'I don't have to drink to enjoy my time out'

A man who stopped drinking alcohol five years ago said it has shown him he does not need to drink to have a good time.

Tony Worsdall, from Woodley in Reading, Berkshire, stopped drinking in January 2020 and said he has enjoyed socialising since "more than I ever did".

He has gone on to become a sober coach, helping other people to change their relationship with alcohol.

"It just felt the right thing to do to give something back," he said.

Mr Worsdall said he started drinking when he was a teenager.

He never had a moment where he "hit rock bottom", he said, adding that alcohol had been "a constant companion" throughout his life.

"I probably had a few episodes I'd rather forget... but most of the time just what you'd call a grey area drinker," he said.

Gradually, Mr Worsdall said he began to notice the impact drinking was having.

"I realised, as I was getting older, that probably I wasn't getting the best out of myself, both in a work environment and at home, and that I didn't particularly like the person that I was when I was drinking," he said.

He stopped drinking on 6 January 2020 and said he had "never looked back" - now wants to help others do the same.

"I've always felt that life is about learning constantly as you go and I think people need support and help from people from people who've done something themselves," he said.

"It struck me that that was the right thing to do."

As part of his work, he is helping run a sober comedy night in Woodley, called A Dry Sense of Humour, at the end of January to "bring awareness and normalise" not drinking.

He said: "We're trying to normalise the conversation around [being] alcohol-free because it is something that a lot of people find difficult talking about.

"The comedy night is really a comedy night, there's nothing preachy or anti-alcohol or anything like that, it's just a comedy night without alcohol."

Mr Worsdall said he wanted to open the conversation about people changing their relationship with alcohol.

"I actually haven't given up anything," he said. "I've actually gained an awful lot."

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