I started using the Try Dry app for Dry January 2018. I started to reduce the amount I was drinking in 2017 as my mindset was changing.
I grew up with alcohol around me but my drinking habit began when I started to work, thinking I wouldn't be normal if I didn't go to the pub on a Friday and Saturday night. I wasn't exactly a heavy drinker, just a weekend binge drinker – my way to try and relax. But I found it starting to have the opposite effect, making me more tired with bad hangovers which made me eat unhealthily. It was making me feel worse about myself.
At the same time I was getting more stressed at work and looked at ways I could reduce stress levels. I started meditation. That made me want to improve my personal health, including cutting down on alcohol. I wanted my mind and body to feel calm and equal, without the ups and downs that alcohol gave me. Plus I had a new way to relax that didn’t involve alcohol.
When our first child was born our lifestyle changed, with lack of sleep meaning I needed everything to help me stay positive, alert and level-headed at home and at work. Keeping my drinking under control was more important than ever. I took on Dry January in 2018 using the Try Dry app, and decided to try to stay alcohol-free for longer.
I was proud to last until a stag do at the end of March, when I didn't have the mindset to go three days in Budapest with 12 other lads without drinking. Dry January was exactly the start to the year I needed though, and was the first step to where I am now.
I dipped in and out of having one beer here and another beer there but I really didn't like the feeling it gave me.
We also had an episode with a friend struggling day to day with life as they stopped drinking alcohol due to taking strong painkillers. This meant they went cold turkey on being a heavy drinker and really struggled with the change, to the extent that they didn't want to live their life anymore. This really made me think about the effects of alcohol and how powerful it really is, to have that effect on a loved one. Lucky for us they managed to work through their issues and now continue to drink at a pace they are comfortable without needing to take painkillers anymore.
January 2019 rolled around and I decided to try being alcohol-free again, and to see how far it would take me. I continued to use Try Dry to log my dry days and keep a running total of days without alcohol. If it wasn't for Try Dry I don’t think I could have kept my resolve.
Even more important was support from people around me. When I first started going alcohol free I worried what people would think of me as drinking alcohol is such a big part of our culture. But now I've been on nights out with mates not drinking alcohol and felt comfortable drinking soft drinks all night. The only real difference is that now I know when to call it a night – after midnight the conversation is pretty poor. It makes me think - is this what I sounded like when I had a few beers?
Sorting out my relationship with alcohol has helped me so much in lockdown this year. Whereas before if I was sat at home in lockdown with no work to get up for the following day (as I was on furlough for four weeks) I would have been drinking most nights. I've heard a few people talking about drinking more in lockdown because of boredom, no social events to attend or having issues with their partners. I wish they could have access to the help that I've had over the past three years. I appreciate that the mental skills that I've learnt have put me in good stead in a situation like lockdown.
Our second child was born in October. I've stabilised my weight and lost a stone over the past year, and am feeling much healthier with my mind and body. I'm now looking forward to another Dry January in 2021 and look forward to helping people by sharing my story.
