What does being Alcohol Free mean for me? 

I choose to live my life alcohol free. This means that I do not drink alcohol at all. I am truly an altogether happier and healthier person without it, and being alcohol free means that I am genuinely free to be the real me, not the unhappy shadow of me that I was back in my drinking days. When I am coaching, I encourage my Clients to stay open minded and curious about what works for them. My personal credo is personal to me, and is based on what works for me and makes me happy:

• I do not drink alcohol, and have not done so for over six years.
• I extend compassion and never judgement to everyone who has a difficult relationship with alcohol, and do all that I can to help them regain control
• I know that moderation (which I define as having the occasional drink of alcohol) would not work for me – more importantly, it holds no appeal to me. Why would I want a small quantity of something I simply do not want at all?
• However I am happy to drink both low and no alcohol alternatives. People may raise their eyebrows at the idea of me drinking a 0.5% alcohol beer, but alcohol is a naturally occurring substance, and there is less alcohol in a can of 0.5% beer than there is in a banana! Also, there is no way I could drink enough 0.5% beer to get me even a little bit tipsy – eight cans of 0.5% beer would be the same ABV as one can of weak (4.0%) beer, and I really don’t think I could manage 8 cans of anything! 
• I am happy to eat food which has been cooked with alcohol provided that the alcohol has been burnt off. So, a coq au vin where the wine has been heated to the point where the alcohol has evaporated would be fine. But I would be wary of a pudding with neat alcohol in it. For me, it is about the intention…if a small amount of alcohol gets into my body as part of what I’m eating, I’d be relatively relaxed about it – I wouldn’t be eating that particular pudding in order to get drunk, and I’d have to eat an awful lot of it before that happened!
• I do not give alcohol as a gift, and if I am given it by someone who doesn’t know that I don’t drink, I explain that I won’t drink it myself and ask if it is ok if I give it to a charity auction or raffle

Why did I become an alcohol freedom coach?

The first time the idea of training to become a coach was floated to me (at the very first This Naked Mind conference in Denver in October 2018), I thought about it briefly, and then dismissed the idea. I had only been alcohol free for five months, and although I felt very secure in my alcohol-free status, it felt somehow presumptuous to think that I was ready to help others. But a year later, I felt differently. I had been through all the ‘firsts’ of the first year of being alcohol free, and far from being difficult or requiring willpower, I was just loving the way my life was opening up for me. New friends. New confidence. New energy. New sense of purpose. I felt a calling to share the joy that I had found, and to help others break free from alcohol’s chains.

What substances do I coach around? 

As an alcohol freedom coach, I focus purely on alcohol as a substance, and do not coach around any other addictive substances such as nicotine, narcotics and other drugs, gambling, food, sex or shopping. Alcohol is the only addictive substance to which I personally have been addicted, and as a coach, I feel it is important that I have walked in my clients’ shoes and experienced much of what they may be experiencing.

My commitment to personal development

Becoming an alcohol freedom coach has definitely changed me. I am infinitely happier in my own skin than I was before, and I have grown to understand that many of us who get into difficulty with alcohol do so because we feel a deep sense of unease with who we are and question our worthiness and our right to be happy. Training as a coach meant I embarked on a journey of self-discovery and personal development, and I can not see that journey ending, as there is so much to learn. All of the following are new practices which are now baked into my life:

• Journaling
• Breathwork
• Mindfulness
• Meditation
• Self-compassion

I have always been a reader, but I now read a huge number of books and listen to a lot of podcasts about psychology and the mind-body connection. I have dived into learning as much as I can about the science of how alcohol works in the body, and how alcohol is embraced by and influences society. I continue to learn as much as I can about key aspects of our physical and mental well-being, such as nutrition and sleep. As something of an exercise junky, I have studied the way in which alcohol impairs sporting performance. And finally, I have studied the way that an alcohol-centric culture is harming businesses, and written a book about this (Bottling Up Trouble – how alcohol is harming your business and what to do about it, published Sept 2024).

Growth through vulnerability

I have deliberately chosen to walk a difficult path. It would have been easy to become alcohol free and stay in my reasonably well-paid job in advertising until retirement (which would have been in a year or two). Instead I stepped waaaaay out of my comfort zone and into the unknown. Without a partner to support me financially, and with no savings, I trained as a coach, investing a lot of money in my training without any idea whether I would be any good at coaching. I gave up my job without knowing whether I could build a sufficiently successful coaching business to support myself. I wrote a book without knowing if anyone would buy it. And I launched a podcast without knowing if anyone would listen to it. Why??? Because I believe I have a calling, and stepping outside of my comfort zone in this way is necessary if I am to help others break free from the misery of alcohol addiction or avoid falling prey to it in the first place.  I am so grateful to all the people who have trusted me as their coach, and look forward to working with many more in the years to come.