Oct. 18, 2022

Millie Gooch: Sober Girl Society, Addiction, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Sober Dating, Sober Sex, Boozeless Brunches, Mental Health, Sober Curiosity & Being Millie

Millie Gooch: Sober Girl Society, Addiction, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Sober Dating, Sober Sex, Boozeless Brunches, Mental Health, Sober Curiosity & Being Millie
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Millie Gooch: Sober Girl Society, Addiction, Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Sober Dating, Sober Sex, Boozeless Brunches, Mental Health, Sober Curiosity & Being Millie

Matt talks to Sober Girl Society's founder, Millie Gooch, about why she quit drinking - and how it's changed her life. They discuss; binge drinking, labels, alcohol temptations, therapy, mental health, how to deal with sobriety, being a safe drinking ambassador, sober dating, sober sex, Sober Girl Society events, being an Instagram & TikTok influencer and her Sober Girl Society handbook. Click here to text our host, Matt, directly! 🎧 Enjoyed this episode? Please take a moment to leave a ...

Matt talks to Sober Girl Society's founder, Millie Gooch, about why she quit drinking - and how it's changed her life.

They discuss; binge drinking, labels, alcohol temptations, therapy, mental health, how to deal with sobriety, being a safe drinking ambassador, sober dating, sober sex, Sober Girl Society events, being an Instagram & TikTok influencer and her Sober Girl Society handbook.

Click here to text our host, Matt, directly!

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🎵 Music: “Jonathan Tortoise” by Christopher Tait (Belle Ghoul / Electric Six)

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🎙️ Facilitator: Matthew Butler
🎛️ Producer: Robbie Lawson
🏢 Network: ReNew

WEBVTT

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This is a new original recording.

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Hello and welcome to the Believe in People podcast.

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My name is Matthew Butler and I am your host, or as I like to say, your facilitator.

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Today we are here in London where I am interviewing Millie Gooch, who is the founder of the Sober Girl Society, a published author and social media influencer, who is on a quest and a mission to help young girls live a sober and healthier lifestyle.

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So firstly, would you like to introduce yourself?

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Yes, my name is Millie.

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I'm the founder of Sober Girls IT and the author of the Sober Girls IT handbook.

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Thank you very much for coming on to the podcast today, Millie.

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I want to talk a little bit about your journey so far.

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And the reason why is my producers have done a lot of research and basically I've kind of come in here blind because I'm aware there will be people...

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that don't necessarily know your story so I kind of want to come in from that direction and try and know as little about you as possible before I come here so tell me a little bit about your journey and your story so far

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yeah so I started drinking really if we go way back when I went to uni that was like my first kind of big experience of like nightlife drinking culture and I went to uni during the time when it was like Geordie Shore was at like its peak so it was like actively encouraged to go out get so drunk and make a full of yourself and there wouldn't really be many consequences and that's kind of when I started and before that I hadn't really been a big drinker so I went to uni started drinking very very heavily and I think first of all when I started drinking it was something that I just did because everyone else was and it was like really ingrained in uni culture it was like freshers pub crawls and all that and then towards my kind of like third year I noticed that actually it was something that I was doing more because I wanted to and my relationship with alcohol at that point I think then looked slightly different to my friends they were all like knuckling down with their third year dissertations and I was like I just want to go out and get pissed and that's all I really cared about and then when I left uni I went to work in PR and I went to work in journalism and they were both booze heavy industries although everyone I speak to is like my industry's really booze heavy and I think they all are so kind of went into that and my drinking just got steadily worse and worse so I was you know week nights I was going out with everyone going to the pub waking up in the know a hundred pound uber's home and I was blacking out I'm quite small I was drinking a lot so I would not remember large portions of my night sometimes the entire night regularly not how I got home and I would wake up the next morning in like an existential crisis so I would get that beer fear hangover anxiety and I just kept doing it on like a cycle so I would have like four days of feeling absolutely horrendous like I'm never drinking again and then it would get to Friday and I'd be like I know what like what makes me happy is going out and drinking and I think I really started to notice the effect it was having on my mental health that was the biggest thing my anxiety was through the roof I was always depressed and drinking was like for me I've got really busy overactive brain I think a lot I get quite insecure about things and for me it was just this like blanket of confidence that when I would drink I would feel invincible so I kind of realised then so it was like early 20s and my relationship was getting a bit out of control with alcohol my friends and family were quite worried about mom especially because i would come home in all sorts of states and you know wake up the next morning she'd be like do you remember what you did last night be like no so i got to 26 i went on a night out i do not remember a single thing from the night out i just woke up the next day and just said i just can't do this anymore like i'm so depressed all the time i'm so anxious i'm using this for confidence when i'm feeling insecure like if my mental health is bad this is the thing that i'm telling and I think it is going to end up quite dangerous.

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So I always say it was kind of like fate.

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A few weeks before I made the decision to stop drinking, I was on the tube and I read a copy of Stylist magazine, which had an interview with Catherine Gray, who wrote The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober.

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And I was like, wow, her story kind of seems really similar to mine, but actually maybe she's a few years down the line.

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And it was kind of this like, I always say it's like the ghost of Christmas future that she kind of presented me with it and was like, if you keep drinking this, what your life is going to look like.

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So I made the decision that I was going to stop drinking And all my friends thought it was hilarious because I'd said, I'm never drinking again about 400 times at this point.

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And then I just somehow stuck to it.

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I just kept going with it and kept going.

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And then I got about seven months sober and I realized that I needed kind of support.

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And although my friends at that point had become quite supportive, although initially ambivalent, I realized that they didn't actually understand what I was going through.

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So I couldn't speak to them about like, I was single at the time.

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So it was, when do I tell someone that I don't drink?

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or should I go on a date with someone if they're drinking like what if they get horrendously drunk will it make me want to drink and I didn't know who to talk to about these things but at this point AAE didn't feel like the right fit for me and I know so many people that have gone through the program and swear by the program but I think at the time I just had these preconceptions of what AA was which was that I'd go in there'd be 60 year old men there and I'd say oh actually I'm not it's not the first thing I think about when I wake up but every weekend I'm going out and getting absolutely horrendously pissed and basically fucking up my life and I thought they'd be like oh you know come back when you've lost your job or you've crashed a car so now I know that that is an incorrect perception and I know so many people that swear by it but at the time that's just what I believed so I was like I'm gonna actually look out there see if there's maybe other young women that aren't drinking and at 26 I think I just felt quite isolated couldn't find anything you know I turned to Instagram as all millennials do and there was nothing out there and no one was even really talking about it so I thought okay maybe I could start you know a little community there might be like 10-15 of us we go for mocktails and we chat about all things alcohol free so I just started Sober Girl Society and then Four and a half years later, it's like my full-time job, run events and meetups up across the UK, do like virtual calls, write a book.

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And yeah, it's now become like a whole thing.

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So that's the story in the briefest way, not even that brief that I think I can.

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No, it's a great story.

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So how old was you when you started university then?

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So I was 18.

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So I'm actually an August baby.

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So I literally turned 18 and then three weeks later, I went to university.

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So I had hadn't even really like legally drunk and gone to many bars and clubs and I looked really young at the time so I didn't really get into many places so it was like I was this child who then was shipped off to university and was like here you go you can drink as much as you want that was like brilliant

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so did you not really drink as a teenager because I think thinking about my own experience my first introduction to alcohol was sitting on a park with my mates.

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I don't know if that's like a northern thing to be doing, you know, but up where I'm from, that's what we used to do, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you know, having a bottle of vodka, a bottle of Frosted Jacks on the park.

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And that was when I think I first encountered, like, you know, some of the feelings that you're describing, then, you know, that you experienced a little bit later.

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Did you have a relationship at all?

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No, I didn't, which a lot of people find strange, but I also think maybe contributed to why it happened.

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That's what I was just thinking, yeah.

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So I used to do, like, dancing, like competitive dancing.

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So every weekend, I was just...

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always dancing or like at competitions.

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And I think as well, what I realized is looking back now is that was my thing to help with like anxiety and relief of stress and being with friends it was really sociable and that was my thing that I would turn to if I was kind of anxious and and then when I went to university that was kind of taken away from me and so I didn't have that thing to fall back on I didn't have routine I didn't have structure all I had instead was this magical new elixir that gave me this confidence and I think because I'd never had those experiences either when I was younger I think all of a sudden it was just like oh I can do this and So yeah, I don't really know whether not having a relationship with alcohol before uni contributed to me just going, oh, all of a sudden I can just drink as

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much as I like.

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No, it's interesting you say that because I remember like 10, 18 myself and it's like, oh, I can legally drink.

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And then there was this other part, I'm like, oh, you've been doing it for a few years anyway.

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So other than actually being able to purchase alcohol legally, there wasn't that buzz there.

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But it's like cannabis now.

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I had a history of cannabis when I was a little bit younger, but the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

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But my friends have just kind of got into that now in the 30s and are almost obsessive with it.

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But because I experienced that young, the novelty wore off pretty quickly.

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And I'm kind of glad that it did.

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Do you know what I mean?

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At an early point in my life, because then obviously being able to get things back on track a little bit later.

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But I want to go into what you're saying.

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I want to know, basically, you talked about feelings of anxiety and what was coming with it.

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But what was your rock bottom moment?

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What was the moment where Millie said, right, I can't do this anymore?

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Was there something specific where you just thought, This is...

