When Maz Compton woke up on New Year’s Day 2015 and decided to take a break from alcohol, she didn’t intend to still be sober 10 years later.
In Maz’s words: “The idea of even having a weekend without alcohol in December of 2014 was outrageous to me. It seemed impossible.”
But after “unlocking a Pandora’s box full of benefits” by cutting out alcohol, the morning breakfast radio host has just marked 10 years of sobriety.
“It’s the biggest version of self-care I have ever done,” Maz said.
“Alcohol is no longer a part of my life in any way, shape or form – it’s like it doesn’t exist.”
To celebrate the launch of a brand-new resources hub on our website to support Australians to cut back on alcohol, Maz Compton shared with us the strategies that helped her make a change.
Start with small, achievable goals
You don’t have to start by setting a goal of never drinking again.
The idea of not drinking every again can feel so overwhelming it might scare some people into staying stuck.
Instead, break it down to a daily thing where you tell yourself: ‘Today, no matter what happens, whether it’s great, whether it’s terrible, I’m not going to drink.’
By starting small, you can get your head on the pillow that night, not have had a drink and build a habit you can stay accountable to.
Plan your “sober response”
Over time, I refined my response to one succinct sentence and a full stop.
It’s like building a muscle. But it took me a couple of years to get there.
I experimented with responses. Some weren’t great because I’m human – I had moments where I overexplained my decision and at times became defensive.
But I eventually found one succinct response that explained what I was doing when I didn’t owe anyone an explanation.
I would then stop talking. I got good at sitting in that awkward silence where they just don’t know what to do.
I knew I was happy with my choice so it didn’t matter if the other person was bothered.
Start journalling
I journalled every day of the first 31 days after my decision to go sober.
It was just a verbal vomit into a book of anything and everything that I felt.
The journal was a key thing because I didn’t have lots of people I was talking to at the time.
In 2015, I was the only sober person I knew.
Some days I remember distinctly not wanting to write anything in my journal, so then I would write about how I didn’t want to journal.
It just became this way of processing the feelings that were coming up because I wasn’t drinking alcohol and suppressing all these big emotions anymore.
Personify your relationship with alcohol
I know this strategy is not for everyone.
But I changed how I thought about alcohol – how often I would drink, and how I felt during and after drinking – by giving alcohol a name.
So, I started referring to alcohol as ‘Jenny.’
I didn’t want to hang out with Jenny a lot of the time, even though she was around most afternoons in 2014.
When I was with Jenny, I usually went out way too late, I felt like rubbish, I usually did things I didn’t want to do, I spent too much money, and I wrote off weekends.
That made me think: ‘This Jenny character is not a great fit.’
If I was talking about a real person who had a detrimental impact on me as a person, any friend would say: ‘Hey, take a break from her.’
That’s how I was able to draw a line in the sand.
Find out information about alcohol’s impact on our health, and further tips to cut back on alcohol, at FARE’s new resources hub.
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with alcohol use, there is always support available. Search our list of support services today.
If you want to learn more about Maz Compton, visit her website.
