'On The Go' Sober Toolkit for Summer Days

The summer is lush. I SWEAR I am not complaining. But it can be tricky to navigate our sobriety in the summer, actually. If you take the usual triggers HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) these are essentially states of depletion which lead to imbalance and trigger us to self-soothe and meet whatever the need in a maladaptive way by drinking alcohol. 

If we look at summer, we can see that although the lighter mornings beckon us out of bed and the light evenings lend themselves to socialising and there is a natural fiery go-go-go energy around summer which would be fine if we had been hibernating all winter but since we are living in a 24/7, productivity-obsessed culture, I doubt any of us put our feet up, really. 

We can very easily get depleted in the summer. If we are parents the period of school closure can nearly break us, with juggling work and family. And all that GUILT about having 'perfect' summers and 'making memories.' If we are not parents or carers we can still feel that guilt to be making the most of it somehow. We can easily be TOAST-ed - Thirsty, overwhelmed , angry, socialised-out and tired.) Ok, I made that up. Blue Peter badge for the most extreme and all encompassing summer trigger acronym. 

The On the Go Sober Toolkit. 

Although we need to look at planning, expectations, planning in down time etc etc, one practical way of feeling in control and like you have got this , and if you feel like you are prepped you'll be less anxious and less likely to push the F it button, is an On the Go Toolkit. This is a bit like a nappy bag, if you can remember those .... remember the sheer panic if you left it anywhere? It had EVERYTHING in it. Ideas for the Sober Version, with suggestions from the Love Sober Members (focussing heavily on sensory needs and self regulation are:) 

• Phone - with apps for sober groups, sober buddies, soothing music, breathing techniques etc etc. 

• Noise Cancelling Headphones - possibly one Mandy's greatest gifts to me! 

• Water/ isotonic drink/ AF drink 

• Emergency sweets/ chocolate - for sudden low sugar/  (courtesy of Catherine & Claire in the Love Sober group 

• Layers and big shawl scarf ( I have a lush Saint & Sophia Rock n Roll one for summer and a huge Alpaca shawl for winter) These are officially my Summer Noo Noo & my Winter Noo Noo.

• Essential oil roll on ( Emma Sobersonic) 

• Chewing gum (good for releasing jaw tension) - Jo Walduck is a fan of the jaw release!

• Note Pad and Pen 

• Screen Saver with Sober Mantra on it

• Quit Lit 

• Sunglasses ( whether it's bright or not) 

• Uber app on your phone so you can leave when you want ( if you are not driving) 

• Add your own, experiment and see what works for you to keep you cool, calm and collected and bossing your sobriety when things heat up. 

We all have sensory needs and becoming ninjas at managing them and meeting them in healthy ways is a power tool for managing overwhelm and drinking triggers when we are out and about. YES ,YOU ARE A BOSS LADY.

Love Kate x