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this is it

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do you know what I always say I think I had loads of like rock middle moments there just wasn't one thing but there were so many things that I ignored I always think one of the worst things was I was on a night out with my friends don't remember anything and I got home and I live in Kent so I'd got from London to Kent and do not remember a single part of the journey and when I woke up I had these weird flashbacks of me crying on a corner of an NCP car park this is literally all I remember and I looked at my uber and it had that my journey had been terminated so I'd been like kicked out on the corner of a road from Covent Garden where I was to King's Cross and I looked at the postcode and this is me the next day like shaking with fear googled it and it was a corner of an NCP car park and all I remember is crying and that's it and then I have no recollection of how I got home there was no transactions like on my card I didn't have any cash on me so whether I just got in a random person's car I got them to drive me to King's Cross and I just remember the next day feeling so vulnerable and so scared of what could have happened I think that was always one of my mum's biggest fears as well was like someone's going to kidnap you you're going to fall on the train tracks and die like anything could happen to you because you are just not aware of what you're doing when you're drinking so that for me I think was a bit of a a wake-up call but then I still carried on drinking for like another two years after that there were like so many moments like that things I've done and like remember one time like my friend threw me this really like amazing birthday night out because they wanted to leave at two and I wanted to carry the party on I told him they will see you next Tuesdays and I hated them and then the next day I woke up and I was like I'm an awful human and the things I used to do when I was drinking just did not fit with who I was as a person when I was sober I used to go I don't know who this demon is that comes out when I drink and then the next day I would get this like real moral conflict of like maybe I'm secretly a bad person and that actually just comes out when I drink but there was so many like just I've got like hundreds of stories like that but there was never that one point and I think in a way that kind of not having that one rock bottom moment meant that I just kept carrying on drinking because people will be like you're not that bad you know you're still functioning at work and you're still maintaining some relationships so it was almost like unless I'd hit rock bottom, people didn't think there was a good enough reason to stop

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drinking.

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So you said obviously you didn't really see yourself fitting into AA, and people are there because of alcohol dependency.

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You spoke a lot about binge drinking.

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Did you ever experience alcohol dependency in the sense of you wake up and, right, I know you said you wasn't necessarily thinking about it, but did you need to have a drink to get going, or was it just like an evening thing?

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binge drinking thing

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it was mainly an evening binge drinking thing but a lot of the times if i was drinking on a weekend if i was hung over on a friday the old hair of the dog would come in so if i was going to like a saturday brunch i would be like oh i can start drinking at 11 now but it was always at those like socially acceptable times rather than waking up and on a monday morning being like the first thing i'm gonna do is drink and i think because i used to get so hung over and so I actually wouldn't want to drink for a bit because I would be so put off by what I'd done and my behaviour and how I'd acted.

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Then it would just get to Friday and I'd be like, oh, it's fine, I feel better now.

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I can go out and drink again.

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So you know what I like about this?

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This is the first time I've probably spoke to someone that's looked at the alcoholism in the past as a binge drinking problem.

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Normally it is alcohol dependency.

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And I suppose one of the things I've encountered before is someone who didn't think they were alcohol dependent because...

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there was drinking that much at night that they could go to work and then at about five, six o'clock on the night, they'd be like, oh, I'm feeling a bit, I'll have a drink, but didn't necessarily relate it to alcohol dependency.

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Yeah.

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But there was drinking that much in succession on the night that their body was actually dependent, but the withdrawal just wasn't setting in again until like, six seven o'clock at night which i thought was incredible because that is well that's the definition of a functioning you know alcoholic i suppose would you would you ever label yourself as an alcoholic and you know even now or previously i

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don't choose to use a label there's a few reasons just one it felt initially like it didn't fit me when i was 26 year old and a binge drinker secondly i think there is a lot of stigma attached to it that i didn't necessarily want and i think at this point now i wouldn't because it does feel like something that I've overcome and I'm not sure it's a label that I particularly would want to keep forever so personally I don't use the label but I always think in terms of labels people have to use what they want for some people the word alcoholic is really empowering and they own it and it's great and for some people it can be like quite a cross to bear that they then have to kind of live with for a long time and possibly don't want to

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I've been to a few sort of conventions and things like that in the past and one of the things that And again, I've been working in this field for around seven years now, so my understanding of it has changed.

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But I remember in the early days, they did this thing and they asked people, who here is over 20 years alcohol-free?

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And people were standing up and getting rounds of applause.

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And I think one of the things, just going back to what you were saying about that label, was when does recovery become recovered for some people?

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And I suppose the reality of it is that it never does.

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And I think that's the relationship people have with alcohol.

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I mean...

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I suppose a big question out there now.

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Do you feel if you were to have a drink that you would go off in terms of a binge drinking moment?

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Or do you feel like your mental health and your understanding is in a much better place that you wouldn't go that far, hypothetically?

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Yeah, no, I've thought about it.

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And I think it would start, oh, I'd have one or two.

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And I'd be like, cool, I've cracked this.

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And then the next time I'd be like, go on, I can have three or four.

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And then the next time, I would just end up binge drinking.

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I never really saw the point of one or two drinks.

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I never drank just because I really liked the taste.

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I just drank because I wanted to get absolutely shit-faced and not have to think about anything.

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I liked that feeling of absolute oblivion, blackout, until the next day.

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But at the time, it was like, okay, great, everything I think and all my worries and all my fears and all my insecurities absolutely dissipate.

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So that, for me, is the attraction of drinking.

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So I don't even think I would want to have one or two so I think even if I could start that way for me it's kind of pointless because I didn't drink because I just wanted a couple I drank because I wanted to get absolutely out of it so I think it would probably start steady if I went back but I think it would be so easy to slip back into

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drinking I'm a volunteer coordinator at my work so I work with a lot of people who have been in addiction now in recovery and are supporting giving back to the community and it's something that I've had a conversation with quite a few people Because to be honest, I think sometimes you go, oh, you shouldn't ask these questions.

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Like, yeah, but I want to know.

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I know it might seem a bit intrusive and odd and hypothetical, but I like to kind of see where people are at.

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And it's funny, the amount of people that say the same thing.

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It's like, it was the reasons for the drinking.

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So even though they're in a healthier place now, it's that risk of, I don't know what would happen if I had the one.

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Too much of a risk.

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In terms of you getting sobriety, did you get help from alcohol treatment services?

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Or was this just like, right, I'm going to, raw dog this and, you know, do it myself sort

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of thing.

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Yeah, I did raw dog it.

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Well, I say that I didn't get help from alcohol treatment services, but I did have a lot of therapy, which I think really helped me target the reasons why I was drinking.

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So I did like a lot of CBT.

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I did talk therapy.

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I kind of went through all of that because as well, when I stopped drinking, it was like the first time that I actually had to deal with my emotions as a human being.

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And that for me was overwhelming as someone who has a lot of emotions, is highly sensitive to then all of a sudden be like, I've got nothing to take the edge off.

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And I would get like, when I stopped drinking, in fact, for a little bit, my mental health kind of got a bit worse because I was getting panic attacks because I would be in like clubs and I would feel like really claustrophobic and wouldn't be able to drink.

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So I was like, this is not good at all.

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So I think for the first time in my life, I was actually learning how to healthily deal with emotions.

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So therapy for me was so helpful.

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So I always say I kind of raw dogged it, but I definitely didn't.

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Have you experienced any sort of alcohol treatment services since becoming like an alcohol ambassador?

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Have you worked with any particular services I've been

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down to a couple of rehabs actually I went to Delamere which when they first opened which is like an incredible place and I hear first hand stories from a lot of people that have been I think we tend to be a bit of a secondary resource in terms of a lot of people come to us then after they've been to rehab and they want to find a community and they want to find friends so we're always very clear we are not a recovery program we do not operate as a recovery program we are a community of women who don't drink are trying to cut down on drinking or people that just want to do fun stuff without alcohol so you'll find a lot of people perhaps come out of rehab and then don't necessarily want to associate with the friend group who are still going out and doing drinks and drugs every weekend they want to find new friends who want to go for coffee or brunch or actually do want to go to a club but don't want to drink and then they know by going with that person they're not going to be tempted or pressured into it in any way so for us it's kind of like a community that people can reach after they've gone through those services

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how do you think we could probably make i think more so one of some of the research that we're seeing we're actually seeing more younger women coming into services now for alcohol treatment, which is, you know, absolutely great.

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How do you think we could make, I suppose, alcohol treatment more accessible for younger women?

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It's really hard because I think for someone like me being back then who didn't go through it, like a lot for me was that it felt quite scary and I felt like it was for people who were perhaps worse than me.

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There was this idea that my drinking wasn't good enough to be considered bad.

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It's like the AA thing that you're saying, yeah, absolutely,

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yeah.

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So...

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That for me is like, oh, I'd be wasting precious resources.

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And I think maybe just making that message clearer that it's kind of for anyone at any point in their journey, because really prevention is key.

00:18:45.707 --> 00:19:34.606
So if you can get someone at my stage who then doesn't go to the next stage, because I think the next stage for me would have been full-blown alcohol dependency and waking up because if I'd have just continued on that trajectory which luckily I hopped off early but I think there's so many people that will wait until they get to that rock bottom and don't consider changing their drinking beforehand largely because of a lot of ideas that we have in society that you know people who don't drink are boring or you're not that bad and which I always think is funny because we don't think about it like any other drug even like smoking you're like oh we don't wait until your lung collapses until you consider giving up you give up because you know it's bad for you so i think just maybe making it clearer that it's actually for people at any point in their drinking actually if you're just a bit worried that you're drinking too much on the weekends it's it doesn't have to be that you have a full-blown alcohol dependency before you can seek help for it

00:19:34.948 --> 00:19:50.944
yeah and i completely agree with that i do think obviously we do see people come forward doors uh too often at the point of dependency but as a service i often say you know we're not here to tell people to stop drinking we're not here to tell people to stop using drugs it's a harm reduction service at the end of the day so especially Yeah.

