The challenge is not only to see if they can take control of their drinking, but also to help set a strong alcohol-free example for others in an age of alcohol-influenced hedonism and binge drinking.
Originally the idea of Share Jesus International director Andy Frost, Thirst for Life (TfL) was launched by Christian drug education charity Hope UK in 2006, initially as a challenge to Christians to give up alcohol for 40 days over Lent. 2008 is the first year that TfL has been rolled out for year-round participation.
“The Thirst for Life campaign is based around the simple premise that if people could stop drinking for 40 days they would start conversations that would then affect other people’s thoughts about drinking,” explains George Ruston, Executive Director of Hope UK.
During the course of the 40 days, participants are invited to wear a TfL tag as a conversation starter and fill in their own progress chart.
One of the unexpected outcomes of TfL has been the insight it has given to the drinking habits of people who are not big drinkers. A couple of weeks into the campaign’s first run in 2006, Hope UK started receiving emails from participants saying how tough they were finding it to stop drinking.
“We had emails from people saying, ‘I thought I didn’t drink very much at all,’ and yet they were finding it really difficult to stop drinking,” says George. “These were not alcoholics, but people who enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine or a few beers at home in the evening, for example.”
After week four, Hope UK started to receive encouraging emails from participants who were feeling the benefits of taking a break from alcohol. “I must admit I feel better, less tired, and it’s such a great feeling to wake on a Sunday morning not feeling like I should be in intensive care,” one participant said.
“It’s not that these people are addicted,” says George. “It is more a psychological thing than a physical thing and it might even be a social thing in that they go to the places they would ordinarily go to, like the pub for football, and so they are surrounded by people who are just carrying on drinking. That is bringing up people short and they are saying ‘what’s going on here?!’”
A self-audit test on the Hope UK website (www.hopeuk.org) allows people to assess their own drinking and see how they measure up. It’s clearly an unexpected wake up call for the majority who take it - most people tell Hope that they actually measured up badly.
“I’m surprised by what an immediate effect TfL can have. It’s a direct hit to people who need to take time out, and going by the anecdotal stories we have received, it has changed lives,” says George.
Although TfL is not actually designed for alcoholics, one alcohol-dependent person got in touch with Hope to say that he had taken the TfL challenge and found it had made all the difference in his efforts to dry out because it had actually given him something to aim for that was achievable.
