Woman, 48, who was 'always last to leave the party' says ditching alcohol changed her life

"You wouldn't have known I had a problem."

In 2021, Viki Angel came to the realisation that her social life was "all about alcohol" and she was facing an issue with drinking. Taking decisive action, she quit alcohol entirely, claiming better health as a result.

However, she also raised concerns, accentuating how much alcohol consumption occurs privately. The 48-year-old created Sober Socials, endeavouring to provide enjoyable opportunities for non-drinkers in the North East.

Alcohol had been a fixture in Viki's life from her teen years, she confessed to ChronicleLive: "Like many people, I liked to go out drinking. Most of my social life was about pubs and alcohol. I was always the last person to leave the party."

She shared about her younger days: "I'm 48 and growing up my mentality was always you went out from about 15 to try to get into the clubs. Really, my whole social life was drinking right from the beginning.", reports Chronicle Live.

But her drinking was not overt, the Gosforth woman continued: "My drinking was hidden. No-one would have known I had a problem. I held down a good job. Of course you don't know what goes on behind closed doors."

She described her battles: "I thought of myself as a 'grey area' drinker. Each evening I'd finish work and open the wine – and before I knew it, a full bottle was gone. It became a vicious cycle and my anxiety was off the scale."

Viki established Sober Socials with a vision of offering individuals in the North East an opportunity to mingle without the pressure of alcohol, creating a space where people who "get it" can congregate. She remarked: "I thought you know what I would like to create a community where like-minded people are able to get together and not feel alone on this. You just want to socialise with people who get it."

Speaking of the reach of Sober Socials, Viki pointed out that the community embraces a wide spectrum, ranging from those who are long-term sober to those intrigued by the idea of reducing their alcohol intake.

According to Viki, Sober Socials serves as a necessary foil to the pervasive culture of alcohol, which extends into almost every facet of day-to-day life. She observed: "At Christmas time, you just have to walk into any supermarket and you can see alcohol is everywhere. I struggle to get birthday cards for friends who don't drink, even.

"They're all about drinking - 'popping the prosecco' and that kind of thing. It's not something you notice until you enter the sober world - and I just thought 'god it's everywhere'."

She continued: "Alcohol is everywhere – on cards, Facebook memes – all of it saying how wonderful it is. Celebrate – drink alcohol. Stressed – drink alcohol. Big Alcohol tells you the lie that you can drink responsibly and it’s all okay – but in reality it is pushed on you and causing so much harm to people’s health, with links to cancer and many other health issues, and to society more generally."

'I was struggling'

As for her own health, Viki said ditching alcohol had made a huge difference to her physical and mental health. She said: "One of things I realised was how bad my anxiety was. I was struggling. Now I've given up alcohol I feel much better. I've lost weight. My sleep is so much better.

"Cutting alcohol out has enriched my life so much. A lot of people don’t realise that alcohol can worsen symptoms of menopause, so cutting it out helped me massively. I’m much less anxious, don’t miss the dreaded hangovers and even my heartburn has cleared up. Also, I would never ever swap my sober sleep!"

Viki is supporting North East regional campaign group Balance's push to reduce drinking rates and boost health for people in our area. The group said that while people were cutting down, booze is still driving rising rates of liver disease among younger people.

Sue Taylor, head of alcohol policy, said: “Most of us want to do something positive in the New Year. Cutting down on alcohol reduces our risk of cancers such as breast and bowel cancer – that is something we can do just by drinking less and drinking less often.

“It can feel hard to break drinking patterns, but cutting down alcohol consumption not only reduces longer-term health risks, but also brings immediate, life-changing positives for you and your family. It can help you to lose weight, sleep better, save money and enhance your mood and energy levels."

Sue added that the there was a need for work to address the issue and said: "Alcohol’s toll on the country’s health is worsening. We are calling for more action nationally in 2025 to reduce the burden on our local communities, on the NHS and local authorities and on families."

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