Sober in the Country Ltd

It's the time of year we put self care at the top of the list and have a rest from the socials .... Xx

''Almost a decade in to having yarns across remote parts of this wide brown land about alcohol, its impacts, and how we can all be part of positive change - no matter who we are or where we live - the one thing I observe over and over is the very incorrect assumption that people who drink less or not at must have had some dreadful ''problem'' (like I once did) ... or must be some kind of ''wowser'' ... (etc etc). These are often either awkwardly delivered or flat out incorrect and sometimes incredibly judgemental and unfair assumptions. And, honestly, they're not okay. So here's today's friendly reminder that people choosing less or no grog don't need to justify it, don't need a reason that must be explained to all, and they certainly don't have to have a rock-bottom story or reason so say ''no thanks.'' (AND: guess what - we don't judge or have thoughts going on in our heads about those who do choose to drink. This is another incorrect but common assumption - and one we get all the time at SITC - despite our constant references to the fact we strictly are not prohibitionists.) We just want to be left in peace in our choice not to follow the mob and to advocate for others choosing the same. There are many among our rural communities who simply choose to prioritise their health and fitness AND their mental health and mental fitness. Or, there are many who enjoy one or two, and that's plenty, for them. There are also many, like me, who faced life-or-death when it came to alcohol. Much like sobriety - there's no one size or reason for all when it comes to what we drink or how often we drink it, or if we abstain completely. The worst thing we can do as bystanders and small communities is to sit on the sidelines making assumptions or casting judgement. Just be kind. Be supportive. Respect your fit mates, and respect your sober mates. Some of the worst bullying I've heard about or witnessed (and indeed experienced firsthand) in decades in the Ag sector has happened around alcohol. And while it's definitely changing - we still have a lot of culture shifting to be done. Remember: our website is filled with amazing ways to help our charity, get involved, and be part of the change. One story at a time, we are absolutely changing it.' To me - we cannot call ourselves progressive leaders if we aren't getting this right.'' {Shanna Whan, SITC founder & survivor}

The most common feedback we get through the charity is from rural blokes who feel ''totally excluded'' because the majority of mental health events / BBQs / workshops, etc, are grog-focused. And .... because grog was, in fact, what caused their overall health and mental health to decline ... they honestly just don't know how to turn up to a ''mental health'' event or workshop that's heavily been marketed as all about the beers. They don't want to stand around empty-handed, awkwardly, waiting for the inevitable questions or ribbing that happens, like: ''What's wrong with you?'' / ''just have one'' / ''you used to be fun'' / ''harden up'' ... etc etc. It's pretty easy to fix. Here's how: add some thoughtful, tasty, inclusive and healthy alternatives to your eskies - and make your invites about mateship and mental health instead of grog. If you're truly aiming to make a difference in the mental health space - get honest and start with the basic, common truth that alcohol harm and addiction are very real, very prevalent and a known common denominator and factor in so much of what we know to be problematic in rural Australia and linked to all the big things we talk about - like depression, suicide, farm accidents, and more. Remember: this isn't about extremes or absolutes. If you can drink a few in moderation, that's great. Good for you. Enjoy! But PLEASE stop assuming that others can. Please know that MANY of your rural workmates, friends, and family have a silent and sometimes lethal battle going on with alcohol - and they are absolutely desperate to feel supported and included, too. It is a point we make regularly and will continue to make - because far too many initiatives, events, conferences, and organisations are still leaning into using alcohol to treat depression and bring people together - and we can all make a massive, positive, powerful chance SO, so easily. Visit our website for more information, tips, ways to get involved with the #OK2SAYNO message and user-friendly language and so much more. We've spent a decade doing the hard work. All you have to do is share it. #change #progression #rural #mental #health #australia #OK2SAYNO

If you've never quite wrapped your head around our charity, our purpose, our vision, or our why - this landing video is for you 😘

