DRY JANUARY 2025! Join us for a healthier start to the year! All welcome 🥤☕️🧋

[HPLikecraft]

It’s that time of year again!
If you need a detox, to lose weight, to be healthier, to undo some seasonal overindulgence, to sleep better, to look better, to have healthier skin, to save money, boost liver function, improve your memory, or to decrease your likelihood of dying earlier of various nasty illnesses (sorry for the sudden hard ball!) then you’ve come to the right place!

The MN DJ2025 Chat thread is for anyone who wants to reset their relationship with alcohol; whether you’re a weekend tippler or a problem heavier drinker.
This is a friendly, non-judgmental thread where we support and encourage each other, exchange ideas and information, share alcohol-free drinks recommendations etc.

Hopefully we’ll have some fun along the way. Please hop aboard the good ship DJ 2025, everyone welcome!

Even if you don’t feel it, your health is benefitting enormously from abstaining from alcohol, for lots of immediate, tangible reasons. Also, you’re reducing the likelihood of many potentially serious future problems. Did you see my post about cancer a couple of days ago? Please read if you didn’t, it’s, er, sobering.

And your brain, well… please read this good article:

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2025/0106/1489218-how-sobriety-changes-the-brain/

One of the things that struck me, was that when you habitually drink, your brain becomes less able to give you dopamine when you’re not drinking, hence the “need” to drink to relax and have fun that some people feel! Life without booze isn’t boring… it’s just that booze has spoiled it for you and told you lies.

Oh then there’s the brain shrinkage, loss of cells, memory and concentration, and very much increased likelihood of Alzheimer’s or other dementia. And depression. And anxiety.

@LindorDoubleChoc the 3+ week mark is typically when better mood, concentration and sleep kick in, so stick with it! You’ll be glad you did.

💪💪

That’s a great article, thanks @HPLikecraft . And I wonder if the dopamine issue may explain my mood this month! I constantly feel flat - not sad, but not happy either - and am struggling to take pleasure in anything much at all really.

Gearing up for a Friday night, am looking forward to a dog walk shortly and then will get my stuff ready for tomorrow and a good book and an early night. Keep going!

Newme2025 - is there anything you enjoy doing particularly without wine usually? Is there an author you love with a new book put you can read or can you book something to look forward to? I love booking in a massage and looking forward to it is half the enjoyment. And I don’t read drunk as I’ll never remember the chapters!

Or ring an old friend who’s good on the phone and has entertaining news? My DH who hates not drinking, has lots of friends who are old colleagues and no one makes friends with colleagues when pissed - these are people you spent 8 hours a day with stone cold sober and bonded with. Even he can socialise with them without a drink in his hand. I can understand why he has to have booze to talk to some of his other friends…

Or make your favourite dinner and really savour it? As much as I love steak and claret combined, a really perfect ribeye needs no embellishment.

Booze mostly deadens the senses so if you’re mindfully doing things you really enjoy, hopefully you can appreciate them in a different way for the rest of the 2 weeks.

Another Friday night, another weekend…

We’ve done this before and we can do it again.
💪💪

Great suggestion about colleagues @FraidSo - that makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately for me personally, I don’t really have any ex colleagues I could ring - I have bad social anxiety which is a big part of why I drink.

If I could watch a film or read a book that would be a good distraction, but it’s not really possible with the DC around. By the time they’re asleep I’m usually exhausted too and heading up to bed (I tend to go to bed around 9 when not drinking and am asleep by 9.30/9.45).

I think it’ll have to be good old willpower that will (hopefully) get me through. I’m also remembering the advice to play it forward and the description of alcohol as a “neurological sledgehammer”. That really shocked me.

If I could stay home for the whole of January (as in, not see any friends) then I believe I could relatively easily achieve DJ. It’s socializing that is my downfall.

Finally starting to feel normal for the first time this year. The hideous virus made saying no to a drink very easy because I had a permanent headache. Now that I'm feeling more normal, it's about to get more challenging. DH has made me a beautiful steak au poivre but I need to be strong on the question of wine. Dinner smells soooo good that it's going to be really hard.
Meanwhile, yesterday I genuinely forgot I was doing Dry Jan and tasted the white wine that DH and DD were drinking. It was an unusual grape variety I hadn't tried before and I slurped a mouthful of DH's. I didn't have a glass of my own though.

Toughest evening yet for me and I’m sure I said that yesterday. Very tempted after work, had a non alcoholic beer instead then tempted with dinner, had a CBD drink. Think I’ve made it through now but phew that was tough. Think this thread is keeping me going as I don’t want to update to say I’ve failed!!

Tonight is hard and I could eat my own bodyweight in both cheese and chocolate. I’m working this weekend so no day off until the end of next week- OH is having a jar and I miss the marker of a drink for the weekend, because without it I don’t have any sense of having a weekend, if that makes sense? Oh well. Two weeks to go. I’m staying strong… so far.

Newme2025 - social anxiety is tricky. When I’ve had to be a sober wedding guest, I’ve just made it my mission to ask nice questions of people and be a really good listener. I once did a year off the booze - again, framed as a lovely rest for the body and not poisoning myself hard every week (not with alcohol anyway - the chocolate got a good look in though) and I really became a better and more engaged conversationalist as I could process things that were said without the booze fog. Small talk was initially hard but gets easier with practice. (Then harder as everyone starts slowing down from the drink). From chat about Strictly to holidays planned etc

I've been lurking here for weeks but I failed so badly last year I didn't want to join this thread until I was cetrain I could do it.

This is day 19 for me, having noticed late last year that I didn't really enjoy the drink anymore, but that I'd been drinking daily (and 2-3 glasses at that) as a way of easing stress and an unhelpful coping mechanism. I don't get hangovers even at my slightly advanced age, so that's never been a barrier, but the money spent on alcohol and the units I was packing away weekly were both taking their toll.

