Cutting down on alcohol can be difficult, which might not be very surprising. However, while some people might typically think it is difficult for those who are addicted, it can be harder to part with it in a more casual sense too. If a lot of your interactions with your friends involve alcohol, trying to cut down on alcohol might naturally mean that you cut down on seeing your friends, which you might not want to do.
Thinking about the range of alcohol-free activities that do exist can have you thinking about how you can incorporate them into your own life, whether enjoying your own company or that of your social group.
The Gaming Binge
Together or alone, gaming might provide the answer. After a long week of work, knowing that you can simply tune into the games that you enjoy might be a perfect relief. If you’re not someone who is used to gaming, you have an enormous range of options to explore. From mobile to console to PC, you could be visiting a online casino or engrossing yourself in a hundred-hour role-playing game.
Gaming with friends doesn’t have to mean online either. You can arrange to meet up at one of your houses, taking turns and talking over some food that you get delivered or digging deep into a co-op game that you make more and more progress with each time you play.
A Healthier Alternative
It might be that this isn’t just about cutting down on alcohol but getting healthier in every aspect of your life. If that’s the case, you might decide to start going on hikes, runs or cycles with your friends – activities that can also have you spending more time in the fresh air than you used to. Alternatively, you might all think of getting into some sort of group sport – something that you can have fun with and exercise through without necessarily taking it too seriously.
Again, though, this isn’t something that you need to involve your friends with if you or they don’t want to. Finding time within your schedule to introduce more exercise is always a good idea. It doesn’t have to be that either, and cooking healthier meals might help to provide you with the boost that you’re looking for.
A Meal Out
It might be the format of drinking with your friends that you enjoy, however. If you usually socialise with them in home settings, movie nights or gaming sessions might be able to replace what you normally do. If you’re more inclined to go out, though, that feeling of getting ready to go somewhere in the evening and enjoy the nightlife might be something that you miss when you think about cutting down on alcohol.
If that’s the case, you might think about substituting these evenings with meals out, allowing you and your friends to treat yourselves to a delicious meal, perhaps putting the money that would have been spent on alcohol towards food instead, meaning you don’t spend more than you would have otherwise.
