We asked our Dry January alumni to share their tips on what's helped them on their Dry January journey so far and for moderating their drinking or going alcohol-free in the longer-term - here they share their advice.
Take it one step at a time
It is helpful to focus on one step at a time and stay in the moment as much as you can. But remember to zoom out every so often and look at just how far you have come and how all of those tiny steps have created a magnificent pathway to health!
Retrain your thoughts
When you get those thoughts of 'one drink will be ok' or ' why am I even doing this?' Tell yourself: 'but it tastes awful' .... which it does. And 'it makes you feel weird'... also true. It really is mind over matter. If you want it enough, you can retrain your thoughts on alcohol during a month off and maybe, just maybe ... won't want to introduce it back into your body.
Try alcohol-free alternatives
Non-alcoholic (NA) drinks helped me significantly to get through this month. I know it's different for everyone, but for me, it helped. I am aiming to move forward with dry weekdays and only two drinking days a week. Mostly for me the takeaway has been to evaluate the need for alcohol overall in my life. I know it is not necessary for me to live or thrive, but I enjoy a drink on special occasions and social events. I learned my triggers, which was a huge breakthrough. I'm optimistic about the future.
Take an honest look at how your drinking makes you feel
I'm coming up 13 months dry now. I made a list of the pros and cons of drinking. I kept the list in my phone. The pros list was short and the cons long. When I got the urge, I looked at the list and asked myself if I really wanted all those cons back... the money spent, the health issues, the being tired and moody etc, etc. The pros list started to look pretty garbage too, 'helps me sleep', 'it's sociable'... turns out they were false positives. I can recommend it if you are prepared to be honest about what it is doing to you.
Find ways to stay motivated
I think that the social aspect becomes more difficult once Dry January is finished. Prepare yourself with your reason for staying dry because people will ask why you aren't drinking. I always said that I felt so much better during Dry January that I was carrying it on for a bit longer. I changed my goal [in the Try Dry app] from Dry January to 100 days and then kept extending the timeframe, and nearly at 1,000 days now. People do get used to you not drinking and it does become normal.