If you’re new here, welcome 🙏 🤠 Sober in the Country (aka “SITC”) is a rural charity with a very, very simple message and a bold vision: a future where every single one of our rural and remote mates – from farmers to FIFO workers – know it’s always okay to say ‘no thanks’ or ‘not today’ to booze. We’re creating radical social change and saving the lives of rural and remote Australians affected by alcohol harm through our advocacy, straight talk, lived experience, partnerships with leading Alcohol and Drug (AOD) organisations, and our online peer-support group, the Bush Tribe. And, we are helping educate the wider ag and rural sector on how to best support and cater thoughtfully for those who are opting to drink less, or not at all. It’s been almost a decade since we began this conversation. And we’ve reached every corner of the outback by sharing our extremely user-friendly messages around supporting mates. We don’t care or judge if you are someone who chooses to enjoy a few quiet ones - what we care about is that *everyone* supports those who choose not to. No matter their reason. Because every year, we lose 6,000 lives to alcohol in this country, and a disproportionate percentage of harm occurs in rural and remote Australia, where we are 150% more likely to be affected. Our founder @shanna_whan has travelled Australia and spoken in front of countless audiences. She asks the same question at every event …. she asks that if anyone in the crowd has *never been impacted by alcohol harm (directly or indirectly) - could they please raise their hand? In a decade, only one hand has ever gone up. Let that sink in, for a moment. Harm from grog underpins pretty much every single health and mental health issue in the bush - and filters into road fatalities, farm accidents, and so much more. The good news is that we can all be part of changing the conversation, and doing so much better. And thank you to those of you who help us do exactly that. If you’d like to get involved - please visit our website at soberinthecountry.org which is chockers with exceptional information, resources, inspiring stories, merch, and more 🩷🩷🩷

A decade ago, if you wanted to get sober in the country, your options were likely to be either (a) drive vast distances to a recovery meeting, where anonymity was unlikely to be kept ... (b) travel vast distances to try rehab in the city (if you were fortunate enough to be able to leave your home / business / farm / animals etc., (c) risk everything to seek help locally (everyone in a small country town knows this fear) or (d) stay quiet and try going it alone ... Our founder, Shanna Whan created an online support group in 2015 after experiencing all these challenges and more in her rural setting after a deadly battle with addiciton. That conversation and group grew and has evolved over time into what you now know as this amazing national charity. She did this before COVID-19 and came under heavy fire and criticism from old-school traditionalists who insisted: ''this cannot be done online!'' Ironically, once the pandemic set in, almost all traditional face-to-face support was transitioned online in a matter of weeks - because the rest of the world had their first taste of what it's like to live and try 'recover' in isolation, which is, of course, the ''norm'' for rural or remote Australians. COVID 19 has long passed - but life for those of us who live remotely, along with the challenges that brings, stays the same. We cannot use or rely on city-based models to help rural and remote Australians at risk from alcohol harm or addiction. > Did you know, we lose a farmer to suicide every 10 days? > Did you know the link to alcohol is a concurrent theme linked with declining rural mental health? > Did you know rural Australians are 150% more likely to experience harm from alcohol? > Did you know that without healthy, sustainable rural people, we as a nation are at risk of no food security and no way to face the challenges of our changing world? We all need to care about basic access to primary health services in the bush. No matter where we live. And as things stand, our systems, services, and support are abhorrently lacking. SITC will continue to do what it can to bridge some of these enormous challenges. If you can consider making us your charity of choice and supporting our work - we need your help. Please visit our website at soberinthecountry.org and get involved in any way you can.

Men folk - you'll especially want to watch this 🥰 Almost all our @followers here have met our mate Matty, thanks to his contributions dating back to our original Australian Story episode back in 2019. We will soon release Matty's full-length story, which will be 'part 8' of our groundbreaking Amplification Project. It is exceptionally powerful. For now - here are a few candid thoughts from Matty around what it's like as a sober fella in the bush, in terms of being catered for / included, and how he hopes that more of us can take up the SITC mantle of just being a little more thoughtful around events. #OK2SAYNO #mentalhealth #mensmentalhealth #rural #australia #sober #healthy #happy #alcohol #free

