If you associate hot sunny days with beer gardens, boozy BBQs or drinks on the beach, you’re not alone. 

In the summer, many people find the warm weather triggers some cravings for alcohol. 
When you see other people outside, drinking together, you can easily start wondering what the harm would be in just one drink…
I want to help you stop that kind of thinking in its tracks, because this is actually a great time of year to be alcohol free!
Here are 5 tips for staying sober on hot sunny days:

Key points: 

Sober firsts often feel weird

Choosing not to drink on a hot sunny day – when you’ve always done the opposite – is bound to feel a bit strange. You’re breaking a pattern and choosing a different behaviour, so you’re going to feel the awkwardness. That’s ok. 
The first time is the hardest and it’s normal to have a bit of anxiety around these things. But the next time will feel a bit easier, and the time after that will be easier still. This is all part of you establishing a new normal. 
 

Give everything a fair chance

You can’t make a judgement or draw any conclusions based on one experience alone. So, that one time you went to a BBQ sober, or sat outside whilst your partner drank and you didn’t? That’s not enough.
You need to do something at least three times before having enough information. Give everything a fair shot by being enthusiastic and positive about it. Don’t decide in advance that it’s going to be awful… otherwise it probably will be!
 

Play the movie forward 

If drinking feels appealing right now, how are you going to feel in a few hours time? Or at the end of the evening? Or in the early hours of the morning? A hangover on a hot day is awful, and you’ll be so annoyed with yourself tomorrow.
 

What are you really craving?

On hot sunny days, often what we’re truly craving is time to relax – to do nothing but sit outside and chill, or connect with friends. This is very enjoyable (and totally doable) no matter what’s in your glass. Don’t be tricked into thinking you need alcohol for this.
 

Upgrade your AF drinks!

Stay hydrated and make sure you have something chilled and delicious close at hand. This is not the time to make do with lukewarm water or flat diet coke. The alcohol free drinks market is booming right now, so get experimenting!