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Happy New Year’s Eve.

With the end of the year approaching and January 2024 just hours away, I am hearing (same as last year and the year before…..) folx talk about taking the challenge to stop drinking for the month of January. Here is some information about {Dry January} and tips to make this a success.

A bit of history on the origins of {Dry January}.

In 2015, Dry January started as a campaign in the Public Health England (PHE). They had a budget to spread the word with the main goals: to get folx to participate to stop drinking for the month of January with added positive support and conceptualize the positives of Dry January for folx who participated.

de Visser, R. O., Robinson, E., Smith, T., Cass, G., & Walmsley, M. (2017). The growth of “Dry January”: promoting participation and the benefits of participation. European Journal of Public Health, 27(5), 929–931. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckx124

The campaign was successful, if one determines success by the number of participants and the number of counties who have adaptive this practice. This has moved past a concept and has become a practice with known benefits.

A study published 2/2020 in the Psychology & Health, Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy, reflected on the benefits of abstaining from alcohol, even if temporally, supports both the physical as well as the psychological.

4234 adults participated in Dry January. A focus of the study to gain perspective of the benefits on wellness and self-efficacy of an alcohol abstinence challenge. Participant completed a baseline questionnaire and a follow up questionnaire one month after.

Important variable in the one month follow up included:

If the challenge was completed, the level of support folx received and any changes in self-reported wellness and general self-efficacy (GSE). The results reflected folx reported an increase in both wellness and self-efficacy. The study indicated an independent correlate for folx who received email support to achieve the challenge successfully.

de Visser, R. O., & Nicholls, J. (2020). Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy. Psychology & Health, 35(11), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1743840

Here are some basic benefits from taking a break from drinking, this is not an exhaustive list.

One could expect to have better sleep, increased mental clarity, money saved and cognitive focus. Priorities may shift and drinking becomes less important. There is a chance to practice more adaptive coping skills, relaxation techniques and participate in different socializing activities that do not involve alcohol.

Tips to help you find success in participating in Dry January:

Find your WHY. Get clarity on why you want to spend the month of January alcohol free. Get a notebook/journal and write down your Whys….. The more specific you are the better chance you will have to increase your motivational energy to apply if/when times feel challenging to follow through in your commitment.

Make a Commitment. What is your goal? Is it the whole month? What do you consider as alcohol? Silly question you say… it really is not. It is cognitive dissonance, if you tell yourself, beer not as bad as Vodka, but you know that is not true.

Be honest, beer, wine, hard alcohol, all of these alcoholic drinks are the same so any excuse…”it is just beer”, this could indicate you have more of a problem than you are admitting to.

Tell people, create a support system. Ask others to join you.

Planning is prevention….. keep your success on trajectory by planning out situations or events that maybe hard to say NO. Unapologetically say “No Thanks”, if at a gathering and someone asks if you want a drink. You do not owe anyone an explanation on why you are not drinking. Offer one if you wish, but remember you get to choose what you say and how much you disclose.
Non-alcoholic drinks, could be a good substitute, but it could also be a trigger. It looks like a drink and tastes like a drink, but the affect is missing. This could be a trigger for some folx, creating a desire, a craving for the real-thing.

If you notice this for yourself, it maybe helpful to talk to a therapist who specialized in addiction. This does not mean you have an addiction or you are an alcoholic, but it could mean some support, psycho-education and modulating your relationship with alcohol could be helpful and maybe an important time to do so.

So….It is January 31st, now what. It may be helpful to have a plan on what you will do after the month is over.

Will you go back to your old drinking patterns?

Will you try to drinks less?

Will you try to keep on your sober journey and not drink?

Some intentionality on your goals brings you into relationship with not only alcohol but with yourself, which if you have been drinking too much, you have become out of touch with who you are.

If you would like to explore your drinking or any substance use in a safe space, please reach out. I offer SUD evaluations and brief-solution focused therapy to address problematic use, addiction and behavioral addictions. This path could be unfolding, if moderation management is the approach or if treatment is needed, I can follow you on your journey as your psychotherapist while you are in treatment and once you are discharged to maintain the level of care you need to maintain your recovery.

Stephanie Childress

Reference

1. The growth of ‘Dry January’: promoting participation and the benefits of participation

de Visser, R. O., Robinson, E., Smith, T., Cass, G., & Walmsley, M. (2017). The growth of “Dry January”: promoting participation and the benefits of participation. European Journal of Public Health, 27(5), 929–931. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckx124

2. Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy

de Visser, R. O., & Nicholls, J. (2020). Temporary abstinence during Dry January: predictors of success; impact on well-being and self-efficacy. Psychology & Health, 35(11), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1743840

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