How To Get Through Early Sobriety (Days 1-90 Alcohol-Free)

Over the past five years , I've guided nearly 500 clients through early sobriety , through the first 90 days , and here's what I've discovered . There are nine clear and distinct phases that they all go through . The problem is is 99% of the population go through the exact nine phases , but they try to apply the same strategy to each one of them .

That's , sadly , why most people fail . But after doing this almost 500 times , I've seen patterns . So today we're going to break down these nine distinct phases so you can get through early sobriety . You'll learn why what happens on day three can actually sabotage you on day 30 , and you'll understand why just quitting is probably the worst advice you'll ever hear .

Over the next few minutes , I'll be explaining what you should do in each of these phases , including the pre-quitting phase , which pretty much everybody seems to miss . Let's start at the pre-quitting phase . Let's start at the pre-quitting phase . So what do most people do when they're trying to stop drinking . They just stop , they just do it .

They just say right , that's it , I've had enough of alcohol , I'm going to stop . I've done this , you might have done this , I've done it hundreds of times and it never works because we never change our perception of alcohol .

We live in a world that is dominated by alcohol and we live in a world where it's normal to drink and ultimately , alcohol is built on this foundation and understanding that it somehow enhances our life . So this technique just never works . So I want to give you a different way to do things . Before you decide right , I'm stopping , I'm doing it .

The most important thing is to reframe the way that you view alcohol . What you want to do is educate yourself . You want to study alcohol , study addiction , study the way that it's marketed and really just start seeing this for what it is . We live in a world of almost mass insanity . See , alcohol doesn't enhance anybody's life . It's a drug .

It destroys pretty much every single cell it comes into contact with . It's a carcinogen . So the best thing you can do is prepare yourself by studying . I've got 700 YouTube videos on this channel talking about this exact topic , showing you a different perception , a different perspective . I have that free video training that you can watch in the description .

That will show you how to do it . Other things that you can do in this phase is find a coach . Find somebody who's got the mindset that you want . For some people , that's me . For others , you might find it in somebody else . That's okay . Other ideas here are to find a system , find a program . Some people find it in Alcoholics Anonymous .

That wasn't for me . My mom found success in that program , but you could find some kind of system right Rather than just doing it on your own . Find a process . And the other thing you can do in this pre-quitting phase is find a community . Find a group of people who are working on a similar goal that you want .

That's why I built a community into my stop drinking program , because it's so important being around like-minded people who can encourage you , who can support you , who can give you advice in different scenarios of your life . Like I said , my mum found that in AA . That wasn't for me , but just make sure to spend some time preparing , educating yourself .

Maybe finding a coach , finding a system , finding a community these things make all the difference . So let's get into the next phase , the decision Now . This is why the pre-quitting phase is so important , because what a lot of people do is they never actually decide to stop drinking . What they do is they just say I'm going to try .

I'm just going to try for 90 days , let's see how it goes , and people almost set themselves up to fail . They're giving themselves like an escape . Now I'm not trying to discourage those people . If that's you right now , maybe that's what you need to do . Maybe you need to have this as part of your journey and part of your process .

But from my experience , just trying , just giving it a go at a 0% success rate , long-term it can work . It worked for me for sometimes a few months , sometimes a few weeks , but something would always lead me back to drinking , because I always held alcohol on a pedestal . I never fixed my worldview .

That's why every single time , I just fell flat on my face , because I never changed my perception . What also happened when I didn't just make a true decision to stop drinking is I would count the days and I would think the longer I'd gone without drinking , the more of a non-drinker that I am .

But the problem is is the longer I went , the more I wanted to drink . Oh , it's been 30 days , it's been ages now . When am I going to get a drink again ? These were the conversations that would come up in my head Then , finally , it might be two months and I'd Now .

I know it's hard if you haven't changed your worldview yet , but that's why the pre-quitting phase is so important . That's why I have an education part of my program , because getting into that frame of mind where you see alcohol for what it is and then just deciding to stop drinking changed my life . I haven't looked back for six and a half years .

I've had no desire to drink . It fixed it . That was the thing that fixed the problem for me , and I've never looked back . So let's get into the next phase , day zero to three . Now don't get me wrong . There are a small minority of people who may need to go through some kind of medical detox , and I'm not here to downplay that .

