Svenja, age 24, works at an artificial intelligence (AI) startup in Berlin, Germany. She is also Germany’s first content creator for sober living.
Growing up in the north of the country, drinking alcohol seemed like the norm. Yet Svenja realized that alcohol was damaging her physical and mental health. Two years ago, she made the decision to stop drinking for good.
“I just stopped. There was no transition period. I woke up one morning and just decided I wouldn’t do it anymore. I haven’t had a single sip since!”
Challenging societal norms
Svenja recalls, “I had my first sip of alcohol when I was 13 years old. I drank all the way up until I was about 22. When you grow up in the countryside in Germany, it is just a very normal thing to do – to drink with your peers and with your families. You do it because otherwise you will be seen as weird or an outsider.”
She reflects on the societal norms she grew up with: “Growing up, having your first hangover is almost expected of you. It is weirdly romanticized in our culture.”
Reasons to reduce or give up drinking alcohol
For Svenja, there were 3 main reasons for not drinking alcohol anymore: “First of all, my body rejected it and told me to stop. It got to the point that I couldn’t drink a single shot without having to throw up. Secondly, drinking alcohol made it difficult for me to control my impulses. I have ADHD, which has very different symptoms in men and in women, but lower impulse control is one of the biggest symptoms. Finally, any time I drank alcohol I had the worst mental health for days.”
Svenja’s decision to change her life was driven by other reasons too. “I have seen what alcohol can do to people. I love my family so much, but when there is a predisposition to alcohol dependence in the family, you are more likely to develop it yourself, and I wanted to avoid that.”
Healthier body and mind
With no alcohol, Svenja has noticed a remarkable improvement in her overall well-being. “It has just become so easy for me to set boundaries for myself and my body. I don’t try to push my body. I feel so much healthier in my body and my mind. I am working out again, my skin is so much better! And I feel like my brain activity has increased – I feel more awake and I can focus better. I feel smarter!”
Svenja calls herself the “creative director” of her own life, and inspires others around her to break the stigma around openly discussing alcohol consumption and its effects. On social media she talks about how more and more people are choosing not to drink and how the norm is changing.
“In the beginning, there were a few negative voices and people who tried to peer pressure me to drink alcohol. As time went by, I got more and more curious questions. The level of acceptance has really changed,” Svenja says.
“People have also reached out to me on social media saying that they are going to try it too. I am just trying to take away the stigma of not drinking. People should not be stigmatized for choosing not to drink. Trying it out and seeing if it works for you is a great thing to do!”
Finding support and more information
If you or someone you know is experiencing harms from alcohol, it’s important to reach out for help. You can find support on your national health ministry website, or by consulting your doctor.
Svenja shared her story with us for the “Redefine Alcohol” campaign. This campaign is part of the joint WHO–European Union Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION), which aims to increase awareness about harms from alcohol across 30 countries – the 27 European Union Member States plus Iceland, Norway and Ukraine – from 2022 to 2026.