Episode 10

Vic and Lauren - Sober Alcohol Free Stories and building a life to celebrates adventure

Published on: 22nd November, 2024

Today I talk to Lauren who shares how her thrill seeking antics may have previously caused her trouble, but she harnessed as a springboard to build a life full adventure though her fabulous sober travel company "We love Lucid"

Transcript
Speaker:

Hi, Betty I'm Victoria and I don't.

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Don't drink.

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Today, I talked to Lauren

about her journey to sobriety.

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And how the realization that by

harnessing her thrill-seeking self.

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She could not only stay sober, but

create a life full of adventure.

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Venture enjoy.

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And one, which she was shared

with others through her company.

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We love.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Hi

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Hi, hi Vic.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: lovely

to have you with me today.

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Thank you for joining.

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You were a recommendation

from my friend, Sarah.

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I'm going to give her a little shout out.

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Um, she had read your article, and

thought it would be really interesting

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for me to explore your story with you.

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you kindly replied very

quickly, when I came to you.

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So I appreciate that.

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thank you for being so open to come

on and talk about your experiences

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and the success that you've had, which

I'm really excited to hear about.

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So I'm going to hand over to you

with the first question, which is

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always just tell me your story.

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what happened?

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When did you decide enough is enough and

you were no longer going to be drinking?

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

Yep, so I'm eight years sober,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Congratulations.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I got

sober when I was living in South Korea.

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I was living and working

there as a teacher.

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maybe some people might hear that and

think, oh, well, you know, That's quite

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different to my life or whatever, but

it's, it's not really because, we all

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share similar patterns I'll talk about

what my patterns were over the years.

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you could probably relate to

this in that they changed, you

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know, it wasn't always the same.

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There were times where, I was really

into the wine, drinking wine at home.

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It could have been, during the week,

it could have been seven days a week.

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And then maybe I, you know, chilled

out with more wine at the weekend.

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there were other periods of my life

when it was, weekends, full on benders,

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go out on Friday, come back on Sunday.

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I did that quite a lot actually

throughout my twenties.

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And then there were times where I'd

maybe get More into my fitness and

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drink a little bit less, I was into

to recreational Party drugs as well

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Stimulants was something that I

quite enjoyed and also alcohol gave

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me that effect alcohol made me feel

really up and oh god There she is.

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What's gonna happen?

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people I think No, scared for their lives

when I was around, but, my patterns with

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alcohol and party drugs were like many

other people, but also, you know, a little

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bit different, a bit of an extraordinary

story as well, because I used to

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take off, I used to save up my money.

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and take off and go traveling for example,

South Africa is one of the places I went

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many of my friends at the time, you know,

I talk about friends at the time, but

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to be honest, I had party acquaintances.

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It was really hard for me

to have friendships then.

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lots of people were like, Oh God,

traveling solo, traveling South Africa.

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But yeah, I basically, I kind of got

off on this idea of going to like a

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kind of dangerous place and somewhere

I could be anonymous and take a

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pile of drugs and party cheaper too.

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throughout my life, I did that I went

to these places for about six months

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and you know what it's like to be in

this party mode where you actually

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think, every day is a day for partying.

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I used to do that, every

day in South Africa.

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I did it in South America.

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eventually, I was in the

UK and I was like, oh, this

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place is just depressing me.

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I struggle with the UK sometimes,

the weather and this and that, having

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traveled so much to sunny places.

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so I thought I'll go to Korea and

teach English there, a bit of a

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culture shock, something interesting.

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in South Korea, they're

all about the drinking.

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I don't know many people if they

know that, but Koreans love drinking.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: No, I

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah, they do.

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They do.

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Admittedly, they start out with, eating

and drinking at the start of the night,

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you know, wouldn't be Alcohol focused

without the food and like it is in the UK.

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And so I got really into the drinking

there They didn't have many recreational

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drugs, which turned out to be a blessing

and a curse for me because what it did

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was really accelerate this whole kind

of basically the the implications of

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the drinking only became really clear.

