher self-esteem, greater motivation, and a more positive outlook on life in general.

Related: 7 Indicators You Are Dating An Alcoholic

3. Sleep dramatically improves. They find it much easier to fall asleep, they sleep much better throughout the night, and they feel much more rested upon waking.




4. They commonly see big changes in their attitude towards other people, noticing that it tends to be easier to see things from the perspective of others as they feel less self-absorbed. They find it much easier to be empathetic towards others.

5. Quitting drinking typically saves a great deal of money.

6. They save a great deal of time as they get their evenings, night-time, mornings back. They frequently embark on new endeavors or try new activities that were impossible to do with an alcoholic lifestyle.

7. They realize that they donโ€™t actually need to drink to have fun and enjoy themselves at parties and social gatherings, thus exposing the great cultural lie that alcohol equals a good time. For many, they discover that alcohol actually strains social relationships rather than strengthening them.

Quit Drinking

8. They begin to see themselves for who they really are, no longer using alcohol as a mask behind which to hide. This can be both enlightening and startling as they are forced to accept both the good and the bad aspects of the self. They must then choose how to confront the emotional realities of their life. Something that is all but impossible with regular consumption of alcohol.

9. They realize that alcohol tends to make personal problems worse.

Related: Less Drinking, More Self-Care: 5 Fun Things Recovering Alcoholics Can Do Instead of Drinking




10. People find they have fewer regrets when living alcohol-free. Not only do they not do stupid, risky and troublesome things when drunk, but they also are more available to experience more from life.

11. Quitting is both very difficult and very easy. The first stretch when they stop drinking is the most challenging, as the cravings for booze must be reckoned with, yet once theyโ€™ve experienced sobriety, they find it is much easier than they had imagined to stay sober, even when hanging out with drunk people.

12. For some reason, it really makes drinkers uncomfortable to be around someone who is abstaining. They realize that people who drink are incredibly judgmental towards non-drinkers, and will try anything to get a sober person to join the party with a drink. They will even make fun of you or put you down.

13. They notice that many people are just assholes when they drink. This is not always easy to see when partaking in booze with everyone else, but with the clarity of sobriety, many find that the quick-witted social rock stars appear that seem so impressive at the bar are just really attention seeking jerks.

14. They realize that booze-fueled conversations are actually boring, ego-driven, and quite superficial, as well as highly prone to aggressiveness, bickering, fighting, and ill sentiments.




15. They realize that people can be just as toxic as substances and that many relationships are not able to survive without the crutch of booze. They tend to learn a great deal about who their true friends really are.

16. They begin to understand that alcoholism is in large part an environmental disorder, meaning that it is just as easy to not drink once a reasoned change has been made to their environment, who they spend time with, who they work with, and what they do in their free time.

Related: How to Stop Addiction to Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigarettes

17. Alcohol is the least fulfilling and least interesting buzz available when compared to many other mind-altering and mind-expanding substances people take to alter consciousness.

18. They find it easier to make healthier choices in general, choosing better foods, drinking more water, taking more exercise, and purposefully sleeping better.

19. They find that not drinking allows them to experience a greater level of spiritual awareness and consciousness in their everyday lives.



20. They find that a return to drinking alcohol is often immediately gratifying with one or two drinks, but that shortly after consuming even a small amount of alcohol they feel crappy, lethargic, spaced out, dizzy, and off.

Final Thoughts

Not drinking alcohol can give you a serious edge in a society where most everyone else is boozing it up on a regular basis. The zeitgeist of alcohol is that it makes life more fun, but the reality is that it is a massive industry pushed onto the public which has created a culture of self-destructive behavior.

Changing your personal habits to improve your health, mental clarity and a spiritual awareness are challenging, but doing so is perhaps the single most critical facet of personal development. Many people find that abstaining from booze makes this process much easier.

Sources:

โ€“ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/7-things-i-learned-during-my-year-without-alcohol_b_5291015
โ€“ https://edlatimore.com/10-observations-from-2-years-of-not-drinking
โ€“ https://www.thrillist.com/vice/lessons-i-learned-from-quitting-drinking-for-one-month
โ€“ https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-sober-alcohol-drunk-booze-perspec-1231-20151230-story.html
โ€“ https://www.raptitude.com/2017/05/five-things-i-learned-from-not-drinking-for-four-months/
โ€“ https://www.annawickham.com/stop-drinking/
โ€“ https://greatist.com/live/lessons-learned-when-i-stopped-drinking-for-a-year
โ€“ https://soundcloud.com/superdutytoughwork/67-the-benefits-of-sobriety


Sofia Adamson is a contributing writer for Waking Times with a keen appreciation for matters of science and the spirit.


