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Original poster

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

991 replies

HPLikecraft · 29/12/2020 10:13

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! 🙂☕️🧃

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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Original poster
HPLikecraft · 09/01/2021 16:28

Bastard addictive poison!

I think that this should be a mantra for this thread. Perhaps we should all write at the end of every post!

Bastard addictive poison.

OP posts:
IsFuzzyBeagMise · 09/01/2021 16:33
Grin

Bastard addictive poison!

TartanTed · 09/01/2021 16:38

@TeaRose29 I'm thinking the same. If I can stay off it for the 1st quarter of 2021 I'll be really pleased with that. What I really want to do is kick the habit of drinking at home when it's just me & DH. Really enjoy a glass/bottle when out for dinner or at friends house so I'm not committing to AF but would really like to stop drinking in front on Netflix because it's a Thurs/Fri/Sat.
Bastard Addictive Poison Grin

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Christmas General food
Dugee · 09/01/2021 16:57

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.

Me too, including on the other Dry January thread that is running. That one seems to have become a "Let's still drink at weekends but we'll call it Dry January thread". So, hope you don't mind me popping over here instead, as by Dry January, I mean to drink no alcohol at all in January.

TeaRose29 · 09/01/2021 17:02

That's exactly it, @TartanTed ! I want to be able to go out for a nice meal and have a civilised glass of wine or two (the prospect of eating out without wine is grim), but I don't want to anaesthetise myself in front of the telly every night.

BAP! Grin

Original poster
HPLikecraft · 09/01/2021 17:12

Ah really, @Dugee? Looks like we’re the last bastion of total dryness, then. When so much else in the world is out of control, there’s all the more reason to be at least in control of yourself.
Welcome aboard.

Bastard addictive poison!

OP posts:
Dugee · 09/01/2021 17:41

@HPLikecraft

Yes, it started off well but a lot of posters are falling off the wagon and changing the rules. People can do what they want but I wasn't finding it motivational.

Witching hour is here. We've been out for a walk. No booze in the house. I'm making a cup of decaf tea to have with some biscuits.

Spacecudet · 09/01/2021 17:46

Only just found this thread, but I'm in. DH and I are doing it together. I need to reset my relationship with wine. I only drink at weekends, but when I do it is easily a bottle of wine a night. I quite often feel rubbish the day after. I've made it to the 9th, so hopefully can keep up this good start.

Spacecudet · 09/01/2021 17:49

Sorry I forgot, Bastard Addictive Poison

AldiIsla · 09/01/2021 17:59

Bastard Addictive Poison.

Welcome @Dugee

Ice water with dinner. Kids behaving. I'm putting the money saved by and I have treats in my Amazon basket to click at the end of January.

TarnishedSilver · 09/01/2021 18:01

Hello all - dry january again and having drank every single bloody day since I successfully completed last dry january I was expecting to struggle - a bit. But feeling great - not really struggling at all and enjoying the end of the insomnia - I think that's the thing that annoys me more than anything and it feels great to be free of it. Dh and I are considering staying dry till lockdown ends - who knows, at the minute the change is refreshing.

Smile3 · 09/01/2021 18:16

Evening all, I have had a busy day and also went for a walk with dp and children. I agree about the hour this is when I normally crumble and have a drink to relax but had tea and got pyjamas on. Just sat with toddler on knee watching shrek Brew

Crunchymum · 09/01/2021 18:27

I've managed a week without a single craving or even real thought (despite WFH and home educating, which had me drinking almost every evening last lockdown Sad) but tonight I feel itchy and twitchy and antsy and deprived as fuck.

We have about 4 bottles of rioja downstairs but none are the brand I drink (I made sure they were all polished off) plus we have beers and prosecco. Thankfully if it ain't "my" wine then I won't touch it. But Saturday has always been my night, the one time each week I take for myself and now I don't have my usual props wine and takeaway I'm grumpy and aimless.

Will probably be in bed by 9pm but hey ho!!