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My patterns and addictive tendencies

became clear because I wasn't

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taking stimulants to stay awake.

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Experiencing blackouts, and I

hadn't experienced them before

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because I took things to stay awake,

even if it was a whole weekend.

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not remembering what I did.

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There were times where I went out

one night and lost all my belongings.

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thankfully, somewhere like Korea,

there were times when I had

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my, my bag and my wallet posted

back to me after a night out.

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People are very nice there.

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Yeah.

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Any crime that's committed

usually in Korea is not by,

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you know, is by other people.

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But, uh, uh, yeah, pointless fact there.

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So yeah, uh,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: fact.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

I like to, because it's, part

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of my story is travel too.

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And so I like to also talk

about these places I've been

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to, but that's what happened.

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It just all kind of snowballed and it

got to a point where, Various different

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things were happening, in my life

and trouble that I was getting into.

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I'll not go into too much detail at

this point because, quite frankly, I

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have to leave something for the book.

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And, uh,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Oh, Yes.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: but

yeah, just, you know, the rock

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bottom things are quite personal too.

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And so, we will just say that, you

know, life was becoming, there's

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a lot of drama was ensuing in my

life and more than I could manage.

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it was becoming life threatening.

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And so, also my body, I

was feeling really awful.

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And I decided one day I was at the

end of my tether and thought, right,

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I can't see any way out of this.

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I really can't.

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You know, I was envisaging, many

people say that with age, people

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naturally put a stop to these

party antics, but that was not me.

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I was not, planning on stopping

anytime soon and, I could envisage,

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uh, visions of myself gate crashing

student parties when other women my

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age were, cooing over grandchildren

and, collecting their pension.

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And I was just like, oh my god.

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This has to stop.

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I, I like, you know, a train going

a thousand miles per hour to a place

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that, I don't wanna reach my death

bed and think that, I've wasted this.

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And so I decided to give it a go.

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I took it one day at a time.

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I was heading off on a, a trip

into the, to an island in the

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East coast of East Coast of Korea.

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that was a real eyeopener for me.

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it was the first weekend in

a long time that I hadn't.

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been drinking and it was just, I

was like a child, just the clarity,

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witnessing life for the first time,

the clarity waking up without that

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regret and without the hangover having

meaningful connections and conversations.

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And so it was that experience that

really, really woke me up to what

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life could be without alcohol.

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I Took it from there.

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Step by step, I got into adventure travel.

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bought a bike and cycled along the East

coast of Korea it was just amazing.

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You know, waking up every

day, I had a tent with me,

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not knowing what I would find.

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And it was a kind of freedom and

vitality that I had searched for,

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for so long with alcohol and drugs.

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That's one of the reasons why

I like alcohol and uppers.

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Was because it allowed me a sense

of freedom, freedom from myself,

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freedom from my thoughts, freedom

from the difficult emotions, freedom

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from the version of me that I didn't

like, which was this sensitive,

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slightly self conscious, slightly

introverted, slightly insecure person.

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I was looking for freedom from that.

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And so I really found

that in adventure travel.

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when I left Korea, I had a list of

bucket list countries that I wanted

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to go to and one of them was Mongolia.

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I'd grown up riding horses,

when I was a young girl and

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then I ditched that whenever the

booze and the boys came along.

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so, yeah, I rode across the

Mongolian steppe on horseback.

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I went backpacking in Siberia

and this remote place.

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Island in Siberia.

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I know what you're thinking.

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Siberia is landlocked.

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Well, it's not actually, but yes,

it was an island and a huge lake in

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Siberia, and it was just magical.

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I swam with sharks in Oman

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Oh my

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I stayed on

a farm working with horses in Bosnia.

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Those were just some of

the things that I did.

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it was such a life changing experience.

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Yeah.

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So I did all these amazing, had all

these amazing experiences and towards

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the end of that trip, I ended up

in a beautiful little mountaintop

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town in the south of Spain, one of

the little whitewashed, villages.

