Let’s Talk Sobriety!

Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. My name is Brittany Hagan. I am just getting over a brutal cold, so I sound kind of crazy. I haven't been able to talk very much, which is hard for me. If you know me at all, it means, like, I don't. That's all I do is talk. I talk for my job. I talk for fun. I talk constantly. And so me not being able to talk was brutal. Hi, Jennifer. Welcome to the live stream. I want to talk about. My name is Brittany Hagan. I have been sober for 15 years. I'm an army veteran. I'm a single mom, I'm a divorcee, and I very much so am a big time fan of the community at Cadre.

So let's talk about sobriety. I think this is a really important thing to bring up right now because we're about to hit one of the most trendy months to get sober. So if you're, like, sober curious, which is like, kind of sounds like hotter and more excited and saying, I think I want to quit drinking, you could totally sneak in with all of our dry January people. And as a lot of, you know, a lot of people like to take the month of January off from drinking. Now, being a military girly or military person in general, we're not exactly great about when our battle buddies become sober.

It's like a gallon of bubble water. Don't ask. This is what I do every night. There's a lot of weird things that come with saying you want to get sober. So, like, the nice thing about dry January is you can kind of test the waters in a way that's not committal or scary or any stigma put on it. So, like, this would be a time to just say, yeah, I'm doing dry January. I just want to, like, get healthy. Throw in the word macro in there and you'll just be set. It can just be this nice pause, a little reset, and experiment.

The funny thing is a lot of sober people I know who aren't, like, labels like me, like, I'm an alcoholic. So, like, I would. That's just how I identify. And I get it. Some people don't want that. And it's kind of. It's. For me, it's empowering. It's my thing. I'm fine with it. But I get that there's a lot of people that don't want that label and want to, like, have it on their own terms. I've given up power a long time ago about terms, caring about any of that. So I'm Personally an alcoholic, but like, you don't have to be.

Like, that's what's really cool about the world we live in now, be it our relationships, jobs, or your sobriety, is that there is no one path. There is no, you have to do this, you have to do that. We have a bajillion things and labels for everything, including where you're at with consuming alcohol, which is like, so stupid because there shouldn't be a title. Like, maybe you just don't want to drink and you want to feel it out or whatever. It's setting yourself up for success in a fun way. So I highly recommend, if you're somebody who's been like, playing with the idea of drinking less or not drinking at all, tap into dry January.

Because like I said, a lot of my friends who are sober started off with dry January. Yeah, like, just like anything, it's addicting to feel good. It's addicting to. If this is something that is good for you to be a non drinker, you're gonna find it to be kind of nice. And then like I said, you can fold in with all the little trendy peeps and be fine. Of course, January is also like fresh starts, which is a vibe as well. When you start feeling that better sleep, better moods, fewer hangovers, you're gonna, you're, you're gonna like it.

So you're thinking about sobriety. January is the time to do it. It's also like if, if you're an army person, especially look at it as a recon. How long. When's the last time you went a whole month without drinking? This is like a research mission. Okay. Track things, track your sleep, track your weight, track your, I don't know, steps. Like, use this month as just another thing that you can track and check on and, you know, maybe write your moods down. You know, this is one of those things where you can look at it as.

It's experimental. This is like the final frontier. This is the floor of the ocean. This is the freaking beyond the moon kind of thing is that, like, this is another thing for you to just feel out and experiment with yourself, which is exciting, which is fun. You're just a soldier again. Great. We love. Also doesn't Dry January doesn't have to be the same for everybody. Just like everything. Free to be. One second. My dog's licking himself. Murph. I love him, but he drives me nuts when he's constantly looking.

Smartphy. Say hi to the camera. There you go. That's my golden dry January. Doesn't have to be the same for everybody. If you're somebody who is looking to not drink, cool. If you're looking for somebody who's like, I don't want to drink at home alone anymore, maybe that's. Maybe that is something that, like, would behoove you. JC Wrote, getting to know oneself through experience and experimentation is the best. Totally. C. i love that. Like I said, final frontier. Like, maybe you do this dry January, and then on in February.

It can be as simple as, okay, I did dry January, and now I'm gonna find out. Like. Like, every day I'm gonna. There's this thing. Okay, this is really random, JC but sometimes somebody told me that if you lay at the edge of your bed and lay upside down and let your spine Relax for 20 minutes every morning, it was like a game changer. So, like, February do. Upside down February. I don't know. These are all. It's such a stigma around drinking, but the reality of it is you don't know what. You don't know about what you're doing or not doing until you try it.

