Losing a friend to sobriety can be hard, like really hard. No more catastrophic bottomless brunches, no more boozy weekends away, no more DMC's until the birds start tweeting and bidding us adieu.

Your friend is a stranger now, embarking on a strange new mission. A mission you can't quite comprehend and hope will phase out before the next bank holiday. But it doesn't have to be this way! Consider your sober friend an asset to your social circle, a pillar of society – a reformed character.

Here we look at 10 Ways To Support Your Sober / Mindful Drinking Friend

1. Show us you care about what we're doing
   Listen to our struggles and why we have decided to cut back on the booze. It might not be your vibe right now but it is ours.
   
   
2. Don't make it about you
   Yes, we get that you don't have a drink problem and that you only drink through the week twice and that you've never drank in the day apart from on holiday. But this isn't about you, it's about us.
   
   
3. Don't write our experience off as a 'drink problem' because it's easier for you to process
   Just because we've identified alcohol doesn't serve us anymore and we'd like a break from it, doesn't mean we have a drink problem. Don't write off our experience because you don't understand it yet.
   
   
4. Help us stay motivated
   It can be really hard finding new and exciting non-alcoholic drinks, we have plyed your ass with drinks over the years, so show some love and do the same for us with amazing new drinks which show us you care. P.s. Lemonade with ice and a slice don't count
   
   
5. Don't grill us on why we can't just have 1
   Chances are we could have just 1 without waking up and pouring vodka on our cornflakes, but that's not the point, and more importantly – you know that's not the point.
   
   
6. You shouldn't feel uncomfortable for getting drunk around us
   If we felt uncomfortable not drinking, chances are we wouldn't decide to do it. Don't feel uncomfortable or like you have to adjust your own behaviour. Once you start being a drunken idiot we'll make a French exit anyway... 
   
   
7. Don't summarise our experience on our behalf
   Your version of why we stopped drinking vs. our version of why we stopped drinking can be quite different... 
   
   
8. Make it a positive not a negative
   Do say "Clare decided to stop drinking and has uncovered a passion for life in miniature via origami and has just joined a flying trapeze troupe in Hackney!". Don't say "Clare can't drink anymore". 
   
   
9. Don't equate cutting down on the booze about being 'boring'
   If we've decided to dedicate a chunk of time to this, chances are we're actually really enjoying it or we wouldn't be doing it! 
   
   
10. Give us a pat on the back
    Going down the road less travelled can be pretty damn hard! We all need a pat on the back from time to time and is what we truly need from our friends.
    
    

Peace & Love,
– RC
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