50 Quotes About Alcohol Recovery for Sober October

Looking for something to inspire your Dry Month?

One of my go-to resources when I need uplifting or clarity - my “quotes” board on Pinterest or saved posts on Instagram. That’s why most of the quotes in this post are pulled from sober creators I love on social media.

I hope you enjoy and find something meaningful here. 💗

Danielle (@thatsoberglow) - “Not drinking allows me to set loving boundaries.” 

Danielle (@thatsoberglow) - “If you think you need booze to make something tolerable, it’s probably not that fun.”

@themagicisinthemiddle - “The biggest lie I ever bought into was that drinking made me my authentic self and fostered connection. We don’t need any substance outside of ourselves to be loved, to belong, to create, to be happy or to be free.”

@themagicisinthemiddle - “It’s empowering to be sober in places that I used to only be drunk. From blackouts to new memories, this is how we rewrite the story.”

@themagicisinthemiddle - “Big Alcohol says motherhood is a good excuse to drink. In reality, it’s the perfect reason to try sobriety.”

Kayla Lyons (@joinsoberish) - “Being sober/soberish isn’t about consecutive time - it’s about healing, writing your own narrative, and taking your power back from alcohol. That journey is as unique as you are.”

Kayla Lyons (@joinsoberish) - “What does soberish mean? It’s a lifestyle for those of us who have taken our power back from alcohol, but are not exclusively abstinent from other substances like SSRIs, marijuana, psilocybin, and other plant-based medicines. Soberish is about intention and freedom, not restriction.” 

Meg Fee (@youdonthavetodrink) - “Sharing your truth can liberate others from the pain of their secrets.” 

Meg Fee (@youdonthavetodrink) - “The people I’ve met in sobriety and recovery spaces are the most self-aware, forgiving, hilarious, understanding, kind, strong, generous, compassionate, powerful, resilient, and intelligent people I have ever been lucky enough to know.”

Shea Gomez (@noboozebabes) - “You deserve to be surrounded by people who love you for who you are, not what you drink.”

Shea Gomez (@noboozebabes) - “You won’t find holiday cheer at the bottom of a bottle of wine, spirits, or beer… let’s make that perfectly clear. And you most certainly don’t need alcohol to ring in the New Year.”

Shea Gomez (@noboozebabes) - “Waking up grateful this morning for no more drunk nights, fights, or heart-racing nights.”

Millie Gooch (@milliegooch) - “As the saying in the sober community goes, ‘Alcohol is the only drug that you have to justify not taking.’ And that is the most important point: alcohol is a drug.”

Millie Gooch (@milliegooch) - “Alcohol makes a great plaster for poor mental health, but it doesn’t actually heal the wound underneath. To really get better, you have to rip the plaster off and start treating the wound - the reason you’re drinking so much in the first place.”

Jody (@thesobrietyshift) - “Every slip is an opportunity to learn more about what’s working on your journey. What’s not working. And what you’re committed to doing differently next time.”

Jody (@thesobrietyshift) - “It’s amazing how much more fulfilling sobriety can feel once you start viewing yourself as a resilient, talented, and powerful individual, rather than someone who is shattered and wounded.”

Jody (@thesobrietyshift) - “It’s totally okay for quitting drinking to be hard because we’re not meant to be good at things we’ve never experienced before.” 

Ruby Warrington - “You don’t have to have a drinking problem for drinking to be a problem for you.”

Laura McKowen - “If you can do this, you must. And I believe you can. I believe you can stop betraying yourself and I believe you can overcome the thing that is breaking you and I believe you can learn to love yourself better than anyone ever has and I believe you can start being your own hero and I believe in the dreams you've never told anyone and I believe in another try and another and another. So, please. Please stop telling yourself that this life isn't for you - this bigger life. We need you. You need you. And if you can do this (and you can), you must.⁠

Laura McKowen - “It takes a hell of a lot more bravery and strength to ask for help than it does to keep pretending like you don’t need it.”

