DRY JANUARY 2023! 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 sixth year of DJ and I swear it may have saved my life; 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. Everyone welcome 🙂☕️🧃

The DJ2022 Wagon creaks to a start in just 4 days, but always stops for latecomers 🙂

One day at a time @JonSnowsCupbearer you'll get there

Thanks for the welcome and encouragement 😊
One tip I picked up doing it another year that I'm not sure has been mentioned - try not to have AF alternatives on days you don't want to drink on when DJ has finished...it helps to break the association on those days.

Hi Dry Januaryers! I have been doing DJ with the app, but thought I would back myself up by catching up with all of you too!

So I have a question; I have found that for the last 7 nights I have been sweating ridiculously at ~4am. Last night I felt completely sodden. The central heating doesn't come on until 0530 and we have a super cold house. We are still using the summer weight duvet and an eiderdown but I had to get out of bed to cool off (which I did immediately, very cold house!)

The only time I remember sweating like this is post-partum, but that made more sense as I had a lot of water to lose.

Has anyone else had this?

TLDR: has anyone else had night sweats since starting DJ? (Or should I go and see the GP?)

For everyone feeling abit flat. There may be some post-Christmas January blues contributing to that as well, not just lack of alcohol.

Welcome @JonSnowsCupbearer , we’ve found that turning the telly off and doing other stuff is helping too, it breaks the ‘good film with a few drinks’ association/habit.

I’ve stayed the course so far - I’m on day 9 (unheard of for me) as I didn’t drink NYE but the reason I’m finding it pretty easy is Covid. I’m still testing positive, which is really annoying but the symptoms (and feeling so godawful) are keeping me off the booze.

Dreading feeling better in a way! But hoping the reset will help keep me on track till the end of Jan.

Lovely waking up with hangovers though. Amazing.

Lovely waking up with hangovers though. Amazing.

It really is, isn't it?

One thing I'm finding is that I can't seem to stop thinking about alcohol. Pretty much the moment I wake up I start thinking about how I wish I could have a drink this afternoon or evening and how much I'm missing it. Is anyone else finding this? Does it lessen over time and does anyone have any tips for how to stop it?

Thanks for all the support on Fri. I was working yesterday later than normal so didn't get a chance too look at all the new comments on the thread. I had just over a bottle of wine between Fri and sat night. Its much more than I would have liked but far less than I use to have. I definitely noticed a change in my habits though as I stopped easily when I had enough. DH however drank a full bottle of wine and some whisky's so effectively ruined our home date night by falling asleep drunk on the sofa at 10pm. I am not annoyed but it did open my eyes as too how alcohol ruined our supposed nice night.

DC1 kicked of again this morning at 7.30 am and was being abusive to me and his dad and trying to pick a fight with his siblings who cannot be bothered with him when he is in this mood. DH ended up shouting at dc1 and I then took the other dcs down stairs away from dc1 and DH followed. We left dc1 upstairs. DC1 carried on shouting at us but we all ignored him.

Anyway I have 2 exercise classes booked this week and all the DC's activities start back so evenings will be hectic again which is quite good as it limits the temptation to open wine.

Finally got a decent night's sleep! Woke at 3am for a pee, but went straight back to sleep. Woke up at 8.30am and without a headache for the first time since going AF. I am very happy. I feel like I've come out of a fog this morning and had some kind of breakthrough.

Whoops! Without hangovers I meant!

@freshstart2023 I think it’ll lessen. The day - especially a cold Sunday, a lovely day to chill with food and a bottle of red - can seem to stretch out with no punctuation but I’m enjoying or, at least, finding peace in the fact I won’t wake up hating myself tomorrow.

Thanks @YellowAndGreenToBeSeen . I feel so much better without the alcohol, physically and mentally, and I know this - yet still I keep thinking about how much I'd like a drink.

I am very happy. I feel like I've come out of a fog this morning and had some kind of breakthrough.

Well done @thenightsky - that's great to hear.

On the stay dry app my baseline units is 30 per week but after a week of being dry I think I might have been kidding myself. I'm fairly sure that my weekly units have been more like 40-50. You 'forget' all those shared bottles on the odd Sunday or trues day night don't you?

I finally had a fab sleep and woke at 7 feeling positive! Did another workout and feeling less stressed than usual and generally happy and healthy.

I normally have no trouble sleeping but a back injury has disturbed my sleep on a regular basis over the past 8 weeks or so.
I've now got some meds from the GP to help me sleep so I've managed 13 hours last night 🤫

This is fine by me as my body needs to heal, and also helps fill the day 😆 It's so lovely not to wake with a hangover, though the meds leave me groggy for a short while.

I've thing I have noticed WRT being productive. When I come down in the morning now, the house is tidy. The dishwasher has been filled and run, the laundry is ready to be hung up or tumbled, the sides have been wiped and the coffee table free of debris. It seems we are much more house proud when we're sober!

So on to day 8! Well done to everyone

I'm frustrated today that the weather is so grim as one of my NY plans was to work on a long-term project I have for my garden - and it's pouring down so hard it's not worth even trying to get started. I hate rainy Sundays.

I wish I could add my voice to those saying they feel so much better for not having drunk these past few days but the reality is I haven't noticed any real physical benefits at all. I woke up this morning feeling no different to how I feel after a bottle of wine the night before! I slept reasonably well but felt groggy and bleurrgh this morning, and I look old and jaded. Which is very annoying.

