DRY JANUARY 2021! This way please... all welcome

[HPLikecraft]

It’s that time of year again... the late Christmas present to our livers!

You may be thinking of doing Dry January to:

*detox a little after seasonal overindulgence, or
*help you cut down a bit generally, or
*help you start to get out of a harmful alcohol habit, or
*just be a bit healthier for a month...

It’s good for all of those things!

I find the MN DJ threads excellent for support, encouragement, sharing info,‘we’re in this together’ camaraderie, suggestions for grown up drinks, aversion techniques and just fun.

This is my fourth year of DJ and I swear it has made all the difference to me; it was so hard first time, but having succeeded I did dry June and October after that, and do so every year. It has broken my habit, banished the craving and reset my relationship with booze.

I won’t be finding DJ too difficult this year, but some will. Hopefully this thread will help.

Come climb aboard the wagon! 🙂☕️🧃

Well done to everyone !
Last night was the hardest for me.
Around 7pm, everything was done, I'd had a nice bath and it was time to relax with a movie when suddenly I had this 'pang/craving - a feeling I remember from when I used to smoke, it catches in my chest, a very slight physical pain that went along with this thought process ...
' fuck it all, It's a Friday night, I've already proved I can leave off the wine for a week, let's just have a glass of wine, we're in a bloody lock-down in January'
It took me a just a moment to remember this group and everyone else's struggles and mostly how disappointed I'd be with myself if I cracked now and failed to post here again. I got a bottle of tonic and some lime and carried on with the movie. I never thought of the wine again for the rest of the night and despite an awful sleep of only 4 hours ( normal for me) I actually feel fine.
I can and I will do this.

I wanted to do dry january but then we had alcohol in house as didn't drink it over Christmas and it got drank on the 2rd but not drank since tho...I want to kick the normal routine of oh its fri/ sat let's have a drink habit.

Struggled last night. Came home late after a very full on and hard working, but really satisfying day at work.

Soooooo fancied a glass of wine.
But instead I finished off my bottle of slimline tonic.

Is this really worth it? Even Dh questioned why I was stopping myself?

I had a dream last night where I got drunk and was then ruminating on if I’d embarrassed myself etc. Was such a relief to wake up and realise it wasn’t real and that I don’t have to spend my Saturday morning beating myself up. Actually haven’t found it as difficult as I thought although this weekend might be more of a struggle.

Welcome @Smile3! I don’t think starting a little late matters, it’s all about the intention. And well done @time2changeit, I’ve found telling people I’m doing it quite motivating as I don’t want to have to tell them I couldn’t manage it!

Morning all. Sorry I've not been around, have unwell DD. New percentage coming up!

It seems a few of you have been struggling, especially as it was Friday night. Well done for not caving in. I think there's a bit of a barrier to breach at this stage to but once you get through it it does get easier.

@Oblomov20 yes, it's very worth it. Even if only for one month there are health benefits; and beyond that you're more free of alcohol's grip and better able to moderate it.

Welcome to all the newcomers of the past couple of days, too.

For those of us who started on the 1st, thats now 27.1% down! Yay! more than a quarter. Pretty good,eh?
Marching on to 30% and beyond!

Last night was hard for me too- such a crappy day. So very nearly caved but managed to stave off my cravings with a few mock G and Ts and ice. Onto day 9- I have always had 3/4 days a week when I don't drink but actually don't think I have been this long without a drink since I was breast feeding and my youngest is now 22!

Whoop. No night sweats for me last night. 8 sodding nights. What is that all about?! What are these after effects which take 8 nights to leave my body?!

Having the odd fleeting thought "ooh, fancy wine". But then I manage to turn it off pretty quickly. I find this on/off black/white strategy easier then if I could have a drink. That's when the mental wrangling for me really starts...shall I, shan't I, if so how much, then disappointed in myself for too much. Simply "none" is mentally easier

Woohoo day 9! Thanks for the stats op, that's motivating. I feel like I've successfully navigated quite a few hurdles this week without a drink and that feels so good. The events in the states, an intense personal experience and managing potentially catastrophic family strife were all significant challenges this week with managing the intense emotions without alcohol. I also had to manage having taken in too much caffeine for several days which left me feeling strung out. I have finally woken today for the 1st time to feeling better as a result of not having alcohol. I weighed myself. I've gained 2 or 3 pounds. That's irritating so I'm hoping now that I'll be able to pick up my original ideal of cutting back on sugar and checking my portions. Good luck to everyone over the weekend!

It really is, I think @BrassicaBabe

As St Augustine said: "Total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation"

Not sure what exactly he was talking about, but it certainly holds true for alcohol if you've been in a long term habit of drinking too much!

@HPLikecraft abstinence vs moderation is a conversation I've been having with myself for 6 months. I know the right answer. But I don't like the right answer.