00:20:08.801 --> 00:20:17.269
messages out there it could be pushed a lot more but yeah you're absolutely right I do think more people come in at that stage where they are they are dependent

00:20:17.549 --> 00:20:55.365
yeah and I think like it's really hard to get across the idea of harm reduction because we have this weird thing with alcohol like if I went online and started talking about you know oh I run and it's really great for my mental health no one would say oh I was really preachy but the amount of comments I get when I start talking about people even just reducing their alcohol intake it's like oh you're preachy or boring for some reason we just have this like stigma around alcohol and trying to give advice around it so it is I think one of the hardest subjects to kind of encourage people to look at their behaviour around it because you're told it's preachy or you're trying to take away

00:20:55.526 --> 00:21:18.251
people's booze you sound like the fun police don't you this is the one thing I always worry about we went to a pride festival earlier this year and was there to give advice and stuff and I thought we just sound like the fun police don't we we're not there to tell people to stop drinking we have um all different resources but we've got like bottle toppers to stop people having the drink spikes and things like that but that's reality of it we're just we're there to say have fun

00:21:18.751 --> 00:21:18.833
yeah

00:21:19.093 --> 00:21:34.561
but do it safely but even just the word safely it's like when you're starting your job you know you get your health and safety it's like god you know you're on health and safety oh god you know anytime you just hear that word it just sounds awful um Going back, you talked a little bit about being in nightclubs and, you know, that thing of claustrophobia.

00:21:34.862 --> 00:21:36.242
Do you avoid those places now?

00:21:36.564 --> 00:21:37.944
Are you happy to be in there?

00:21:38.585 --> 00:21:47.272
I am happy to be in there, but I'm very picky about what I do and the people I go with and I don't stay definitely as long as I used to.

00:21:47.333 --> 00:21:49.595
I think when I was drinking, you could have put me anywhere.

00:21:49.634 --> 00:21:55.579
You could have put me in, you know, Warehouse Project until 8am and I would have been perfectly fine.

00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:59.383
And then when I stopped drinking, I was like, I actually don't even think I like house music.

00:21:59.403 --> 00:22:59.788
I have to be somewhere where you know they've got a good selection of alcohol-free drinks and I feel quite safe and it's quite easy to get home for me and I like the music and I like the vibe it's not too busy I think I'm just a lot more selective with what I do I think that has naturally come as I've got older as well but I think when I first stopped drinking I was very careful about the things that I wanted to do I quite liked things like festivals because I could go and take myself off for a bit if I wanted to and go and sit at a burger van and get a diet coke and just chill out while all my friends stayed in the tent and it was quite spacious and like if I felt like a bit stressed or claustrophobic while I was like watching a band I could just go and there'd be like another place that I could chill out and you know like a lot of festivals now I've got like yoga tents or like wellness talks so things like that I really enjoyed at the beginning that had different elements as well that felt like they were engaging my brain because I think that's one thing that I noticed is I was getting quite bored on nights out Whereas before I could have just stayed there for like 10 hours, just dancing in one

00:22:59.808 --> 00:22:59.890
spot.

00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:02.333
It's like a vortex on a night out, especially when you're drinking.

00:23:02.394 --> 00:23:05.558
It's like you look at the time and you're like, where the hell's the last five hours gone?

00:23:05.598 --> 00:23:08.042
Because obviously it's in terms of the way the brain works and your memory and stuff.

00:23:08.083 --> 00:23:11.307
But what's it like meeting people and in terms of dating?

00:23:11.327 --> 00:23:16.997
Because naturally I think when you're on nights out, you meet people and it's a good time and place to get numbers and meet again.

00:23:17.037 --> 00:23:17.597
Yeah.

00:23:17.857 --> 00:23:20.227
What's dating like for you now, living sober?

00:23:20.689 --> 00:23:23.840
I think when I first stopped drinking, it was terrifying.

00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:26.913
Like, it was one of the hardest things, especially like...

00:23:27.425 --> 00:23:31.048
I think perceptions have even changed over the last five years.

00:23:31.148 --> 00:23:36.374
So when I first used to tell people I wasn't drinking, they were a bit funny about it.

00:23:36.413 --> 00:23:38.655
Whereas I think now they're like, oh, my cousin doesn't drink.

00:23:38.736 --> 00:23:39.797
Or like, I know somebody who does.

00:23:40.176 --> 00:23:42.298
I think it does seem more widely accepted.

00:23:42.338 --> 00:23:49.265
But I think the main thing that I've learned from things like dating is that I used to rely on alcohol for my confidence so much.

00:23:49.345 --> 00:23:51.606
So I would go out, I would drink, I would be confident.

00:23:52.007 --> 00:23:56.852
But the next day, that confidence doesn't stay with you because you essentially just got it from a bottle.

00:23:56.912 --> 00:23:57.392
It's like...

00:23:57.392 --> 00:23:59.414
liquid courage that's what they call

00:23:59.556 --> 00:23:59.655
it

00:24:00.196 --> 00:24:36.469
but by dating sober I really started to just build confidence innately and that competence kind of stays with you like you do your first over date you're like I didn't die this is great like it's fine and then you kind of work up the courage you do the next one and then by the time I did like my 10th sober day I was like I'm a seasoned pro at this now like you just you really start building that confidence within yourself I always feel like over time and it was never this at the beginning but not drinking has made me more confident which is weird because I just didn't think it would I thought I'd become really like a shy retiring wallflower but it forces you out of your comfort zone, I think.

00:24:36.528 --> 00:24:38.349
And it is scary, and it always will be scary.

00:24:38.390 --> 00:24:41.532
Some people ask me for tips, and I'm like, I can give you some tips.

00:24:41.573 --> 00:24:43.795
If you're going on a date, put on a good playlist.

00:24:44.115 --> 00:24:47.657
Wear something you're comfortable in, because if you feel uncomfortable, you're going to be stressed, and you're going to want a drink.

00:24:47.959 --> 00:25:03.031
There's so many kind of mini tips, but I just think the biggest one is you have to just keep persevering with it, and then just over time, that confidence will grow when you realise actually you can get through these things, and you can get through them without a drink, and people aren't going to think that you're boring on a date, and you're interesting, and all these things.

00:25:03.231 --> 00:25:26.631
And imagine if someone was put off by the fact he didn't drink that would be as the kids say a red flag yeah it's one of the things i'm hearing quite a lot recently in the red flags but yeah i think it'd be quite interesting what would have you experienced that i suppose as someone being like instantly you know put off by you're not drinking have you ever felt being on a date and someone's sort of like oh go on you can just have that have you experienced you know them sort of situations

00:25:26.790 --> 00:25:50.732
i've had it like through the apps where people will be like oh like and sometimes they're quite nice about it but they're like oh like it's not really one for me but cheers kind of thing but that didn't really happen like so i was dating a few years ago and the perceptions were so much better but it's never happened to me on a date because i always say tell people beforehand like you don't want to get on that date and then say oh by the way I don't drink because if they're awkward about it you're going to feel

00:25:50.813 --> 00:25:53.736
awkward it's just

00:25:53.756 --> 00:26:24.280
put it out there early just like when they say because usually the chat happens oh do you want to go for a drink and I just normally say something like yeah it's cool just so you know I don't actually drink alcohol but happy to come for like a lemonade or whatever it is that you want to do and then when you get on the date you just don't have to worry about that conversation because they know so I definitely did have people who were kind of like it's not for me but then you know we were never going to be compatible if that is the case it's actually just a great elimination process because you get rid of a load of people early who you just wouldn't vibe with

00:26:25.042 --> 00:26:25.644
i'll tell you what

00:26:25.865 --> 00:26:26.046
i'm gonna

00:26:26.433 --> 00:26:26.993
Would you like

00:26:27.255 --> 00:26:27.375
one?

00:26:27.434 --> 00:26:29.256
I'd love a Schler.

00:26:29.817 --> 00:26:30.037
Thank you.

00:26:30.096 --> 00:26:30.877
What flavour would you like?

00:26:30.917 --> 00:26:31.478
What have we got?

00:26:31.739 --> 00:26:31.818
Oh,

00:26:31.878 --> 00:26:32.699
yeah.

00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:37.443
We've got Sparkling Zero Fruit, White Grape and Red Grape.

00:26:37.483 --> 00:26:38.545
I'll have a Red Grape.

00:26:38.565 --> 00:26:42.268
I haven't had a Schler in years.

00:26:42.748 --> 00:26:43.769
No, I haven't.

00:26:44.148 --> 00:26:51.816
I think that we should actually be very thankful for Schler because I feel like with all these new drinks, they were an OG.

00:26:51.836 --> 00:26:51.875
Do

00:26:51.955 --> 00:26:53.356
you know what I've heard?

00:26:53.457 --> 00:27:15.817
Because I didn't realise it was an alternative to alcohol to be honest what do you think to non-alcoholic beers in terms of well non-alcoholic drinks that are taste like alcohol because i know you're not you know you said you're not part of like you know experience dependency alcoholic um but i've had this conversation with some of our service users before and they said it'd just be a trigger for them to have the real thing

00:27:16.078 --> 00:27:16.298
yeah

00:27:16.378 --> 00:27:17.019
what's your opinion on

00:27:17.619 --> 00:27:51.708
that i think for some people it can be so i always if i'm ever talking about non-alcoholic drinks i always make a disclaimer like if you think it could be triggering for you then avoid it but for some people I think they can be really helpful especially people who are looking to kind of harm reduce rather than give up altogether because for so many people drinking is like a habit so and it's a social thing and if people can feel like on a night out they could you know have a Budweiser Zero or something like that they can kind of still feel part of it rather than having you know like a pint of Diet Coke so For me, I mean, I've read a lot of stats around them.

00:27:51.788 --> 00:27:56.011
I know there was a big report about how actually no and no drinks are really helping with harm reduction.

