Do most people drink alcohol every day?

[Fingernail]

My FB is full of dry January; mostly people lamenting how awful/difficult it is

I drink very rarely, so it’s not a thing but made me wonder if most people would struggle with an alcohol free month?

I always get quite cross with dry January as it means people don't really socialise much and it is boring

The drink I can take or leave

But people being pious about drinking water and eating vegan just is a bit dull

i am not going sober for January!
I dont drink every night.
Just friday, sat and sunday, i work on sunday and come home and drink wine.
i unwind that way.

and in fact if i want to drink every night that is my business, and my money and my waist!

Dry January is a really good idea. For health, money, self-confidence, etc especially for the kind of people who aren’t addicted but who have alcohol embedded in their social lives or wind-down routines.

It’s a way of showing people who aren’t alcoholics 1) the physical/mental impact of just one or two glasses of wine on things like sleep or dehydration 2) that it is possible to do things like Friday nights with friends and not drink but still have a good time.

It’s also great that lots of people do it together. Giving up is more socially acceptable and there is likely to be less pressure than at other times of the year.

I drink most days out of habit. I live in a hot country where people holiday and we have a lot of visitors.
It's also very easy to stop at the beach for a beer after work, and there are always weekend parties, with lots of alcohol.

I am doing dry January as I am trying to lose a stone. Most of my friends are not

I will usually drink at the Weekend and when going out for dinner. I've overindulged over Christmas and New Year so am doing Dry January to give myself a bit of a 're-set' I don't find it difficult, in fact I kind of look forward to it.

So if people ‘don’t drink too much’ why would they feel the need to even do dry January.

Because it's something to brag about on social media.

I'm doing Dry January because I drank virtually every day from 15th December until NYE and not just the odd glass of wine. My friends and I don't drink every night but do drink a lot, e.g. we can each have 3-4 cocktails, a bottle of prosecco and a couple of gins on an average night out.

By doing Dry January, it gives me a month to reset what I know has been too much over indulgence over Christmas and gives me chance to lose a few pounds too (hopefully in weight and money!)

I'm not on social media so there's no issue there.

I certainly won't be doing dry January because I don't drink enough to warrant it. I am lucky if I drink once a week, and can't be arsed with it. Most of my friends have given up the drinking days of our 20s and 30s.
Probably good if you are in a Social circle where people do drink too much and you want to use Dry January or Sober October as an excuse.

Another one who does it sometimes but am not on social media (except MN of course) so no bragging to be done.
Not sure I’ve told anyone IRL except DH and my mum!

I drank most days, but not to excess (ie not drunk). I'm doing dry January to improve my health and energy.

I have a g&t every evening. I have wine at weekends. I am not doing dry January!

I find this confusing too! A friend messaged me at the end of January last year with the hours and minutes left until she could have a drink. I found that really worrying, actually.

I’ve been doing dry January, dry July and Ocsober for a few years.

It helps me reset my relationship with alcohol. Not only do I not drink for 3 months a year but in the month or so after a dry month, I’ll only drink about 4 units a week. However my alcohol consumption does creep back up and I notice the bad habits creeping in again. By bad habits I mean a cheeky gin and tonic in the bath (a few times a week) plus my usual weekend wine, taking me above the 14 units recommended each week.

Alcoholism runs in my family, so it’s my way of controlling it. I don’t think I am, or have been an alcoholic but I don’t want it to get to that stage.

A friend messaged me at the end of January last year with the hours and minutes left until she could have a drink. I found that really worrying, actually

This thread makes me very thankful that I don't know some of you in RL.

Oh I'm a delight @Trewser

Trewser

Me too.

Bloody hell me too Trewser

Yes I do
My family are Italian / French
It's normal to have a glass of wine with dinner
I normally have a beer

Just 1 though . I don't think that's a problem with alcohol -- although I would miss it if doing dry January (I'm not, but also not drinking every day atm as trying to count/limit calories).

It's a normal part of the evening meal for me

OTOH I never binge drink. A big night for me is 3 wines with a dinner out.

I don't, maybe a couple of drinks a month but more in December (probably had about 6 over December just gone). However I can't really see any downsides to dry January, if it helps people control their intake that's great, if it gets people talking about it that's great too.

Wow there are some perfect people on here eh?
I did Dry January, using the app, and yes I was dry for one month but it completely reset my relationship with alcohol. I used to have one glass of wine or cider or whatever 5 nights out of 7. Rarely drunk. But I did Dry January and used it as a starting point to monitor what I was drinking for the rest of the year. As others (the non-pious) have said, it can be a springboard to a healthier lifestyle. I too run every day MrsTerry and that started with few weeks of something unusual until it became a habit.
Some on here can’t understand people who drink every night, which is fine. Personally I can’t understand people eating chocolate every day but we each have our weaknesses that we can choose to better manage for improved health.

Well said @beepbeeprichie

i dont know about anyone being pious however alcohol is almost too acceptable,
wine o'clock
prosecco night
you name it,
and the size of wine glasses is huge comparatively.
it is not a good attitude and can be dangerous, a hidden addiction.

it would be better to encourage people to have a drink free night every week!
but that is probably too close to the bone for some.