The Social Pivot - with Sober Dave

Vic is eight years sober tomorrow… and something is quietly shifting....

She has realised this week that the anxiety she feels around certain social situations isn’t because she can’t cope. It’s because she no longer wants to.

For years she believed being able to sit comfortably around drinking was a sober skill to master. She could handle it. She could manage the energy. She could leave early. But the low-level anxiety never really disappeared.

So what happens when you realise it’s not about capability, it’s about alignment?

Joined by Sober Dave from One for the Road, Vic unpacks this sober pivot. Dave brings his usual grounded, thoughtful take as they talk about people-pleasing, the subtle weight of being “the sober one”, and how long-term sobriety sometimes asks you to quietly change the rooms you sit in.

After meeting properly at the jungle retreat, something clicked for both of them about the kind of connection they actually want more of. This episode is about that shift, about choosing friendships and environments that feel nourishing rather than draining, and about allowing sobriety to keep evolving.

Because maybe it isn’t about whether you can sit in certain spaces anymore.

Maybe it’s about whether you still want to?

Find out more about Dave by following him @soberdave and if you need some support in your sobriety then check out his website - https://www.soberdave.co.uk/

💛 Resources & Links

📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays

A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.

👉 Buy the book here

🎧 Listen to more Sober Awkward episodes

👉 www.soberawkward.com

🫖 Join The Cuppa Community

Our private, supportive online space for sober folk

👉 www.cuppa.community

📘 Get the Sober Awkward Guide

Our downloadable toolkit for ditching booze the awkward way.

👉 The Sober Awkward Guide