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It's a town called Ronda and that's

where I was inspired to create travel

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experiences for people who don't drink.

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at the time, this whole sober community,

wasn't evolved like it is now, there

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weren't so many things going on.

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I certainly wasn't aware

of any of it at all.

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I didn't even have an Instagram

account at that point.

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So in my mind, I was thinking to myself,

how can I make these sober experiences,

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something uplifting and invigorating?

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Mm

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: When I

thought of a bunch of sober people

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sitting around together, I thought of this

kind of, you know, circle of depressed,

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alcoholics sharing their clothes.

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And, and, and it, it, I think

that was often at that time was

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like a collective perception

that what not only I was feeling.

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And so I really just worked on

over the next few months, How to,

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you know, a vision of what I could

create that would really reflect

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my experience of sober travel.

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And that's how We Love Lucid came about.

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So I created We Love Lucid in 2019.

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I moved to that part of Spain

because I didn't have a child

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and I just went and lived where

I wanted to at the drop of a hat.

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I stayed there for a couple of years

and ran my first alcohol free trips.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

What a thing to do.

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And like, what a thing to realize

that your, whole sort of personality

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was entangled with this anyway.

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And then to be able to do that

through sobriety and make it something

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that other people could enjoy.

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it's a really great thing to do.

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It probably made it very easy

for you to be yourself sort of,

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

yeah, yeah, you know, it's so, so

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interesting that you say that because

it's something I've been actually

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grappling with until very recently.

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That part of me that, did all

those crazy things and got banned

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from South Africa for five years.

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On a, you know, a Coke bender when I

was 18 and running around the South

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American streets, part of me that

did that is actually the same part

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of me that took a risk to create

an alcohol free travel business.

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Who, you know, loves to go

out rally driving now, and I

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can save up a bit of money.

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Who, loves going on these

big adventures that I do.

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It's the same, you know, for

so long I pathologized that.

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I was like, oh, I did those

things because of this trauma.

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And don't get me wrong, it's

all kind of muddled in there.

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as time goes on, you pick it apart.

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But It's not so simple as saying I

did those things because of that I

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did those things, because part of my

personality was to do those things.

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And I see that now because

I've got a three year old

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daughter and I see it in her.

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She's like that.

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And I'm like, hold on a minute.

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That was just part of, Who I was,

and I often say to sober people,

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find that thing, you know, and turn

it around and use it for, for goods.

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They, I heard this brilliant quote one

time, and it said, the level to which

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someone can self destruct is, directly

correlational to the level to which

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they can create good in the world.

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That's so true.

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And I think it's a message that

we should shout about more.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: definitely

using that energy, isn't it, for something

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that's really important and aligning

it with yourself is so important.

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I just very recently, had some coaching

to try and work out what my, Life

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purpose was so, you know, looking

at my, my values and all of those

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things together with my life purpose.

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And, it's really interesting this podcast

and, and a few other things that are

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happening outside of this, like with

work and everything really aligns with it

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because of that, because it's this sort of

who I am and this desire to shine a light

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on things and, and, you know, and make it

better for other people as well as myself.

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realizing that.

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wasn't the answer to making things

fun and, and different and worth

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exploring has been massive for me

because I just didn't know I, I, like

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you would have, just how I lived.

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Like, you know, I assumed that

if you were going to go out,

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why would a night be any fun?

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If you couldn't have some wine when you

went, it was for me, that's what it was.

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And it was only drinking wine didn't

maybe go to some of the extremes, but like

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you say, it's the behaviors, isn't it?

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And that same pattern, of

thinking that's the only

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah, yeah,

no, and you know, when I look back and

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think about those times, I could never

have even fathomed, going, a month

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without alcohol or having fun at all.

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And it's just, for me, it's mind

blowing how our perception can change.

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And it's not like, our perceptions

changed and now we just

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settle for the boring thing.

