Grey Area Drinking Coach UK
A confidential space to explore your relationship with alcohol, without labels or judgment. Personalised, compassionate sober coaching for women across the UK.
✓ Qualified Sober Club Coach
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rated 5.0
Gain Back Control of Alcohol Without Willpower
Questioning Your Drinking?
You're Not Alone
The quiet promise on a Monday morning... the sigh of relief by Wednesday... and the familiar question on Friday:
"Is this really serving me?"
If you're navigating this internal conversation, please know you are not alone, and this isn't about a lack of willpower.
ABOUT ME
I am Lucy, a qualified Sober Club Coach with a corporate career in advertising and marketing. Having worked in London, Sydney, Singapore and Madrid, I’m now happily settled in Staffordshire with my husband and 2 little girls.
It was my 2 daughters who were my inspiration to quit alcohol back in 2021, I’m now a proud and present Mum. I’m passionate about health and wellness, have competed in Sprint Triathlons, Hyrox and ATHX competitions. Quitting alcohol, I realised was the last piece of the wellness puzzle.
My approach helps to empower clients to gain back control of alcohol without relying on willpower, helping them create their vision for the future and find the tools to build it!
HOW I CAN HELP
Whether you're questioning your drinking or ready to make a change, I offer personalised coaching programs to help you:
✓ Understand your relationship with alcohol
✓ Gain back control without relying on willpower
✓ Create your vision for an alcohol-free future
✓ Build the tools and strategies to make it last
Sober Coaching Programs Tailored to You
What's Included:
- One-to-one coaching sessions
- Personalised support and accountability
- Practical tools and strategies
- Ongoing guidance and encouragement
MY ALCOHOL STORY
Shortly after I turned 45, with several long breaks from alcohol under my belt, I came to the conclusion that alcohol was no longer serving me and decided to stop. It was incredibly daunting to begin with, but the best decision I’ve ever made and one I wished I’d reached much sooner!
I thought alcohol was my friend; It was there when I wanted to party, to celebrate, to comfort me when I was down or felt lonely. I drank through university and it was almost a prerequisite for working in advertising. I lived the expat life for a decade in Australia, Singapore & Spain where wine was a constant and despite the Monday blues, wasted Sundays nursing a hangover, I just couldn’t imagine a life without alcohol.
It was shortly after turning 40, almost a decade ago that my relationship started to sour. I’d given birth to our second daughter after moving to Madrid. I was in a job I loathed and had raced back to work from when my daughter was six weeks old. Loneliness, a young baby, and stressful work situation proved to be a rather lethal combination.
Wine became a tool to help me wind down and escape. Life became happier when we moved home to the UK but a seed had been planted and I started to question my relationship with alcohol, wondering if life might be calmer and happier without it featuring.
The list is endless on my reasons for going alcohol free but my biggest why’s are my daughters who are now eight and ten. I wanted to be a fully present Mum and enjoy being with them rather than snapping and losing my temper.
Stopping drinking has been the biggest act of self love, I have more patience, my confidence has soared. I have more energy, holidays, Christmas, birthdays, all these events that I thought would somehow be less than without alcohol are so much more. I feel like my life has started again but with a much happier ending.
You don’t have to hit a rock bottom to change your relationship with alcohol!
There is a grey area when it comes to drinking alcohol, for years I kept asking - “Do I have a drink problem?”
Everything changed when instead I started to question - “Would my life be better without drinking?”
TESTIMONIALS
“Lucy was a beacon of light at a very hard time of my life. I called her the day after a heavy evening of drinking and instantly felt a sense of ‘reset’. Her patience knows no bounds and she is extremely insightful. There is no bullsh1t and it’s straight talking but in an incredibly supportive and warm way. I did and do still feel accountable but from now on it’s really just to myself. I feel optimistic. Lucy is really someone very special - also just to share that I think her fees are low considering what she does. I’m very grateful to her”
When I searched for and found Lucy at the beginning of the year, I knew that I needed some expert guidance on my drinking habits and some accountability for a path forwards. I had taken to self medicating with alcohol, after traumatic births and a busy life with two small children, where I had lost my confidence and identity. The idea of forever seemed scary, and I couldn't find the correct label for myself but I knew deep down, alcohol had more control over me than I had over it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding Grey Area Drinking
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Grey area drinking is the space between social, moderate drinking and severe alcohol dependence. It's not about being physically addicted to alcohol, but rather about questioning your relationship with it. If you find yourself drinking more than you intend to, using alcohol to cope with stress, or feeling that it's taking more from your life than it's giving, you might be in the grey area. It's a deeply personal experience defined by your own feelings about your drinking, not by a specific number of drinks.
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Only you can answer that, but a good place to start is by asking yourself a few gentle questions, or booking a chat with Lucy Hemming Sober Coach. Do you set rules for your drinking (e.g., "only on weekends") but often break them? Do you spend time thinking about your next drink, or worrying about your drinking habits? Does alcohol impact your mood, sleep, or energy levels in a way that you don't like? If these questions resonate, it's a sign that exploring your relationship with alcohol could be a positive step. This isn't about a label; it's about your wellbeing.
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The key difference is typically the absence of physical dependence. People with severe alcohol use disorder (historically called alcoholism) often experience significant withdrawal symptoms if they stop drinking. Grey area drinkers, on the other hand, usually maintain their daily responsibilities; work, family, and social life; but have a persistent, uncomfortable feeling that their drinking habits are not serving their best interests. It's less about physical addiction and more about a psychological and emotional reliance on alcohol.
Still have questions?
You will find answers to common questions about grey area drinking, working with a sober coach, and my approach on the FAQ page,.
I would love to hear from you: Book a complimentary discovery call and let's chat about your journey.