00:27:56.051 --> 00:28:01.355
So I do think on the whole they are a good thing, but I understand why for some people they might be triggering.

00:28:01.415 --> 00:28:03.959
I think my relationship with them has kind of changed.

00:28:04.058 --> 00:28:13.146
I think when I first stopped drinking, I was really looking for things that were emulating alcohol, so non-alcoholic gin, non-alcoholic beers, and those I don't tend to drink as much anymore.

00:28:13.207 --> 00:28:27.621
Like I would drink a non-alcoholic beer if I'm on a night out or something like that, but I've kind of now started looking into like sodas and kombucha and you know those fun kind of wellness drinks and different seltzers and things like that whereas before I was really kind of trying to look for an alternative

00:28:28.521 --> 00:28:38.833
my producer Robbie said you were doing something with non-alcoholic drinks actually are you starting your own line or something I can't remember the complete details but what's that about what's happening with it

00:28:39.192 --> 00:29:24.261
yeah so I'm starting a non-alcoholic e-commerce website called Sippers so at the moment non-alcoholic drinks are not hugely widely available so you can some supermarkets have better selection than others but there's still so many incredible ones out there that aren't listed in supermarkets they find it hard to get listings so it's going to be basically an asos but for non-alcoholic drinks so we're going to have everything on there from you know spirit alternatives to beer alternatives wine alternatives but also the fun kind of like craft sodas and wellness drinks and all those things that are coming out so if you want non-alcoholic drinks it's going to be a platform where you can just come and it'll be easy to use that oh if you're looking for a whiskey this is what you want if you're on across for its alternative this is where you come so yeah it's going to be called sippers and it's a labor of love but it's getting there

00:29:24.363 --> 00:29:44.680
but no it's nice to hear actually too i think it's a great idea because it's one of the things sometimes you think all ideas have been done there is nothing new that we could possibly do as a humor and the next thing you know people come what is anything i hate it when something like that comes on because sometimes it could be the most basic things but um To be fair, that's kind of thrown me off a little bit.

00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:47.642
We were talking about relationships and things of that nature before then.

00:29:48.722 --> 00:29:50.424
Let's talk sober sex.

00:29:51.144 --> 00:29:59.291
I suppose what's the biggest difference from having sex under the influence and drinking to what's it like now for you?

00:29:59.613 --> 00:30:00.854
I think remembering it is

00:30:00.973 --> 00:30:02.234
probably the key thing.

00:30:02.895 --> 00:30:12.624
I think there were so many times when, especially as a woman, the lines of consent were very blurry and I think that's a big thing that I hear from a lot of women.

00:30:12.624 --> 00:30:47.175
in so I think that was one major thing for me that I would wake up and be like I don't remember that I don't remember what happened and the tricky thing is that you know I could have fully agreed to it and also I could have maybe not agreed to it and being so drunk and so black out and not remembering I think was terrifying for me the next day so remembering it is a good one being an active willing participant I think and then I think the other thing is just like again this kind of like learning to be confident without it like the first time I had to I think I was terrified and was like, especially with like a new person that I was dating.

00:30:47.236 --> 00:30:49.164
So I was like, this is so unnatural and weird.

00:30:49.747 --> 00:31:09.510
And then I think after a while I was just like, learn to actually be confident with myself my body because i was like i'm not i can't rely on alcohol so i'm going to just have to go into this and i think that is one thing that you just learn to be a bit more comfortable with yourself so that growing confidence thing i think weaves through a lot of things and i think the sober sex is one of them

00:31:10.372 --> 00:31:18.261
no if i could know it's yeah i imagine going from like the sort of the madness to it would have been would have been much different i suppose one of the things that

00:31:18.582 --> 00:31:18.622
um

00:31:19.298 --> 00:31:27.147
I think I actually watched something similar to this topic, but talking about them feelings of connection, I suppose, and being able to appreciate that connection a little bit more.

00:31:27.368 --> 00:31:28.170
Are you dating anybody now?

00:31:28.589 --> 00:31:29.411
I am, yes.

00:31:29.432 --> 00:31:29.951
How's that going?

00:31:29.991 --> 00:31:30.532
I have a nice boyfriend.

00:31:30.833 --> 00:31:32.255
Yeah, no, it's going really well, actually.

00:31:32.415 --> 00:31:33.436
How long have we been together now?

00:31:33.757 --> 00:31:34.478
Since December.

00:31:35.058 --> 00:31:35.199
Oh, okay.

00:31:35.398 --> 00:31:36.580
Yeah, like eight months.

00:31:36.681 --> 00:31:43.349
And he actually, so it's quite funny, when we first met, I told him we didn't drink, and he was like, oh, cool, I won't drink on our date.

00:31:43.569 --> 00:31:46.453
So he didn't drink, and then he's just not had a drink since.

00:31:46.674 --> 00:31:47.055
Oh, really?

00:31:47.194 --> 00:31:49.097
Which I always think is so interesting because...

00:31:49.346 --> 00:32:31.924
it's happened to a lot of people in my life that I think we have this like idea of oh they're drinking so I've got drink and actually people are quite relieved like my friends love hanging out with me because they're like oh we haven't got a drink like they haven't got me hung over tomorrow they know they're going to be home like if we go out for dinner they know it's not going to end in a three-day bender they know that they're going to be home in bed by 10 o'clock so actually there's this like relief and I found it when I was dating as well that people were like oh that's cool like I can kind of take a night off because I don't think people wanted to go out on a day get really wrecked and then go to work the next day so it's there's always like this relief and it's like you've given someone a permission slip that actually they don't have to get pissed so yeah it seems to happen a lot with people in my life that it's not I force anyone to not drink but just because I'm not drinking they're like well I'm not going to drink

00:32:31.986 --> 00:33:19.618
well that's you know it's funny you should say that because I think when I think about a lot of times when I do drink it's often I mean I haven't drank to get drunk for a very very long time now do you know I'm talking years I'm the type of person I might have a beer with a meal at the pub and that's probably like as far as I'll go the interesting thing for me is when you talk about situations like if I don't have any social gatherings or parties you know I probably I mean I've got a nine month old daughter now so the thought of drinking I'm like I can't parent with a hangover you know it'd be an absolute nightmare so the idea of sort of drinking now is I'm probably even far away from it than I used to be but the interesting thing is when so for something like stoptober or dry January by making a conscious effort to not have a drink I will want to drink.

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:20.880
That's the weird thing.

00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:26.305
Like right now, I've probably gone a good few months without a drink and not even contemplated it.

00:33:26.325 --> 00:33:32.790
But if I was to tell myself, right, you're doing Stoptober, you're doing Dry January, I'd be like, ah, now I want to.

00:33:33.230 --> 00:33:35.833
What's your opinion on campaigns like Stoptober and Dry January?

00:33:35.873 --> 00:33:36.794
Do you think they're beneficial?

00:33:37.414 --> 00:33:39.997
Yeah, I think, again, it's a bit like the non-alcoholic drinks.

00:33:40.057 --> 00:33:41.438
I think for some people they're beneficial.

00:33:41.498 --> 00:33:42.618
I think for others they're not.

00:33:42.939 --> 00:33:47.604
I think a lot of it depends on kind of what type of personality you are and your relationship with alcohol.

00:33:47.624 --> 00:34:42.126
So for some people, people it can be the first time in a long time that they have not drunk especially at like a weekend or so for some people it can give them a real tester of like oh this is what a hangover free weekend would be like and then oh actually maybe I could do this a bit more often and it can give a bit of like a mindful space to people to think about their relationship with alcohol and you know understand I think the thing with them is if you do them you have to kind of do the work as well which is like oh actually I feel really stressed and that's what's making me want to drink it's kind of of like linking the points and understanding at what points you're wanting to turn to alcohol I think that's one of the the things that that people miss with dry January it's not just like it's an opportunity to learn which I think you know it sounds a bit wishy-washy but it's understanding actually when are the times that I want to drink and how can I use this going forward to kind of change my relationship with alcohol I think some people come out of them and will carry on.

00:34:42.208 --> 00:34:47.492
I think some people, you know, will go straight back in and possibly binge drink because their tolerance is slightly lower.

00:34:47.532 --> 00:34:48.753
It's very dangerous for them.

00:34:48.835 --> 00:34:50.817
But I think the months are great.

00:34:50.856 --> 00:34:56.402
However, I think if you're going to really change your relationship with alcohol, I always suggest three months.

00:34:56.483 --> 00:35:00.045
I think it gives you a real understanding of things.

00:35:00.085 --> 00:35:00.806
That's a good idea.

00:35:01.226 --> 00:35:03.369
Actually, on this topic, I've asked a few people this question.

00:35:03.489 --> 00:35:05.731
What is your definition of binge drinking?

00:35:06.913 --> 00:35:07.054
Oh...

00:35:07.650 --> 00:35:09.413
I don't

00:35:09.432 --> 00:35:22.351
know this is it changes I think everyone has a different opinion about I think the one thing that I find interesting is the amount of people that binge drink but don't realize they've been drinking because there's like I didn't realize that was binge drinking so yeah I'll just throw that question out and say what I

00:35:22.371 --> 00:36:02.969
think drinking where to where you get to a point that you are not in control of your actions and that you would possibly but then it's hard as well because some people consider it like three or four drinks but for me it's that like drinking to get drunk and like losing all points of like actually being social i think if you're having like one or two drinks and your aim is i just want to be a bit chatty with friends for me if i was going five or six drinks i was like you know slurring my words and and all those things that i think people drink for the benefits of i was going past that point so yeah i mean it's very wishy-washy definition

00:36:03.090 --> 00:36:15.201
no no no i don't think to be fair i'm sure i'm sure there is a proper definition out there as to what binge drinking is but it's a thing is we're drinking anyways it's a cultural thing isn't it i think that's why we're all going to find different definitions definitions of it.

