It is universally accepted that the promised ‘quick fix’ of alcohol to dull the edges of our pain often comes with a long term detriment to our mental wellbeing, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Consequently, in removing alcohol, many people experience a noticeable improvement in their mental health, be it a reduction in anxiety symptoms, improved mood, or ability to better manage stressful situations.

Navigating my own sobriety presented both revelations and challenges. Initially, it felt like things had become harder with my mental health. Predictably, I began experiencing the full range of my emotions, but less expectedly, issues I thought I’d worked through began to surface. There was also a lot of soul searching, which created dissonance in my life that was tricky to navigate at times.

In hindsight, I recognise this process was a catalyst for my personal growth beyond anything I could have envisaged. At the time, it felt like a betrayal that being sober didn’t miraculously make all my difficulties go away.

I now understand this is a fairly common phenomena and have spoken to a number of people with similar experiences where removing alcohol has brought up past traumas, created difficult dynamics in their relationships or they just feel overwhelmed with emotions or life stressors and haven’t had the opportunity to learn healthy coping strategies.

For many of us, drinking alcohol has always been a socially acceptable and often encouraged way to cope with pain. What isn’t immediately obvious however, is that in dulling our pain we miss out on understanding what our feelings are trying to communicate and the opportunity to respond in a in a healthier way. It is in feeling our feelings that we grow stronger from them.

My personal experience, and that of others, has motivated me to start my own practice offering counselling to individuals who are struggling with their mental health, whether they are alcohol free or sober curious.

I am immensely proud to be a sober counsellor and passionate about ensuring people do not feel alone in their journey, whatever that might look like.

Counselling and the safety of the therapeutic relationship is a catalyst for consciously peeling back the layers of who you are and why you are feeling a certain way, leading to greater awareness and understanding. I offer a compassionate space for you to make sense of things in your own time, without judgement and with gentle guidance. From there, you learn to meet your experiences with acceptance and compassion and learn who you truly are and what you need. In time, you learn to embrace change and begin navigating life from a place of authenticity and self trust with new knowledge and resources.