Dry January boredom…

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First Friday night of Dry Jan, usually me and DH have a glass of wine/ beer or 2 most evenings whilst cooking dinner and chatting all evening. Today is day 5, and the boredom is overwhelming! We aren’t normally TV people, but seem to just sit in silence watching tv or on our phones.

1. please tell me it gets easier?!
2. please tell me what you guys do instead of having a drink in the evenings (esp weekends!)

thank you!

Where has she said she looks down on it? Just that they aren’t telly people?

Exactly (sat nursing sherry)
I eat healthy
Exercise
Work hard.
Didn't go too mad at Christmas but had a lovely time
Maybe just drink at the weekend instead if totally cutting alcohol out.
What did you do before ?
After your cooked tea ?

We're doing DJ for the first time. I bought myself a clementine and mint sparkly drink, added ice and a lime and put it in my gin glass. It's lovely. I'm making a curry and we're going to watch a movie. I also got some ice cream from the ice cream parlour so that's my treat.

Go out to the local leisure centre try a new sport, go for a swim, gym, walk.

Have a laugh playing squash, badminton.

Do some yoga on YouTube?

Play cards, board games etc

The key is movement and brain activity to get the dopamine hit that booze is giving you.

Can you have a doobie instead?

I came down with COVID on the 24th, and now that I've mostly thrown it off I've developed an extremely painful suspected UTI. So far, I'm doing dry January whether I want to or not!

Drinking really regularly is just a habit. Keep going and you’ll break the habit. By the end of Jan you will feel much better

Must be even more bored than I am this Friday evening🤣

FUCK dry January. If I didn't have to drive in the morning I'd be feeling NO pain right now 🍷

I did dry Jan a few years back, and it definitely took about ten days for me to feel the benefits and not be restless, to start sleeping properly again, etc.

Have had a very wet few years since then!, so tonight has been my first Friday night sober for a veeeeeery long time.

This time, I've bought 0% alcohol alternatives so that I can still feel like I'm having a treat on Friday night.

What to do? Cards. Jigsaws & an audio book. I hope that some gentle exercise might even creep in along the way. A bit of tv but I'm not a huge watcher. Reorganising drawers!

I think the first weekend is the hardest. By next weekend those of us still dry will be feeling the benefits so much we won't miss it as much! (If I keep saying that enough, it'll be true, right? Right??).

if you need to have a drink not to be bored every night then you have an alcohol problem. Also a relationship problem if you don't know how to interact without alcohol involved

Not helpful in the slightest but there’s no better month NOT to do dry January.

It’s cold, boring, dark, ages to payday. Finishing off the Baileys, mulled wine & chocs just makes it a little bit nicer.

ALL my friends are utterly miserable as they’re all the on diets/not drinking.

If they gave out awards for best advice. I’d definitely win, wouldn’t I?🤣

I disagree I much prefer dry Jan (having done a dry January and also a dry May & June last year). Benefits or dry January are: 1) that it's a new year new start motivation, 2) you don't need to have an excuse not to drink - you can just say "Dry Jan" and it's socially acceptable. 3) There's camaraderie - I'm getting a lot of support from all the Dry Jan forums 4) Also it's a back to work month - often busy for many people and no alcohol means more energy, better sleep etc. 5) Finally there's evidence that people who do dry Jan then go on to have a much reduced or zero alcohol consumption the rest of the year (I'm talking about those grey area drinkers that needed to stop or cut down).

People might be miserable this weekend but if they stick with it next week they will definitely start feeling the benefits which far outweigh a few (or more for some!) drinks in the evening and maybe get the pink clouds (the highs for drinkers who quit and start finding joy in the simple things of life).

Is anyone having issues if their partner isn't doing dry January? DH and I share a bottle of wine each Friday and Saturday. DH not at all supportive of my decision- acting as if I am a party pooper!! He even got a wine glass out for me tonight...and I poured my non alcoholic beer into it!

It's so boring!
The pre dinner bit is the worst and I think for me, if I get through that then I'm fine after I have eaten and can easily do without it.
Where is all the extra energy though? I'm still bloody knackered!

If you need alcohol almost every evening to make life less boring then either
•you have an alcohol problem
•you have a boring life

Keep off the booze and find something fun and interesting to do of an evening.

This .. it's spot on.

@Notstrongandstable I agree completely that once I have eaten I am fine! Pre dinner is a danger zone!

DH and I barely interact at the best of times so not feeling any difference. He's on the sofa watching footy and I'm in bed reading and MNing.
Only difference is he has ginger ale instead of beer and I have green tea instead of wine

DD has just returned from Sainsburys with a gift for me - Kylie 0% alcohol Rose Fizz. She said someone had to show me some support!

For years, I used to bring work home, so maybe that's why I don't think about having a drink until at least 9pm. I do know that if I had a glass of wine at 7pm or 8pm, I would want another. But, it's become my habit to have a drink and watch some mindless TV in the last hour before bed.

Day 6, and I would like a glass of wine later, but right now, no. Cannot say I am feeling any better, and I really thought I would be - maybe next week!

Play monopoly go on your phone!! Me and DP sit each end of the sofa playing and trade cards! We love it! 😂🤷‍♀️ we are so dull

I don't really understand why you can't do what you would normally do but without drinking?

It's not like you're drinking so much you're drunk so behaving differently. Just chat as normal? If you want the ritual make some mocktails, have fancy soft drinks or alcohol feel drinks.

I do think (I don't mean this to be unkind) if you feel it's such a big miss in your life it shows how it's maybe too big a part of it. So you're definitely doing something useful in trying going without.

I’m bored too!!! My partner has cracked and bought beers from the shop, I’m still going strong. I think it’s because we’re used to getting that quick easy dopamine from booze so it will take a while for our brains to rewire and get that dopamine from sober activities again. See it as a positive- more time to try new things!! Try a colouring book or some art to keep busy? Or what about learning to crochet or knit?
my go-to has been stuffing myself with food tbh, but running loads also so hopefully not too much damage done.
btw cringe of all the posters lining up to say you’ve got an alcohol problem… like yes hun and what? That’s why we’re doing dry jan ffs some absolute weapons on here lining up to insert a nasty little comment

Oh and also some people are saying life is too short have the wine etc… noooo try and keep it up, it is really hard but it’s so worth learning to sit with the boredom, difficult feelings etc. my partner was stressed today and that’s what pushed him to break his 6 day streak I’ve been stressed too but wanting to learn to sit with the emotions etc

I don't think we should be surprised that something is missing - we're creatures of habit, and nobody likes having something taken away from them.

It doesn't matter what it is - giving up coffee, sugar, phone use, smoking, even work will make us feel different. It doesn't necessarily mean that there is a dependency issue.