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That's not what it's about.

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It's all at all.

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It's like, I actually love Doing the

things that I do now, the adventure,

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the rally driving, and this and

that, I really love it, and I often

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call it the FOMO to JOMO mechanism.

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at the beginning of sobriety,

when you're first sober, you

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don't have, enough memories or

associations with, Alcohol free fun.

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They don't exist yet.

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You have not created them yet.

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So we tend to just look back and

think, when I think of fun, I think

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of, this thing I did and this thing

I did and alcohol was always present.

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But I think once we start to build

those experiences and memories where

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we do something fun that doesn't

involve alcohol, the scale, starts to

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tip and you don't feel so much FOMO.

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You start thinking,

actually, I prefer this.

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You know, and of course it's tongue

in cheek and it's not like, Oh

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yeah, I just love missing out.

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That's not what it is, you

know, joy of missing out.

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It's not, it's not that.

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It's just underlining the fact that

our perception of fun does change.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yeah.

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And actually I do genuinely

sometimes have a bit of a joy of

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missing out because like my pyjamas.

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I quite like night

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: yeah,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

I get a bit more tired.

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Maybe that's because I'm getting older.

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there are some nights where you

know they're just going to end in

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carnage and people are going out.

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And I mean, those are the ones

that I really don't want to be at.

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And actually, weirdly,

even when I was a drinker.

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And would go on those

nights prior to them.

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I would have some level

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: me too.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: that I

was going to go too far or lose

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: miss the train

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: whatever

it was, even if it was just about

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the hangover I was expecting the

next day, mine were pretty bad, my

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hangovers, but I didn't even really.

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I massively look forward to some of

those nights in the end, because I

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just knew that it would be a disaster.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I

felt like that, especially towards

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the end, with all the drinking,

the blackouts, I had that anxiety

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about, oh God, what's gonna happen?

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Because something inevitably

was gonna happen, you know?

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

It wasn't unfounded.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: no.

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It sort

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Oh, so,

so you kind of, it sounds like you

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just made a logical decision that

this was something you were going to

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Mm-Hmm.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

find it challenging?

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Because you'd gone from a hundred miles

an hour to plodding and trying to.

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get through this.

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how did you do it?

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did you have tools

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: a

good question, and it's something

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I think about, you know?

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I sometimes wonder How some of us

have got that, it's almost like a

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little flame, that is barely there,

but it's still there, and it allows

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you, to get through this, because

not everybody does, you know, and I

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wonder, why was I able to do that?

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And this other person that you might hear

about, or a friend, why are they not?

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And I don't know, I honestly don't

know the answer to that question.

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But practically speaking,

um, practically speaking,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

just telling someone with a

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leaf blower outside my window.

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Can you believe this day I'm

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Don't worry,

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: I

normally do these at night.

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Now I'm realizing

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: you

don't need to edit that out either.

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It just adds, you know, a bit of realness.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

I'm like waving my

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

don't worry, these things happen.

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Listen, I've got a three

year old, so I understand.

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practically speaking, things that I

did, I just, I delved into interests.

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I tried new things.

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I learned Korean language.

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I learned how to cook Korean food.

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The bike helped me immensely.

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You know, I'm not going to lie.

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It was a challenging time because you're

bombarded with uncomfortable, you know,

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there's the feelings and emotions that

you've had over the years that, you

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know, the reason why I drink anyway.

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And then.

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there's all these other ones that

are related to crap you've done,

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and this and that, and, you know.

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Um, and so that is hard, it really

is, but at the same time I was

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experiencing this kind of, this

amazing appreciation for life.

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And so it's such a mixed, I mean,

I think that just goes for life in

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general, , one day, especially we've

got children and young children and,

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you can be experiencing such bliss

one moment and next moment, you're

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like, ah, I tear my hair out early

sobriety was definitely very much

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like that for me, a rollercoaster.

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one thing that also really

helped me was volunteering.

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vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Okay.

