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 🙂

On day 2 or 18 of 20 ( drank Tuesday night - not planned, couldn't get rid of the wine witch), very much 2 steps forward & 1 step back. We are away this weekend for DH's birthday and I don't know if I'll drink or not.

@SpiritofEdna

hello Day 20! This week is the first where I have had temptation with a big old family occasion but I didn't succumb. I've bought a soda stream so I can experiment with drinks, and am thinking about extending into early April when we have another family occasion where it would be nice to have a glass.

But let's get to end of January!

I am also considering doing 100 days but as you say, let’s finish January first

@lunklitdays

Hope you stay negative *@FanGirlX*, I too have a headache. I'm vexed as have no energy to exercise nor would I feel right going to a class knowing my dd has it. Try going out for a walk later.

Thanks, you too

End of the week for me. I haven't lost weight but feel less bloated. Have started reading for course which has made the evening feel more purposeful

Evening all, nice to see comments from some of you that we haven't seen for a while.

We're also on Covid watch. Four people in DDs class have tested positive this week. DD tested negative yesterday, but DH has come down with a serious case of man flu (slight cough and mildly sore throat) so perhaps Covid finally made it into the Likecraft household.

Glad you managed to waddle back into the huddle, @FanGirlX!

@IWanderedLonely if you do drink this weekend be sure to come back to us afterwards. However many dry days you achieve that otherwise would have been wet are a huge benefit. Next time you try to go dry you'll find it much easier.

So... you'd like a percentage? At the end of today we will be at the 64.5% mark! Yay,!

Hi everyone, I didn't post for a few days and fell off the thread. Still dry. It feels more like normal life now, at least for a while! Still feeling slightly itchy about a Friday evening, but planning to go to the gym with DD, which will hopefully tire me out a bit and help me switch off after a busy week.
Feel like I have spent the whole week on Zoom calls, so really need to wind down. Who knows if we will be back to the office next week after Boris ending plan B?

Thanks for the kombucha recommendations, I will try it. I drank a lot of fizzy drinks/ AF beer in the first week or two but now am mainly just on water/ herbal tea. Still want to get something nice in for my Friday night treat

Checking in for day 20, glad it’s nearly Friday as this week has been a grind work-wise.

Morning all, so happy it's Friday but also know that Friday is my hardest night. My mum is going to look after DD so that I can have a swim, steam and jacuzzi tonight. I've also got some Fentiman's ginger beer on ice.

It's three weeks today, penguins!

Not a drop of alcohol has passed my lips. Haven't even splashed any red wine into a casserole or gravy. I can honestly say I don't feel any better for it. Wish I did, but I've had spot outbreaks for first time since teens (I'm mid fifties!) and such sugar cravings that yesterday I ate an entire family bag of jelly babies. ( Could account for outbreaks! ) But i bet my liver is happy, even if I'm not.

Morning (just about) all. Got into a bit of a slump last night - lots of things changing in our life at the moment with DCs leaving the nest and I haven't got my head around how life will be going forward.

Have perked up today by arranging to see a few old friends who I haven't been able to see for years because of family committments - I like having something to look forward to rather than endless days of work/ housework/ shopping repeat loop.

Generally DJ has been ok so far, but last night I had the most cravings I've had to date. Interestingly in the past I would have just had a late night drink of whatever booze was around but I ran through the options in my head and realised that it wasn't worth blotting my copy book for a glass of left over Xmas sherry.

Am going to buy something nice from the AF aisle for later this evening and maybe investigate what new films are around. Any recommedations?

@hivemindneeded so sorry you don’t feel better for it. That’s a bit crushing. At least you will have saved some cash, if nothing else (extra spends on jelly babies notwithstanding)l

I must be your opposite, there’s always someone at either end of the scale. The skin on my face is looking fresh. I must admit, I’ve stopped smoking too (only used to when I drank) so that may be a factor but I’ve also had the most productive 3 weeks I’ve had in a very long time.

