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! 🙂☕️🧃

@Plonque, I use Day One. I really like it.

I'm in, did Jan to May (150days)from start of 2020 and felt amazing, done DJ and Dry July a number of times before. But the whole pandemic/lockdown/ 2020 etc got to me and I started drinking again in June, which I really regret, as my consumption is really quite scary, now.
Also find menopause has affected how I feel, post drinking
.

I recommend The Alcohol Experiment (Annie Grace) , The Sober School (Kate Bee) and Belle Tired of Thinking about Drinking.

Woke up clear headed today ( had one glass last night) for a first time in a long time!

I'm in! I feel rotten today which is a good motivator. I need to lose weight/ be healthier/ save money etc but the main driver for cutting out alcohol (wine) is to balance my mental health.

Signing in! Feeling full of resolve and putting all booze in a box in the shed to help avoid temptation.

May I join please? Need to lose a stone and seriously look at my alcohol intake which has crept up and up. DH drinks a lot and won't consider Dry January so I'm going to need some support elsewhere! It's become a key part of the day once kids are in bed and I need to get grip on it.

Can I join too? Lockdown boredom drinking crept up during the year and have had a very sod-it couple of weeks with way too much eating and drinking over christmas too. Need a reset

What's everyone doing tonight?

I have ginger ale and a sheet face mask to enjoy once the kids are in bed, might paint my nails too.

Crochet, pink lemonade, a film saved up. Fresh bedding, after a bath with lots of bubbles.

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! This will be my 5th Dry January and to be fair I don't find not drinking difficult - for me it's one of the things I do to remember my late husband, who turned into an abusive alcoholic, and my late mother, who drank herself to death after my dad died. It's a reminder of what alcohol can do if we let it.

Last drink was on Christmas Day so I’m in!

Ah managed to find this thread at last. I did DJ last year and these threads were essential support.

I'm worried this year is going to be harder as there's 5 weekends rather than 4 to get through. But I've downloaded the Try Dry app ready to collect the tea cups. Looking forward to it this year

I'll be finishing off some wine tomorrow, but I'll be in after that. I'm lining up fizzy water and limes, tonic water, Heineken Zero and various teas. Good luck, everyone.

Nice to see the new “faces”, welcome aboard everyone.

I’ve got some nice posh Fever Tree pink tonic water for tonight which I’ll squeeze a bit of lemon into to help it taste dry and “adult”, and plan to knit in front of the telly. I’m doing a new (to me) type of stitch, so that should keep me occupied! I know, I know, I’m so rock and roll.

Let us know what you’re doing and how you’re coping everyone. Also, pass on any useful tips, drink suggestions, etc.

Good luck and stay strong everyone. Just focus on getting through tonight. 👍🏼

When I did this before I found self care made a real difference. I've bought a mahoosive tub of epsom salts for the bath (I think the magnesium is supposed to be good for you if you've stopped drinking - or it might be good for menopause. Hmm. One or the other anyway!) I've downloaded some books and found a new series on netflix. Tonight I'll be on tomato juice with a load of tabasco....

I've also bought some interesting looking non alcoholic beers. Gone are the days of becks blue or nothing and as a real ale drinker I've got high hopes for some of them. Will test those Saturday night.

Good luck all!

I poured the last of the Baileys and Prosecco down the sink this morning. Then I took the xmas tree down and bought some fresh flowers, loads of nice soft drinks and stocked up on ice.

Last year I bought the Lidl alcohol free "Perlenbacher" lager which was nice to have out of the fridge on Fridays and Saturdays.

Day 1 and I'm feeling positive (despite that hangover after absolutely caning it last night)

Am looking forward to tomorrow when I'll wake up feeling fresher and actually get some stuff done!!! Plans are to run out for supplies early (bread and milk) and then take the kids for a long canal walk whilst DP takes down the Christmas trees and cleans the whole house. Then I'm going meal plan, write a list of everything I want and need to do over the coming weeks, fill in the diary and calendar and teach the older kids how to play Cluedo.

A mixture of tier 4 / self isolating child has meant we've hardly been out since school finished. I've used this as an excuse to drink a little too much over the past few weeks so I'm keen to get back to being busy and productive and organised.

I’m late to the party but I am in. Seriously need to reset my relationship with alcohol. This will be a good way of doing it. :)

Day 1 isn't going great for me. Nothing to do with drinking. We had the last of the Christmas wine last night, but nothing to cause a hangover or anything. I'm actually relieved to be in the new year, and very motivated with DJ. (And beyond. I'm really hoping to use this month as a spring board to a better relationship with alcohol in general.)

I'm just feeling utterly rubbish; been having an asthma flare up for a few days now, without any official covid symptoms, but today I'm coughing enough that I've ordered a covid test and declared to DH we're self-isolating. I've not really been anywhere thankfully in the past few days anyway. So I'm just feeling quite deflated and knackered and watching my sats a bit over-anxiously. At least I'm definitely not tempted to drink, and we can't go out to buy any!

I'm in. Massively overweight, drinking far too much since March and a significant birthday coming up. Cant keep living/feeling like this. Have never tried before but mean business this year. Thanks for the thread

I'd just be pouring my first glass now. Got a brew, hope I can do this.

I’d love to join please. Fresh orange or cranberry juice with slimline tonic water is my treat drink - need to stock up but couldn’t face the shops today so sticking to grapefruit squash.

I would normally be pouring a drink now, but am focusing on what I have to gain by not doing so. I will also be knitting tonight, I have a baby blanket to finish for my sister, who is due in April. So something to focus on :)

@Hepzibar

I'd just be pouring my first glass now. Got a brew, hope I can do this.

Yes, @Hepzibar, you can.

And I’ll be checking tomorrow 🙂

I've done it for the last few years. Generally I don't find it a problem as after a month of over-indulging, I actually don't feel much like drinking in Jan.

I'd like to join you all please, I have a bad relationship with alcohol and would like to use this time as a kickstart to giving up all together