I'm another of those for whom it is alarmingly easy to build up to getting through a bottle of wine a night (which I was definitely doing over Christmas) so I really thought I'd be seeing the benefits of abstinence by now. Maybe I need to give it another week.

Oh well. On the positive side, once I got through the witching dinner-prep hour, the good news was that I didn't really want to drink last night. DH is cutting back for January but still drinking at weekends - however he only drinks red which doesn't appeal to me at all as I only drink white/rose. I have deliberately kept a bottle of my favourite sauvignon blanc in the fridge to see if I can resist it and so far, so good. But we are doing a big evening roast tonight which, with the grotty weather and dark evening, will be another big wine trigger for me. Fingers crossed I can steer clear.

Good luck everyone for today.

@LynnThese4reSEXPEOPLE

Yes I have t had it this time round but when stopped for a bit in December I had this nightly. I think it's the toxins leaving your body and will stop in the next couple of days. I was really pleased when mine stopped as I felt kind of 'cleansed'

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit thanks! That's reassuring! @MeinKraft I suspect my baseline was higher than I would like to admit but I am too much of a chicken to calculate it...

Big high fives to those who are on Day 8 and solidarity hugs to those who have had a drink over the last week (myself included), it does make me wish I hadn't had those couple if glasses of wine on New Year's Day, but I am more resolved to not drink the rest of the month.

Heading into Day 6 in total (I was an every day drinker the last few months - having 56 units minimum a week). Day 4 streak today and feeling pretty good, echo the more productive statement and sleeping well.

Is anyone else on here the only adult in their house? (I am sure I have seen some).

I think it can be a blessing and a curse. A lot of you talk about sharing a bottle of wine on here. The danger when you are on your own that there is no one to regulate you or suggest you both stop there. and that there is a whole bottle of wine to be drunk! Also there is no one to talk through the day with and issues with the DC, what to do etc (this is daily with teen DD) so I find myself reaching for the bottle as my 'friend' instead.

Conversely I can really see how if one of you stops and the other one doesn't, or if your relationship isn't in a great place, it must be hard not to give in if they are enjoying a few glasses in the evenings or if you feel on your own despite being in a couple.

@freshstart2023

Good question about what the plan is after dry jan. I really don't know. We were on a similar unit intake. In my mythical land of make believe I will feel so much better at the end of Jan that I will want to extend it by a couple of weeks and see what happens. I know this is unlikely though. Yet I constantly here that moderation (if you are coming from a place of nightly drinking) doesn't work as it's too easy to slip into again. What do you think?

@FlyingPandas I'm exactly the same. I don't really feel any physically different, other than as a result of disrupted sleep. I wasn't one to wake up feeling like shit for the most part, and have always been spectacularly productive (workwise, admin, exercise, etc. - I'm a machine) by day - with wine as the 'reward' for a busy and productive day. I've actually deliberately dialled back activity to avoid this line of thinking - still working, still exercising, but trying not to bust a gut that would leave me reaching for the wine at the end of the night. Can anyone identify with that kind of thinking...?

@lemonsaretheonlyfruit yes (aside from my lodger who is not usually in of an evening), having had my alcoholic ex leave the building in March (I've talked about him upthread). It would have been impossible for me to do this while he was still here, that's an absolute given - and part of the reason I'm doing DJ now is in recognition that some of his bad habits were starting to rub off, and my sense of normality skewed. I definitely identify with what you are saying about no one to have to justify yourself too - I think moving forward the Try Dry app, and this board, will be really helpful at continuing to hold my self to account.

Weighed myself today and am exactly the same weight as ever - given the amount of calories saved, I'd have thought I'd lose weight - but am offsetting with lots of hot sweet milky drinks. Perhaps this time next year I'll be running Horlicks Anonymous!

Switched my lazy brain on now… 25% of January is on day 7.75, i.e. 6pm today precisely!

So 6pm is a great time and should buoy us up for the looming evening ahead. A great checkpoint. Check in for your bronze award! 🥉Hey, if you’ve had a slip up, come and collect an award anyway… we’re all doing our best here.

So, like a PP I’ve gotten back into knitting which helps me stay focused and distracted from booze… especially if trying to watch tv at the same time. Tried and gave up on Nozecco last night: too sweet. Let my teenagers finish it.

Apparently I’m back on my diet and exercising again tomorrow according to my DD; she says I have to. I suppose it helps when other have expectations of us!

@freshstart2023 I am planning to do Mon - Wed/Thu on the AF mulled wine (my savour!) and then drink Fri - Sun.

Silver Bay do lower alcohol wine at 6 units per bottle, so two bottles of that and a 'full fat' one would be 22 units a week. Still over, but a big reduction on pre-DJ volumes.

@Stickywhitelovepiss

Yes I have not used the try dry app as yet but I think that's a good idea. I don't know if this board ceases to have any traffic after 31st jan. Maybe some penguins could tell us?! It really helping I find. I guess there could always be a new thread for anyone who plans to moderate or carry on in feb (she says - hoping to be able to get through jan!)

What AF mulled wine is working for you? Not thought of that. Only had beers so far.

The Eisberg mulled wine, which you can buy online. There's something about the warming, comforting nature of mulled wine that just hits the spot for me!

I'm deffo up for a follow-on thread. I've found it really helpful too.

Does anyone know of any in-person AF groups? As in not AA, but people looking to cut back / moderate / socialise without alcohol.