Dry January - what next?

You’ve done a month and you’re feeling great, so now you’re considering keeping it up for longer. Go you! Whether you’re going to do 100 days, three months, a whole year dry or the foreseeable future, here are some tips to help you on your way:

• Whatever you were doing in January to stay alcohol free, keep doing it! You’ve probably got your drink refusal skills down to a T, you’ve got your favourite go-to alcohol-free drink and you know how to have a good time sober. Keep doing what works for you!
• Don’t think about forever. Plan your sober periods a week or a month at a time. Small chunks are more manageable. It might also help to think about your sobriety as something which you can always change – you’re not sober forever, you just don’t drink right now. You can change that whenever you feel like it.
• Find some support. Whether that’s through reading ‘quit-lit’ or joining one of the sober communities out there (we have a Facebook group called Dry January and Beyond, for people who want to go alcohol-free or moderate long-term!), make sure you’ve got sources of inspiration and motivation to keep going.
• Ask your nearest and dearest to help keep you on track. Sharing your decision can really help you to maintain your focus on why you want to make this change, and it’ll be so much easier with friends and family around to support you.
• If you’re struggling, talk to your GP. They will be able to put you in touch with your local alcohol support service who can offer you a few weeks of support to help you get your strategy in place. Find out more about the support on offer here.
• Download the app. You can use our Try Dry app beyond January to set your own custom goals, track your drinking, measure savings and more.
• Get the book. Our book, Try Dry: The Official Guide to a Month Off Booze, isn’t just for January! It has tips, advice and write-in activities which you can go back to whenever you want.

Emma continued her Dry January into February out of pure curiosity. She writes: "I didn’t intend to do it for longer than a month (as longer than that scared the living hell out of me!) but I thought I would see what would happen if I kept going." Since then she has seen some wonderful benefits. You can read her story here.

You’d like to drink again but not at the levels you were drinking before your dry month. If you’d like to set the bar (geddit?) a little lower, having had a month off will definitely help! Here’s some advice to get you started:

• Keep track. This way you’ll be able to see if your drinking is creeping up. You can keep a physical diary or use the Try Dry app.
• Plan how much you want to drink. It’s a good idea to work out how many units you were drinking before Dry January and how many you’d like to be drinking now. Our drinking quiz and unit calculator tools can help you with this, plus you can set your own custom goals in the Try Dry app.
• Take your time. After a month off you can’t jump straight back in. Decide on how much you’d like to be drinking and work your way up to that level by adding one or two drinks every week.
• Come up with strategies. Moderation can be harder than being completely dry, so it’s worth having some strategies in place for how you’ll stick to your plan. For example, if you go to the pub every Thursday, think about how you could limit the amount you drink there. If you’re prone to a weekend binge, think about how you could have a little less. Practice saying no, and don’t be afraid to stick to your plan.
• Join our friendly, supportive Facebook group for inspiration and ideas: the Dry January Community Group and the Dry January and Beyond group are both there to help you. The former is for anyone who has taken part in Dry January – the group is active year-round, and is a space for people to share their tips and experiences. The Dry January and Beyond group is for people who are hoping to moderate or go alcohol-free in the long-term and want support specifically with that goal in mind.
• Only drink what you enjoy! Think about the drinks you have because you actually want and enjoy them, and those you just drink because they’re there or out of habit. The latter are the best drinks to cut out – and you’ll be amazed at the difference this makes.
• Try out some no or low alcohol products. There are new alcohol-free alternatives appearing constantly, and they’re getting better and better! Read about some of our favourite beers, spirits and all sorts of other drinks for whatever you fancy.
• Ask your nearest and dearest to help keep you on track. Sharing your decision can really help you to maintain your focus on why you want to make this change, and it’ll be so much easier with friends and family around to support you.
• If you’re struggling to cut back, talk to your GP. They will be able to put you in touch with your local alcohol support service who can offer you a few weeks of support to help you get your strategy in place. Find out more about the support on offer here.

Don's Dry January gave him a chance to reflect on his drinking. He still drinks, but less than before. "It helps to become mindful of what I’m consuming." Read his story here.

Get lots more advice on managing your drinking year-round.

Now that you know you can take a month off, you might think it’s time to put in long-term plans for taking control of your relationship with alcohol. That might mean cutting back generally, or avoiding certain types of drinking – think bingeing, drinking without really wanting to or drinking for convenience’s sake.

During Dry January, you will have had to deal with cravings. Hopefully you’ve managed to work out what triggers them, and how they can be overcome – you've learned a lot! Keep paying attention to these feelings and you’ll find your habits changing.

