DRY HARD 2: DRY HARDER! Dry January 2024, Thread#2 🧃🧋

[HPLikecraft]

Thread#2...

Let's keep going!

Still here 👋 Still AF.

Not gonna lie, would really quite like a glass of wine now, tbh. But I'd only be cross and sad tomorrow and that's just not worth it.

So true & so much better to see the challenge to the end 👍

Rough day here

DS has had a high fever for the last few days, which continued to today.

Tonight he's vomited twice (2 separate occasions) from coughing so much while trying to sleep, but thankfully after being all cleaned up and showered and with fresh pyjamas and bed linen (also twice!!) - he's finally in a deep sleep.

Fingers crossed attempt 3 is the winner for a good nights sleep for him and he can sleep through the night.

I'm trying to read but keep getting distracted (and the book is actually interesting so I'm not sure why).

Now I need to wait for the linen to finish the wash cycle so I can shove them in the drier before bed.

Still AF though!

Sorry to hear about the various shitty days. Belated happy birthday to @Hedjwitch . Well done to everyone for either staying AF or returning to AF for whatever reason.

@Wilkolampshade , you have described exactly how I feel tonight - I'd quite like a glass of chilled white (have had moderately stressy evening with teen student DS, although nothing compared to what some are dealing with) but I know I'd be pissed off with myself tomorrow if I drink one.

Drinking milk and eating Fruit Gums instead and will be heading to bed shortly.

Are we at the halfway point yet???

Great to hear everyone's stories - doing so great at the half way point.
I haven't posted for a while but still here, AF and approaching day 100 (who would have thought that was possible!)

Checking in for day whatever it is now I am absolutely loving Trip. I really do feel mellow for an hour or so after having one. It has the same effect as maybe the first half glass of wine (which is always the best one!) i went to Tesco looking for Goodrays but we only have a small Tesco and they didn't have any but I'll keep an eye out!

Well I'm late again because reasons, but I'll give you a quick progress report and a promise that I'll OP better tomorrow. Must also say happy birthday @Hedjwitch 🎂

We've done 15 days now. That's ...

48.4%

done and dusted. But wait, that's not all...
tomorrow at midday is the 50% mark. 50%!! Half way!!

Well done to all of you- especially those who are having a really tough time.
A brilliant friend popped round yesterday to cheer me up. She came with vodka. She had a couple of shots but I genuinely didn’t want to drink so had tea. Mind you it was only 5.30 pm🤔😂.

Morning.
Belated Happy significant Birthday wishes.
Sorry to those having difficult days, poorly children - may today be better.
Still AF. Busy work days this week and some prep work still to do, so the procrastinator in me will make great progress on domestic matters!
Day 16 begins, nearly half way - thanks OP for the % reached info.

Well done @BigButtons 5.30pm is one of my big danger zones.

So excited to think we'll reach the halfway point today! Thank you for keeping us on track @HPLikecraft

Thanks, I've always been an anxious sort of person but the attacks started when I was diagnosed with high BP. Not the GP's fault, but it was a day or so within the anniversary of DF's death from high BP related issues and for a couple of months I went into a complete doom mode thinking I was going to die; at one point I couldn't go to sleep, I was that scared. I did CBT and that helped - I get the odd moment but this was the first full blown one for a while. I sit there and do deep breathing and tell myself you're not dying, you've done this and you'll be fine.

I'm taking myself out today because I'm sick of the sight of four walls.

I didn’t check in yesterday but I’m still here, still AF, and feeling positive about today.

Fourteen days for me now, the longest Ive been AF for more years then I can remember

Going well, no cravings really. Although I seem to have developed a sweet tooth

@MrsDanversGlidesAgain , and others experiencing panic issues, I hope it passes soon. I find accupressure points helpful. If you google 'accupressure points for anxiety' there are about half a dozen points that you can press / massage for a few minutes and it can make a difference very quickly.

I suspect that for some of us, alcohol was useful in terms of taking the edge off anxiety symptoms, so possibly experiencing it now is a sign of withdrawal. I had a bad attack last week, but feel like I have turned a corner.

