Why do non-alcoholics find “dry January” difficult?

[Anonymous]

I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't find it difficult. I used an app called Try Dry (UK government affiliated I think). And it was so interesting. While doing it, my resting heart rate dropped from a respectable 55 to 51. So I decided to keep using the app. This year I went from an average of 10 units a week to 7. No reason stop, but it's no longer my default at dinner.

No reason to stop, and you think 7 units of alcohol a week is fine? And you need an app?

NP. 7 units is fine, per CDC. And using an app is more fun than just keeping track in one’s head. It kind of gamefies it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

DP. Quitting coffee would actually cause withdrawal symptoms for me. But not alcohol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

So if I drink both daily, I come out even!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

So if I drink both daily, I come out even!

Nope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think its stupid posturing. Dh and I enjoy a glass or two of wine a week. Sometimes we may go out and have a drink or two and some weeks we may not drink at all. Our friends are pretty similar.

How do you enjoy a glass or two a week? There are five glasses in a bottle. Do you just dump it the rest?

If you get a good corking system, wine will stay good for a bit.

[Anonymous]

I think the whole idea of "dry Jan" or "no-spend Jan" is for people who are impulsive and have bad habits they want to break. The rest of us can just continue with our lives.

I don't actually know many people who MUST have alcohol during get-togethers, otherwise it's not fun for them. The people who need their wine are my aunts and my godmother, all in their 70s. They come from a drinking culture. My cousins and I lead much healthier lives (no smoking, vaping, weed, or alcohol). My friends don't drink, or have one glass 3 times a year, that sort of thing.

So... in my circle, there's no point to a dry month. My aunts will continue to drink a ton, and the rest of us will continue to not.



I was thinking the same thing for no-spend January. For people who aren't impulsive spenders, there's no point either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear sometimes I think the cannabis industry is using forums like this. I mean, there are thousands of threads like this already. I drink maybe once or twice a month, so I have zero issues with alcohol. Many people enjoy a cocktail daily. Nothing wrong with that either. But for many of these people, it’s likely a very enjoyable habit that is hard to break and is missed when not happening anymore. It’s just not that hard to understand. I know many people who replaced their daily cocktail with sugary mocktails or sweets after dinner, and they find trying to quite those very difficult. What does that make them OP? Sugarholics? Why must you judge and label?

Are you asserting this from a moral perspective?

Because otherwise the science and medical research is now undeniable - there absolutely IS something wrong with daily drinking, one drink or otherwise. It's very damaging to human health across the spectrum, with nearly zero health benefits - definitely nothing that outweighs the high negative associations to cancers, heart disease, organ failure, brain damage, systemic inflammation, and perhaps even more important the SA and other violence, fatal car crashes, and other antisocial behaviors.

You gotta go sometime. I’m not interested in leaving a pretty corpse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People build their lives around habits and when alcohol is a regular habit, of course it is missed to some degree. The bigger the degree, the more you are likely dependent. Alcohol is used by most people to self-medicate anxiety, so yeah it is difficult to suddenly have much more anxiety and maybe no tools to cope. Many who make a habit of coming home and cracking a bottle of something are not well practiced with meditating or walks in nature or other more healthful means that others who live dry use to cope with anxiety/stress.

Please. No one who posts regularly on this site has optimal coping mechanisms for anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I swear sometimes I think the cannabis industry is using forums like this. I mean, there are thousands of threads like this already. I drink maybe once or twice a month, so I have zero issues with alcohol. Many people enjoy a cocktail daily. Nothing wrong with that either. But for many of these people, it’s likely a very enjoyable habit that is hard to break and is missed when not happening anymore. It’s just not that hard to understand. I know many people who replaced their daily cocktail with sugary mocktails or sweets after dinner, and they find trying to quite those very difficult. What does that make them OP? Sugarholics? Why must you judge and label?

Are you asserting this from a moral perspective?

Because otherwise the science and medical research is now undeniable - there absolutely IS something wrong with daily drinking, one drink or otherwise. It's very damaging to human health across the spectrum, with nearly zero health benefits - definitely nothing that outweighs the high negative associations to cancers, heart disease, organ failure, brain damage, systemic inflammation, and perhaps even more important the SA and other violence, fatal car crashes, and other antisocial behaviors.

What is your point of posting this? You think people, in 2024, don’t know the risks inherent in drinking? Or do you generally find sanctimonious lectures effective? Because you merely sound insufferable and I’d bet most people tuned you out 2 sentences in to your blathering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

So if I drink both daily, I come out even!

That’s why I’m doing Irish coffee January.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Can you please point to annual coffee-fueled car accidents, injuries and deaths?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of people on here who seem to think that drinking is inherently problematic. I'm not totally unsympathetic to that position; my great grandfather was an alcoholic and my grandfather abstained totally for that reason.

I'm currently pregnant so I'm not drinking, but when I'm not, I have a single small drink with dinner 4-5x per week. I like the taste and the ritual of it. It makes dinner feel more special...I sit down with my son and husband and we enjoy a nice meal together after a busy day. I imagine for some people, dry january is hard because it interrupts a similar part of their day.

You might want to reconsider this ritual.

"The overall estimated association is an approximate 30-50% increase in breast cancer risk from 15-30 grams/day of alcohol consumption (about 1-2 drinks/day) [6-8•]."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3832299/#:~:text=The%20overall%20estimated%20association%20is,%5B6%2D8%E2%80%A2%5D.

A nice cup of hot or iced green tea could also be a lovely dinner ritual, and it would bring nothing but health benefits that will extend your life rather than being something that might take you from your husband and kids much sooner than you would like.

Meh. I work out, I maintain a healthy weight, my BP is good, my bloodwork is consistently good. I have no family history of breast cancer and no risk factors, other than having breasts. I’m willing to accept the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would choose dry January over coffee-free January in a heartbeat.

We all have our habits/vices.

Coffee has substantial health benefits. Alcohol has none.

So if I drink both daily, I come out even!

That’s why I’m doing Irish coffee January.

Cheers to that