There is plenty of research on the negative effects of alcohol and a variety of apps available to support sobriety, but hearing people’s lived experiences can also provide an extra nudge towards living a healthier lifestyle. Here are five of our favourite YouTube channels providing engaging content for both the sober and the sober-curious.
Michelle Dixon is a yoga teacher and holistic health coach. Her channel focuses on grounded health and wellness. As a teenager, Dixon used alcohol and drugs to cope with her anxiety and depression. She carried on drinking into her 20s, experiencing blackouts while using alcohol as a crutch for dealing with her emotions.
After attending an Alcohol Anonymous meeting, Dixon decided to give sobriety a go. She battled with staying sober for three years and goes into detail about this. Ultimately, the birth of Dixon’s daughter was what made sobriety stick. She has now gone four years without a drink. Her channel also offers sobriety meditation, non-alcoholic drink recipes, yoga and mental health advice.
- This Naked Mind – Annie Grace
Annie Grace’s channel, This Naked Mind, explores the psychological and neurological aspects of drinking, while also touching on the cultural, social and industry factors that play into alcohol use.
At first, Grace used alcohol to cope with social situations. When she had her second son, she drank to cope with severe postpartum depression. After spending a year looking into how she could change her desires around alcohol, Grace stopped drinking in 2015.
This Naked Mind explores why drinking may not be the key to living a happy life. Grace’s videos provide information on why she stopped drinking, advice on how to become sober, useful non-alcoholic alternatives and alcohol myths, such as why some scientists believe alcohol is good for you.
Leon Sylvester has been sober for three years and ten months. He moved from England to Thailand six months after getting sober, to build on his programme Sober Clear, which helps people gain control over their drinking habits. After years of hangovers, blackouts, drunk texting and general negative effects on his life, Sylvester decided his drinking had to stop.
Sober Leon shares advice on having a fulfilling, sober lifestyle by sharing coping mechanisms and personal stories. Both Sylvester and his channel’s community aim to show the sober-curious that a good quality of life can exist beyond alcohol.
Rather than focusing solely on how to stop drinking, Sylvester explains what to do when you’ve made the decision, as he believes this is the most difficult part of the journey. He also debunks alcohol myths, provides hacks to become sober and advice about non-alcoholic alternatives that help to curb the cravings.
Lucy Moon has been sober for six months. She made the decision after realising she was binge-drinking, blacking out and fixating on the next drink whenever she was in social situations.
Although she eventually managed to curb her cravings, Moon felt the amount of time she was spending thinking about alcohol was wearing down her self-esteem and mental health. So, she decided to quit entirely.
Moon’s channel features style and life vlogs from her home in East London, touching on fashion, lifestyle vlogs, advice to people in their 20s, contraceptive health and drinking Q&As.
Melanie Murphy is a lifestyle content creator who has been sober for three years. She stopped drinking after realising the impact it was having on her mental health and relationships.
Murphy explains how she was unable to drink in moderation, experiencing regular blackouts. She feels the drinking culture in Ireland had a part to play in her drinking habits.
Her channel provides tips to cut-back or quit drinking, as well as the positives and negatives of quitting alcohol. She also gives life advice, house and motherhood updates, Q&As and more chatty videos.
Illustration: Sophie Donne