My house is tidy, I’m up to date with my admin. My business it ticking along nicely and I’ve not had to push back any deadlines at all.

I’m sleeping like a log. I’m exercising. I’m finding time back to do things like my nails. I’m even colouring my hair this weekend!

Now I must admit I’ve put on 4lbs in 3 weeks but I think I posted earlier that I can live with that. My only drawback is this feeling like I’m missing out. I do miss drinking and that feeling but I’m trying to think of all the positives right now.

Well after my good intentions to drive last night going for dinner with my friend it didn’t work out that way. So I did have a drink. Two glasses of white wine.

It was my last night in Dublin and I don’t see this friend often and I’m ok with having had wine.

I think my January is damp rather than dry! Which is a vast improvement on last year which was flooded!

Flew back home this morning and ended up going over to the pub for lunch with DH when I got back. Wine was tempting! But I had a lime soda.

Got two new kombucha to try. Locally made and so rather expensive. Hope they slip down nicely with fish supper. (Kinda peguiney 🐧🐧🐧🐧)

I want wine
I really want wine
I don't want a hangover
I'm not having wine.

The conversation on repeat in my head and I'm not giving in.

What you also don't want @spellingtest is the kombucha we tried this evening. It was like vinegar. So much for locally sourced blah blah. We have already added to the climate emergency as a result of copious burping due to drinking it

I'll stick to supermarket kombucha lite in future.

PS the head conversation will fade more quickly than the hangover. Hold that thought.

@Cherrymix - it did. Lasted about 30 mins and always same tone on a Friday night! Danger zone over for another week.

Hi all! Checking in for day 21, three weeks yay!

Very glad it’s the weekend, but am busy tomorrow. Hoping to be able to relax on Sunday. Wanted a glass of wine tonight but have resisted!

I've got a Brooklyn Special Effects. Either I have completely forgotten the taste of beer in 3 weeks, or this actually tastes like beer!

Evening all, I've just polished off a lemon and ginger tea and some green and blacks ginger dark chocolate. I really had to talk myself out of buying wine on the way back earlier though. The only thing that stopped me was knowing that I've got an early start and busy day tomorrow.

I had a major fail last night. So annoyed with myself. DH was happy to just have a couple of gins while he was cooking and no wine but I wanted wine. Had quite a lot. Was awake for hours in the night.

Really pissed off at myself. It’s so indicative that my habits of drinking are still very ingrained at home. It was brewing all afternoon really. Kept thinking about it.

Ridiculous.

Have just put a bottle of ginger ale in the fridge for tonight.

Peridot1 I get it. I'm so like that. I know ow exactly what you mean about it brewing all afternoon too - when I drink it was always on the cards. Don't give yourself a hard time about it, today's a new day.

Good morning everyone! You'll be delighted to know that this morning we reached 75%! We're 3/4 of the way through!
So, for everyone, even if slipped off the berg once or twice, here is your silver fish award.

@Peridot1 and everyone else who's slipped: please forgive yourself. Alcohol is a potent drug, and you're still working your way out of its complex and seductive grasp. Huddle back in and carry on. You may not have planned to stay dry beyond DJ, but if you carry on until you have around 4 continual dry weeks it will make a huge difference: you will gain better control, be able to maintain a better relationship with the demon drink and find it easier to resist. For a while, at least.
Whatever, any dry time is good time.

peridot you were so helpful to me when I had a slip up the other week and really helped me put it in context. Take your own advice back. Learn from triggers, see it as reinforcing why you are doing this (the wine glow is not worth it for the insomnia and the horrors)
Onwards and upwards.
I'm at friends this weekend and may have a drink. I will see how I feel later. Not going to beat myself up if I do. But I have very much enjoyed no fuzzy wine head for the last few weeks and now have started finding it a lot easier to wake up in the mornings

@Peridot1 you have reminded me that being awake for ages in the middle of the night, feeling like hell, is one of my main reasons not to drink. I think we have come this far, it is easy to forget the reasons and it's good to be reminded of them sometimes.