View source for Sobriety

{{Short description|Condition of not being affected by alcohol}}
{{About|the avoidance of alcohol and other drugs|the benefits of giving up alcohol consumption|Health benefits of quitting alcohol}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2025}}
{{Redir|Clean and sober|the 1988 film|Clean and Sober}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
[[File:Breathalyzer study.jpg|thumb|A [[breathalyzer]] is used to test for alcohol sobriety]]
'''Sobriety''' is the condition of not having any effects from [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and other [[psychoactive drug|drugs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/terminology/who_lexicon/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040704055537/http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/terminology/who_lexicon/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 July 2004|title=WHO - Lexicon of drug terms published by the World Health Organization|website=www.who.int}}</ref> Sobriety is also considered to be the natural state of a [[human being]] at [[Childbirth|birth]]. A person in a state of sobriety is considered '''sober'''. [[List of Temperance organizations|Organizations]] of the [[temperance movement]] have encouraged sobriety as being normative in society.<ref name="Sonnenstuhl2018">{{cite book |last1=Sonnenstuhl |first1=William J. |title=Working Sober: The Transformation of an Occupational Drinking Culture |date=31 May 2018 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-1121-3 |page=8 |language=en}}</ref> 

In a [[therapy|treatment]] setting, sobriety is the achieved goal of independence from consuming alcohol. As such, sustained abstinence is a prerequisite for sobriety. Early in abstinence, residual effects of alcohol consumption can preclude sobriety. These effects are labeled "PAWS", or "[[post-acute-withdrawal syndrome]]". Someone who abstains, but has a latent desire to resume use, may be termed a "[[dry drunk]]" and not considered truly sober. An abstainer may be subconsciously motivated to resume alcohol consumption, but for a variety of reasons, abstains (e.g. a medical or legal concern precluding use).<ref name="basharin">{{cite web|url=http://www.video.sbnt.ru/vl/Newspapers/Podsporie/Podsporie_111.pdf|title="Scientific grounding for sobriety: Western experience." MD Basharin K.G., Yakutsk State University|access-date=29 June 2011|archive-date=8 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508153317/http://www.video.sbnt.ru/vl/Newspapers/Podsporie/Podsporie_111.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Sobriety has more specific meanings within specific contexts, such as the culture of many substance use recovery programs, law enforcement, and some schools of psychology. In some cases, sobriety implies the achievement of "life balance",<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120327013827/http://www.guardureyes.com/GUE/PDFs/The%2012-Steps%20and%2012%20traditions.pdf "TWELVE STEPS and TWELVE TRADITIONS"]}}</ref> or reflects a broader aspiration to a [[simplicity|simpler]] and less material lifestyle.<ref>[[Pope Francis]], [https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si_en.pdf Laudato si'], paragraphs 222-223, published 24 May 2015, accessed 20 May 2024</ref>

==Recovery support programs==
Sobriety may refer to being clear of immediate or residual effects of any mind-altering substances. Colloquially, it may refer to a specific substance that is the concern of a particular recovery support program<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alcohol Support Groups - Alcohol Recovery Programs |url=https://www.alcohol.org/aftercare/support-groups/ |access-date=2020-09-20 |website=Alcohol.org |language=en-US |archive-date=15 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415122452/https://www.alcohol.org/aftercare/support-groups/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (e.g. alcohol, marijuana, opiates, or tobacco). "Clean and sober" is a commonly used phrase, which refers to someone having an extended period without alcohol or other drugs in their body.

Recovery can start in many different ways for all people. One may go to rehab, a detox center or engage a [[sober companion]] to start. The next recovery support program may be slightly more difficult to find.  [[Sober living houses|Sober living]] can be confusing using any generic search engine. Recovery resources exist for many different companies, mainly across the United States. 

[[Alcoholism|Alcoholics]] can also use books, podcasts and online resources to help their own recovery.

==Temperance organizations==
{{Main|List of temperance organizations}}
Organizations of the [[temperance movement]] have encouraged sobriety as being normative in society.<ref name="Sonnenstuhl2018"/> The [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]] disseminates literature on the living a sober lifestyle,<ref name="Chase1899">{{cite book |last=Chase |first=Fanny DuBois |author-link=Fanny DuBois Chase |title=Glimpses of a Popular Movement; Or, Sketches of the W.C.T.U. of Pennsylvania |date=1899 |publisher=Leeds Press |page=60 |language=en}}</ref> while fraternal organisations such as the [[Independent Order of Rechabites]] and [[International Organisation of Good Templars]] provide a space for teetotalers to socialize.<ref name="Logan1983">{{cite web |last1=Logan |first1=Norma Davies |title=Drink and Society: Scotland 1870–1914 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/293036829.pdf |publisher=University of Glasgow |access-date=24 October 2020 |page=34 |date=1983 |archive-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220614032159/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/293036829.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Law enforcement==
[[Field_sobriety_test#Field_sobriety_testing|Field sobriety test]]s and breathalyzer testing are two ways law enforcement officers often test for sobriety in a suspected [[Drug intoxication|high]] or [[Drunk drivers|drunk driver]]. In the US, these "standardized field sobriety tests" are at the officer's discretion. They can also administer other tests including blood and urine tests.<ref>{{cite web|title=Field Sobriety Tests|url=http://fieldsobrietytests.org/|access-date=7 July 2011|archive-date=2 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302222742/http://fieldsobrietytests.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> In other countries (for example The Netherlands), only breathalizer and blood testing is used.  Standardized tests that can be performed in the US include:
* One-leg stand test
* Walk and turn test
* HGN (eye) test (horizontal gaze nystagmus test)
Non-standardized tests include:
* [[Romberg's test]]
* Finger-to-nose test
* Finger-count test
* Hand pat test
* Alphabet recitation test 
* Counting numbers backwards 
Since these tests rely on cooperation of the subject, the final result often depends on the presiding officer's interpretation. There are many factors that can lead to inaccuracies in sobriety testing including orthopedic or neurologic conditions, and fatigue.

==Sober curious==
[[Sober curious]] is a [[cultural movement]] and [[Lifestyle (social sciences)|lifestyle]] of practicing none or limited alcohol consumption which started spreading in the late 2010s, in particular among people from the [[millennials|millennial]] generation. Sober curiosity is often defined as having the option to question or change one's drinking habits, for mental or physical health reasons.<ref name="Sheppard 2021">''What Does It Mean to Be Sober Curious?'' article by Sarah Sheppard, January 24, 2021, on verywellmind</ref> It may be practised in many ways, ranging from complete abstinence to thinking more about when and how much one actually wants to drink.<ref name="Boesen">''Skål – uden alkohol'', article by Eva Guld Boesen in Samvirke {{ISSN|0036-3944}}, February 2023, p. 18-27 (in Danish)</ref>

==Etymology==
The word "sobriety" comes from the Latin word sobrietas, which means moderation or temperance, especially in avoiding excess—like not drinking too much. It passed through Old French (sobriete) before entering English around the 1400s. Earlier, a similar form sobrete was used in Middle English around 1300. Over time, its meaning expanded to include seriousness or steadiness as well.

==See also==
*[[Health benefits of quitting alcohol]]
*[[Sober living environment]]
*[[Temperance and Good Citizenship Day]]
*[[Temperance fountain]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/111113p12.shtml Sobriety information website with links to several recovery organizations]
*[http://www.sobriety.org Sobriety information website and forum for Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous]
*[http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sobriety Wiktionary on the word]
*[https://www.etymonline.com/word/sobriety Etymology of the word]


{{Alcohol and health}}
{{Virtues}}

[[Category:Alcohol abuse]]
[[Category:Drug rehabilitation]]