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 🙂

Day 15 and I'm not feeling great, I feel as flat as a pancake. I'm mumphie and generally feel vexed. I really thought by now I'd be feeling a bit more enthusiastic or energy filled.

My sleep is still crap, though it's been like that for years I'd just hoped it would improve. Well it has improved a bit but still no sign of a full night.

Interesting to read what @FanGirlX wrote about dopamine. I'll read up about that. I sincerely didn't think I drank enough to merit feeling so blue now but I guess I must have.

I keep thinking I may as well just have some wine tonight, at least it would cheer me up but I won't. I know it would only cheer me up temporarily. I'll only feel worse tomorrow but then I think then I'd know why I feel rubbish tomorrow just now I don't actually know what the Hell is wrong with me.

Sorry for being a moaning twatt. I'm so glad so many of you are reaping the benefits, it does give me some hope!

Onwards and upwards.

Hope you all have a lovely, sober Saturday

@lunklitdays

It's interesting reading. I didn't think that I was drinking enough to deplete Vitamin B, seratonin and dopamine either.

I am reading the unexpected joy of being sober, and I dont feel I can really relate. My alcohol use is nowhere near as problematic as the author

I feel the same about most quit lit. 14-16 units a week isn't out of control drinking. My issue is that I drink to deal with negative emotions, such as stress, and I need to find more healthy ways of dealing with negative emotions.

@Cherrymix great idea. I'm off to peruse the AF selection at Tesco shortly

It was my sons birthday yesterday so we're going out for an early dinner at his favourite pizza restaurant.

Normally this would be an excuse for OH and I to neck at least a bottle of wine there, but it will be a dry one this evening!

Have to say I could so drink a nice cold glass of Sav B right now though...

Wish me luck...

Virgin margarita. Tom Cruise I ain't .

Tastes nice. Shouldn't be too hard for you talented peguins to surpass me in the presentation stakes

Are there many people on here who are attempting to do beyond dry Jan and make this more of a permanent feature?

If so, what do you think about carrying on with a smaller support thread after Dry Jan is done?

Please let me know if this has already been suggested, because if it has then I'd love to join when DJ is finished. 😊

I am reading the unexpected joy of being sober, and I dont feel I can really relate. My alcohol use is nowhere near as problematic as the author.

Then you might get on better with Sobergirlsociety, I couldn't relate to her because she drank so little for a short period of time.

I'm nowhere near as bad as the author of Unexpectedjoyof, but I absolutely can relate to her.

I'm obsessed with quit lit.

In fact the best one I've read so far is Glorious Rockbottom.

@ItsAllAboutTheLighting

Are there many people on here who are attempting to do beyond dry Jan and make this more of a permanent feature?

If so, what do you think about carrying on with a smaller support thread after Dry Jan is done?

Please let me know if this has already been suggested, because if it has then I'd love to join when DJ is finished. 😊

I'm in 😀.

Excellent!

I keep reading about how important it is to find a "sober tribe" which is basically like this very thread. It suddenly dawned on me that this literally is a way of getting one.

A bit like a "due in" forum when you're pregnant.

I keep reading about how important it is to find a "sober tribe"

I haven't heard this before but now you've said it, I think it's very true. I'm not convinced I'll find one in my real life as my sisters and friends all like a drink or few. I'd love to be part of a sober tribe on here though.

Dh has fallen off the wagon and bought a bottle of white wine to cook with instead of my suggestion of a small bottle as "they cost the same". I'm not having any as I still have 2 AF beers for tonight.

Your margarita looks good @Cherrymix. I don't really have any ingredients in for mocktails. But I may have to get some in for next weekend, just for fun

Happy Saturday all, I'll raise a ginger beer to you all.

Schloer rose for now. It's not as sweet as the others and different enough to be slow sipping. And wine glass for the hand feels

Mocktail was nice but quite a lot of faffling about for a tiny glass. Might just buy a ready made one next time.

I think I will go on after end Jan - I did it 4 years ago and got all the way through to September and it ended up with a small group of us and was really helpful. Its not something so easy to find in RL.

Anyway bad news for me is that I have finished Downton Abbey binge watch. So will have to find a new obsession to get me through to the end of Jan.

Day 16 here - my sleep has improved and I have more energy

Glad to hear others aren't feeling the marvelous effects so readily advertised either. Day 15 and once again come the weekend, I wake up with a terrible niggling headache which has been off and on all day. Went on a half an hour walk, didn't shift it. However its making me think, although I didn't think I drank a lot. But if I feel this rubbish without alcohol, it must have masked/numbed how awful I must have felt with it 🤷🏻‍♀️

The quit lit was a big turn-off for me, I even joined a few social media groups - I couldn't relate. I nearly started drinking as a "fingers up to them" - ok, I'm not that juvenile but they were bloody irritating

Hi everyone.

Still dry, still grumpy. Had sparkling water and tea tonight.

@Cherrymix - have you watched The Crown? That'll keep you going for a while.

I keep putting weight on, despite improving my diet hugely, and running. Is a bit alarming as have gained 7lb. And I'm really grumpy too. Skin maybe marginally better. Struggling for good things to report today other than I didn't give in.

Am with you @footcushion - find them all just a bit too earnest / self-congratulatory / irritating

@honestogod

I keep putting weight on, despite improving my diet hugely, and running. Is a bit alarming as have gained 7lb. And I'm really grumpy too. Skin maybe marginally better. Struggling for good things to report today other than I didn't give in.

Not giving in is a good thing - some days are harder than others, this bloody weekend feels like a killer - is it possible it's water retention?

Made it through another dry Saturday night. Resisted the wine but not the Christmas chocolates
Off for an early night as I’m still feeling quite tired.
Well done everyone who made it tonight 🐧

Whoop another weekend done. I'm not missing alcohol but the sugar I'm chomping is insane. That's where my real vice is.

Anyway, had most of a bottle of Nozecco(?) from Tesco, was £3, impulse buy. Sickly sweet, lost its fizz quickly and smells a bit like when you get your hair bleached... Anyway, nice to have something in a wine glass.

I went to the theatre tonight and it would have been nice to have had a drink, but I didn’t.

I have been peloton-ing every day, and completely cut out booze, and eaten a bit less, and I’ve only lost two pounds. Sulk sulk sulk!