That's not to say you can’t also do some planning. By working out what your goals are, and how you aim to achieve them, you’re more likely to be successful in attaining them. Here are some tips to help you on your way:

• Work out how much you drink. You can use our app for this, or our online calculator tool. If you drink mainly at home, pour yourself your usual glass but tip it into a measuring jug. You can then use this unit calculator to work out how many units you’re having. It may surprise you!
• Take your time. After a month off you can’t jump straight back in. Decide on how much you’d like to be drinking and work your way up to that level by adding one or two drinks every week.
• Think about when you drink. Which situations are you in, and how are you going to say ‘no’ to a drink if you don’t fancy one? How are you going to ensure you stop at the limit you’ve set yourself? Get your drink-refusal skills nailed and this one should be a doddle.
• Use the Try Dry app. You can use it throughout the year to track your drinking and set your own custom goals for how much you'd like to drink and how often.
• Join the Facebook group. There are lots of people in the same boat as you who are ready to offer some support. The Dry January Community Group is active year-round, and is a safe space for people who have done Dry January previously to share their tips and experiences.
• If you’d like more support, talk to your GP. Lots of people do need a bit more help to drink how they want to. Find out more here.
• Get the book. Our book, Try Dry: The Official Guide to a Month Off Booze, isn’t just for January! It has tips, advice and write-in activities which you can revisit whenever you want – because you shouldn’t have to wait 11 months for another reset if you feel like you need it.

"Every night one glass of wine would lead to two or three... but after Dry January it is very rare for me to 'overdo' it with drink." Steve took part in Dry January to regain control over his relationship with alcohol - and he succeeded! Read his story here.

You want to go back to how you were drinking before your month off. Your brain may be saying, “Let’s go out and have a few drinks!” – but your body has just got used to being booze-free. When you start to drink again, your tolerance (how much alcohol you can drink without becoming drunk/ill/hungover) will be reduced, so bear this in mind for February.

Here are a few tips to help you through February and beyond:

• Work your way up to how much you want to be drinking, slowly. Getting straight back to your old drinking level will not do you any favours and will probably lead to a hangover from hell spanning multiple days – take it from us.
• It’s OK to say no every once in a while. Don’t just drink because it’s there: drink because you want to!
• Plan a soft drink between every alcoholic one at first. This will slow you down, stopping you going overboard, and will help with the hangover the next day.
• Work out how much you drink and check it’s healthy. To find out how much you drink, pour yourself a ‘normal’ glass and then tip it into a measuring jug. You can then use our unit calculator to work out how many units that is! Use our drinking quiz to make sure you’re not putting yourself at risk.
• Use the app to keep track of your drinking! We can often drink more than we think we are or really mean to, and the Try Dry app can be a useful way to keep tabs year-round. You can also set your own custom goals for how much you would like to drink and how often. If you haven’t yet, download it here.

Some people go into Dry January thinking it will be a breeze and then find unexpected difficulties along the way. If you’d like some help to get control of your drinking or to stop altogether there’s a lot out there – and you deserve this support.

Below are some of the places you can find help and advice, in order to take control over your relationship with alcohol and improve your health.

Drinking quiz

If you think you may be drinking too much, you can use our drinking quiz to give you an idea how healthy your drinking is.

If your score is 15 or more, you may wish to seek support, as you could benefit from cutting back

If your score is 20 or more, you are at risk of alcohol dependence and we would strongly advise you to speak to your GP or local alcohol service as soon as possible, to find out about your options for reducing your drinking.

Your GP

If you're worried about your drinking, or even just curious, book an appointment with your GP and have a chat with them. They can offer confidential advice and support to make some lasting changes, and help you feel in tip-top condition again.

Alcohol services near you

If you are struggling with alcohol, you need and deserve support. Alcohol services range from support groups to residential treatment. Use the NHS online directory to see what alcohol services are available near you. You can find out about what alcohol services are and how they can help you here.

Our Facebook groups

You can join our Dry January Community Group on Facebook for tips and experiences from people who took part in Dry January. You may find there are people in the same boat as you! Alternatively, if you would like to go alcohol-free or moderate long-term, you can join the Dry January and Beyond group for more support.

What if someone you know is struggling with alcohol?

You can support them to find help using the resources above. But there is also support available to you: harmful drinking can cause significant issues not only for the alcohol user, but also members of their family. If you are affected by someone else's drinking you need and deserve support.

Find out about the support available to you here.

No matter how big or small you consider your alcohol problem to be, it is always better to reach out for support rather than suffer in silence. Get the help you need today, and address your relationship with alcohol.