[Drinking] Dry January [and beyond...]

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

First big challenge this weekend.

Historically it's a beer or two before the game in WSL. Just a (topless) diet coke this time. Fancied a beer but I'm sure that was just habit.

Then a big Sunday roast at ours for friends yesterday. Two occasions I thought about a drink: when I was preparing the veg and as people arrived. Seemed odd not to be offering them a drink (they know I'm doing dry Jan and they offered to go 'dry for the sabbath' - supportive in a piss-taking kind of a way).

Didn't miss it at all.

 

[sydney]

monday failure due to punters club picking up 12k on a daft acca ......good enough excuse.... hic

 

[BBassic]

Had a stressful weekend thanks to some mortgage woes. Really wanted a pint yesterday but resisted and feel better for it today.

I'm not sure if I'll continue this past January but it's certainly a change up for me.
[MENTION=35524]Knocky's Nose[/MENTION] - I'm also getting some weird sleeping habits developing. Despite getting to bed early enough (10pm or so) and waking up around 7.30am I feel utterly shattered for a good hour.

 

[Your Mum]

. Despite getting to bed early enough (10pm or so) and waking up around 7.30am I feel

your mum

for a good hour.

 

[Bozza]

Conversely, I'd respectfully disagree with nearly all of that.. !!

I think you mean 40 cigarettes a day (or at least I hope you do!) and people who smoke 40 a day may indeed be judged as 'fag ash' or 'old chimney bollocks' - but nowhere near as someone who gets drunk in their own home every night, behind closed doors, almost secretively. That's way 'darker' when judged against a heavy smoker, or persistent over-eater.

As for being acceptable to be a heavy drinker, it depends. If you're the one in the pub or bar who's laughing loud and playing the arse every single night you're a 'funny bloke / hilarious bird'. If you're chugging a bottle of wine or two, plus beer, plus spirits (or whatever you drink, heavily) on your own, in your home, every single night until you pass out on the sofa - that's something you'd want to hide. It's embarrassing, and you wouldn't even want to admit that to yourself, never mind others. If you drink heavily, regularly, you know you have an issue. 100%. Wether you choose to admit it or not, it's there - like a sodding great African Elephant in the corner of the room, perched next to the lampshade, staring at you....

Some people choose not to face it, and they are the people who rail against the people who don't drink - or appear on threads like this. Fair play to them, I don't judge. I've been the same in the past.

The Adrian Chiles programme is exactly what I was talking about when I said: "part of the problem with drink, particularly amongst the middle-aged middle-class, is that it has become quite an acceptable thing to drink what could be considered heavily", ie heavy drinkers who aren't heavy drinkers, and I think ti describes many of us of a certain age for who having a few drinks, often at home and often with friends, is commonplace.

 

[stss30]

Good to hear the stories on this thread. I'm on Day 166 now . Never thought i'd stop drinking for such a long period of time but you can... and even trigger points (for me that was early evening at home after work, football matches, evening train journeys, restaurants ) no longer mean beer/wine/cider purchases once the habit is broken.
PS: a really useful documentary that was discussed on here at the time - Adrian Chiles looking at his own alcohol consumption is still on iPlayer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bhkc8b/drinkers-like-me-adrian-chiles

I'm not being critical, but what made you decide to stop drinking completely? I personally don't think drinking socially or on special occasions, as long as it's not to excess, is a bad thing at all.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

The Adrian Chiles programme is exactly what I was talking about when I said: "part of the problem with drink, particularly amongst the middle-aged middle-class, is that it has become quite an acceptable thing to drink what could be considered heavily", ie heavy drinkers who aren't heavy drinkers, and I think ti describes many of us of a certain age for who having a few drinks, often at home and often with friends, is commonplace.

Just keeping a log over a couple of weeks did this for me, and I'm not in any way a party animal. But a beer after work a couple of times a week, literally two pints, but then a glass of wine with dinner, the odd networking meeting, business dinner and a couple of pints at footie, before you knew it, IF you measure correctly, its 45 units, yes 45!!

So when someone, who I know drinks 3-4 pints of Stella a night, outside of football and any other social occasion, says they drink about 25 units a week I call b*llsh*t. That's 2.7 units x say 3 pints x 7 = 56.7units BEFORE The Amex beers, social events etc. Many of us are kidding ourselves.

 

[chaileyjem]

I'm not being critical, but what made you decide to stop drinking completely? I personally don't think drinking socially or on special occasions, as long as it's not to excess, is a bad thing at all.

I was asked by the GP to lay off alcohol and caffeine for a week or so back in the summer whilst he did some blood tests . As it turned out i was actually fine and given the all clear. By then i'd managed about a fortnight AF and got over that initial hump of killing off hard habits and some other crunch points (I went to the Albion, A Friday night, a night out in the pub) . Also i'm over 50, i'd got into a habit of drinking regularly and just felt like, if not now, then when... I think i was also prompted by various docs and articles where people say they'd given up for a year or forever.
See https://betterhumans.coach.me/what-happened-to-me-after-giving-up-booze-for-a-year-526e6236b2f2 or https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/...alk-about-it-but-britain-still-doesnt-want-to
So i just carried on...and as of now don't feel like going back.