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lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

stress this enough, you know,

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uh, I started volunteering.

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I worked in a, volunteered in

a wee orphanage, orphanage.

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I have a feeling that that's not the word

people say anymore, but, uh, and in a

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soup kitchen in various places, and what

that did for me was give me this kind

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of sense of, Oh, you are doing something

helpful, You know what it's like when

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you're struggling with alcohol and drugs,

it's a very self centered, existence.

355

:

even though you are taking these things

to try and, avoid the pain, it's still

356

:

stuff that you're doing for yourself.

357

:

And you, well, I ended up

upsetting lots of people and, I

358

:

felt really ashamed about that.

359

:

this volunteering really helped me.

360

:

It gives me a focus and I was able to give

back and see, Oh, actually that person

361

:

is, benefiting from me helping them.

362

:

And I really would,

it's a huge sober hack.

363

:

I still do it.

364

:

I still do the odd volunteering right now.

365

:

I'm doing it in a writing

school for the disabled.

366

:

I grew up with some people saying, no,

you're not supposed to tell anybody when

367

:

you volunteer, because you're giving.

368

:

But the reason why I do tell people, and

I actually don't talk about it that much.

369

:

is because as a sober person, or even

anybody, I think it's invaluable.

370

:

I really do.

371

:

I think it's an invaluable tool.

372

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: I don't

know why you wouldn't want to

373

:

tell people that you volunteer.

374

:

I think it's great.

375

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

376

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: I think that you

stop drinking and you start remembering

377

:

the various things you've done and those

nights that perhaps you would rather had

378

:

not happened or, mistakes you've made.

379

:

I think you're right.

380

:

You can start to, feel

pretty bad about yourself.

381

:

so I understand why that, that just

something to tell you that you're

382

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah,

383

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: a bad person and

384

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: exactly.

385

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: You know,

these, um, these things that we've

386

:

done in the past, if we've been

under the influence of whether it

387

:

is drugs or whether it is alcohol.

388

:

I do think of it as me plus.

389

:

Wine in my instance.

390

:

So the way that I behaved in that

situation, it's not the authentic me.

391

:

And I know some people say, Oh,

the truth comes out when you drink.

392

:

I actually believe that to be true at all.

393

:

I think your brain gets mashed and

you make some really stupid decisions.

394

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

Of course, I agree.

395

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Say stupid

396

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

397

:

Yeah.

398

:

Yeah.

399

:

Yeah.

400

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: said things

when I've been drinking to people that

401

:

I absolutely, a hundred percent did

not mean I just, I could not explain

402

:

enough that I did not mean that at all.

403

:

so I think of it as me plus

substance, that's who that person was.

404

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I like that.

405

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: so it's

important, isn't it, to forgive

406

:

yourself and think, you know, actually

me on my own, none of that would've

407

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

408

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Because

me on my own is who I am now.

409

:

And, it's hard to do, but you should

forgive yourself for those things.

410

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I know, and

I feel like that person who said that

411

:

about, the truth comes out, I think they

need to be, held accountable because

412

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: We'll

413

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: People think

that that's true and it's just not,

414

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yeah.

415

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: It's a version

under the influence of some substance.

416

:

And yeah, you're right.

417

:

I grew up thinking that I was a

terrible person not that my parents

418

:

went out of their way to say that

I was a really bad person, but

419

:

just with certain conditionings.

420

:

I grew up in a religious background.

421

:

I grew up thinking.

422

:

I was a terrible person, and it

still creeps into my reality, There's

423

:

times where I'm like, that person

didn't get back, they're not, they're

424

:

not pissed off at me, you know?

425

:

And I'm like, hold on!

426

:

I am a caring

427

:

Like, I have to really check in with

myself, and I know there's a lot of

428

:

people that suffer from that, especially

people pleasers, they have this thing

429

:

that they're bad people, and it's just, I

430

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yeah.

431

:

It's very common.