This article (20 Common Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Sofia Adamson and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio.

Common Things People Realize When They Quit Drinking Alcohol
Things People Realize Quit Drinking Alcohol Pin


Published On:

Last updated on:

,

— About the Author —

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Up Next

He Spoke, We Listened: 14 Pope Francis Quotes On Love, Mercy, And Faith

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Pope Francis didnโ€™t just speak from a pulpit, he spoke from the heart, comforting the poor, his words always struck a chord. As we remember him, we turn to 15 of the most powerful Pope Francis quotes on life, that are beacons of love, mercy, and faith!

On April 21, 2025, the world bid farewell to the spiritual giant, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He passed away at the age of 88, leaving behind not just a legacy, but a voice that called out for mercy, championed the forgotten, and reminded us all of our shared humanity throughout his 12-year papacy.

Up Next

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There are some special stories that gently wrap itself around your heart, thatโ€™s exactly what Netflixโ€™s When Life Gives You Tangerines did. 

Set in the quiet beauty of 1950s Jeju Island, this slice-of-life romance drew us in not just with its tender love story and rich visuals, but with the quiet struggles of everyday life and wisdom threaded through every episode.

when life gives you tangerines kdrama quotes

IU (Lee Ji-

Up Next

15 Profound Universal Truths To Understand The Human Condition

15 Profound Universal Truths to Understand the Human Condition

Have you ever noticed how some truths about life just hit different? These universal truths about the human condition are the kind that stick with you long after youโ€™ve heard them.

KEY POINTS

Well-written memoirs often share universal truths that connect with readers on a deeper level.

Universal truths are many, and each of us can have our own unique set.

Learning about others’ universal truths can help you find our own way.

In my memoir writing workshops, I always emphasize the importance of each story having a universal truth. While many are w

Up Next

7 Lessons To Learn From Yuanfen: The Fated Connections In Life

Amazing Lessons From Yuanfen Buddhism Philosophy

We often cross paths in life with people in the most unexpected ways, some stay for a lifetime, while others leave after a fleeting moment. In Buddhism and Chinese philosophy, the concept of yuanfen describes these predestined relationships and encounters.

Let’s learn how every connection is woven into the fabric of our existence by fate, shaping our journey, teaching us lessons, and guiding us toward growth.

Read More Here: 6 Therapeutic Japanese Words With Deep Meaning

Learn The Yuanfen Meaning…

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Viral Anglerfish That Left A Strong, Heart Touching Message

Deep beneath the surface of the ocean, where sunlight is a distant memory and the pressure builds up enormously, the anglerfish is just a strange creature. But wait, why are we getting bombarded with โ€˜black sea devil anglerfishโ€™ on TikTok? To be fair, I also wouldnโ€™t be crying about this until I saw the Pixar edit of the movie.

This unique specimen uses a special organ that glows to light up the ocean. It also uses a special, terrifying

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Gilmore Girls has been my favorite show for as long as I can remember. From the moment I first watched it in high school, I was hooked. The charm of Stars Hollow, the witty banter, and the lovable characters quickly became a part of my daily life. Whether Iโ€™m watching on my own or rewatching with friends, itโ€™s always a comfort. But over the years, Iโ€™ve realized that Gilmore Girls is more than just a show I turn to for comfortโ€”it’s taught me life lessons that have stuck with me in ways I didnโ€™t expect.

As Iโ€™ve watched it over and over, Iโ€™ve noticed how much the series has shaped the way I view relationships, work, and even myself. The lessons in Gilmore Girls arenโ€™t always obvious, but theyโ€™re thereโ€”woven into the charactersโ€™ journeys and everyday moments.

Here are 8 timeless life lessons that Gilmore Girl

Up Next

7 Secrets to Stop Taking Everything Personally

How to Stop Taking Everything Personally in Simple Ways

Ever had a friend leave your text on read but somehow find the time to post a selfie? Or maybe someone didnโ€™t laugh at your joke, and now youโ€™re questioning your entire personality? Yep, weโ€™ve all been there. Itโ€™s ridiculously easy to take things personally, even when deep down, we know the world doesnโ€™t revolve around us (unfortunately).

Figuring out how to stop taking everything personally can feel like an uphill battle, especially when someoneโ€™s actions or words leave you feeling hurt or confused. But hereโ€™s the thingโ€”most of the time, peopleโ€™s actions have nothing to do with you. Your friend might just be overwhelmed, that unread message isnโ€™t a personal attack, and maybeโ€”just maybeโ€”your joke wasnโ€™t that bad.

Learning to let go of these thoughts isnโ€™t just good for your mood; it protects your confi