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 🙂

@Umbongoumbongo999

Yes *@footcushion* I need some super boxset recommendations to replace the 'glass of wine, scroll through my phone' habit. I will try The Tourist

Think we might get Now Tv for a Succession binge too. I need something to switch off from work too.

I’m rather late to the party but can I join? Day 1 for me today and aiming for 100 days. Alcohol plays too big a role in my life and I’m getting too old for it. I’ve had enough and want/need to reset. Looking forward to hearing others experiences.

We're dealing with a relative at the moment who has a very serious alcohol problem and possibly sex addition too, definitely a very dysfunctional relationship which is not helping - I'm glad we're doing DJ because quite honestly her habit was having an effect on my own enjoyment of a glass of wine - I was feeling racked with guilt.

Still, there's no DJ for our relative - there lots of secret drinking - no self-control, no responsibility, lots of vomiting, lots of deceit and lies, arguing, enabling by another relative - it really is a mess and if anything keeps you on the straight and narrow it's being an observer on someone else's massive downward spiral and being able to do fuck all to help - honestly how long can someone survive on a bottle of vodka a day!

Slightly late to your (alcohol free) party, but may I join in please? Haven’t had any alcohol since 30th Dec, so dry so far. I’d already decided I needed to do this, as in all honesty I had slipped into the habit of having one or two (sometimes more) drinks pretty much every night. It’s meant my weight has crept up, and I’m generally feeling a bit yuck!

This will be my first dry January, but I definitely need to reset my relationship with wine! Thank you for setting this up.

Right, now I’ll read through the thread for any tips/alternative drinks recommendations.

Morning penguins
Checking in on my day 1!
So far so good
I’m off to get my witching hour drink later, probably a fiery sparkling ginger.
Looking forward to taking care of my poor body a bit better.

Checking in. Day 1 completed. No headache. Hoping I am more productive with my time this month and actually get things done I need to. We can do this.

SQUAWK! Which, loosely translated from the original Penguish, means:

Morning all! Hope you all slept well.

If you got through last night, well done… come and tell us.
If you didn’t, still come and tell us… maybe we can help.

And a warm welcome to the newcomers who’ve posted last night and this morning. Good to have you in the huddle.

So, today at 10.00 am we will be 4.5% of the way through! Yay! And every hour sees that figure creeping up.

Last night I drank the beer pictured. It’s from Sainsburys. It’s quite nice. My favourite is Becks Blue, though.

Let us know how you’re all doing, everyone 🙂

@footcushion seeing someone close with a severe alcohol problem really brings home how awful and dangerous alcoholism is; and how easily nice, normal people can slide into it. I’m sorry you’re having to witness your loved one’s struggle. A friend of mine died 3 years ago of alcoholism. She was just 52 and had three teenage DC 😔

[quote HPLikecraft]@footcushion seeing someone close with a severe alcohol problem really brings home how awful and dangerous alcoholism is; and how easily nice, normal people can slide into it. I’m sorry you’re having to witness your loved one’s struggle. A friend of mine died 3 years ago of alcoholism. She was just 52 and had three teenage DC 😔[/quote]
It's all been secret - if you met her for a drink in a pub or for a meal - she'd be having a soft one while you were drinking wine. Dh and I drink to excess, we know we do - every evening, our lives are functioning, our relationships are healthy, we have no money worries but - it's not all positive we know the biggest problem is the effect on our health.
Our relative is drinking 24/7, hidden, guilt-ridden, depressive, angry, paranoid, lonely, relationship damaging drinking - I have never seen the like of it before and it will kill her.

Last night I drank the beer pictured

Oops would help if I attached the picture!

Dh and I got through the first day with ease. DH has been organising our CD collection and has earmarked loads the have never watched so we are doing film January alongside Dry January to keep us occupied in the evening. Last night it was The Duchess prompted by a visit to Chatsworth in October and realising it was partly filmed there. We really enjoyed it.

Today is day 1 for me but I won’t drink the first few days of Feb to make up for it

Feeling highly motivated tbh

Morning all. I must admit I missed that first glass when the kids had gone to bed last night but I avoided it and read some of my book instead (Storyteller by Dave Grohl - excellent). Very glad I avoided it as I feel much better this morning than I have in a long time.