00:36:15.721 --> 00:36:18.684
Talk to us a little bit about campaigns then, you know, Stoptober, Dry January.

00:36:18.724 --> 00:36:23.809
We've got the, for the first time in my lifetime, I think ever, we've got a World Cup coming up in December.

00:36:25.411 --> 00:36:32.639
Talking about culture, do you know, I think especially as a country, we've sort of really, our drinking culture is really ingrained in football.

00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:36.563
What is your message to people coming up to, I suppose, this time of year?

00:36:36.603 --> 00:36:37.523
I

00:36:37.585 --> 00:36:44.371
think this is a hard one because I think there are slight kind of gender differences with our relationship with alcohol.

00:36:44.391 --> 00:37:40.583
There's a of ideas around the fact that women are perhaps more emotional drinkers and men are perhaps more social drinkers as a very broad you know idea so it is it is really hard when approaching that topic as a woman because i i don't go to football and i don't understand anything so but i think things like alternatives are really good like you said the bobweiser zero there are so many good non-alcoholic beers now like just unreal craft beers so many good ones so I would say like really investigate those are kind of like the first thing to do but I think it is hard someone instead of actually giving the advice I'll recommend someone who I think is fantastic who is Fraser Frank so he's an ex-footballer and his relationship with alcohol is kind of very similar to how mine was so when I was dancing as being younger he was a footballer so he really did not drink for a while when he was in his teens and then as he got older he and stopped playing football he then started turning kind of to alcohol so he has some great advice on his platform for men so

00:37:40.903 --> 00:37:49.195
I would is there I've actually got as a little note sober boys society is there an alternative is there something in the works that could

00:37:49.215 --> 00:37:50.195
possibly

00:37:50.697 --> 00:38:07.371
watch this space okay nice nice I think it's one of them things where you know it'd be daft not to I suppose capitalise on it to some extent because I think like you're saying there's a lot of men going through similar issues as yourself and I think one of the things that I was talking about earlier is get into it before it's too late, you know, trying to nip it in the bud, the dependency.

00:38:07.411 --> 00:38:11.378
A lot of our, I think in terms of our service, it is male dominated.

00:38:11.800 --> 00:38:16.608
Both the alcohol service and the drug treatment service is male dominated.

00:38:16.668 --> 00:38:20.134
So I think as well, the options for men aren't great.

00:38:20.275 --> 00:38:46.784
Some people don't like that ethos of na na and that i am powerless over my addiction i have to hand myself over to a higher power and there are alternatives like smart meetings and stuff like that but again it's that structured sitting around and it goes back to labeling that's the one thing i find interesting do you know the term alcoholic and addict for um i suppose for a culture of people who often hate being labeled they're happy to have that label.

00:38:47.204 --> 00:38:54.429
So I think there is the benefit of an alternative to what you're doing as well, which is just promoting healthy messages.

00:38:54.650 --> 00:39:00.496
It looks like you can't say much more, so I'm not going to push you on that

00:39:00.556 --> 00:39:00.755
one.

00:39:00.835 --> 00:39:02.617
I've been asked about it a lot over the years.

00:39:02.717 --> 00:39:07.722
I've always said, no, I'm targeting women, but it is really creeping up, so we might have something in the

00:39:07.782 --> 00:39:07.981
works.

00:39:08.001 --> 00:39:08.882
Good, that's good to hear.

00:39:09.844 --> 00:39:13.487
I've got here, what level of pressure do you feel leading a movement like this?

00:39:13.806 --> 00:39:14.768
So you're a published author.

00:39:14.768 --> 00:39:16.239
You're forever in the media spotlight.

00:39:16.824 --> 00:39:18.942
What is it like being Millie?

00:39:19.074 --> 00:39:50.021
oh good question no do you know what I love it like it feels so rewarding it is the best job that I think I could possibly do and like when people come to my meet after every meet up I cry I'm an emotional person and I just watch people like come into the room and I get messages beforehand like oh I'm really scared to come on my own and first of all I'm like everyone's coming on their own so you're absolutely in the same boat and then they come to the events they're really timid they don't want to speak to people by the end we're like kicking them out the door because they don't stop chatting.

00:39:50.041 --> 00:39:51.322
We're like, oh, we're closing now.

00:39:51.742 --> 00:39:55.847
And you just watch people bloom and meet other people who are like them.

00:39:55.907 --> 00:40:02.894
For some people, it's the first time that they've been in a room with other people who also don't drink and don't think they're weird and don't think they're boring.

00:40:02.934 --> 00:40:03.996
You just see them light up.

00:40:04.056 --> 00:40:05.637
And I absolutely love it.

00:40:06.458 --> 00:40:07.760
I think the one time I felt pressure.

00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:12.304
So I got given an award from the Research Society on Alkalism.

00:40:12.445 --> 00:40:14.047
And they flew me to Florida.

00:40:14.547 --> 00:40:18.672
And I was going to be in this room accepting my award with all these scientists and doctors.

00:40:18.992 --> 00:40:20.798
And I thought, they're going to think I'm so stupid.

00:40:20.818 --> 00:40:25.295
Like, this girl just like, with her sparkly pink page on Instagram, talking about Spritey.

00:40:26.146 --> 00:40:29.349
And I was just so overwhelmed with how nice everyone is.

00:40:29.469 --> 00:40:32.130
So many people came over and was like, I think what you're doing is amazing.

00:40:32.170 --> 00:40:35.753
And I thought I was going to get there and just feel so silly.

00:40:35.793 --> 00:40:37.615
And people were going to be like, get her off the stage.

00:40:37.635 --> 00:40:39.077
But it was so nice.

00:40:39.137 --> 00:40:40.858
That was the one time I think I felt pressure.

00:40:40.878 --> 00:40:42.320
Because I was like, well, this is actually quite serious.

00:40:42.340 --> 00:40:45.463
Because it was in an environment that I'm totally not used to.

00:40:46.063 --> 00:40:47.304
But no, I just love it.

00:40:47.485 --> 00:40:49.565
It is so rewarding just to see people.

00:40:49.585 --> 00:40:52.228
And I'll get messages from people that will be like, hey, I've just read the book.

00:40:52.289 --> 00:40:52.989
I'm a week's over.

00:40:53.009 --> 00:40:56.112
And then six months later, they message me again and be like, oh, it's my six.

00:40:56.112 --> 00:41:05.742
it's just like the loveliest thing to be able to like play a small part in people like finding themselves and yeah living like a happier healthier life.

00:41:05.862 --> 00:41:11.909
Is there an element of pressure like people expect you to know everything that you've got all the answers to is that something that you experience?

00:41:11.989 --> 00:41:26.885
Yeah I think so and I do get a lot of messages that are like one-to-one messages that please can you help me and so I have to direct them to all the resources I know like you guys you know so many other amazing charities and people that are doing work in this space because I'm like I'm not a doctor I'm not a therapist.

00:41:26.965 --> 00:41:28.847
I can't give you one-to-one advice.

00:41:28.907 --> 00:41:29.706
I don't know your background.

00:41:29.786 --> 00:41:30.927
I don't know why you're drinking.

00:41:31.429 --> 00:41:44.219
That's the main thing I think I feel pressure because, and I always reply to my messages and I always provide the resources I can, but it's hard because I think people want to speak to you directly and I know that it is not good to do that.

00:41:44.621 --> 00:42:08.896
Yeah, because like you've said, in terms of alcoholism, there is this level of, well, there is dependency and I think the level of misunderstanding of dependency and To take you back to years ago, we did an outreach and this woman's daughter was screaming at us because we was telling her, okay, you've got to keep drinking, but you need to drink less because her body was physically dependent on the alcohol and her daughter did not understand.

00:42:09.097 --> 00:42:14.708
And I think so many people don't understand that alcohol is a depressing drug.

00:42:15.809 --> 00:42:16.791
And how that affects.

00:42:16.851 --> 00:42:18.992
And it is a medical issue, isn't it?

00:42:19.012 --> 00:42:20.454
So what's it like, I suppose?

00:42:20.494 --> 00:42:24.297
I mean, you can have people coming at you in all different levels, aren't you?

00:42:24.336 --> 00:42:25.778
You said yourself you was a binge drinker.

00:42:25.798 --> 00:42:29.342
So for people experiencing binge drinking, you're going to be the perfect person to talk to.

00:42:29.942 --> 00:42:33.605
So if I get questions that are like, oh, how do you go on a date sober?

00:42:33.865 --> 00:42:36.248
Or, you know, I'm going to bottomless punch my friends at the weekend.

00:42:36.327 --> 00:42:38.630
Is there any way you'd recommend that's got good alcohol-free options?

00:42:38.650 --> 00:42:40.871
Anything like that, I'm your person.

00:42:40.931 --> 00:42:41.472
I can respond.

00:42:41.913 --> 00:43:17.570
If people are like, I physically can't stop drinking, then I'm like, you need to go to a medical professional because if you stop drinking all of a sudden your body could go in shock and you could die like I'm very clear about that that there are questions that I am happy to answer and questions that are outside of my remit so I think it's just kind of making that clear but yeah I think the pressure is when you when you get messages like the second ones from people and you just want to make sure that they get to somewhere as safely as possible but like you know I've done brief intervention on referral training like all of those things just to make sure that I'm in a position and I think this is so many people say oh can you run an event here and oh, can I run an event for you here?

00:43:17.650 --> 00:43:22.157
But I'm so cautious that actually vulnerable people are going to come to these events.

00:43:22.197 --> 00:43:32.409
And if people that are running them don't have the training of someone maybe comes, they're really drunk, and they don't know where to signpost them or where to refer them to or who to call, that for me is quite a big issue.

