I was in this picture. One or two, maybe even three tall ones every evening, for years. And then I discovered untappd and drinking became gamified. A beer while watching TV can’t be alcoholism, right?

For a while I’d been noticing things like a lack of energy and interest, bad sleep, being irritable and impulsive, and bad memory. After a while I had to take magnesium and other supplements. I just considered it all side effects of aging.

Now I’ve switched to alcohol free beer since about 2 months and every day I’m surprised how much better the QOL already is. I feel fully rested, feel more confident at work, can remember stuff my kids talk about. For lack of a word, I feel more present.

And that experience completely changed my opinion about drinking alcohol regularly.