So like I said, it can be something that is different for you. Maybe. No. Drinking alone in January. That's your version of dry January. You're like, I just kind of been drinking wine at home. And like, between calories and lack of sleep and, like, all these things, because my sister says is that she doesn't sleep as well when she has a glass of wine, so. And also, like, I always say this with anybody who is getting sober or sober curious is that you can also do whatever you need to do in that moment if that is valuable to you to be sober all January.

Maybe you do what I do, and sometimes you add up the drinks that you would have bought and you buy leggings or. Or, I don't know, people are more exciting than that. Like, put that money aside. I had a friend, he wanted to get sober, and he loved socks, and so he bought 360 socks. 365 socks. 360 is the circle. 365 new pairs of socks. And every morning he got to wear a new pair of socks. And every day he threw it out, which I know is, like, wasteful, but, like, that was what his thing was, and, like, that was his interchangeable little treat for himself.

Okay, that's so cool. Like, do something for yourself that's maybe worth marking again. I. Cancer stuff. When I first got sober, I would kind of keep track of how much I would have paid that night out and didn't pay I mean, between Ubers drinks, especially drinks now, I hear I'm a very cheap date by people. I'm always like, well, can we also stop by like Southdale? Such a mall. Okay, that makes me sound like a prostitute. But the point is the money adds up. If you want to put towards something else that's fun too.

And I have some tips. I wrote down some quick tips. I know it's we're running to my tail end of my little live stream. Some of my tips I quickly wrote down, I was thinking this week was remove the alcohol from your home, you put it somewhere else if you don't want to throw it out. Like, you can have somebody to hold it, like got nice wine or whatever. Just like if it's not there, there's a less likely chance you're gonna go out and buy it because, like, especially if you live here in Minnesota, is that like, you can head, like the idea of leaving our house at night to go get wine.

I mean, I am so cold all the time, always. And what else were my little tips? Oh, yeah. Have a ritual. Here's mine. I mean, I take fun fact. I like mixing a bunch of drinks together. So I do bubble water, one of those sparkling ice drinks from Costco, and then a splash of cranberry. So I make a giant drink every night. Mmm. And yeah, I almost pee my pants. It's fine. C. wrote, big mistake. Pretty Woman. Yeah. I would make like a guy. Take me to Southdale. Instead of drinks. Plan your evenings. Have like a fun.

Like, I even do timetables if I'm feeling some sort of way. Like today, tonight I'm hanging out by myself. So till 6 o', clock, I'm putting Santa bears away. 6 to 6:30, I'm having dinner by myself. So I like to do little timetables for myself. Even when I'm alone. It's just how I spend my time with myself. Tell people. Tell people you're doing dry January, especially Dry Drainer is so trendy and socially acceptable. And I know that like, you'll get past that. I don't give a frick nowadays who I tell them an alcoholic.

But I'm doing dry January is such an easy thing to say. And it's funny because I don't know how many people do dry January and go, they'll be in February. And they're like, yeah, I just haven't drank yet because I feel good. And who's what a hole is gonna argue with you? Think about that. The idea of somebody telling you I feel good Right now. And I want to stay on this little high. And it's mid February, it's March, it's April, it's May. What a jerk to be like. Yeah, but I don't like it because I drink.

So you should drink with me. It's just such a weird concept. Yeah. Now, keep in mind, sometimes quitting drinking, you get some feelings come up. Might feel restless, irritated, emotional, or bored. But just touch those feelings. I always say it's like a little rotten tooth. Touch it and then move on. It's okay to be bored. It's okay to watch a lot of tv. It's okay to eat dessert instead of having a drink. Just acknowledge it and move on. I hope that if you're somebody who is experiencing the need or want to get sober, that this January is something that you take advantage of.

Because, like I said, you can hide with the masses like a little secret agent. And maybe it's something that's really going to help you out. So to recap, if you're looking to get sober, dry January, jump in, come with the masses, hang out with us. If it's something that feels good, maybe keep it going. Everybody's dry. January is different. Maybe you're somebody who struggles with edibles and you just don't do edibles or you struggle with drinking alone. You don't drink alone. Do something that makes your month of January feel different.

And JC was just talking about that. A lot of his favorite things about getting to know himself has been through experience and experimentation. So whatever that is, maybe join one of those sauna clubs. Those look fun. I really love hanging out with you guys. I'm sorry I've been sick, but I'm getting better. And cheers. Have a happy New Year. And I hope that whatever journey you take in January, that I get to be a part of it. All right, bye. Cadre by Endline Stream I'm still here for five more seconds.

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