00:43:32.429 --> 00:43:40.420
So in terms of safeguarding and things like that, I always want to make sure that I'm at the events just because I know where to signpost these people to or what to do if that happens.

00:43:40.521 --> 00:43:46.882
So, yeah, I think some of the pressure has been like, understanding that I'm not a professional.

00:43:47.458 --> 00:43:52.141
but also giving myself as many resources as possible so that I can make sure that people are signposted to

00:43:52.161 --> 00:43:52.641
the correct place.

00:43:52.682 --> 00:44:00.429
How much training have you had to do since achieving sobriety to have an understanding of all these different areas of substance misuse and alcoholism?

00:44:00.809 --> 00:44:02.150
Yeah, I think quite a bit.

00:44:02.170 --> 00:44:07.614
So I've done a lot of formal training, but I also just have read so much, especially when I was writing the book.

00:44:07.735 --> 00:44:13.400
I didn't realise it would be writing a dissertation, and I come from a journalist background as well, so I should have known better.

00:44:13.420 --> 00:44:24.990
But when I started it, I was just reading all these really heavy research books and looking at all these studies and, like, speaking to all these charities and all these, like, you know, amazing scientists and psychologists and things like that.

00:44:25.030 --> 00:44:28.114
So I feel like I learnt so much when I was writing the book.

00:44:28.153 --> 00:44:32.016
But I always, like, if I see, like, free trainings or free workshops, I'm always like, that looks really cool.

00:44:32.036 --> 00:44:38.583
I'm going to, like, go into that and just make sure that I'm kind of giving myself as much knowledge as possible.

00:44:38.702 --> 00:44:40.644
But I don't have all the

00:44:40.744 --> 00:44:41.284
answers.

00:44:41.425 --> 00:44:43.507
Because it is a minefield to people that don't know.

00:44:43.527 --> 00:44:45.228
And, you know, I mean, that woman's daughter.

00:44:45.429 --> 00:44:45.929
I was in...

00:44:46.561 --> 00:44:49.045
I was in that exact same position before I started working in this field.

00:44:49.126 --> 00:44:52.853
And I used to think, well, if you don't want to use drugs anymore, stop using drugs.

00:44:52.873 --> 00:44:55.938
If you don't want to drink anymore, stop drinking.

00:44:55.958 --> 00:44:57.121
Like it was that easy.

00:44:57.141 --> 00:45:02.550
And I think that's kind of was the big thing for me was to go into and do all this research, but to do it on your level as well.

00:45:02.570 --> 00:45:05.775
Like I said, this expectancy of knowing all the answers.

00:45:06.155 --> 00:45:09.601
I can't imagine it being too easy for you.

00:45:09.621 --> 00:45:09.722
I

00:45:09.762 --> 00:45:11.646
like reading, so it's fine.

00:45:12.161 --> 00:45:18.530
So have you found a difference in, I suppose, geographical locations in terms of that north and south divide?

00:45:18.590 --> 00:45:23.255
Like talking earlier, we talked about our teenage years and the culture of what it was like for us.

00:45:23.775 --> 00:45:32.768
I mean, I don't know what it's like down south, but have you found there's a difference in sort of drinking habits and behaviours and the way people approach alcohol, the way people approach sobriety?

00:45:33.228 --> 00:45:37.072
Yeah, it kind of, it differs, but it's also quite similar.

00:45:37.193 --> 00:45:45.012
So Our biggest kind of reach is the bigger cities, so London, Manchester.

00:45:45.391 --> 00:45:47.554
So across the cities, it seems to be quite similar.

00:45:47.594 --> 00:45:52.097
It's almost like the bigger the drinking culture is, the more people are interested in Sober Girl Society.

00:45:52.177 --> 00:45:56.822
It's not like, oh, that's such a big drinking culture, so we don't have any members up there.

00:45:57.202 --> 00:45:59.684
We have loads because the drinking culture is so massive.

00:46:00.184 --> 00:46:01.525
So that's been interesting.

00:46:01.545 --> 00:46:06.090
I think it is becoming more similar across the board.

00:46:06.150 --> 00:46:18.438
I think maybe five years ago, I think there was more of a north-south divide, but I don't know if personally for me and what I see, it seems to be like the interest is definitely ramping up up north for sobriety content.

00:46:19.360 --> 00:46:29.949
We have a thing in Hull called the Low Ale Trail, and it's basically all the set amount of pubs that offer non-alcoholic beverages, and we promote it quite regularly as a healthy alternative.

00:46:30.528 --> 00:46:31.510
Have you ever been to Hull before?

00:46:32.130 --> 00:46:32.331
No.

00:46:32.570 --> 00:46:33.952
Would you like to come to Hull and do the Low Ale Trail?

00:46:33.972 --> 00:46:34.271
Absolutely,

00:46:34.311 --> 00:46:35.213
get me to Hull.

00:46:35.233 --> 00:46:36.193
Yes, we're going to do it then.

00:46:36.273 --> 00:46:36.795
That's brilliant.

00:46:36.894 --> 00:46:42.960
I've got here that you've actually been doing some new projects, so you've been reviewing restaurants as a non-drinker.

00:46:42.960 --> 00:46:43.442
Yeah.

00:46:43.461 --> 00:46:44.465
And as an infant, what's that like?

00:46:44.887 --> 00:46:45.730
Yeah, fun actually.

00:46:45.771 --> 00:46:49.344
So I started doing just a few chain restaurants because...

00:46:50.273 --> 00:46:52.856
I think that so many restaurants could step up their game.

00:46:53.076 --> 00:47:02.184
Like, as a non-drinker, I just think at this point in, you know, in time, I just think restaurants have no excuse to not offer a few good options.

00:47:02.724 --> 00:47:07.869
And so I kind of wanted, and people always, you know, say to me, what's a really good restaurant to go to that's got good alcohol-free options?

00:47:08.349 --> 00:47:10.632
So I thought, okay, like, let's review them, go and do some.

00:47:10.692 --> 00:47:14.894
So, like, you know, you go to some and they'll have, like, one beer, and you're like, mm, cool, but I

00:47:14.914 --> 00:47:15.856
don't really fancy that.

00:47:16.217 --> 00:47:18.338
A Becks Blue, and it's like, oh, no, not Becks Blue.

00:47:18.358 --> 00:47:18.878
Not Becks Blue.

00:47:18.958 --> 00:47:19.159
Actually,

00:47:19.179 --> 00:47:42.423
complete tangent, but about a few years ago I got asked to do a programme on Channel 4 where we did a non-alcoholic bar crawl and so there was four of us and each had to choose a different thing and so Scott who we were with had to ask for a beer in every place and so this was like three years ago and he was like it'll be fine as long as they don't give me Bex Blue every single one they went into he was like we've got a non-alcoholic beer he was like oh yeah we've got Bex Blue and he

00:47:42.443 --> 00:47:51.873
was like no Bex Blue and you can just taste like you can physically taste the glass bottle on a Bex Blue it is absolutely awful and like I said this is why I don't I don't know why I was so big on the Budweiser one.

00:47:52.273 --> 00:47:53.556
Maybe it's because I was like 10, I don't know.

00:47:53.576 --> 00:47:57.380
But what other projects have you got going at the moment, if any?

00:47:58.681 --> 00:48:01.204
Oh, I mean, I'm always doing something or other.

00:48:01.784 --> 00:48:03.847
The big thing that we're trying to do really is expand the events.

00:48:03.927 --> 00:48:07.349
We've got some really exciting events for particularly January.

00:48:07.429 --> 00:48:09.331
Like we've got some cool ones coming up for the end of the year.

00:48:09.371 --> 00:48:15.980
But in January, we've really started like collaborating with other kind of like communities and people in the kind of sphere, which is really great.

00:48:16.039 --> 00:48:19.923
So we're going to have, yeah, a massive event in Jan, which will be really cool.

00:48:19.943 --> 00:48:26.731
So the the events are taking up a lot of time and then obviously Sippers is quite an undertaking in itself

00:48:26.831 --> 00:48:27.472
yeah I can imagine that

00:48:27.592 --> 00:49:04.938
yeah just trying to get as many people together we've sort of recently launched our virtual calls that take place every Saturday so they're just like a really informal space you can either come in and chat or you can just log on and listen turn your camera off if you want to and again it's just about meeting other women so people will come on and go you know my friend was a bit of a dick about me not drinking this way what conversation should I have with her and someone will pipe up and say you know I had the same with my friend this is what I said and now we're really good so like again they're not recovering meetings they're just kind of an opportunity for people to meet other like-minded women and chat about all things alcohol free so yeah there's always stuff going on and yeah i do want to write a book too but just haven't got around to it yet

00:49:05.739 --> 00:49:11.226
well i suppose as an influencer what are the what are the most effective ways you found to communicate with a younger audience

00:49:11.807 --> 00:50:50.376
i think making it accessible and I think a lot of people go oh you know it's meant to be about spriting it's all like pink and sparkly but for me that was one of the things that put me off kind of like AA and all this they felt really scary and really overwhelming and really life changing and you couldn't just like maybe dip your toe in like you know you're sworn in and then maybe you're made to do the 12 steps like I just want something that maybe people could dip in and out of for a while before committing to it and I always try and make it really clear that actually you don't even need to be sober to come to our events you've just got to be sober at the event so try to encourage people to actually just do stuff without drinking like and one of the events that we do is a dance class because it sounds like such a silly thing but so many people say to me oh yeah i could stop drinking but i could never get on a dance floor sober so that would hold me off from stopping altogether so we were like right let's rectify it let's run some dance classes like show people actually you know you can get on a dance floor sober so we started kind of like running those events so yeah I think just making it kind of not scary making it really accessible trying to make it look a bit cool I think it is always good like and you know showcasing all the other women that we have in our community like inspirational people who are also young who are leading these amazing fun fulfilled lives because they stopped drinking so I think that was one of the biggest things and and really promoting that message of like it's not about rock bottom it's about you know becoming more mindful with your relationship I think the word sober curious has become quite good for us because i think it really allows people to come to it with curiosity and not have to feel like oh they're going to be indoctrinated into this cult of sobriety so yeah i think just making it look as as accessible and less scary as

00:50:50.416 --> 00:51:04.876
possible i like the sort of dipping your toe aspect in of it as well because i think a and a them environment it's a lifetime commitment and it's all the work that you've got to put in taking an inventory of self at the end of every day and over-analysing every sort of action.

