DRY JANUARY 2022! Been overindulging? Drinking crept up? Want to begin a healthy new you? 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 fifth 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 most years. It has broken my habit, banished much of the craving and reset my relationship with booze. I imagine it's added years to my life.

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

Throw your hat in the ring, pull up a chair and let's do this together. 🙂☕️🧃

The DJ2022 Wagon creaks to a start in just 5 days, but always stops for latecomers 🙂

@HPLikecraft

Today's percentage...

If you manage to reach midnight then, assuming a 1st January start, you'll have completed a whopping 19.3% of DJ! As good as darned a fifth of it!
I guess if you'd like that fifth to be a bit more concrete and official we can say that'll be approx 6 am, which is sort of the same if you're in bed anyway!

A fifth!! Woop woop!

Wow, a fifth already 🥳. Well done all! Toughest bit for me will be tomorrow and Saturday but so far, I'm not missing the booze.

@AmysBeehive this thread is Dry Jan AF

@Theghostofchristmasarse see I think that is your rose-tinted glasses thinking that bedtime, doing work, organising for tomorrow etc would be easier with a glass of red wine. At least for me, a glass of wine would make me less likely to want to do those things. Maybe it is just distraction but I have been far better at getting stuff done in the evening this week, presumably because I am not deciding to switch off at 6pm.
Well done on your weight loss! I feel very fat in my jeans but haven't weighed myself. Probably overcompensating with food at the moment...

@Peridot1well done to your DH (and to you). Mine is finding it hard but I am so pleased he is trying.

Trying to get a plan ready for Friday night as that is the most difficult day for me. Would usually drink the same on a Saturday, but probably in a more relaxed way and not with the end-of-week desperation that hits me on a Fri.

Day 4 done!

And DH did it too!

I must admit to being tempted this evening though. DH was cooking a risotto that calls for a cup of white wine. Which would normally be the perfect excuse to open a bottle. But we didn’t.

Then I could sort of tell DH was leading up to asking if I wanted a drink and given it’s almost the weekend we could have convinced each other to have alcohol. So I got in first and said I was having a soft drink and he stuck to AF gin again.

The weekend will be harder though.

Checking in here too as I'm a bit fed up. I need to reframe my evenings somehow with an activity.
Having a bud zero again and bought some reduced Christmas tea at Aldi I need a good bed time tea- any recommendations?

@polkadotpjs

Checking in here too as I'm a bit fed up. I need to reframe my evenings somehow with an activity. Having a bud zero again and bought some reduced Christmas tea at Aldi I need a good bed time tea- any recommendations?

Dragonfly Tea - Night Sky Calm is my favourite.

The Pukka Peace is also nice and Clipper do a Sleepy one too.

@polkadotpjs I drink Rooibos Redbush Tea - it has no caffeine in it but isn't a nighttime tea as such.

I had yoga tonight so Day 6 is done as I don't drink on yoga nights!

I feel a bit nervous about Friday night - it's usually a big binge so I will need some support too!!

I read somewhere that if a recipe calls for wine, you can replace it with tea. Haven't tried it yet, has anyone else?

Also, would The Tourist be suitable to watch with teens?

@HPLikecraft

Today's percentage...

If you manage to reach midnight then, assuming a 1st January start, you'll have completed a whopping 19.3% of DJ! As good as darned a fifth of it!
I guess if you'd like that fifth to be a bit more concrete and official we can say that'll be approx 6 am, which is sort of the same if you're in bed anyway!

A fifth!! Woop woop!

That's good to know!

@ColouringPencils There's some really gruesome violence in The Tourist - not a lot but one scene in particular with the taxi driver... Depends on the age of the teen and what they are used to.

Checking in. Normally I’d be having wine on day 6 and 7 but not tonight! Hoping for another good nights sleep.
Just turned down an invite for Saturday night. Not strong enough to resist on a night out yet so it’ll have to be an early coffee for a few weeks.

Checking in - day 6. Going v well atm - often Thursday is a temptaion for me as I don't work Fridays but I have been v busy all day with work/ driving DCs to stuff so have only just sat down to watch my evening episode of DA.

Looking forward to feeling good tomorrow and tackling some of the general clutter than has built up over Xmas.

Checking in day six. Still really awful at home, have almost cried with frustration today, but again have not been tempted to drink. I am like ‘I am strong and I can do this’. Long may that feeling last!