But for most of the population they not here to downplay that , but for most of the population they are fine . If you think you need a detox , don't be watching a YouTube video . You need to be working with a medical professional . I'm not trying to fearmonger , I'm just being real here .

But for most people , all it's going to be are some very mild withdrawal symptoms . Those first few days you might feel tired , you might feel a bit flu-like , you might just feel a bit drained , and you're just going to have to go through that .

But I want you to frame it like this those first few days are the smallest price that you need to pay to get your life back . It's the best exchange of discomfort that you will ever make . So just bear it in mind that it's to come , but it's going to be okay .

The other thing that can happen in the first few days is you just might struggle to fall asleep at night . So just expect maybe you're going to be sleep deprived . Expect that maybe you're going to get some sugar cravings . Right , you might want to have some ice cream , some sweets , and the best advice I've got for you is just be kind to yourself .

If you need to book a couple of days off work and just lie in bed all day , it doesn't matter . Just get through it . Everybody's got to get through it . But on the other side of this is total freedom . It's so worth it . So let's get into the transition phase .

Days three to seven so here is when your body is really starting to adjust to this new normal Now . For a lot of people things are going to start feeling a lot better now , but for some people things still don't feel quite right Around . This time mental fog will start to improve , but it won't be back to like pre-drinking levels for a while .

But you will just start to feel a little bit more clear . But during days three to seven we need to understand that it's not some overnight success , miracle cure and then boom , things are great . Day three to seven can be a little bit tough but , like I said , just get through this first week , because so many great things are to come .

During this part you might need to deal with a few social situations . Right , you might need to go out to a restaurant , you might need to meet a friend in a place where alcohol is served and for some people during that first week , three to seven days in this period , they might need to say no to social things . Me personally , I went .

I didn't care because I knew that I'd made a true decision to stop . So I'm not avoiding alcohol anymore . That's my recommendation , but that's not going to resonate with everybody . But just expect to make some improvements , but still not to be at 100% . So just take it easy . So let's get into day 7 to 14 .

Usually , for most people around day 7 to 14 is where you'll really start to have noticeable improvements in your sleep . A lot of people at this point go well . I had the best night's sleep I've had in years . I forgot what it was like to sleep so well . By this point you'll have got through your first alcohol-free weekend .

For some of you that means that you've gone out socializing . For others it just means that you've got through the weekend at home and it's been okay . By this point as well , you'll have started to build reference experiences . You might have had thoughts of drinking and then just not drank and been okay with it , and these build upon themselves A lot of people .

At this point they start to feel the physical benefits . The bloating has gone down , the energy started to slowly increase . And don't get me wrong , you still might not be at 100% at this point . You still might feel a little bit cloudy , but most of the population now will really have started to feel like things are just going in the right direction .

And one of the best things at this point is the pain from stopping drinking will have subsided . So let's get into days 14 to 28 , which is what I actually call the danger zone . So for somebody that didn't make a true decision to stop , this is a very tough place to be . All the pain that alcohol caused will have mostly gone by now .

For example , if a wife's on somebody's case , they're not going to be on your case anymore . If you've not drank for a couple of weeks , if you are feeling a really bad hangover and you just kind of accumulated drinking over a good amount of months and you were just feeling like ugh with it all , by around two weeks that feeling

will have gone . And because people start to feel really good at this point , those of us that are uncommitted can start to justify drinking again . That's why the pre-quitting phase is so important . Making a decision is so important and remembering why you did this is so important .

So if you are thinking of drinking in this phase , the best advice I've got for you is to play it out . Where is it going to end up ? Think about if you make a decision to drink . Where are you going to be in five years if you don't stop ? Because the likelihood is is you won't stop .

Alcohol is a chain reaction that never ends until you stop it , and the fact that you're already two to maybe four weeks in because we're talking about days 14 to 28 here means that you've got so much good momentum . You've got through the crappy part before , so you really want to remember your why at this point . Why are you doing this ?

You really need to stay vigilant here , despite feeling good . Now , a big thing that happened for me during days 14 to 28 is my confidence returned .

I knew I had it beat because I'd made a decision , I'd got through the first couple of weeks and then it was like this light switch of like it's seriously done and in my journey , what I did is within a couple of weeks I started my own business . Basically , my life had crumbled apart because of drinking and I ended up working in a restaurant .

