Conscious Clubbing UK

 

 

Our mission is two-fold. Firstly and very importantly to us.  Is to give those in recovery a vehicle to mix with others in a large social setting.  Recovery, very often causes a sense of isolation and our festival changes all this.  No longer the only person at the event sober – everyone else is like and understands you. Secondly, as the conscious clubbing and sober raving phenomenon is on the increase globally. We want we provide a platform.  A get together in the form of a festival. That will help nurture this new movement, by bringing together all people who wish to party sober.

Conscious Clubbing

Conscious Clubbing and Sober Raving is increasingly becoming the real alternative for sober Ravers who wish to experience highs of a Sober Rave. Emile says “Not every Sober Raver who attends a Sober Raves in recovery from addiction or obsessed with health.  A lot of people come simply out of curiosity and just to see what it’s all about.”

What is Conscious Clubbing.

Conscious Clubbing is all about partying – sober and being around people who share your outlook on what it is to be sober and have a great time in the process. Conscious Clubbing has this amazing ability to bring all kinds of people from varied backgrounds  together, with a common denominator – sobriety. A festival or party doesn’t need to have any alcohol or drugs in order to be enjoyable. For Conscious Clubbers, gone are the days, being around drunk people who don’t respect your boundaries. At the Awaken Festival there are going to be other people both recovering from addiction or who chose sobriety as a life style choice. You will develop new friendships with people who understand that you are simply to have a great time – just like they are. For what ever your reason for being sober it is an important part of your life and you owe it to yourself to be around people that understand and fully understand that fact.

Conscious Clubbing And Addiction Recovery

Sober Raving or Sober Partying is in fact, no longer an oxymoron. Dave said ” I was stuck in my own head with all sorts of insecurities which resulted in alcohol and drug abuse. I had to find out, how I could get the high when out partying and get past feeling really uncomfortable – just crawling in my own skin. Conscious Clubbing has helped me meet and be around like me and give me the sense of not being alone and one of a kind. Now, I go to Sober Raves and I don’t need to get drunk first so that I don’t feel insecure.” If partying around drunk people is too tempting or those people don’t respect your boundaries then it’s better to be around different people. A party doesn’t need to have any alcohol or drugs in order to be fun. There are going to be other people recovering from addiction that will want to still have fun parties too. Partying with friends that understand what you’re going through tends to be more fun anyways. Being sober is an important part of your life and you should be around people that respect and understand that. John a web designer says” it seems that all of the bad things that had happened in my life or all the bad decisions I’d made were down to alcohol and/or being drunk.” Disturbingly, research in 2010 from a National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the US found that 57 percent of new drug users were under the age of 18. It stated that young  people suffering from an addiction before the age of 18 tended to struggle more with staying sober. Stating the obviously, it said this was because between the ages of  18 to 22 young people tend to party more. Sober partying can, in fact, be the best of all worlds —a good time, and one you can actually remember, don’t have to apologize to anyone for, that doesn’t take days to recover from, and that doesn’t put you at risk of killing yourself or someone in your path. One of the key recommendations for those in recovery is change your lifestyle. That advice is very well founded. Whilst it may be a generalization, but changing your lifestyle will mean  giving up friends whose lives focused around drinking/drugs. Joe, an IT systems specialist puts it this way “In recovery means taking a totally new path and thee are no half measures. You can never have your old social back as this puts you in the situation you are in, in the first place. I have friends I grew up with whom I still see, but on my terms not theirs. I only ever meet up for lunch or call to see them during the day, when drink and drugs are not a problem for them.  They do not understand addiction, even though many of them have dependency issues themselves.” So come on, if you are a recovering addict, don’t let your former besties – drugs and alcohol have any more influence over you.

Conscious Clubbing as a Lifestyle.

Many conscious clubbers who attend Sober Raves do so, not simply because they do not like being surrounded by others who do use alcohol or drugs – but to have fun and make new friends. Amy says ““I love the fact that everyone’s sober around me, no more people spilling drinks on me. No more watching people falling around, or hitting somebody. It’s simply dancing and having a great time with like minded people. ” To re-enforce this fact, statistics were released 2015 by the adult drinking habits for the Office for National Statistics said that more than one in five adults (21%) did not drink alcohol at all. Increasingly more and more people are waking up to the fact that it’s possible to party without the need for alcohol or drugs. Increasingly, disillusioned clubbers are turning their backs on the need to take alcohol or drugs as a pre-requisite to having a great time. Increasingly, the days of hitting a club in London or Ibiza after already having been warmed up by using some sort of substance are now all in the past.  In days gone by, a pre-party drug of choice, would help induce a relaxed state of mind and help ensure that the  club surroundings were a little more comfortable. You are now ready to dance – using the term “ready” very loosely and feeling less inhibited and often – invincible. Once in a less inhibited state, many of us come out of our shells and allow ourselves to let go into the rhythm of the music and the whole vibe of dancing within a crowd. For many of us, going out and having a few drinks, can often help us express ourselves through dance. However many people are now turning their backs on substance induced fun and today party while sober which is often called a freeing sensation. Maddy says “plenty of alcohol was the order of the day before going out partying. Now days, I found what I have been looking for since I starting going to clubs.” Unlike whilst under the influence, there are absolutely no restraints on what you can do when you party sober. Then there is the dreaded hangover. Waking up feeling ill the next day and not being able to function is a real downer and the hangovers get more intense the older you get – something NOT to look forward to. Then how many times have we said “I wish I had not said that” or feeling ashamed of your behavior from the night before. Raving Sober together with everyone else means we all get to be storytellers and not the one or two sober people in the room, simply because no one else could remember everything that happened the night before. Every Sober Raver will tell you that there is no substitute for being able to remember the wonderful memories of the night. So, a part from all the other benefits, being sober gives you the advantage that you live in the moment and create memories that you will never.

The Power of Music

When we as humans hear music, it activates the pleasure and reward centers of the brain along with the cerebellum. The cerebellum is an area that controls motor function and coordination of the brain. This the reason why we can’t help tapping our foot or nodding our head when we hear a real catchy tune. Basically, as humans we are wired to dance. However, in many cultures and societies, we are dictated to by the norm as to when it is appropriate to do so. For many of us in the western world, uncontrolled dancing makes us feel embarrassed and it is for this reason when ecstatic dance is tied into conscious clubbing it sometimes appears a little strange to people looking in from the outside. For addiction, the idea of using exercise/dance as a constructive replacement for drug or alcohol cravings is nothing new. Interestingly, exercise releases the neurotransmitter dopamine into the brain in the same way as drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Conclusion

Conscious Clubbing can undoubtedly give a Sober Raver, the best of all worlds. A good time along with an event that you can actually remember. Not having to apologize to anyone for anything you did or said. Not having to suffer the next day and sometimes the day after. Not putting yourself at risk or someone in your path. Let’s face it. If you carried out a poll and asked the question “if you could party sober and have a better time than taking a substance prior or during the party – would you give up taking anything” I bet when all the positives are weighed up against the negatives, the overwhelming  consensus would be to “leading a sober lifestyle.”