Kelly Pegg is a Journalist and Broadcaster working in radio for more than 15 years. She is a mum of two who was born and raised in the East Midlands and loves living in Nottinghamshire with her family. She hosts the podcast The Hot Mess Mums' club with TV Presenter Jenny Powell, supporting and empowering women everywhere. You can find it on Instagram @thehotmessmums
"Why don’t you drink?” “ Are you an alcoholic?” “What will you do at Christmas?”
These are just some of the questions I have been asked since I stopped drinking alcohol nine months ago.
We live in a society where alcohol is used to celebrate, commiserate, relax, and sadly cope with life’s difficulties, yet it is probably the most dangerous drug there is and it’s legal. Our view, on the whole, seems to be that if a person doesn’t drink there must be something wrong with them.
I will be the first to admit that during my twenties and early thirties I also carried this view. Now I’m 39 and I feel completely different. I have never felt stronger, happier or healthier without alcohol in my life.
I’d endured a really stressful time with my career and I’d been in a sad place. All of sudden as things started to change and I was coming out of it I started to dislike alcohol. I remember having a glass of wine whilst out having lunch with my husband last February and feeling really poorly afterwards. A few weeks later I was out with friends and we had drinks, afterwards I felt so bad physically and mentally I lay awake all night battling feelings of guilt and worry and I knew I was experiencing an epiphany of sorts.
I was chatting to Apprentice star Jessica Cunningham about it all and she recommended the audiobook This Naked Mind by Annie Grace and it changed how I felt about alcohol forever.
What I love about being alcohol-free the most is not being controlled by it, I don’t need it to make me feel better because I’ve realised it doesn’t actually do that and when I feel down I use healthy strategies like going for a big walk, or doing some yoga but I’m not numbing or suppressing any bad feelings I may have that day.
Alcohol had been in my life for a long time. My mum was an alcoholic so from a very young age I knew all about the effects drinking had on a person and their surrounding family and yet it never put me off drinking myself until recently.
My mum died from alcoholism when I was just 19 so not only do I understand what excessive and unhealthy drinking does to a person but I have first-hand experience of the heartache it causes their loved ones.
During lockdown one, high-risk drinking doubled and I imagine this lockdown won’t be too different especially as we are approaching Christmas.
Right now we need to be kind to ourselves, and nourish our minds and bodies by creating healthy habits to help us get through this and it will pay off in a much more positive way than reaching for that glass of wine.
I recently connected with the amazing charity Nacoa, which helps young people and children who have been affected by a parent’s drinking. Please reach out to them if you or anyone you know could benefit from their help & support right now www.nacoa.org.uk