Both of my parents died suddenly due to cardiovascular issues, my mother just over a year ago, so I can completely understand that as a trigger. I'm just reminding myself that beyond a certain (low) amount, alcohol is likely to be harmful to the heart and increase the risk of strokes, so there is no logic to drinking wine to stave off the fear of death or illness.

@BigButtons , glad you are feeling a bit better and managed to stay off the vodka!

Going out on a limb here. I hate the DJ app.

I can’t seem to delete old entries so my total makes no sense and I have to switch it to this month to see what actually happening. I had to go back to 2020 to find why I was on 19 days not 15. Haven’t used it since… and you can’t even select eg the year or month you want to see unless it’s this one.

The units… what do they even mean. There is nowhere that tells you what they refer to, how many drinks of what. From looking elsewhere it seems to think that a medium glass of wine 175ml is 2.3 units… since when was a bottle 10 units? This is the problem with this stuff they keep changing it and no one can understand it.

And the price. It reckons I’ve saved £60… based on WHAT? I can’t tell it that my wine is usually £20 a bottle v £7.99 from the corner shop so it’s not relevant to me at all.

And the calories, apparently I’ve saved 3,700 so far which translates into a big fat …2lb of weight loss. Hardly motivating.

Honestly apps are SO easy to build nowadays, they should be able to do better than this. It’s rubbish.

Rant over. Sorry everyone … had a bad nights sleep!

Agree about the app @ParsnipAndPoppy , the numbers are meaningless. I've done a spreadsheet instead. I like the daily emails though, and I suppose it is motivating for some people to see the teacups mounting up.

Thanks @Neptunium93 , I just don’t understand why they can’t make it useable. Glad you have the same problem and well done with the ss, I don’t have the energy for that!! Are the emails any good? I don’t get them… I used to but tbh having “DRY JANUARY” plastered all over my email every day made me feel like even more of an alcoholic than was actually the problem so I opted out 🤣

do share if there is anything interesting though pls!

I can relate to the sudden death of someone very close triggering anxiety. It's almost like taking it on board so much you can convince yourself the same will happen to you very soon. I lost my mother, my father & my MIL through illness & my best friend suddenly and all passed within18 months. It was by far the worst time in my life and the same with others my family. This was almost 3 years ago & I'm only now beginning to feel almost normal again without occasional anxiety attacks. It was as if my lovely family was obliterated in one swoop. We are still a big close family but losing so many in such a short time could turn anyone to drink. Thankfully we've all been strong & DJ reinforces the fact I'm stronger than I ever thought possible. Keep going everyone with hopefully brighter days ahead.

Hey everyone, hope you’re having a good afternoon.

Just a little reminder that we are now

OVER HALF WAY THERE!

Please accept your bronze award 🏆

You’ve got this far, so you must carry on. We’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon ✊💪 🧃☕️🥤

@Neptunium93
I think you set your "normal" intake on the DJ app, can't remember if you set a price range, but you definitely set what you drink.
Sadly some red wine is 10 units a bottle. This is supermarket level nothing fancy

Sorry that was for @ParsnipAndPoppy

Thanks @gingercat02 i know you can set your “normal” drinking, but still I think it could be so much better set out.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I bought myself some treats in M&S and later this afternoon am going to have crumpets and honey with my tea.

@gingercat02 , yes, red wines in particular seem to have got a lot stronger over the years - very different to what used to be called 'table wines'. I'm sure most people don't notice the % until they have bought the bottle. I only drink white wine and try to stick to 12% bottles, which is about 9 units. Anything below that level doesn't taste quite right to me, hence avoiding the AF wines.

Regarding the app units, I managed to get it to the right amount (based on what I was drinking last year), but I need the spreadsheet to calculate total units and savings accurately, including the impact of the cost of alternatives. (I don't bother with calories as seeing that as a cumulative figure is of no use.)

Bad news - my delivery of ON Beer has been delayed.😒. It just makes me want it all the more!

@HPLikecraft Please accept your bronze award 🏆

I read that as please accept your booze award at first 😩. Booze on the brain today. Look forward to these thoughts passing.