432

:

And I think people pleasing is

really common in people who either

433

:

drink or take drugs, isn't it?

434

:

Because you're trying to be what you think

people want you to be and that party girl

435

:

existence that was a big thing for me.

436

:

Like I wanted people to like me.

437

:

I wanted to be the life

and soul of that party.

438

:

quite a shock to my friends when I

said I wasn't going to be anymore.

439

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: I know,

they just think, oh no, no more fun

440

:

now, but it's just different, you know,

441

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yeah.

442

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

different kind of fun.

443

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

I don't think it's flat.

444

:

sometimes you hear people saying it's

more of a flat line than ups and downs.

445

:

I don't feel like it's flat.

446

:

I genuinely really enjoy almost

everything that I do now.

447

:

I love planning things and, I'm definitely

going to be having a look at your

448

:

website for some of the options because

I love a weekend away and particularly.

449

:

people, gosh, I mean, that's up

with people in real life as well,

450

:

who don't drink is phenomenal.

451

:

Tell us a bit about your company.

452

:

Cause, that's also what

I want to hear about.

453

:

Cause there might be people who are

thinking, Oh, I can't, can't go travel

454

:

now from on my own cause I'm sober

and no one want to talk to me and all

455

:

those things we tell ourselves that

are not true, but it'd be useful to

456

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: So when I

started running my first trips in Spain

457

:

they were kind of small, you know, I was

just putting it out there for the first

458

:

time and there's maybe three or four of

us one of the things I noticed almost

459

:

immediately was the strength of connection

that people forged and how quickly they

460

:

forged that and I was really blown away

by it and I soon realized that it was

461

:

because, people have this shared link.

462

:

profound life experience.

463

:

the fact that they've made this

bold decision to quit drinking in

464

:

a society that glorifies drinking.

465

:

is a really courageous thing to do, but it

can also make people feel quite isolated.

466

:

It can be quite an isolating thing if

you don't have a community around you.

467

:

I think when people connect with

others, I think it's And not only on

468

:

like, because it's not a day event, of

course you can go to a day event meet

469

:

someone and get chatting But because

it's over the space of a few days,

470

:

you really get to connect with people

and you really get to know people.

471

:

And yeah, it was just amazing to see that.

472

:

And so that really spurred me on, I

really thought, oh wow, there's something

473

:

here that I'm gonna keep going at.

474

:

And so I did a few trips there,

and then I moved back to the UK.

475

:

That's when I became pregnant and

COVID hit and I did a few trips.

476

:

I don't even know how I managed

that, but, uh, during that time

477

:

and my, my trips basically started

with a bit of an adventure element.

478

:

For example, when we were in Rwanda,

we went to moonlight kayaking and a big

479

:

lake, for example, which is just amazing,

480

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Wow.

481

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: So, so

yeah, we had a bit of adventure,

482

:

some foodie stuff, and yeah,

that's generally how it went.

483

:

But then over the years, recent years

since my daughter's grown up a little

484

:

bit, I've been ve kind of leaning into

the more adventurous side of things.

485

:

And so that's why you'll see in

my website we've got, a Camino de

486

:

Santiago, which is, you know, the,

the Camino in the north of Spain.

487

:

It's a.

488

:

Pilgrimage, and we're doing a week long

hike there, with an organization called

489

:

She Recovers in the United States, a

friend of mine, Mandy Manor, she's a,

490

:

she was a sober coach, and she's doing

various things in the sober community

491

:

now, or a mental health sphere.

492

:

And so yeah, we're going to do that.

493

:

and also we've got, this really exciting

challenge, a 120 mile in one day cycling

494

:

challenge from a town in Devon called Beer

to a town called Soberton in Hampshire.

495

:

Did

496

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

Do you know what?

497

:

A, I know someone who lives in

Soberton, which is interesting.

498

:

I only discovered it by accident.

499

:

when I became sober, I don't know how

I came across Soberton, but I tried

500

:

to arrange a weekend away with, some

of the sober ladies that I'd met

501

:

on a platform called Snowbaristas

502

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Did you?