I didn't replace the wine with anything as my soda stream gas canister has run out! I had chopped up lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit to have with fizzy water and was looking forward to it. Oh well, I've got another one on the way.

@footcushion how sad about your relative. I hope one day she can turn her life around.

@Blaziken

Morning all. I must admit I missed that first glass when the kids had gone to bed last night but I avoided it and read some of my book instead (Storyteller by Dave Grohl - excellent). Very glad I avoided it as I feel much better this morning than I have in a long time.

I didn't replace the wine with anything as my soda stream gas canister has run out! I had chopped up lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit to have with fizzy water and was looking forward to it. Oh well, I've got another one on the way.

@footcushion how sad about your relative. I hope one day she can turn her life around.

I got Storyteller for Christmas! My DD works for the company that publishes it so she got it for nothing and it came in a lovely presentation box. Sadly she couldn't get me a signed copy. I am looking forward to reading it then going to see the Foofighters live in July!

Morning all.

Had a bad night's sleep - insomnia from about 3.30am then fell asleep again at about 6.30am and woke at 10 am feeling hungover, even though I'd had nothing to drink. Bit weird.

How is everyone else?

Day 2 whoop whoop!
Also didn’t sleep particularly well but did wake up this morning minus a hangover, so can’t complain.
I’ll find it pretty easy from now until Friday because I don’t usually drink during the week. Hoping my sleep will be better by next weekend.
Keep going everyone!

@hivemindneeded I often find that lack of sleep gives a similar feeling to a hangover.

@ApolloandDaphne I'm jealous you are going to see the foos. I saw them in Dublin a couple of years ago and also way back in the mists of time at Leeds Festival (2000?). I've just finished listening to the storyteller on audible narrated by Dave himself. It's a great book.

I have some mild sleeping pills that the doctor prescribed me, that have helped with the lack of sleep, I know from previous bitter experience that is the worst of it! The aisles at our local M&S were pretty denuded of the alcohol free and alternatives to alcohol, looks like there's a few of us this year!

I'm in from tomorrow, only because I had a glass of wine at a family party this afternoon. Would also like to do 100 days! Would like to do 100 days sugar free as well, but not sure if I'm being too cruel to myself or if it's an excellent idea to reset!

Checking in for day 2 here - I'd hoped to do a dry NYE having gone dry for the 5 days leading up to it but didn't manage it so am back at the beginning. But drinking on NYE (and waking up on NYD) reminded me of all the reasons I want to stop.

I've got becks blue in as well as some nosecco but at the moment all I fancy drinking is tonic water which is often my soft drink of choice anyway.

Box sets wise, we're late to the party I think, but we're working our way through Narco's which I'm really enjoying.

Plus I've listened to a few sober podcasts on the dog walk which I'm enjoying as well. Wishing everyone success on this journey!

Evening all, I'm compensating with food already 😂. Fish and chips last night, Chinese tonight. Ah well it is the holidays.

I will write out a shopping list later, buy healthy food for the week tomorrow and make sure I'm stocked up on AF drinks for the weekend coming, as that will be my test time.

I ate an entire bag of fruit pastilles. Oops. My tummy hurts. . .

@mbosnz

I ate an entire bag of fruit pastilles. Oops. My tummy hurts. . .

That'll be the sugar cravings kicking in 😂.

Thanks for the reminder though, as well as healthy food and AF drinks, I'll add something sweet on to my shopping list - to get me through next Friday. I want to do my shopping tomorrow, while my resolve is strong, and not risk any trips to the supermarket on Fri / Sat.

I'm telling myself that future me is going to thank present me for having got rid of the temptation of the pastilles. Present me is saying why the hell didn't I learn from past me having done this before. . .

M&S Sparkling Lemon, Lime and Mint is lovely!

Well pingwings the evening/after dinner/ relaxing time of day approaches and presents its temptations. Good luck everyone, stay strong.

Forgive me if this seems stupidly obvious, but I find that when trying to get through something it's better to break it into smaller goals: focus on getting through the hour, then when you've made it see if you can do another.
If you look at a whole month, week or day it's a much bigger task, so seems more difficult and daunting.

On the t.v. watching front we started watching Chernobyl last night. It was jaw-droppingly gripping. More thrilling than any thriller and more horrific than any horror. Watched 2 episodes and two alcohol free hours just flew by. I thoroughly recommend it if you haven't seen it. 🙂