I had no money left . It was just a disaster Not that there's anything wrong with working in a restaurant . But before I had a bunch of momentum with business and I was going in the right direction . I drank and then I went backwards .

I went back to what I did as a student and around this mark , something switched and I was like I felt like I could do anything . So I immediately started a personal training business and it immediately went well because my confidence had come back . I started to believe in myself again . So now let's get into months one to months two .

This is all about building momentum . By this point you'll really start to actually see some visible benefits . The bloating will have gone down . Your skin will start to get some noticeable improvements . If you have a red face , that will have started to decrease . You'll start to see financial benefits .

At this point , right , there's all that money that we were spending on alcohol that's now going in our pocket . For people that are doing anything to do with sales , or self-employed , or you've got your own business you may see big increases in your ability to produce . You might be getting more clients , getting more sales , making more money .

People at work might be noticing , thinking damn , how have you got so productive ? You never used to be like this . And then , further down the line , this is when promotions start . Relationships will get better at this point .

This was big for me because in the past I made a promise to other people that I'd stop drinking alcohol and then I'd break that promise , and that strains relationships hard If you don't keep your word to the people you love . They get sick of it quickly . So you will find relationships are starting to get better .

I've got clients where their kids want to spend more time with them again . It's really , really beautiful , and this all happens around months one to two . But the main thing here is the explosion in your confidence . You might find that you've made some new friends . You might have got a new hobby right . You might be exercising again .

Maybe you've got some local community gym . You're making new friends that aren't revolved around drinking . That can happen around this point as well . But again , the big thing for me here was the explosion in self-esteem and self-confidence . I knew I had a beat at this point and I was building momentum in all areas of my life . Again I was back in the gym .

I was eating right . My business was finally starting to move in the right direction . I'd quit my job in the restaurant and I was starting to think bigger . I thought wait a minute , I'm back . I get goosebumps talking about it . I've beaten it , I'm back , I can do anything again and that is the best feeling ever .

So my best recommendation I've got for you in this period is just go hard . Don't be going to the past and feeling sorry for yourself and thinking about oh , the alcohol back then , or wasn't that a good time ? No , don't worry about any of that stuff . Think about what's next .

You will start to see that you are capable of so much if you continue on this path . So let's get into months two to three . So around this point a lot of people start to realize how little alcohol actually helped them . By this point they will see results . Now don't get me wrong .

If you just stop drinking and watch Netflix all day and change nothing you're not reading , you're not studying , you're not pushing , you're not working hard Sure , nothing's going to change . But if you stop drinking because you wanted a better life for yourself , now things are going in that direction .

So you really start to realize how much alcohol was holding you back . What started happening for me at this point and this is not from a place of judgment , but other drinkers started to be a bit of a mystery . I used to look at them and think don't you understand how good life is without alcohol ? Why would you want to drink ? Now ?

That's because I've reframed the way I view alcohol . Don't get me wrong the 10 years that I struggled to stop drinking alcohol . For I used to look at drinkers with a bit of envy . I used to think , oh , look at them having a drink . But I don't feel that way anymore .

So don't get me wrong , that'll be different for different people , but a lot of people at this point , if they other people , they want to fix their friends right , encourage them and tell them and whatever . So just one quick word of advice the best thing you can do for other people is meet them where they're at .

Most people aren't bothered about stopping drinking . It's sad , but that's the world we live in . So , rather than lecturing people and telling them , just go ahead and set the example , show them . Don't tell them , because you'll find that over the months ahead people will start coming to you

. What are you doing ? You look different . You're looking stronger , you're looking fitter . Are you training ? What's going on ? Your skin looks different . You're looking more ripped and chiseled in the face , and that is when you can start the conversation . But the big thing here is confidence just keeps increasing For me .

Around this point I started thinking about okay , if I can stop drinking , I've got this massive win under my belt and then I can actually start a new business . It goes well . I'm focused , I'm doing what I need to do . What else can I do Now ?

For me , that turned into moving to Thailand , starting an online business , starting SoberClearcom , working with people helping them stop drinking . But you just keep stacking the wins and things just keep getting better . Thanks for checking out the Stop Drinking Podcast by Sober Clear .

If you want to learn more about how we work with people to help them stop drinking effortlessly , then make sure to visit wwwsoberclearcom .