The pressure is truly on this year, with everyone in the country taking part in either Dry January, 75 Hard Challenges, or some other life-changing wellness routine—or so it seems on social media.
Dry January in particular reappears every year. People’s guilty conscience telling them to get their sh*t together after one too many nights of drinking over Christmas.
The benefits are there: no hangovers, no anxiety, less money spent, and a fresh start. Your body will seriously thank you for the break, and you’re kind of sick of going out to the same places in your hometown every single night anyway.
There are so many ways to help make a month of sobriety more sustainable for you.
There are the obvious ones such as non-alcoholic beverages and less obviously, finding what gives you a natural high.
In terms of non-alcoholic drinks, most of your favourite common alcoholic drinks have 0.0 versions these days, which is a great option. So look out for your regular drink order just swapped with the non-alcoholic version. Alternatively, you could just opt for a regular drink such as fizzy drinks or Mi-Wadi.
Now that your body isn’t getting the dopamine release (the happy hormone) from alcohol, finding other ways to do this will make the process a lot easier to cope with. This can include exercising, meditation, journaling and mindfulness can all be healthy ways to increase dopamine release. Using apps like Calm or I Am Sober will be a great help.
Use this month to focus on finding a way to be social without alcohol. Whether that’s by joining a new club or fitness class or when you and your friends are meeting up, decide to make it an alcohol free activity like a walk on the beach or a cheese board night (without the wine). Then you can take these activities into months where you are drinking but just to add some diversity into your social life.
Here are some books that might help you during Dry January.
Atomic Habits – James Clear
101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think – Brianna Wiest