So I decided to stop when my last bottle ran out on 30th December and I haven't really looked back. I think in the 19 days AF I've missed a drink twice, both on very difficult work days, but also as part of low sugar levels after work. A hot chocolate with cream both days saw me through and the craving was gone by the time I'd eaten, too.

I've certainly seen benefits, even if they started much later than the timelines stated they would. I've only noticed an improvement in my skin yesterday, not after the week the timeline said I would. I've started losing weight, but that's also part of an overall pattern of eating - not less, but better (which the lack of alcohol also helps with). I'm starting to feel less anxious overall. I hope my liver is better; there had been the odd day it had hurt last year but I don't want it checked out by a doctor. I do have a perma-headache at the moment, but I am on my period and probably not drinking enough tea and water to make up for the loss of fluids from my mixer drinks every evening.

I'm determined to vastly reduce my alcohol consumption overall and make a drink a very rare occasion. The money I can save and the weight I'm losing alone are good motivators. So I'm not counting down to February; rather, I'm counting up. I have a little tick sheet in my bullet journal and I tick off every day I am AF, with a list next to it of how much money I've saved and a weight tracker on the next page. It's all very visual progress.

Thanks @FraidSo. I’m in two minds whether to just drink on social occasions this month - but I really want to complete DJ now I’ve got this far.

Day 18 and I’m still feeling flat mentally. But am also very relieved to be waking up without a hangover and all that comes with it - dry mouth, racing heart, feeling sick, dicky tummy and fuzzy headed. I mustn’t forget how dreadful that feels.

Morning
Day 18 lies ahead. We are out for lunch. I am driving so that makes staying AF more straightforward - I don't drink any alcohol if I'm driving.

@newme2025 para starting 'Day 18' - just refer to that as the afternoon draws to a close each day, or if you have a pang for a drink, it really does sum up why you want to do DJ.

Day 20 for me and I feel like my brain is re-setting itself (if that makes any sense!). The out-of-sorts ness has lifted, the cravings have gone and I feel much clearer & light headed. Sleeping better too. No weight loss yet, I guess you can’t have it all and I definitely need to find healthier snacks in the evening still. Overall I’m happy / relieved to have lasted this long.

I was a bit late to the party but two weeks in now and I’m feeling cautiously optimistic. Thanks to everyone posting. It’s great to hear everyones experiences (and relate to everyones struggles).

I realise I am very visually motivated so thanks so much to whoever recommended the Try Dry app. About two years ago I decided I wanted my smart watch to show a full year of green bars for achieving 150mins of exercise per week because I just wanted to see that screen filled with green and no interruptions! I did that and have carried it on. I don’t want to break the visual streak.

And now I feel like the Try Dry visual steak is motivating me. I’ll see how the month goes but I can see myself wanting to carry on with this so as not to interrupt the smooth flow of yellow boxes on the calendar... It’s interesting to see the very basic things that motivate me. Here’s hoping 🤞🏻

Like a adult version of star sticker charts.

@Eatinpeachesonthebeaches exactly!😂

I’m skulking back into the thread having fallen off the wagon big time.
Is it ok if I come back? I’m trying to remind myself that just because I fell off the wagon, January isn’t over yet and I can carry on.

@Bookaholic73 Welcome back! It’s good to see you again!
And hello @Michiru glad you could make!

Ill post again later, but realise I’ve been neglecting my OP duty of giving a progress report, so, rounding up to midday today, we are…

56%

of the way through DJ2025!

Lets just keep on keeping on 💪💪

Day 17 done, very little urge to drink, feeling great in general, laughing more and no careless late night online orders for clothes.

For those feeling a bit meh, I can recommend this book. It’s not about alcohol but everything that dulls our sense and pushes us to seek highs, including alcohol.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Blah-Anhedonia-Joyless-Recapture/dp/180129237X

Day 17 - I haven’t been posting but I have been reading and finding such motivation from everyone’s posts, so thank you. Been so busy with work which has been a good distraction. I’m finally starting to feel some benefits, sleep and anxiety so much better. Discussing what to do about our drinking past January and really want to try and drink a couple of times a month at most, so one social occasion and one night in with a bottle of wine. If we can’t sustain this then I’m going to just have to stop altogether. I am finding the lack of noise in my head when I try to moderate a relief and think this is a real factor in not being so tempted. It’s black and white and not up for discussion. Not sure if I can moderate and only drink on occasion…

Keep it up everyone and try and remember how rough we feel and the reasons why are here in the first place when we drink too much.

I've tended to be a (heavy) weekend drinker - heavy enough for it to qualify as binge drinking according to the NHS - and with my weekends starting on Friday evening. I can't help notice that today after a non-drinking Friday evening, I'm having a much better Saturday than I used to! No upset stomach and fuzzy head, and I've got much more energy! As a result, I'm getting a lot more done. Need to remember this for when the month is over!

@HPLikecraft I've just read that article - very good and thank you for the link. Week three promises new rewards, so that's good!

Just place marking so I don't lose you all. We might need another thread fairly soon?

I'm trundling along with DJ finding it neither easy or hard, just a little bit dull. But then dullness is January for you anyway isn't it? We've had literally no social life this month so that makes things a little easier . I think I mentioned we were invited out for drinks with friends but we've put them off til February! Might as well be realistic. DH is in an insanely busy period at work and other friends are doing DJ too so staying in and watching TV or pottering about is suiting us quite well.

Thinking about the future ... I'm leaning towards the Melvyn Bragg method. I'm not ready to give up forever yet, maybe one day. I don't think I'll ever hit any sort of rock bottom as I never get drunk or aggressive, I have the more pernicious regular "wine o'clock" drinking habit which is no doubt equally as dangerous.