Even if you work with wine professionally, sometimes it is good and necessary to do a little detox period. This can be one, two or more days or, if you are on a holiday even weeks. Spitting is fine but being abstinent is even better for a defined period. I do this occasionally.
This time I decided that for me it was time to do so for a bit longer then a week or two. It was a personal experiment and in the end I spent almost all of June without any alcoholic beverage as well as doing some serious social media detox. And what can I tell you?: It was hard! But: I survived!
While at first I was really nervous and did not know what to do with my gained freetime, (of course I was on a holiday) it really got easier from day to day. The toughest thing was, I have to admit, not leaving the wine behind but leaving my phone aside. Not taking pictures all the time or posting or checking on anything was quite weird during the first week. Whereas now thinking about how much time I usually spent with What’s app, Insta, Facebook and Emails seems to be crazy!
Funny thing is that you really have to learn again how to look at things in the real world if you are not fumbling along with your phone all the time. For instance if you sit in a train, rest at a lake, go for a walk or simply lie down on the grass. I can tell you there are so many great things to see and to discover. Small, yes maybe tiny but precious things. At first then again the impulse is: Come on, take out your phone! Where the heck did you put it? Be quick! This is great! Take that freakin‘ picture! Make a movie! … If you resist – or for the keen ones: if you are out and about without your phone – you start to take in what you see and keep it deep down in your mind. Your head clears for so many good things. It does sound crazy I know, but it really worked for me. (By the way: This exercise is best to do with kids. They still know how to do it and teach you well. If you do not have your own you might be able to borrow one from your mate and this way make him or her happy too for this little bit of miraculously coming up freetime….)
Back on topic: What can I tell you? In the second week I really started to relax. No shit. Nervousness gone. Hands free, bottle filled up with non-sparkling water. Phone, internet, winebottles – all not necessary anymore. Oooohmmmmm. Well, I admit that was overdone. So no ohhhhhhhm. But it was definitely some exhaling that I felt. All in all this Detox-June made me read three and a half crime novels, two fancy books on wine, and enjoying my time with family and friends much more. I cleared space in my head which resulted in coming back with a lot of new ideas for my blog and other projects. And boy, that first sip of a great Ozzie Shiraz afterwards was heaven 🙂
So, if you are planning on going on summer holidays soon: Think about a serious detox program that fits for you. Whether it is coffee, alcohol, sweets, cigarettes or simply sitting down too much – just leave it behind for a while and challenge yourself!
Cheers, Iris
Article about: Detoxing
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