00:51:05.016 --> 00:51:10.282
There's a guy that I work with and he can sometimes come to me like, Matt, I need to make amends for yesterday.

00:51:10.983 --> 00:51:13.226
I was like, don't worry, it's fine.

00:51:13.246 --> 00:51:15.349
He said, yeah, but it could be the most trivial thing.

00:51:16.110 --> 00:51:23.077
But it's something that plays in his mind and it's a completely different world, I suppose, to what it is that you're doing.

00:51:23.579 --> 00:51:24.340
Would you like another drink?

00:51:24.500 --> 00:51:25.280
Oh, why not?

00:51:25.420 --> 00:51:26.382
I'll have a topper.

00:51:27.063 --> 00:51:28.545
Good time to have a little topper.

00:51:29.905 --> 00:51:30.666
This is great.

00:51:30.887 --> 00:51:31.668
I'm enjoying

00:51:31.728 --> 00:51:31.809
it.

00:51:31.909 --> 00:51:32.989
Yeah.

00:51:33.153 --> 00:51:35.456
Millie, we've got your book here with us.

00:51:35.476 --> 00:51:39.199
Tell me a little bit about the Sober Girl Society handbook.

00:51:39.219 --> 00:51:45.005
So I wrote the Sober Girl Society handbook during lockdown, which was interesting in itself.

00:51:45.126 --> 00:51:49.690
But there are so many amazing books out there for sobriety, quitting drinking, et cetera.

00:51:49.710 --> 00:51:55.094
I just felt there was one thing missing from the space and I thought that was A, something for younger women.

00:51:55.135 --> 00:51:59.338
I think everything I read when I first stopped drinking was aimed at people slightly older.

00:52:00.179 --> 00:52:35.298
And then again, something that promotes this message of it doesn't have to be rock bottom so it's very rooted in kind of sober curiosity and meeting people where they are and a lot about mindful drinking and harm reduction and that was really key for me and the third thing I think was missing was a focus on mental health I don't think a lot of the spidey books focused on mental health so there's a huge amount it's like a real handbook it's a really practical resource so it includes everything I know about not drinking and it's less about getting sober and how to deal with kind of all the things doing sober so sober weddings, sober bottomless brunches, sober dating.

00:52:35.358 --> 00:52:39.422
There's a whole chapter on dating and sex in there that you can read that my dad has still not read.

00:52:41.045 --> 00:52:42.686
And, you know, everything in there.

00:52:42.706 --> 00:52:46.150
So it kind of is a bit of my story, but it's also just a really practical handbook.

00:52:46.170 --> 00:52:51.615
And then at the end as well, there's kind of a bit on the alcohol industry, because I like to throw that controversy in at the end.

00:52:51.836 --> 00:52:54.840
So, yeah, it's kind of quite a breadth of things, really.

00:52:54.880 --> 00:53:01.387
But it's really good for anyone who just wants to mindfully drink, stop drinking, cut it out for a bit.

00:53:02.068 --> 00:53:02.447
It's not like...

00:53:02.447 --> 00:53:06.175
a really hardcore we're going to convert you to sobriety instantly book.

00:53:06.737 --> 00:53:12.528
You spoke a little bit about your mum earlier and I think we spoke a little bit about your mum before we went on camera as well.

00:53:13.291 --> 00:53:15.635
What was your relationship like with your dad for all this?

00:53:15.675 --> 00:53:24.467
Because I think as a I mean, as a dad, all you want to do is, I mean, again, my daughter's only nine months, but I think just the thought of starting school and everything, I just want to wrap up.

00:53:24.487 --> 00:53:26.530
What was that like for your dad, you going through all this stuff?

00:53:26.951 --> 00:53:33.356
I think my dad has always been, like, a very strong and silent type, like, would pass the messages on through my mum.

00:53:33.396 --> 00:53:44.686
Like, I would wake up in the morning and be really hungover when I was living with my parents, and my dad would just kind of, like, shake his head and not want to, like, talk about it really, and then I would get an earful from my mum that I kind of knew had the messages from my dad.

00:53:45.286 --> 00:53:47.088
I think he was really worried, Dad.

00:53:47.088 --> 00:53:49.697
I just don't think he knew how to approach me about it.

00:53:49.818 --> 00:53:53.112
So it always kind of went through her.

00:53:53.472 --> 00:53:55.340
But I mean, I've got a great relationship with my dad.

00:53:55.380 --> 00:53:56.063
We're very close.

00:53:56.123 --> 00:54:25.077
And actually, so my dad, about two and a half years ago now had had a stroke and since then he has hugely reduced his alcohol intake and he was quite a big drinker before one of the reasons i think he had the stroke um so it we're now quite bonded over non-alcoholic beers it is great and like if we go to the pub my mum will have wine and the two of us will sit there with our little non-alcoholic beers and like i bring new ones home for him i'm like dad have you seen this one so yeah that's been it's not good that you had a stroke but it's

00:54:25.297 --> 00:54:58.780
no but it's sometimes it takes something you know we talk about rock bottom moments and things like that and you know health scares and things can be there was something on the telly the other day it was on about the links of alcohol to cancer and I can't remember the woman's name I'm not a celebrity but in remission from breast cancer and she said it completely alters her view on drinking because of the links to I think it's interesting when I deliver alcohol awareness training and I talk about the amount of illnesses that alcohol is related to and I do think like how How is it legal?

00:54:59.019 --> 00:55:00.342
Do you know what I mean?

00:55:00.682 --> 00:55:07.894
One of the things I put out there is drug-related deaths, alcohol-related deaths, and the difference is hundreds of thousands.

00:55:07.934 --> 00:55:15.367
And you can argue, obviously, more people drink than do heroin, by all means, but it's still just bizarre what it's linked to.

00:55:17.190 --> 00:55:19.233
There's no sort of cap on it.

00:55:19.333 --> 00:55:22.699
There's nothing physically stopping us from binge drinking.

00:55:23.320 --> 00:55:27.021
When you really think about it, it's pretty mental isn't it

00:55:27.041 --> 00:56:18.802
well it's i think it was professor david nutt that came out and said alcohol is the most harmful drug in the world because when they scored it on this like scale it wasn't just because the harm to the user it was also the harm to society so through like crime you know all those things domestic violence everything like that the harm that it was causing is so much greater than someone doing ecstasy because they're not necessarily going to go out and then commit all these things and i always remember that really stuck with me because i thought it was so interesting just the amount of things that it permeates i remember reading and one of the stats in the book is like um alcohol um like drinking uh the the spend for the nhs is 3.5 billion pounds and like especially now we're all rallying around and we're like you know fund our nhs and we all donated to captain tom when he was like doing his walks but And then you look and you're like, this is costing us so much money.

00:56:18.822 --> 00:56:21.746
But the amount it makes in taxes is far more.

00:56:21.786 --> 00:56:22.307
That's it.

00:56:22.327 --> 00:56:29.179
It's the amount of people going to A&A with head injuries and broken bones off and being under the influence of alcohol.

00:56:30.443 --> 00:56:32.065
You're waiting time in a...

00:56:32.545 --> 00:56:40.333
A&E is probably partly due to the amount of people that could be in there with alcohol-related injuries, especially if you're in there on a Friday night.

00:56:40.353 --> 00:56:42.534
I've had to go before on a Friday night and I thought, you know, I'll

00:56:42.795 --> 00:56:43.054
wait until

00:56:43.375 --> 00:56:44.416
Saturday morning or something.

00:56:44.677 --> 00:56:46.117
I'm not even going now.

00:56:46.318 --> 00:56:47.179
I'm writing the book.

00:56:47.239 --> 00:56:50.461
I think it's three out of four on a weekend.

00:56:51.161 --> 00:56:56.286
It was quite a funny one that I've read for the book research.

00:56:56.367 --> 00:57:06.777
It was a woman who was clapping for the NHS in her garden during lockdown and fell over and hurt herself because she was pissed and then had to go to A&E.

00:57:07.577 --> 00:57:10.099
Good job she clapped for a moment at first.

00:57:10.199 --> 00:57:12.603
As long as you clap, that's the main thing.

00:57:12.623 --> 00:57:13.344
That's mental,

00:57:13.523 --> 00:57:13.623
isn't

00:57:13.824 --> 00:57:14.565
it?

00:57:14.625 --> 00:57:19.670
Is there anything else that you'd like to promote before I ask you a set of my 10 random questions?

00:57:19.871 --> 00:57:23.134
Not really, just the events, anything that we're doing.

00:57:23.233 --> 00:57:24.956
I would love to encourage more people to come.

00:57:25.235 --> 00:57:30.902
How can more girls, women get involved into the Sober Girls Society?

