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Sober October: 5 Tips for Staying Alcohol-Free This Month
Sober October is here! Whether you've been sober for years or want to give up alcohol for the month, here are some tips for staying motivated and focused.
1. Learn about alcohol
Every good sobriety plan should come well equipt with in-depth information about the chemical makeup and its many side effects. Alcohol is a depressant: it slows down your brain and makes you feel relaxed. It can also be addictive, which means that if you use it regularly for long enough (like drinking every night), your body will become dependent on alcohol. This makes it hard for people to stop using the drug even when they want to quit.
The chemical makeup of alcohol is mainly made up of carbon and hydrogen atoms but also has other elements in it, like oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Alcohol is created by fermenting grapes or grains into a sweet liquid called wine or beer. The fermentation process converts sugars in the fruit or grain into ethanol (alcohol), which acts as a preservative to keep the fruit or grain safe from bacteria while they ferment.
Unfortunately, some people have no idea what alcohol does to their bodies until they've used it for years. So even though some adults can drink responsibly (i.e., not enough to get drunk or get into trouble), there's still plenty of…
