would anyone like to try a dry January with me?

[coppercolouredtop]

i really struggle with not drinking daily.

i have tried before and cheated. my dp hates how much i drink and i would like to try and see if i can do a month without and see if it breaks the habit a bit.

i can easily sink a bottle of wine plus a cocktail and still want more. i go two days without simply because i work nights two days a week.

i am getting fat. i am choosing drink over food. i am reliant on treating myself with alcohol almost daily.

i can give up anything else really easily - smoking? stopped with no help when i decided to stop.
put a box of chocolates in front of me and i can take a couple and leave the rest.
open a bottle of wine and its gone. and i want more and i dont get hangovers so there is no incentive to stop!
ive gained 6lb recently and i know its booze - dp and i used to work same hours and i moderated a bit better when he was around but now im not.
i know he hates what i drink and the annoying bint i become after the third glass.
i have lost motivation to do anything. i dont get up early. i cant be arsed to do much anymore ( i know i am depressed which doesnt help. and i think i depress the people around me)
despite being quite outgoing and bubbly i have no friends and no social life. my kids are grown up and dont see me much. i moved to a village i dont know 4 years ago and know not a soul. i also got pregnant which i was ecstatic about but then found the baby had a disability that would have been life altering for me and her, but i always felt being a mum kept me going and motivated and now my life feels completely empty and hollow. im in a job i hate. with a partner who doesnt like spending much time with me. my kids are gone, i have no friends here and alcohol fills the gaps.

ive decided to try and get to grips with that one problem and bin the booze for a month to see if it makes any difference to anything. (waist line would be good!) i never used to drink like this.. (though i did smoke about 3 cigarettes a day)

does anyone relate? anyone fancy giving this a go and supporting each other? im going to find it extremely difficult but i want to try it.

He is home with his wife but sore. She must have been worried as she messaged me....
I need him to learn

Bloody hell copper that's awful, so worrying for you. For him to be so far away and so vulnerable . . . hat's off to him for being so brave and he sounds like a lovely young man but very difficult for you. to you. I quite understand that Jan is looking like the wrong time to give up alcohol - can you aim for damp January like some others? But whatever you decide I wish you the very best, you're walking a tough path at the moment.

I'm back to work today - 9 days sober almost 3 kg lighter .

If someone can't learn it's a ticket for everyone around him to worry forever isn't it .... I do hope that he gets better soon. Have you been able to speak to him?

I’m sorry to hear about your worry about your son, Copper (and I remember you with your previous posting name as well).

copper so sorry to hear this, and you do not need the pressure of thinking you can't have a drink when you need one. Hope your DS is on the mend.

I know if I had something going on I would find it very hard to concentrate on DryJ.

Fine so far so ten days on the trot... but this weekend is going to be hard. I'm hoping because I did it last weekend, I'll just repeat that but I'm not sure Fridays and Saturdays are going to get any easier...

So sorry @coppercolouredtop you do what's best for you right now. I hope your son is on the mend soon x

Aye do what's best for you Copper. It's your thread but we'll keep it warm for you coming back!

It's definitely a damp jan rather than a dry one but at least it's not been quite as wet as other months which is a start but I'm feeling so rough today I don't want anything let alone alcohol 🤢.
Son is ok just sore . My chest is in sympathy as confirmed chest infection at docs today - in fact I've only just got up.

It would just be a fantastic achievement for me to abstain for a month so I'm a bit miffed with myself.

Don't be hard on yourself copper, you have so much on your plate. Get better and if you feel up for it try Dry Feb, but if your not in the right place just cutting down a little, is making a huge difference.

Yeah be kind to yourself Copper, there are 11 more months you can choose from :) And, yup every little helps. I used to be realllllly dependant on wine to make it through the week and now I probably only drink at christmas and a couple of times through the year. It's been a low carb lifestyle and finding better coping skills (various therapies and modalities after divorcing ex-H) that's helped and I just naturally tend to drink that little bit less every year. I always do dry Jan to get me back on course after xmas and then I just continue until a special occasion calls for a bevvy You'll find your own way, in your own time. x

you know im fairly convinced this cough is reflux related (again) and probably in some part due to the acidic wine i drink.

the writing is definitely on the wall for my drinking as it was with smoking 17 years ago!

saw gp today who was suprised by the speed of this apparent chest infection (me too to be honest - went to bed one night fine woke up next day coughing up a lung)

i had a nissen fundoplication 5 years ago for acid reflux and a reflux cough so i am guessing this is that again.

which means for my health - i must stop drinking. not just a month. permanently.
it took me a while to get my head around stopping smoking for the same reasons but i set a date when i was ready and did it.
i am gearing up for the same with alcohol. just need to get my head around it.

If it's damp January, we can meet up back here for Sober October

I did sober October and I’m finding it so much easier this time round.

I'm dry since the 2nd, when does the sleeping get better????
When do I stop feeling hungry all the time???

abetterplace - My sleep has finally improved and I’m not quite so hungry anymore either. I’m having lots of herbal teas which I convincing myself are starting to taste better.

LadyWithLapdog - thanks

have you tried the herbal teas from Asda?
groceries.asda.com/product/mixed-fruits/asda-rhubarb-custard-20-tea-bags/910003006462
(attached a picture)
Their own brand, and actually have a good flavour and only 74p

abetterplace - thank you. I’ll try some as I’m also doing Veganuary so I’m not having milk. I had a tea brand called Camelia in a fancy hotel a few months ago. It was very nice but their online shop was so faffy I gave up.

Karen99 - I cant quite read the tone in your post. If you’re joking, well so did I, I failed as I had champagne at midnight 1 Jan; but no alcohol since. I did sober October and it’s so much easier now.

Day 11 for me..all well and good but:

a. I look like shit
b. I appear to be gaining weight
c. I can't seem to run anymore

So the point of this 'healthy month' is what exactly......?

@DavetheCat2001 same here I've put on weight! I was hoping to lose a few pounds!!

Day 11 for me and I have to say I've surprised myself stay off the wine this long. I am sleeping better but now have the start of a cold coming so feel pretty rough today.

Don't tell me we had a troll on an innocent thread like this?!

Is anyone having vivid dreams? Or am I just attributing everything to no alcohol?

My dream last night was soooo exciting, I was pissed off when the bin men came at crack of dawn and woke me! So much so, I am hoping I move into part 2 tonight, and I'm thinking it could be made into a film! It was all to do with a holdall I bought in TK Maxx a couple of weeks ago... I checked the pockets of it and found stuff which then involved me contacting the owner of the wallets, phones etc and me being thrown into a Russian mobster gang plot. It was so exciting!

Anyway, enough of that... tonight is going to be hard, I'm off up the pub tonight but have decided to be a martyr and have sparkling water.

Yes to crazy dreams but I’m glad they’re gone now.

Can I join? Had a drink on the 5th which was always planned, but that's been it x

I appear to be gaining weight

Are you eating a lot of sugar/starch? Sometimes the sugar replaces the alcohol.