A student, who ditched booze after passing out while drinking heavily, says she still loves going to the pub - and praised Hollywood actor Tom Holland for speaking out about going sober. Phoebe Pallot, 21, decided to give up alcohol after growing reliant on a glass of wine to get to sleep during the Covid lockdowns.
She says she also struggled with excessive boozing in her teenage years, which led some pals to stop inviting her to events. But Phoebe, who is a second year marketing student, says she feels better than ever after going teetotal.
She has praised Spider-Man star Tom Holland for putting the topic in the public eye, after he revealed he had been sober for a year. Phoebe, from Alderney, Guernsey, said: "I would go to extremes with drinking. People didn’t want to invite me.
“I have always been quite curvy. I think I drank to feel more comfortable. I wasn’t aggressive but I would fall asleep and pass out. People would worry about how I got home. Now I feel very real. It’s so nice – there is no collateral the next day.”
Phoebe, who does not want to disclose the university she attends, leaned on alcohol after struggling with the “quiet nights” of the pandemic. “I struggled on and off with insomnia. I started this habit of having to have a glass of wine before sleep. It turned into a reliance. When I went to university I just wanted to quit," she said.
Phoebe started her course in September 2021 without booze and struggled with withdrawal symptoms and loneliness. She said: “I was shaking and had heart pain.
“First year was really hard. It was lonely and isolating. I wasn’t going out clubbing. I went back home at Christmas and drank on Christmas Eve. I felt awful the next day.”
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When Phoebe went back to university, she decided to “quit” the booze for good and now surrounds herself with like-minded friends and her boyfriend, who rarely drinks. “I’m generally happy. I deal with sadness better. I still go to the pub. I love a house party. I love dancing," she added. “I have a wholesome life. I’m making the most of life.”
Phoebe hopes there can be more education surrounding sobriety: “You have to learnt to be confident not drinking. If people say we’re boring they don’t understand. It doesn’t bother me. If universities created sober events I don’t that helps the problem. I think there needs to be education.”
