Chebet Ronoh opens up about 445 days of sobriety, grief and discovering hidden addictions
By Trizer Lijondo, September 19, 2026Kenyan content creator Chebet Ronoh has opened up about her sobriety journey, revealing that reaching 445 days without alcohol came with unexpected emotional challenges.
In a post shared on Saturday, September 19, 2026, Ronoh said she initially believed reaching a year of sobriety would make her feel unstoppable.
“I officially clocked 445 days sober of alcohol. That is approximately like one year and two months and some days,” she said.
Ronoh explained that she had attempted sobriety several times before, usually reaching the three-month mark, which made her believe that getting past one year would change everything.
However, she said sobriety instead brought an intense period of awareness and grief as she began confronting experiences she had previously avoided.
“No one prepared me for the amount of grief you will experience once you step into sobriety,” she said.
Sobriety forced her to confront hidden patterns
According to Ronoh, becoming sober also made her realise that alcohol was not the only behaviour she had become dependent on.
She said she discovered other addictive behaviours, including scrolling, bingeing and being consumed by negative thoughts.
“The reality is you will have to face everything you ran away from, everything you survived,” Ronoh said.
She revealed that she spent about a month grieving things she had experienced while under the influence, describing the process as paralysing.
Learning to embrace uncomfortable feelings
Ronoh further reflected on how she previously over-functioned in relationships, often becoming “the therapist,” “the doctor” and the person responsible for solving other people’s problems.
She said she eventually realised she had been abandoning herself while showing up for others.
The content creator also said removing toxic people and addictive behaviours left her facing a void she had previously feared.
“I was terrified of the void,” she said, explaining that she had sometimes preferred chaos and unhealthy attachments to being alone with herself.
Ronoh said she has since learned that uncomfortable emotions such as loneliness, anger and feelings of unworthiness do not have to be suppressed.
“I’ve gotten okay with surviving a desire,” she said, adding that she now allows difficult feelings to pass rather than immediately acting on them.
She also reflected on walking away from volatile situations, abandoning her “savior complex” and learning that she does not have to save everyone.
Ronoh said her journey has taught her that painful experiences do not prevent someone from choosing a better life, adding that she has experienced “so much peace this year” by being intentional about the people and situations around her.