DRY HARD 2 - DRY HARDER! Dry January continued. All welcome.

[HPLikecraft]

Shiny new thread to see us through to end of the month... possibly beyond!

KOKOing everyone.

... a good session of killing things in a game while listening to some very loud music.

A whole evening off from the kids to do whatever I like with

Yay! Thanks for all the fab suggestions. Opted for brisk sunset walk, delegating cooking dinner to DH and lazing on sofa eating a penguin. It's kind of doing the trick.

Sounds like everyone needs to escape from something

Not an actual penguin 🐧🐧🐧🐧

We've just ordered Greek take away. We can dream of holidays in the sun too.

(I really hope we can get away this year).

Oooh takeaway... there are no decent ones round here, so made my own Korean fried chicken. Go me! And LOTS of veg w sesame oil and soy. Thanks snoopyloopy !
Amazed that initial aches and pains seem to be subsiding and feeling healthy tired. I could get to like this feeling!

Got another tea cup! Thanks who said about the stay dry app. It does help make you feel good about another day - I used to put a tick on the calendar, ( very rarely) this is much better.

I have 21 teacups now. I did have a wobble tonight, dh and I both said we really fancied a glass of wine, but we didn't do it. I'm quite proud of us :)

Well done kat, and everyone else too.

I must admit it seems to be getting harder for me than easier. Emotional day didn't help. But I'm still here, & on the camomile tea.

@buzzofthebumblebee well done for hanging in there. I'm also on the camomile - nothing new there though it's a nightly occurrence in our house (even more during DJ) and we've even got the kids hooked on it 🤣

Evening ladies, another dry day here. Had a shit day between issues with the kids and work stress. Very tempted tonight but I didn’t break. I was wondering, those of you using vitamin supplements; does the B vitamin complex really help with stress? I’ve noticed I’m not missing the taste of alcohol but more that sense of relaxation it brings. Is there any good non toxic alternative? Drinking loads of herbal tea, and though they are nice they are not hitting the spot. I just feel wound up and the usual exercise/hot bath/cup of tea are not working!

I dreamt about drinking last night! I had a cider in a pub, it didn't count as breaking DJ as it wasn't wine. I think this is me projecting about staying strong this weekend.

Hi everyone, it's Friday! We have nearly completed another week. I think this is the first day I have woken up feeling properly well rested and energised. The sun is rising here and it looks like it will be a nice day, after all that rain and grey weather. My skin is finally improving. I still need to make the mental leap from Friday being all about wine, but I am definitely going to do it!

It reassures me to see that so many others are preoccupied with what to do after January. It seems to be bothering me! One thing is that I have a big birthday in April and I keep oscillating between thinking I want to still not be drinking then and thinking that I will really want wine. Seems ridiculous to be thinking this so far ahead.
Part of me thinks just take it one day at a time, but another thinks that committing to the challenge is what has kept me going so far, as it would annoy me to fail. So maybe I will aim for 100 days or something.

@Shanster

Some people find drinks with ginger in hit the spot.

Someone recommended clipper lemon and ginger tea as it has a good amount of ginger in. I bought some and I really like it.

Cawston press Apple and ginger juice is also nice.

Thank you Sittin. Going to try that. The twinnings lemon and ginger was weak beyond words!

When's your birthday @ColouringPencils ? 100 days takes us to 11th April.

I like the Cawston press apple and ginger juice, very nice :) looked at the calendar this morning and realised we're 2/3 of the way through January.

I've decided I'm going to go for moderation in February. My two rules are no purchasing alcohol at all, and 14 units max per week. I'm going to track on the app, measure my drinks properly, and see if I can manage moderation. If I can't then I will need to take a long hard look at the situation, and consider whether drinking is for me at all. But I feel like I should give myself the chance to develop better habits before I take the total abstinence option. Could we do one dry February thread for everyone 'graduating' from dry January? Or would it be better to have a dry Feb and a moderating Feb thread?

@katmarie I would be interested in a February moderating thread. I need to do the same as you and see if I can develop better habits.

I think I would like to try moderating in February. I especially like the idea of every other weekend. But am not sure if I can moderate, not with wine anyhow. I also like the idea of 100 days taking us to April. As pp said, we're not going anywhere!

Lots to think about. But that's a good thing as I really wanted this month to be about reflection. Not abstaining then getting back to how I was. I see friends do that every year, and I think it's a bit pointless to be honest.

I'd like it if we kept one thread for Feb. Another terrible night sleep here but feeling ok this morning so trying to crack on with tedious house chores

@Shanster
Vit B has really helped me to calm my pms and help with energy.
I also recommend Magnesium supplements.

I’d like to continue into Feb too.

I’m not physically craving alcohol, but missing it mentally as something to do. I’m bored and want some meaningless enjoyment. But must remember that it never really brings me enjoyment, I’m still bored after. It just numbs me.

bath and a good podcast!

Oops that was a reply to the message from CrystalE. Would help if I read the entire thread...

Hi all, I haven’t posted on these threads yet but I’m still going strong. Haven’t had a drop of alcohol since I finished my last rum and ginger just as we were coming up to midnight NYE.

I’m doing fine but I’ve had a bit of a sweet tooth. Thankfully it’s abating a bit now but for the first week or two I couldn’t shove enough sugary crap into my mouth. I was hoping to shift a couple of pounds but sadly it’s not happened, but I’m not too fussed as I’m a healthy weight, just about.

I’ve had a few evenings where I’ve thought to myself, ‘god I could do with a drink,’ but nothing close to real temptation.

Last 10 days now so not long to go. I’m thinking a monday is a stupid day to break my dry spell so I’ll wait until friday 5th before I take the cork out of a bottle. I’m definitely intending to limit my intake though, no more two bottles over the weekend and one in the week. I’m going to try to limit myself to one bottle at a weekend, which I think is reasonable, then nothing sunday to thursday. I need not to let it creep again, not yet anyway.

I think we all deserve a massive pat on the back for doing DJ at the moment. If ever there’s a time when it’s easy to drink it’s now, so fair play to us.

Agreed @Whatisthisfuckery, it would be so easy to have said no,not this month, not with everything that's going on, so yes we do deserve a pat on the back.
I actually think it's helped me get through this month. Had I not found this thread, and without all this inspiration and encouragement, I might have caved. If only for something to do, which seems like a daft reason. Not drinking has made me more positive and I've shown myself that I am quite strong, mentally and physically.
KOKO, folks.