What I learned 1 year breaking up with alcohol 🥂....

👇🏼 Open up for 5 Lessons breaking up with ayour lcohol and invite to the tiny adventures workshop 👇🏼

Hey Builders,

Happy New Year! I know I'm late, but here we are and I hope you are having a solid start . On my end I’m going to kick off this year’s newsletter updates I am scared, excited, and I'm proud to share this with you all… here it goes

On Monday, Jan 15th, I celebrated one year breaking up with alcohol, one year of sobriety —a big deal for someone like me, who's impulsive and tended to slip on habits.

and what has helped the most is I've embraced "fun drunk me" let me explain...

In 2019, tired of being the party girl and a couple months of working for myself I realized I needed to focus less on happy hours and more on getting sh*t down so , I started cutting back. Then the pandemic hit and I moved to my mom's alcohol-free house. Easy enough, but then the world opened up, and party me was BACK AND READY and maybe a bit messy…

Fast forward to 2022, I moved to Mexico to just be alone on the beach and process stepping into my 30s and truly be with myself .Now as a seasoned a solo backpacker, I'm cautious so I don't drink much abroad for safety.

And I had a thought and realization no one here knows me.

What if I let out Drunk me... sober?

What if I danced like I didn't care in the club while sipping on mocktails?

What if I took risks without the liquid courage?

So, "What would drunk me do?" became my mantra.

Drunk me was fearless, embraced emotions, and didn't care what anyone said. She was a dancer, a lover, she embraced that she felt her feelings so deeply and was unapologetic about it. She was a part of me that I was suppressing sober because I didn’t want to be called “too much” and ready to be unleashed.

So I started cutting back, listening to my body. My body signaled when it was too much—swelling and itching. I realized alcohol hid the real me, and I ignored body cues. Even thouhg others saw me as this conifedent go gettiner who didnt give af , I had relied on my accomplishments to lead the show and forced my body to endure so much ultimelty I had been ignoring myself for so long

Hard truth—my relationship with alcohol wasn't healthy. I cut back to 1-2 drinks every 2 months until a date last January. It was fun but the next day, my body hated me. I realized I needed to honor my body. Was it worth taking antihistamines? Alcohol was a toxic boyfriend I thought would get better. The toxic ex I kept getting back together with thinking, he will change, he will get better. It wont hurt as much but the reality is , I had to change and start making better choices for me.

This echoed in my life—my 2023 goal was healthy relationships in all areas. So I set this intention for myself and knew it wouldn’t be easy with 4 weddings and a Quince planned for the year . Showing up sober felt shameful knowing these people had known my wild party girl days and might quickly realize oh she had a problem, but I had to accept my health and intolerances and my new relationship .

A part of me loves the wild girl, not the shots, but the one who didn't care, talked to strangers, and lived in the moment.

Now, looking at myselt the deep reflection made me not care about being fun, wild, and free—I don't need liquid courage. It was always there.

Some days I think maybe I could again, but I remember the promise to my body to listen and avoid pain but I’m just going to take it one day at a time and listen to my body along the way…

And the key lessons I learned and hope you take away from my story here is

• You can have deeper connections.

• Embrace fun, sober.

• Stop caring so much, No one cares but you.

• Honor your body and its limits.

• You can have adventures big and small

On that note, I feel clearer now and prioritizing my health and listening to my body to tend to my chronic pains and illnesses which can be exhausting but what keeps me going is telling myself “what’s today’s adventure”

and my intention for this year is “Tiny adventures” the adventures that are day to day, and embracing the magic and beauty of this life whether its snorkeling off reefs or going to the grocery store, I realized every day can be a fun adventure for me and I want to share this joy with you all cause some days are hard but looking for the adventures keep us going

and ya know ya girl needs to stay alive and pay her medical bills in this capitalistic society soooo I decided my first workshop for this year will be the Tiny Adventures workshop, so we can plan ahead our adventures and some rewards to keep us motivated throughout the year and have things to look forward to.

I’m excited to have you join me and some amazing folks for this hands-on live experience !

the workshop will be held 3 dates and limited spots available

First one is this Monday January 21st so grab your spot

Thank you for being a part of my community and I am excited for this next year and embracing this next phase of Joy ;)

gracias,

Joy Valerie Carrera

PS: feel free to respond here I read each email or DM me on Instagram :)