By Chris Raine
As a young Australian, I grew up with the perception that getting drunk on the weekend is just what you do. No questions asked. From 16, when I threw that first beer down my neck, right through to the expensive dinners with champagne that starts with sips and ends in bottles; I realized that we have somehow been programmed with the notion that getting “wasted” is a pre-requisite to having a good time.
My question is… ‘Why?’
Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) began because I came to the realisation that going along and believing this for the rest of my life was inextricably linking my self-confidence, emotional well being and identity to something measured in standard servings. The idea that I had to pay for things I should be able to find within myself irked me. So I decided to go a year without drinking; to work out how necessary alcohol actually is. I documented my year on a blog called hellosundaymorning.com.
Following my year, several of my mates decided that the idea of using a blog to commit to taking a break from drinking could really help them get some perspective as well. The HSM program was born.
The program now invites any individual to commit to 3 months (or more) without drinking and use the website for support and reflection (through a blog) on their non-drinking experience. Over the past 10 months, it has grown exponentially and the HSM program now has 150 people who have signed up.
Hello Sunday Morning is now a registered, non-denominational charity and we are presently working with Macquarie University and Brisbane City Council to put individual’s through a sponsored HSM program. Over the coming years, we are looking to set up similar partnerships with organisations across Australia to support individuals to do a HSM program.
So why is HSM effective?
Rather than tell people how much they should and shouldn’t drink, we offer an online platform for people to work that out for themselves. Because it’s not until you say ‘no’ for an extended period of time that you really get to learn why it is you say ‘yes’.
The HSM vision is to inspire 10,000 people to do a HSM program by 2013. We believe that those 10,000 stories will provide the necessary critical mass needed to create the foundations of an alternative drinking culture that is about individual choice, not cultural expectation.
We want to do this, not just because drinking costs hundreds of lives each year, billions of tax-payer dollars in social costs and way too many Sunday mornings, but because it is the truth.
The truth is that you don’t need alcohol to be who you want to be. So, when Australians are ready to believe in that truth, Hello Sunday Morning will be here for them.
To view a quick introductory video you can check out – http://bit.ly/bgpYQN
Writer Chris Raine. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha
Source: Hello Sunday Morning
I think this is a brilliant idea and since I have teens and work with teens and see lots of ;adults effected by the excessive use or reliance on alcohol I would love to see this grow. I have also had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful maxillo facial surgeon (when my daughter had her wisdom teeth out) who works all over the xmas / new year period fixing up the faces of many who are involved in alcohol fueled bashings …some of which they invite and some of which are randomly thrust upon them by roving gangs of people seeking a victim for their anger and frustration. His comment was, ‘if only we could stop people drinking then I would not need to do this each year’. A sad indictment upon our cultural beliefs indeed.
Thanks Chris and well done.
Cheers and thanks,
Jenny