I never planned to do dry January this year, and I've never done it before! It's just that my sister-in-law mentioned she was doing it and it just kind-of happened.
I've always taken the opinion that it's a good idea to cut back a bit after indulging a bit more than usual over Christmas, but I couldn't see the point of punishing myself by abstaining completely - surely that was just masochism. Nonetheless I suppose I like to think of myself as beinga complete control freak quite self-controlled, so once I'd started I was darned well going to finish.
I don't know if anyone else has tried it, but it shocked me a bit how hard the first couple of weeks were. I mean, I'm not exactly a big drinker: I've got about as good a head for alcohol as Mother Theresa, and I usually only drink at the w/e anyhow unless we go out. But suddenly I'd find myself happening to wander over to the fridge with thoughts of a glass of something cold and alcoholic. Hmmm. (Fortunately one of my friends gave me some good advice: every time that happens, just drink a pint of cold water - it really does work).
The other thing I noticed, like it or not, was that I was sleeping a lot better and waking up feeling a lot more refreshed. That, too was a case of 'Hmmm'.
Nonetheless one thing was for sure: I was going to demolish that first pint, on the first day of Feb!
But I didn't. To my consternation, I didn't really want to. To be fair there was a lot of other stuff going on at that time, but somehow during the second couple of weeks that habit of sitting down, getting the crossword and reaching for a glass of wine or beer had just changed. It was a bit disconcerting to be honest, and left me slightly wondering whether there'd be an impact on my social life. I cross-checked with my sister-in-law. She said she'd had a similar experience the first time she'd "done" dry Jan: it had slightly changed her relationship with alcohol.
Anyhow, I certainly do still drink! But now I tend to drink a lot slower, and really enjoy what I'm drinking. So when I'm going to the pub now I'll have a pint, but then more often or not I just feel happy with that, and I'll switch to halves - and somehow that doesn't seem to matter. It's really strange!
Just interested whether anyone else has had a similar experience...?
I've always taken the opinion that it's a good idea to cut back a bit after indulging a bit more than usual over Christmas, but I couldn't see the point of punishing myself by abstaining completely - surely that was just masochism. Nonetheless I suppose I like to think of myself as being
I don't know if anyone else has tried it, but it shocked me a bit how hard the first couple of weeks were. I mean, I'm not exactly a big drinker: I've got about as good a head for alcohol as Mother Theresa, and I usually only drink at the w/e anyhow unless we go out. But suddenly I'd find myself happening to wander over to the fridge with thoughts of a glass of something cold and alcoholic. Hmmm. (Fortunately one of my friends gave me some good advice: every time that happens, just drink a pint of cold water - it really does work).
The other thing I noticed, like it or not, was that I was sleeping a lot better and waking up feeling a lot more refreshed. That, too was a case of 'Hmmm'.
Nonetheless one thing was for sure: I was going to demolish that first pint, on the first day of Feb!
But I didn't. To my consternation, I didn't really want to. To be fair there was a lot of other stuff going on at that time, but somehow during the second couple of weeks that habit of sitting down, getting the crossword and reaching for a glass of wine or beer had just changed. It was a bit disconcerting to be honest, and left me slightly wondering whether there'd be an impact on my social life. I cross-checked with my sister-in-law. She said she'd had a similar experience the first time she'd "done" dry Jan: it had slightly changed her relationship with alcohol.
Anyhow, I certainly do still drink! But now I tend to drink a lot slower, and really enjoy what I'm drinking. So when I'm going to the pub now I'll have a pint, but then more often or not I just feel happy with that, and I'll switch to halves - and somehow that doesn't seem to matter. It's really strange!
Just interested whether anyone else has had a similar experience...?
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