00:57:31.063 --> 00:58:19.684
If you visit the Instagram page or the website they're the two biggest places so we have like an amazing blog that is written by people in our community so if you've got experience and you know you've stopped drinking or you've got a story to tell we're always looking for blog submissions that would be amazing and then people can come to our events which is really great they can come on to our virtual calls especially if they've got like long-term sobriety as well because we get a lot of newbies come on to the virtual calls so it'd be amazing for them to hear about people who have got kind of like long-term sobriety or if you're new come to on the virtual calls or the events there's like so many ways that people can come and get involved even if they just want to share their story on the page that would be amazing we're always looking for content of amazing women who have kind of changed their relationship with alcohol or stopped drinking entirely just to inspire maybe other young women who come to the platform that's the first thing they see is oh she looks cool she's living her life and that's amazing

00:58:20.346 --> 00:58:36.291
um right i have i have 10 questions i ask these to all our guests um do you have the most random 10 questions it's a thing that our producer introduced and it does make for some does make for some interesting conversation so completely unrelated to everything that we've spoke about so far my first question is uh what is your favorite word

00:58:37.914 --> 00:58:41.119
oh god i never thought magical

00:58:41.318 --> 00:58:41.760
magical

00:58:41.800 --> 00:58:45.204
yeah that could be my favorite word i've never really thought about

00:58:45.224 --> 00:58:47.686
it what's your least favorite word

00:58:48.969 --> 00:58:51.806
oh Moist.

00:58:51.827 --> 00:58:53.128
I feel like that's probably a common one, isn't

00:58:53.148 --> 00:58:53.188
it?

00:58:53.208 --> 00:58:53.530
Do you know what?

00:58:53.550 --> 00:58:54.070
It's interesting.

00:58:54.090 --> 00:58:55.032
A lot of people hate moist.

00:58:55.072 --> 00:59:00.980
It was on a radio advert recently, and they were saying moist, like, when you're talking about a cake.

00:59:01.340 --> 00:59:01.740
Yeah.

00:59:01.900 --> 00:59:04.623
It's actually quite a nice word for a cake.

00:59:04.664 --> 00:59:05.304
Maybe like a

00:59:05.465 --> 00:59:05.985
squelch.

00:59:06.507 --> 00:59:07.427
Something that's like a...

00:59:08.048 --> 00:59:09.331
Yeah, I get that one.

00:59:09.351 --> 00:59:11.072
Tell me something that excites you.

00:59:12.065 --> 00:59:14.570
Oh, what excites me?

00:59:15.510 --> 00:59:16.532
Just everything.

00:59:16.612 --> 00:59:18.335
I'm very easily excitable.

00:59:18.496 --> 00:59:23.302
I see a really cool sunset and I'm like, oh, that's amazing.

00:59:23.322 --> 00:59:25.085
I just, yeah, I'm very excitable.

00:59:25.144 --> 00:59:26.226
So I think a lot of things.

00:59:26.427 --> 00:59:27.789
Okay, so what doesn't excite you then?

00:59:28.630 --> 00:59:30.213
Oh, maths and finances.

00:59:30.253 --> 00:59:34.179
I've been putting off my tax return for months now.

00:59:34.458 --> 00:59:38.565
Oh God, anything numbers related just doesn't excite me whatsoever.

00:59:39.347 --> 00:59:41.630
What sound or noise do you love?

00:59:42.434 --> 00:59:44.876
The sound of the sea, waves crashing.

00:59:44.936 --> 00:59:45.916
I'm such a water baby.

00:59:45.936 --> 00:59:47.498
I love being anywhere near water.

00:59:47.518 --> 00:59:48.980
And I love surfing.

00:59:49.039 --> 00:59:50.661
Very calming, isn't it?

00:59:50.681 --> 00:59:51.121
Yeah, so calming.

00:59:51.141 --> 00:59:53.242
I don't know if surfing's calming.

00:59:53.262 --> 00:59:54.443
I find it calming.

00:59:54.545 --> 00:59:59.128
I realise it's stressful and quite demanding, but when I'm out in the sea, I'm just like...

00:59:59.208 --> 00:59:59.548
How long have

00:59:59.568 --> 00:59:59.728
you been

00:59:59.748 --> 01:00:00.489
surfing?

01:00:00.510 --> 01:00:01.911
Well, I'm not a professional.

01:00:02.711 --> 01:00:03.873
I just do it when I can.

01:00:03.952 --> 01:00:10.637
I first learned in Cornwall a few years ago, and then I did it in Bali, and then I did it in Canada, and went back to Cornwall this year, actually.

01:00:10.719 --> 01:00:13.563
It's one of them things, surfing, where when you watch it, It looks really easy.

01:00:13.583 --> 01:00:16.733
It is so hard.

01:00:16.813 --> 01:00:19.561
When I was a kid and you took surfing, I was like, oh, that looks easy.

01:00:19.581 --> 01:00:20.905
And now I'm like, I just don't get it.

01:00:21.025 --> 01:00:22.791
I don't get how it physically works.

01:00:22.811 --> 01:00:24.014
Yeah, it's tiring as well.

01:00:24.556 --> 01:00:26.280
What sound or noise do you hear?

01:00:26.945 --> 01:00:29.210
I've got a real thing about wood.

01:00:29.650 --> 01:00:31.974
So I've got a favour of wooden lolly sticks.

01:00:32.856 --> 01:00:35.320
Or wooden chip faults, I don't know what it is.

01:00:35.340 --> 01:00:38.083
The sound of when they're spraking is just the worst.

01:00:38.103 --> 01:00:41.590
We've actually gifted you a big tub of wooden lolly sticks.

01:00:41.889 --> 01:00:45.076
When I was little, my brother used to put them in my coat pocket as a practical joke.

01:00:45.275 --> 01:00:47.840
So I put my hands in my pockets and we lifted with lolly sticks.

01:00:48.201 --> 01:00:49.262
What's your favourite curse word?

01:00:51.405 --> 01:00:51.646
I say

01:00:51.666 --> 01:00:53.088
s*** a lot, actually, I think.

01:00:53.289 --> 01:00:53.588
Yeah,

01:00:53.608 --> 01:00:53.949
I'm like...

01:00:54.498 --> 01:00:55.559
First wake up of the morning.

01:00:55.679 --> 01:00:56.780
Yeah.

01:00:58.742 --> 01:01:01.184
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

01:01:03.347 --> 01:01:08.733
Oh, I mean, I'd love to be a singer, but I can't sing a single note.

01:01:08.833 --> 01:01:10.175
I'm so tone deaf.

01:01:10.534 --> 01:01:11.996
I was born to sing.

01:01:12.197 --> 01:01:15.619
I actually said if I had three wishes, I reckon one of them would be to be a singer.

01:01:15.679 --> 01:01:19.324
Because I don't think people who do sing realise how lucky they are.

01:01:19.423 --> 01:01:20.184
No, I think that all the time.

01:01:20.244 --> 01:01:20.965
Even just like...

01:01:21.538 --> 01:01:24.460
No, it doesn't have to be a great singer, but just to be able to sing and not be turned down.

01:01:24.641 --> 01:01:25.001
Yeah.

01:01:25.121 --> 01:01:26.943
Where people look at you and you're

01:01:26.963 --> 01:01:29.144
like, I'd love to just whip it out and carry

01:01:29.164 --> 01:01:29.284
it.

01:01:29.344 --> 01:01:30.045
Yeah, I'd love that.

01:01:30.085 --> 01:01:31.907
Like Susan Boyle at the Britain's Got Talent.

01:01:32.007 --> 01:01:32.447
Everyone's just

01:01:32.927 --> 01:01:33.088
like, wow.

01:01:33.108 --> 01:01:34.248
Either that or an astronaut.

01:01:34.728 --> 01:01:35.829
I think I'd like to be an astronaut.

01:01:35.869 --> 01:01:36.170
That's nice.

01:01:36.590 --> 01:01:37.871
What profession would you not like to do?

01:01:37.891 --> 01:01:38.632
What's the worst thing?

01:01:38.672 --> 01:01:42.076
It doesn't necessarily have to be a slight on people that do it, just something that wouldn't be for you.

01:01:42.195 --> 01:01:46.079
Oh, definitely some kind of accountancy or finance job.

01:01:46.380 --> 01:01:46.960
Okay, yeah, yeah.

01:01:46.980 --> 01:01:50.103
Again, not to dig on them, it would bore me to tears.

01:01:50.503 --> 01:01:54.525
And if heaven exists What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

01:01:55.585 --> 01:02:03.853
it's a free buffet that's what I'd like just go in there's just chicken nuggets and sausage rolls galore that'd be my dream that's a

01:02:04.273 --> 01:02:11.179
dream I'd be happy with it thank you very much for coming on Millie thank you much appreciated would you like to open our bottle of bubble

01:02:11.340 --> 01:02:13.081
oh god now we're going

01:02:13.561 --> 01:02:17.364
I was going to do it but I felt like it was too much pressure so I thought I'd hand that to

01:02:18.065 --> 01:02:34.181
I used to be really good at this because I worked in a bar and then I did an internship one year and there was another intern and she'd obviously never done it and she felt the pressure and someone said oh can you just pop that prosecco and she did it and she popped it in her eye and she had to go to hospital and after that I just became like

01:02:34.621 --> 01:02:43.731
alcohol related incidents were not under the influence exactly yeah I reckon there's probably so many what's it like working in a bar then did you have problems with alcohol back

01:02:43.751 --> 01:02:57.289
then that was at uni I worked in loads of bars again that's why I think I was drinking so much because all the booze was free and like even on my nights off I used to go into the bar because I worked there I knew everyone behind the bar So they always give me free drinks.

01:02:58.572 --> 01:02:59.876
Oh, that wasn't as bad as I thought

01:03:00.077 --> 01:03:00.759
it was going to be.

01:03:00.778 --> 01:03:00.878
There

01:03:00.898 --> 01:03:01.199
we go, seamless.

01:03:01.219 --> 01:03:07.097
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