503

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yeah, we

couldn't find any accommodation that

504

:

fitted us all, so we ended up in a

place called Emily Farm instead, which

505

:

is in Surrey, but only because I kept

having to expand out, but Soberton, and

506

:

for that reason, oh, that's brilliant.

507

:

What a

508

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: That's so

funny because I've never met, I haven't

509

:

met anybody that, that knew of it.

510

:

Well, you know, a sober person that knew

of it and had planned something like that.

511

:

So, yeah, that's what we're doing and,

yeah, I love, I'm really enjoying that.

512

:

We've basically got this WhatsApp group of

people who are wanting to join and people

513

:

can do shorter, versions of the route.

514

:

You don't have to do the full

120 and you don't have to be

515

:

sober to join that, event.

516

:

All my other tips are for sober people.

517

:

stable in their sobriety, but for this,

you don't have to be, you know, because

518

:

we assume that, you know, it's going to

be anybody who takes on 120 mile bike ride

519

:

will, I'm sure know what that's going to

be like, and they're going to be okay.

520

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Yes.

521

:

You wouldn't want to do that on a

522

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah,

523

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: you?

524

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: or

without training or anything like

525

:

that, you know, it's really people

526

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: No.

527

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: are

going to invest, are investing

528

:

time and getting ready for that.

529

:

and I'm loving it.

530

:

There's just so much camaraderie

around that kind of thing.

531

:

And it's really just to raise

awareness about sobriety.

532

:

and yeah, so that's what's happening.

533

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: So how

do people, if someone wanted to

534

:

come on that, what do they do?

535

:

Do they just go onto your website

or how do they contact you about it?

536

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

537

:

So go onto the website and you

can see the different trips there.

538

:

The Camino de Santiago is all sold out.

539

:

I would, yeah, I'd really like to put

on a, Hiking, a different hiking trip,

540

:

maybe something a bit more local.

541

:

So, so anything you see there, just

click on it and all the information's

542

:

on our website, I enjoy writing.

543

:

I started writing professionally, And I

have a blog as well where I share some of

544

:

my crazy stories before quitting and some

after quitting or just sober insights,

545

:

you know, it's, um, yeah, I, I, I lost

interest in kind of small talk around the

546

:

whole sober thing a long time ago, my,

anything I, you know, it's all usually

547

:

very real and that's not for everybody,

but, I think it's kind of what happens.

548

:

for me personally, the whole

sanitized thing is, is, you know,

549

:

it's not, it's not so much for me.

550

:

if that sounds like something anybody's

interested in, they can head to my

551

:

website, sign up to the newsletter.

552

:

I'm also on Instagram sharing my cycling

journey, getting back into cycling

553

:

after seven years, getting ready for

this big beer to Soberton challenge.

554

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: So

the website is, we love lucid.

555

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

Yeah, we love LICID.

556

:

Yeah, that's right.

557

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: and then

what's the blog How do we find the

558

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah.

559

:

It's just on there.

560

:

If you go onto the website, we love LICID.

561

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: on the

562

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

and it's under writing.

563

:

yes, that's where my blog is and

you can, there'll a pop up will, you

564

:

know, there'll be a pop up to sign

up to it, we can read some stories.

565

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Ah, good.

566

:

Well, I'll read those.

567

:

I quite like the real stories.

568

:

That's why I did this as well.

569

:

I just want to know what's

up, what we know, happens.

570

:

what's everyone else's story been?

571

:

Like mine's, mine's quite familiar.

572

:

I feel like.

573

:

Lots of people have a similar story to me.

574

:

the university days of my generation were

full of drinking and then it just went on

575

:

and kept going having kids, I fell into

the mummy drinking culture target for

576

:

those organizations that make us think

we needed Prosecco to bring up our kids.

577

:

so that was my story, but there's so many

other more interesting ones out there.