What does one do in the evening without wine? Shock

CoronaIsWatching · 09/01/2021 18:35

Friday night is my witching hour, so I'm not struggling as bad today as I was yesterday. Hopefully I will have no problem now until next Friday, which is also the halfway point so hopefully that will spur me on. Also noticed the posters in the other thread boasting about their delightful glass of rose wine then "back on dry january", Not sure it works like that unless you add the extra days to the end

BrassicaBabe · 09/01/2021 19:31

Another peppermint tea here Hmm

Plonque · 09/01/2021 19:34

Sat here watching dh drinking a beer 😭
Torture!

Tazers · 09/01/2021 19:46

Also noticed the posters in the other thread boasting about their delightful glass of rose wine then "back on dry january", Not sure it works like that unless you add the extra days to the end

I saw that and thought, hmm this isn't really Dry January.

Hope it's ok if I join here too? I'm not planning on drinking any alcohol in January at all, I'd also like to extend it past January if I can.

CrystalE · 09/01/2021 19:48

@katmarie - I'm here to share your dishwasher joy. I have just Finished mine off with a dishwasher deep clean from a well known dishwasher tablet brand (geddit Wink).

What irks me is that my dw is already clean unlike a really scummy one on one of the many you tube dirty dishwasher films tutorials I have watched yet still likes to pretend it is blocked.

Lockdown has been a trigger for several DIY repairs I wouldn't have previously contemplated. Shower need resiliconing? Shed need reflecting? I'm your woman 😅

Meanwhile back on DJ - DH has been out and bought wine. GAH! I am clutching diet coke ......

Will try to use dishwasher meditation to avoid thinking about that which should not be named .....

Therainisback · 09/01/2021 19:57

Struggling tonight. Busy day, doing stuff I had to do - not stuff I wanted to do, if that makes sense. Was so close to matching off to the shop, but I've taken my make -up off Grin and am having a 0% beer, so I think crisis averted.

AldiIsla · 09/01/2021 20:00

Same @Plonque but mine is having a wine.
He has massively cut it down in support, without being asked.

Day 10 is feeling significant. I've just had a multi vit so I'm very confident I'll look and feel younger and spring out my bed tomorrow.

Impatientwino · 09/01/2021 20:02

First day I've really struggled today. Feeling very sad and down about losing my mum and that usually would make me open the wine immediately. 5pm Saturday is my absolute worst trigger point and I'm feeling down in the dumps about lockdown and the sorry situation of things currently. Somehow have muddled through with a fizzy water and about 8 brownies, eaten dinner and had a hot bath and I've come up to bed with my notepad to make some lists and organise a few things whilst watching some junk on Netflix with DH (once we've wrestled the kids into bed)

Feeling very proud of myself (apart from the brownies Blush) and onwards to day 10 tomorrow!

Extra congrats to those with partners drinking in front of them! I think that would finish me off today!

Crunchymum · 09/01/2021 20:07

Wow I can't count. Today has been day 9. Not a week. Woo hoo.

katmarie · 09/01/2021 20:08

@CrystalE amazingly dh took the drainage pump out of ours and found two plastic calpol spoons, and a bunch of bits of plastic. It's sooooooo much quieter now :)

@Dugee I am literally sitting here watching hey dugee with my sleep refusing two year old, so your name made me grin. I propose we all try and get our dry January badges Grin

ShadowKitty · 09/01/2021 20:10

There's lots of handy tips on this thread for dealing with your 'trigger' times - really useful! I'm trying to have my dinner a lot earlier than usual - I think I'm often hungry by six and we don't usually eat till after 7 so my body confuses hunger for wine cravings... I'm finding if I eat earlier, I'm not bothered about a drink after that. I'm just having tonic water with that Robinsons Mint and Lime cordial which is a nice substitute for anything alcoholic. Just taking it a day at a time!

UsernameFail · 09/01/2021 20:28

I too am struggling. DH has been drinking wine since lunch time. This afternoon we decided to watch a film (which we never do), the fire was going and I thought...oooh a nice glass of wine would be a treat!
Then I was cooking dinner thinking I'd love a glass of red...

I had an AF beer instead.

Bastard addictive poison!!