Sober at a Drunk Resort

My husband and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary in Mexico at an all-inclusive resort. It was my first sober trip. Typically at these kind of resorts I would be drinking from morning until I would pass out at night. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel being at a place like this and being sober. I had never done it before.

Was I going to miss drinking? Was I going to feel tempted to drink? Would I feel left out?

We spent the morning in the lounge before boarding our flight. This was another place where I would normally drink a lot of drinks before boarding the flight. I've struggled with flight anxiety for a few years on and off. I always thought that drinking made me feel less anxious when I fly so I would order several drinks before boarding. This time I drank water, ate snacks, and downloaded a movie for the flight. I can honestly say I was so much less anxious this time without alcohol.

Alcohol changes levels of serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which can make anxiety worse. After alcohol wears off, you feel more anxious.

My flight without alcohol made me less anxious and helped me feel more relaxed throughout the flight.

Once we landed, we were driven to our resort. We stayed at Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya. It was a beautiful resort! Excellent service, good food, our room was beautiful and clean, the spa was gorgeous, we got incredible massages and facials. The beach was ok. Unfortunately there was a lot of seaweed in the water. They tried to clean it up when it washed up on the shore but it wasn't that crystal clear blue water we were hoping for.

Something that I quickly realized is that those types of resorts really want you to drink. They encourage it and push it. As soon as we got there they were asking what we wanted to drink so I had to let them know that I don't drink alcohol.

I do think going to this type of resort newly sober would be hard because alcohol is everywhere and constantly in your face. When you're first going sober I think it's important to protect yourself from triggering or tempting situations so that you can be stronger in your pursuit to not drink. It takes time and that's ok! You need time to adjust and create new habits for yourself. After all, you've probably been drinking longer than you've been sober.

I ordered a lot of fun mocktails. I promise you, the biggest sober hack is that your brain just wants a yummy drink in a cute glass. It doesn't need to have alcohol in it.

Here is a list of alcohol-free drinks that I ordered:

-Mocktail Mojito

-Soda water & lime

-Mango Mocktail Margarita

-Virgin Pina Colada

-Soda water & lime with a splash of grapefruit juice (this one looks super pretty and other people will want to order it too!)

A few things that I noticed being sober on this trip was that people drank all day from mimosas in the morning to the pool then drinks before dinner, during and after. Drinks were available everywhere all day long. I saw one woman being carried out of the pool because she couldn't walk she was so drunk. They literally had to pull her out of the pool and get a wheelchair for her. That was very scary to watch and see how dangerous the affects of alcohol really are.

I also observed how short lived alcohol is. There was a group of people taking shots at the bar for maybe 30 minutes cheering, dancing on the bar, all the things. Then afterwards they all passed out by the pool, they didn't make it to dinner, they felt sick the next day. They ruined a whole day, night and next day of their vacation because of alcohol. This made me truly see how short lived the hype of alcohol can be verses the hours of negative affects alcohol brings. I 100% used to be involved in that kind of energy. I was the girl firing everyone up to take shots and then would take it too far and blackout. That would leave my husband by himself while he's excited to go to dinner but I literally can't because I'm too drunk. I truly truly enjoyed not having FOMO watching moments like this unfold. I was very thankful to be sober.

Overall, I realized that all-inclusive resorts are very much geared towards getting people drunk. Don't get me wrong I still had a great time. My husband and I enjoyed mocktails, the sun, food, playing volleyball in the pool. It was an amazing trip to spend time together and relax. We laughed so much that I was crying laughing several times. The resort made me realize it's a place where you don't have to think. You don't need to drive anywhere. Everything you need is right there. You can drink and be a zombie so to speak.

It definitely made me re-think if this is somewhere I'd want to keep going. Mainly because I don't drink anymore and that's not my focus. I can go to new places now and be fully present and think about where we are going and how we are going to get there. When I drank I was on autopilot in drunk or blackout mode.

I honestly didn't miss drinking at all and I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. Once you get comfortable with yourself not drinking, you figure out life without it. You discover who you are. You discover what you like to do, who you like to spend your time with. Take time to discover yourself again and your interests and passions without alcohol. You can do it! I'm rooting for you!

Xo,

Ashley