Evening all
Day 6 done and dusted.
Like others have said tomorrow will be more of a challenge as Friday night is ALWAYS wine night. Not tomorrow. I have never been more determined to stick to my plans
I am now able to stick to my goals of contacts out and skin care routine before bed which was hit and miss at best before. Skin much improved and food tastes stronger. Very strange but a lovely side effect.

Day 6 done. Kept myself busy by taking down the Christmas tree and doing some admin for a volunteering role. Definitely helps keep my mind off it.

Happy Friday everyone. I'm liking the percentages, 20% feels like a significant chunk. I resisted the call of wine last night, but I did replace it with cheese and crackers. That's not a habit I want to keep up.

Feeling good at the start of day 7. I was so pleased to get the 6th teacup on my trydry app last night! The last time I had 6 AF days in a row was last dry January!

Today doesn't feel like a real Friday as our DC only went back to school yesterday and I only went back to work (but wfh) then as well so the days still feel a bit all over the place. Therefore am hoping this will help me this weekend!

I seem to have to gotten such an intrenched notion that Friday, Saturday, Sunday means a drink. The thought of not drinking on one of those days feels weird, like why wouldn't I? It's the weekend? I really need to break that association.

I said to DH that maybe beyond DJ I need to mark out in my diary a fri, sat and sun every month across different weekends which is my 'dry day' that weekend to try and break the habit of having wine and treat myself to a hot bath, face mask etc as an alternative plan for the evening.

I've stuck with my self care plan all week and my basket of skin goodies has been well used. My skin feels really nice and I'm enjoying it! Got lots of really good sleep and feeling very positive today.

Alcohol wakes me up in the middle of the night and then I start berating myself about drinking too much so the break to that cycle has been lovely.

Have a good day all

A full week done - restless night but feel alert this morning.

Well....I did it and it wasn't even that hard feeling more confident about tonight now
Well done everyone else too - week 1 almost done

As @Impatientwino said, why is drinking often entrenched in Friday, Saturday and Sundays? That's another habit I'm looking forward to removing. And another good point made: it doesn't feel like the weekend so that will help too.

Day 6 completed and feeling good at the start of day 7. Still feel strong and 20% completed so bring on the weekend!! We can do this! Have a good day everyone.

Hello all! New to this thread, I started DJ on 1st Jan but only downloaded app on 3rd. It's helpful to read that we are 20% through, thank you.
I'm hoping for serious reduction in drinking after Jan. I realised I was drinking for the sake of it not because I really wanted to.
DH is not really on board so if he opens a bottle of wine I might struggle.

Friday already - had a couple of seconds thought towards opening a bottle before starting dinner (usual time) through the week but nothing concerning.

I usually take the opposite pattern to dh in DJ - he finds the first week tough and then it's plain sailing. I find it easy to start with (I like change - I find the challenge invigorating) but as we near the deadline I find it harder, I'm bored with it and just want a drink by the fire. I stuck it out for 3 months last year quite unintentionally (we decided dh's blood pressure was too high and we needed more time to get it down) but it did not get easier - I got more restless and found it harder.

I love going to the pub with dh and the dog and having a natter over a pint of beer and a packet of Scampi Fries (never more than 2) and I romanticize that fantasy to take in a log fire or a beer garden...in my head, there's just a magic about it that goes beyond the weekend feeling. In the past we've gone to the pub and had a AF beer during DJ, it wasn't the same.

Day 7 here too. Starting to feel better. I was a bit tetchy and felt hungover for the first few days (I didn't drink enough on NYE for it to be an real hangover.)

What I love most about being sober is the clarity of mind. I think more clearly and have so much more energy in the evenings.

Day 7. Sleep is still awful but feeling better in the mornings despite that.
Looking forward to waking up tomorrow without the beer fear. Already have a Saturday under the belt due to last weekend, we've got this!!

It's just as well I am not drinking because my 81yo DM fell yesterday and broke her wrist. She is now having to stay with me for a while. This is going to be a trial but not drinking should help me maintain focus and get through it. I may need a large gin when she eventually goes home but who knows when that might be!

@FanGirlX @space21 thanks. I've got red bush (I'm a ginger so always snigger childishly at this) but will investigate the others. Tonight feels like it might be harder but I may treat us to take out and AF fizz