PS: of course for some , complete abstention seems to much and i absolutely respect that and age, health, ££, are all factors.

 

[stss30]

I was asked by the GP to lay off alcohol and caffeine for a week or so back in the summer whilst he did some blood tests . As it turned out i was actually fine and given the all clear. By then i'd managed about a fortnight AF and got over that initial hump of killing off hard habits and some other crunch points (I went to the Albion, A Friday night, a night out in the pub) . Also i'm over 50, i'd got into a habit of drinking regularly and just felt like, if not now, then when... I think i was also prompted by various docs and articles where people say they'd given up for a year or forever.
See https://betterhumans.coach.me/what-happened-to-me-after-giving-up-booze-for-a-year-526e6236b2f2 or https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/...alk-about-it-but-britain-still-doesnt-want-to
So i just carried on...and as of now don't feel like going back.

PS: of course for some , complete abstention seems to much and i absolutely respect that and age, health, ££, are all factors.

Fair play to you!

 

[Jovis]

Giving up for the rest of the month. Had no I intention of doing so, but having been a very mild gout sufferer (one or two episodes a year) I’ve had it twice since Boxing Day. Don’t know if booze is my trigger, but it can’t be helping.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I'm not being critical, but what made you decide to stop drinking completely? I personally don't think drinking socially or on special occasions, as long as it's not to excess, is a bad thing at all.

I'd strongly recommend signing up to the alcohol experiment. You may or may not want to try going alcohol free for 30 days, but just reading the articles and watching the videos for a few minutes each day will be an eye opener.

Really gets to the bottom of the science and psychology of:

Does it really taste good?
Why aren't friends more supportive?
Does it make you happy?
The effects of alcohol on sleep
Alcohol and mental health
Why the term alcoholic is so revealing about society
How is it possible to be sociable without booze?
Is your drinking just a habit?
How does it whole society normalize alcohol abuse?
What actually is alcohol?

And a great deal more. If your going to drink, be an informed drinker would be my advice. That's what I suspect many people on this thread are doing. Most are probably not what society would call "people with a drink problem".

 

[pearl]

Had a stressful weekend thanks to some mortgage woes. Really wanted a pint yesterday but resisted and feel better for it today.

I'm not sure if I'll continue this past January but it's certainly a change up for me.
[MENTION=35524]Knocky's Nose[/MENTION] - I'm also getting some weird sleeping habits developing. Despite getting to bed early enough (10pm or so) and waking up around 7.30am I feel utterly shattered for a good hour.

It could be the lack of daylight (why you feel shattered that is)

 

[zefarelly]

The dark grey days hardly help, it's hard enough to find a nice time to walk the dog! dry June would probably be easier in some respects. Maybe this of us who start again at the end of the month should do June too and see what we think?

 

[BBassic]

It could be the lack of daylight (why you feel shattered that is)

I hadn't considered that actually!

 

[BBassic]

The dark grey days hardly help, it's hard enough to find a nice time to walk the dog! dry June would probably be easier in some respects. Maybe this of us who start again at the end of the month should do June too and see what we think?

Sand Dune June? Playing on the 'dry' theme.

 

[zefarelly]

Which would typically be followed by drenched July, especially if there's a home test series on.

Sand Dune June? Playing on the 'dry' theme.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Dry January going brilliantly so far, have hardly needed to use the umbrella at all

 

[stss30]

I'd strongly recommend signing up to the alcohol experiment. You may or may not want to try going alcohol free for 30 days, but just reading the articles and watching the videos for a few minutes each day will be an eye opener.

Really gets to the bottom of the science and psychology of:

Does it really taste good?
Why aren't friends more supportive?
Does it make you happy?
The effects of alcohol on sleep
Alcohol and mental health
Why the term alcoholic is so revealing about society
How is it possible to be sociable without booze?
Is your drinking just a habit?
How does it whole society normalize alcohol abuse?
What actually is alcohol?

And a great deal more. If your going to drink, be an informed drinker would be my advice. That's what I suspect many people on this thread are doing. Most are probably not what society would call "people with a drink problem".

I have done so before (gone without Alcohol for a month) I just find I do indeed like the taste and enjoy a drink whilst socializing or on special occasions, as I say I just don't think there is compelling evidence that moderate drinking on occasion is any less healthy than abstaining completely, if evidence did come to light I may reconsider my position.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I have done so before (gone without Alcohol for a month) I just find I do indeed like the taste and enjoy a drink whilst socializing or on special occasions, as I say I just don't think there is compelling evidence that moderate drinking on occasion is any less healthy than abstaining completely, if evidence did come to light I may reconsider my position.

Like I said - try the experiment then. It will give you that evidence. I was skeptical, but the evidence (real, demonstrable facts) are compelling. Others I think would agree - it's an eye opener and it's not info coming from an organisation with an agenda.

 

[pearl]

Dry January going brilliantly so far, have hardly needed to use the umbrella at all