578

:

So thank you for sharing yours.

579

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: That's no

580

:

I think everybody, the great thing about

this space is that There are similarities

581

:

with yours and other people's and

probably mine and other people's too,

582

:

but everyone's story is still in its

own way, unique, you know, cause you're,

583

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: yeah.

584

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

you know, an Indian,

585

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

And it's so encouraging.

586

:

And the fact that you've gone on

to have this wonderful company

587

:

and, really good luck with all of

588

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: yeah.

589

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

listening to have a pop over and

590

:

see, see what's going on there.

591

:

If they want to join that cycle

ride, I might just come and meet you

592

:

in Bloomington to say, well done.

593

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211:

Oh, it's going to be so great.

594

:

I'm going on the, on the radio and BBC

to talk about it actually on Saturday.

595

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: Oh, that's so

596

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Yeah,

I love the opportunity to go on

597

:

and talk about all these things.

598

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: You should

shout it from the rooftops because

599

:

achieving sobriety in itself is

amazing, but to go on and do what

600

:

you've done, it's really great,

601

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: Thank you.

602

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208:

and much appreciated.

603

:

Okay, I'm going to say goodbye to

you now for the sake of the podcast.

604

:

thank you for joining me and

sharing your lovely story with us.

605

:

anyone that's listening that wants to give

it a go, this is definitely an inspiring

606

:

one for you to, to follow in the footsteps

and just find out who you are and then,

607

:

and then build something from that.

608

:

So, thank you so much, Laura,

and it's been amazing talking

609

:

lauren_1_10-29-2024_133211: No problem.

610

:

Thank you, Vic.

611

:

thank you for having me.

612

:

vic-_1_10-29-2024_133208: You're welcome.

613

:

Thank you for listening.

614

:

To Sabre alcohol-free stories.

615

:

If this episode helped you, please.

616

:

Please like share and follow.

617

:

Or leave a review on pod chaser.

618

:

Dot com.

619

:

And if you've got a story to

tell, please contact me on Sabre.

620

:

A F stories@outlook.com.

621

:

And don't forget.

622

:

You can make your catch phrase.

623

:

I don't drink.

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About the Podcast

Sober, Alcohol Free Stories
"I Don't Drink"
If you’ve ever googled “do I drink too much” this podcast is for you!

This is for those of you who end up wondering what’s wrong with you, questioning how your friends can possibly drink so slowly, or worse can just have one with dinner (aliens). For those of you who have tried to moderate, just a Thursday, only red wine, not before 6, not after 9, not if I’m wearing blue 😊

For those of you who secretly don’t enjoy the theatre because you know the show will be an interruption to a booze filled evening. For those who fall out with loved ones, lose handbags, feel lonely or shameful the morning after, wear sunglasses on the school run, or enjoy way too many mints for an average human. For those who need something to change but feel it it’s impossible to break up with their loyal companion – booze.

The good news is you are NOT weird, or alone, there’s millions of us, just like you. You CAN stop drinking alcohol. I know this because until Jan 2022 I was all the above, and now “I don’t drink”.

In this podcast we will delve in to what it takes to become alcohol free in a society that’s quite frankly obsessed with drinking! I’ll talk to people just like you and me, some near the beginning of their alcohol-free life, and some further along, but all with one thing in common, the courage to stare booze in the face and say NO, NOT ME, NOT ANYMORE! They will share their sliding doors moments, regrets, loves, pink clouds and the tools that have helped them to succeed.

We will show you that life without the “wine witch” is actually pretty amazing, how we all thought we were losing something, but what we have gained is insurmountable. We will share how our lives transformed, skin began to glow, sleep became deep and relaxing, bodies became healthy, relationships flourished, careers progressed, and our minds were at peace. WE will show you that you deserve the chance to be happy and free and turn what may seem impossible into possible.

Listen along and join me in making your catchphrase “I don’t drink”.

About your host

Profile picture for VICTORIA Banat

VICTORIA Banat