Hi, I’m Sarah, retired from drinking but not from fun!
I was the life and soul of the party, first and last on the dance floor, organiser of girls days and nights out, booker of Christmas parties… feeding my extrovert lifestyle until I decided to go alcohol free for a while and discovered I’m actually a bit of an introvert and I really love my own company!
I was feeling a bit flat and thought it was probably hormones and then figured out that alcohol was the common theme in making rubbish decisions, tiredness, lack of energy, bad skin and grumpiness. I was a Thursday, Friday, Saturday night drinker with weeknight drinking thrown in when life was stressful (which it always was)!
When I was 41 I made the decision to quit alcohol for a year, I told a few friends that I was going to do it and once I had said it out loud I knew I’d have to see it through or lose face! I started to count down to my start date, still binge drinking and wondering how I was going to pull it off when I realised I was stalling for time, so I quit there and then. I had my last drink – nothing monumental, out with a few friends and no hangover the next day and that was that. No crushing rock bottom – just a feeling of relief about a decision well made.
Since then I’ve ‘survived’ Christmas parties with friends, colleagues, Christmas eve, Christmas day, boxing day, New Years Eve, my birthday, days/eves out in London, parties with friends, days at the races, weddings, funerals, festivals and lockdown! I say survived… but I’ve done so much more than that… I’ve thrived. I’ve slept better, am fitter, less bloated, have clearer skin, been nicer, more thoughtful and my memory has really improved – oh and discovered it wasn’t hormones driving me crazy – it was alcohol!
I’m not going to tell you that choosing to prioritise my wellbeing has been easy – sometimes it’s been really hard.
I’ve navigated breast cancer, grief and loss over the last few years and doing this while people suggested ‘one won’t hurt’ or ‘you didn’t reeeeeally have a problem with alcohol’ has been less than ideal at times.
I feel powerful about my decision to be alcohol free where I used to feel powerless.
I’m so pleased I got ‘unstuck’ and now I love helping other people to do the same.
What else can I tell you?
– I’m vegetarian
– I’m owned by a Black Labrador called Martha – we walk many, many miles together – as expedition leaders and as tea shop connoisseurs
– My sons are taller than me; teenagers, young adults, exploring who they are becoming
-My husband is a runner and I often wonder what he’s running from or where he is running to
-Family Williamson are very NHS reliant. We have a variety of (sometimes terrifying) health conditions going on and we navigate them in the best way we can
-Neuro-unconventional
-One day I’ll be starting a rebellion (but a really gentle and kind one) it’ll probably be because I can no longer be a bystander to one of our badly managed institutions.
-I used to work in security which I now find very funny (I am 5 foot nothing-ish) but as my then Line Manager used to say… ‘We employed you for your diplomatic skill set, your conflict resistant style and your ability to bring calm to scary situations. Your 6 foot tall team members will be standing right behind you while you talk.’
-I’ve been in a lift with Beyonce and her enormous bodyguard – yep, just the three of us. Wanna hear my stories about P!nk, Brittany Spears, others?
-Early menopause (triggered by a terrifying life event) kicked my butt – I’m OK now but I wasn’t for a minute there!
-What else would you like to know, you can ask
Shall we work together for the next three months? FIND OUT HOW HERE