A farewell to drinking

The 16^th of October 2026 will mark ten years of me being alcohol-free.

I was 28 when I stopped drinking. And I had given it some serious thought the year before as well.

I grew up working in bars. From 16 years old I worked at our local pub, in the restaurant, following in my sister’s footsteps. Pubs were such a normal part of my life even as a young kid. It was where we would celebrate special family occasions and spend Sundays listening to local bands in the beer garden with Dad. In some ways, they were like second homes and my first real taste of community.

My hometown, Toowoomba was known to have a pub on every corner. Different types of people inhabited them. Each pub had its own vibe.

So I worked a couple of different ones over and I noticed that some practices were the same no matter where you went. Knock off drink/s after your shift and drinks on your days off with whoever else was free. This way of working followed me to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast. Turns out we all do hospitality the same way down the East coast.

After I had moved around and landed on the Sunshine Coast (a bit of a wreck) at 27, I got a job at the local.

This time it was a beautiful (licensed) seaside cafe. I was new and we were farewelling the current chef, with (you guessed it) some drinks. It was the usual and a lot of fun.

That night I woke in the middle of the night, completely anxious. Over nothing in particular but I couldn’t think straight. It was a simple moment but a definitive one. I knew I was done drinking alcohol.

So the next day, when Mum and I would usually have wine with dinner - I ditched it. Then the next day I did the same. Each day I just made a decision to say no. There was no big declaration or timeline. No dry July. I was just done and it was absolutely the best decision I had ever made in my life to date.

I haven’t done the math on how much longer I’ll live or how much happier my cells are because I quit drinking. I don’t need to.

My life has significantly improved. I make better decisions, my body and gut feel good and my anxiety stays under control.

It took me ages to realise what didn’t work for me. And then once I understood it, it took me a while to make the change. But I got there and I’m so thankful I did.