We can never share this particular message enough times. If you’re a rural health or mental health professional, ambassador, spokesperson, or advocate - can we lovingly and gently remind / ask you to think about the subliminal context behind your “mental health” messaging 🙏 Many, many times over we’ve heard from wonderful humans in isolated areas that one of the biggest hurdles they face is feeling further ostracised (socially) because they don’t drink. Or because they’ve chosen to cut back. They tell us the constant pressure to “get into the free booze on offer” is rampant - and even more so, ironically, at mental health events. While we know that plenty of our mates can enjoy a couple in moderation - the problematic side of that reinforcement that booze = time to talk is utterly counterintuitive to any mental health initiatives. So if you can enjoy one or two, good for you. But please reconsider using and advertising events with alcohol as the main bait, and rather, can we encourage you to make your event first and foremost about the gathering of wonderful humans 🤠 When we are intentional and thoughtful in our catering (cheap sugary soft drinks does NOT count 😉 as catering, BTW) and when we are mindful with our messaging - we are making small but massive shifts towards a culture that’s focused on sustainable people 🩷💪🏽 Nobody is asking for big things - just small courtesy, basic inclusion, and a genuine community-minded approach that allows our most vulnerable friends to know they, too, can safely attend a workshop and event - and not feel completely awkward when the esky comes out and they’re left out. Having said all the above - there are more and more and more of you doing the things we’ve advocated around and making these changes - and the response is EPIC from those whose lives you’re impacting. So to the forward thinking humans stepping up and leading : our respect is yours 🙏 Thank you! #RUOK #mentalhealth #RURAL #australia #ALCOHOL #FREE #CHANGE #INCLUSION #sustainability * remember ~ we have a tonne of amazing information on our website if you’d like to be involved or learn more 🤠 on how to help. Just visit Soberinthecountry.org

Brian, from our online peer support family, the Bush Tribe, recently celebrated 35 years of life without alcohol. He shares that for him, attending a lot of different Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the early days was helpful - and that he met many sober people who helped him learn how to live a healthy and productive life. Brian shares: ''Many of the things repeated that resonated for me were: ''Don't pick up that first drink, no matter what,'' and ''Keep an open mind.'' ''During my life, I've had two failed marriages, several failed career attempts, and many recurring emotional challenges. Despite these (common) challenges, my life continues to be an incredible journey. In sobriety, I learned ballroom and rock and roll dancing, became a motorcyclist, ran the city to surf, and was a stepfather of three kids, and a biological Dad for 21 years. I have needed the help and support of many wonderful people and organisations including SITC. Asking for help is thankfully becoming more common and accepted in society, and there are also more options for people with alcohol issues. I am not gifted with any more willpower, intelligence, common sense or spirituality than anybody else..... I was just ready to stop, and, once I did - I saw my life improve dramatically - so I stayed sober. I also heard the devastating and often tragic results of people who drank again. I was free to choose, I hung around the people who were living the way I wanted to, and my life is still improving. Today I have a wonderful extended family, a partner of nearly 4 years, and six grandchildren who love me. I cannot imagine my life being any better.'' > SHARED with permission, and our immense gratitude, always.If you are rural or remote, and you're choosing less or no booze - and you'd like to share a snippet of your story - please visit our website at soberinthecountry.org and click the ''get involved'' tab. We'd love your help.

Since the beginning of time, Aussies have used grog as currency - whether it's a thank you or an excuse to drop in with a 'carton' and socialise. We know that socialising is incredibly vital for those of us who live in remoteness and isolation. And we are all for it, whether it's at the local camp draft, footy club, the pub, or your best mate's backyard. The tricky thing, for some, is the booze aspect. What we see, over and over again, is the implied assumption and recurring theme that the best way we can get our blokes (in particular) to ''open up'' and share is if we give them enough alcohol. We see this at mental health workshops, our Ag industry, and in our families. Given we lose a farmer every ten days to suicide, and we all know alcohol use/abuse/addiction is a concurrent theme - we'll continue to ask what we have always asked - which is to PLEASE ensure there is an alternative to grog on offer for your mate whose mental health battle is intricately linked TO grog. Which we also know is often the case. So, as we face another RUOK day - we'd love to challenge you that if you've got a mate who you know **isn't** okay and who you know has a silent battle with alcohol going on, please ... just go sit with your mate over a cuppa or a zero-alc beer. Let him know it's #OK2SAYNO and that you're supportive of the choice not to use grog to treat depression. Let him know you're available for a discussion that doesn't end up at the bottom of a bottle of whisky. Ask your publican to chuck some healthy, tasty, thoughtful alternatives or zeros in the fridge to make sure everyone's included and so that your mate battling the darkest of demons knows he can sit and socialise, too. Because the only thing worse than fighting with the black dog is knowing your choice to stay sober (in order to stay alive) means you're socially ostracised and isolated from everyone else who doesn't know what to do with a non-drinker in outback Australia. That is something we still see far too often. So help us make sure that when we ask RUOK? we're not just uttering meaningless words but acting with thoughtful intent to be part of the change that is working. #OK2SAYNO #mates #rural #australia #alcohol #addiction #suicide #RUOK?