Dry Jan 2026- anyone care to join in?

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Since there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated dry Jam thread I thought I would start one and see if I get any company.
I so need this. Drinking has made me feel sluggish, anxiety ridden and awful. I remembered how great I felt doing it last year but slipped back into old habits far too easily.

Yep same here, crazy how many of us here are a bottle of wine a nighters

Yes same here! My goal
is exactly this, I have gotten into the habit of night wine a bottle a night for far too long.
after this reset I want to go back to Fridays and Saturdays drinking unless on holiday.
We have a holiday mid Feb all inclusive, so I must say I’m looking forward to that first sip of
cocktail by the pool after this!
has anyone else got any holidays planned coming up soon? X

Finally had a decent night's sleep!

Drinking rules going forward - this sounds a bit complicated but it's realistic for me.

1. No normalised drinking at home unless Friday/Saturday night or unless hosting.
2. Only one bottle of wine gets opened at the weekend.(This is important for me, because leftovers leave temptation for Sunday night). I'll finish the evening with a tawny port or a glass of amaretto instead.
3. Holidays (this includes bank holidays or a day off work) - no rules although when we move into semi-retirement this rule will need to be reworked
4. Free pass for mid week social events, with friends or just dh and I.

I find this gives me enough freedom to socialise and enjoy drinking whilst not going over the top. It's not perfect but that's not what I'm aiming for.

Day 17 woo hoo!!!

Well done all

Had an easy ride so far but feeling tired and irritable today. I know a bottle of wine won't help with either of the above so just have to stay strong and hide in bed with a book if needs be.

Me too. Almost feel hormonal!

Me three 😬. Sitting down with a book right now and this is exactly when a large glass of red would be poured. My earl grey is not cutting it !!!!

Just went for a run, broke the habit cycle, woo!

I'm afraid that I did fall off the wagon last night - although I'm back on it tonight. Self-medicating because of stress, which has always been one of the things I do. I managed to swerve several situations where I'd normally have a drink - a lunch with friends, an evening in a hotel room by myself and two long train journeys. But being told that one of my cats had been knocked down by a car and killed while I was away was the final straw, and when I (eventually) got home I had several whiskies. Felt rotten this morning which was a useful reminder.

I'm so sorry about your cat @Nothungrycat

@Nothungrycat so so sorry to hear about your cat, how very sad. X

@Nothungrycat sorry for your loss 😓

@Nothungrycat so sorry to hear this x

Despite feeling so deprived last night im so glad today i didn't crack. Slept well and feeling fresh 😇. The danger zone for me really is only 5pm - 7pm, and 2 hours is not so bad to get through after all

@Nothungrycat so sorry to hear about your cat. That must have been deeply upsetting.

Happy day 18 y'all ! Keep going

I'm feeling fresh as a daisy and optimistic 😁

Well I fell off the wagon last night - shared a bottle of Prosecco with DH. It didn’t live up to its expectations and I wish I hadn’t bothered to be honest. And just like before I woke up in the middle of the night again at 1:40am feeling anxious and guilty and didn’t fall back to sleep for hours. Now I feel rotten and have a headache - probably due to tiredness from last night. Went shopping in Asda and bought a big box of mini diet cokes. It’s made me think of continuing to stay dry after January.

Sorry to hear about your kitty @Nothungrycat x

Had a glass of red last night. Actually wasn't very nice so didn't have a second. Calling that a result!

I fell off Friday and sat. Made me realise dry is definitely the best way. Im thinking of just drinking special occasions going forward. The 16 days dry i felt so much better

@Nothungrycat so sorry for your loss, that’s awful😢

I’m still going strong, actually pondering staying dry. I feel much better for it and I’ve signed up for a 50km trail walk this summer so I need to get training and laying off the drink will be part of that. We’ll see, I’m unsure how a holiday without alcohol will feel, I might lose my resolve on day 2😜

Thank you everyone!

much love to you @Nothungrycat today. I am so sorry about your kitty. A glass or two is totally reasonable.

I‘m still keeping on but now counting the days til February. I still look and feel as rubbish as I do after a bottle of red. Bleurghhhh

Hi ladies, just checking in. Tried a few AF wines over weekend. Doable but not great tbh so I'll just stick to juice in future. Offered to drive friday and Saturday night and working tonight so I'm pleased another weekend has passed without me drinking.
I do feel better but was hoping to look better, alas that's not been the case. I'm over 60 so maybe it'll take more time to show in my skin/face. I'm also looking forward to February but have decided not to drink in the week unless it's an occasion. Keep going everyone.

Well sunday night and currently sipping a sleep tea. I tried the moretti af - very nice!

Feeling the benefits of no alcohol. Another evening done yah!

Well done all