Nor me @BrassicaBabe

Both are very difficult to hold on to, but one, I find, is far more slippery than the other, hence my having to keep going 'dry' every so often 😞

I, too, have noticed a lot of "this years Dry January is cancelled!" type stuff both on my own social media feeds and in the random articles my phone throws at me. I don't really follow the logic. Surely not being able to cope with circumstances without a gin is a sure sign that you really need to re-evaluate your alcohol use? Not blaming anyone, of course. If your head's not in the place to do any re-evaluating right now, it's understandable. But there's a weird tone of inevitability of failure in these posts. Thankfully I'm generally contrary and find that they motivate me to go on.

Day 9 today. I feel okay. I think the lurgy is starting to ease off, too. Feeling quite anxious because of some circumstances, but I am trying to deal with it in ways that don't just include eating today. Did a long session of yoga this morning. Stress cleaned the kitchen. I have some on-demand programs lined up for distraction, and will try to get back to crocheting while watching them.

Last night also tricky - but stuck to just the slimline tonic water. So pleased to be on Day 9 today too. Thanks you lot - love reading your posts. Relate to all of them, and the reassurance they are giving me at the moment is very welcome.

Day 9, and I'm calling on reserves of stubbornness now to get through the weekend. Nearly half way (ish). And I bloody well will do it.

Things are working against me though. Freezer has definitely packed up, the dishwasher is now making an ominous grinding noise, and I realised last night that we won't be able to see ds's grandparents on his birthday in a couple of weeks. Which they will be gutted about as well. My sister is due a baby soon and we might not get to meet her for a while either. Lockdown really hit me yesterday, and I had a proper cry over it. But no booze, so I'm taking that win.

Afternoon, checking in on day 9. Didn't find last night too bad and am determined to get through tonight. Feel if I can do a whole weekend I will be able to manage next week. Although home schooling and back wfh starts Monday which I always find stressful.
I definitely have more energy and am getting more done but I am missing wine. I'm thinking I'd like to do Dry February too but I need to get through January first!
Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Well done everyone!

Can I ask for opinions. If you had a significant birthday this month, with obviously no party happening, long planned trip away with far away friends cancelled would you be inclined to pause DJ for one night to crack open some champagne with the takeaway, or does DJ trump birthday celebrations?? Thanks

I would celebrate it, morefuninmylife.

Congratulations in advance!

morfuninmylife I honestly couldn't say. My birthday is in February so I have no stake in this. DD1's birthday is this month, but she doesn't drink so no temptation there.

I have bought some Stryyk to see how I get on with it in tonic - will let you know.

DH is attempting to fix the dishwasher. Pray for us...

I'm afraid I didn't manage last night, cracked and drank wine... I feel ok today though, maybe because my body has had 7 days to reset (a bit) and I don't want wine today....I think I'm going up step out of this thread now as I know myself too well. Next Friday will be the same. But if I can limit alcohol consumption to just in Fridays that's good enough for me...

One week is an achievement nuitdesetoiles and the aim is to reset the habit, so that's good.

@morefuninmylife

Well done everyone!

Can I ask for opinions. If you had a significant birthday this month, with obviously no party happening, long planned trip away with far away friends cancelled would you be inclined to pause DJ for one night to crack open some champagne with the takeaway, or does DJ trump birthday celebrations?? Thanks

You have to decide, but personally I wouldn't pause DJ. It's not about trumping (so to speak!) but it's good to experience celebrations and to have fun without feeling you have to have alcohol to do so.

I used to go to a social thing every January and would dread it during DJ as I'm quite introverted but I still went, stayed dry, had fun nonetheless, and could drive home.

If you do have a drink though, then of course that's fine. There will be no judgement here 🙂

@nuitdesetoiles keeping it to a Friday is still a good habit. If you stick to that well, well done 👍

Amazingly the dishwasher lives! No need to drown my sorrows while doing manual washing up. And dh has earned his keep for this week.

Last night was OK. It wasn't easy - felt a bit flat - but it was easier than I thought it would be. I really want to - WILL - go the distance, as much as anything because I'm viewing this as an experiment. I want to see what a whole month AF does (if anything) for me, physically, emotionally and intellectually.

I won't decide until the end of DJ, but I'm thinking that I might continue AF until the restaurants and pubs are open again, which I guess won't be until at least March, probably later. That would give me say 100 days, which is a really good chunk of time in which to assess my relationship with alcohol.

I'm telling myself that if I decide to go back to drinking, that it's the last chance saloon (pun intended ). Moderate (ie. 14 units max a week) or quit. I don't really want to be teetotal, but I cannot and will not, under any circumstances, go back to the level I was drinking before of 30-40 units a week. But moderating can be exhausting......

Bastard addictive poison!