Dimension 2. 

Awareness. That alcohol is harmful – we all know. We know that it can easily become addictive. We know that it damages the liver, the nervous system, the heart etc. etc. The social effects of drinking are so huge that it is indeed hard to imagine the scale, but we can sense how devastating alcohol can be (violence, family dramas, ACoA/ACA). So… why do we drink so much as a society?

Sober curious is also an attempt to confront the social dimension of drinking. Creating a space where it is easier to say ‘no’ to the social pressure to drink. Where it’s easier to be at peace with yourself and not drink if you don’t want to. It’s about creating alternatives to compulsive drinking (such as non-alko bars). A reflection on the fact that alcohol is too often used to drown out negative emotions or social anxieties. That it is worthwhile to look at these emotions and fears soberly and face them consciously. 

This is particularly important in countries where the culture of drinking is firmly entrenched and further conquered by a pop culture in which alcohol has an aspirational character: as a status symbol, a permanent element of celebration, an apparent reward. This is why sober curious focuses precisely on alcohol: as a common stimulant, widely abused and commonly downplayed.