Laura McKowen- “No matter how far astray you’ve gone or how many times you’ve tried and failed before, as long as you’re still sitting here, breathing, and reading these words, freedom and joy are still possible.”

Laura Silverman (@wearesober) - “My recovery has changed. I’ve gone through so many iterations of what recovery means to me; what sobriety means to me. And let me just put it this way: Drinking is just a symptom of what’s going on for most people. Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but for me, it was a symptom of a lot of my undiagnosed mental health issues and a lot of trauma.” 

Chelsea Monroe (@mixedwithout) - “Losing the alcohol helped open up my mind. I lost the booze and gained glasses for my soul, and it gave me the opportunity to see that the relationship I was in was not a good one. I deserved more. Way way more. I learned my worth, my boundaries, my standards.”

Beth Bowen - “If the thought of forever feels inaccessible, stick with for now.”

Beth Bowen - “When you’re unsure of what to do next, try self-kindness and see what that reveals.”

Sarah Pretorius - (@sarah_pretor) “Once you remove alcohol’s hold on your life, you’ll never underestimate your power to elevate your mind, body, and spirit.”

Sarah Pretorius - (@sarah_pretor) “Forgiveness heals the wounds we can and cannot see.”

Sarah Pretorius - (@sarah_pretor) “Abundance is only possible when you believe you’re worthy of it.” 

Sober Otter - “Sobriety helped me shine and find my passions.”

Sober Otter - “It’s okay if I feel left out of the party sometimes.”

Sober Otter - “Sobriety didn’t fix all the problems in my life, but it fixed like, a truckload of them.”

Madeline Campbell - (@happiestsober) “I’m so grateful that my version of fun no longer requires suffering in the aftermath of it.” 

Madeline Campbell - (@happiestsober) “Sobriety has allowed me to create a life that I’d never dream of ruining with alcohol.”

Madeline Campbell - (@happiestsober) “Being able to feel proud of the person I am today is one of my favorite perks of sobriety.” 

Creative Sobriety - “Not sure who needs to hear this but don’t give up on that dream until you’ve tried it sober.” 

Creative Sobriety - “Misery loves company so it’s often disguised as a party. Let misery drink alone.” 

Creative Sobriety - “Sobriety invites us to practice solitude. The day in, day out presence with ourselves, void of distraction and consumption, becomes a holy act of self-love.” 

Annie Grace - “Alcohol erases a bit of you every time you drink it. It can even erase entire nights when you are on a binge. Alcohol does not relieve stress; it erases your senses and your ability to think. Alcohol ultimately erases yourself.” 

Annie Grace - “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”

Annie Grace - “When I was drinking, my nights faded into oblivion. Now I am fully aware and alert from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed. What a gift!” 

Sans Bar - “Alcohol is like a social steroid. It offers all the appearance of being funny, calm, or cool without any real substance.”

Catherine Gray - “Maybe we need to get incredibly uncomfortable in order to learn how to feel comfortable? To practice not fleeing our own skin… in order to find radical comfort within it.”

Catherine Gray - “Stone cold sober? Nah. It should be called sunshine warm sober, because that’s what it actually feels like.”

Glennon Doyle - “Everything was terrible so I drank one glass of water and did 12 minutes of yoga and now everything is fine-ish. Reminder: when the big feelings come, think small. Love you.” 

Sarah Pottieger - (@shestayssober) “I spent so much time drinking to numb out the bad things and hard feelings - I never realized I was numbing out all of the good, too.”

Sarah Pottieger - (@shestayssober) “When I let go of the heaviness of others’ opinions about my decision to stop drinking, I finally experienced the pure joy and freedom of sobriety. It was like experiencing a vibrant new world, fully alive and waiting just for me.” 

Sarah Pottieger - (@shestayssober) “Learning to sit with painful emotions is one of the hardest parts of recovery. But no matter how uncomfortable, sitting with those emotions does a lot less damage than trying to avoid them.” 

The RROMP - (@therromp) “Art is self-care.” 

The Soul Bar - (@thesoulbar.co) “If I cannot take care of them while taking care of me, then I choose me.” 

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