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

[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.

Mayo Clinic says one glass of red wine a day for women may have health benefits.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281

[Anonymous]

I quit drinking when I was trying to get pregnant and realized that while I didn't drink often, when I did have a drink it was usually to deal with anxiety and stress. That really surprised me. Now I rarely have a drink.

Could be that doing dry January surprises people with how much they have become dependent on alcohol for different things, even just 2-3 drinks a week.

[Anonymous]

I am not a heavy drinker but I do drink. I have considered stopping for the health reasons mentioned throughout this thread - that no amount is good for you.

But then I think about all the chemicals in my food, my cups, water bottles etc. The pollution from 66 by my house. And that doesnt even include the stuff we dont know about that is poisoning us. Whle I dont think that means you give up on being healthy, I do think...yeah in the grand scheme of what's killing me being all around me... it's not that bad for my health to have a beer or two on Friday night.

[Anonymous]

OP here — I came from a heavy drinking family and culture. Several close relatives and family friends owned and managed bars while I was growing up. Consequently, i spent a lot of time in bars even as a child. I saw people who didn’t have a problem, and people who said they didn’t have a problem. I’m not opposed to drinking. I’m just fascinated by the concept of dry January (be it alcohol or cannabis or … shopping). I’m Catholic so abstaining from something is not a foreign concept to me, so adding dry January sometimes seems like a repetitive concept. I rarely drink to the point that some friends/neighbors (not all) in the DMV make a point to say something that I’m having a drink. It’s weird because I don’t think of myself as a non-drinker but I guess it’s all relative when I have a drink maybe 4x a year and friends have a drink or more every week.

Again the thing that struck me was how many people (my age and younger) in the conversation said that dry January would be a struggle. I would not have beeen surprised if they were boomers or older. Although I shouldn’t have been surprised since COVID closures didn’t negatively affect ABC stores and takeout alcohol restrictions were relaxed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here — I came from a heavy drinking family and culture. Several close relatives and family friends owned and managed bars while I was growing up. Consequently, i spent a lot of time in bars even as a child. I saw people who didn’t have a problem, and people who said they didn’t have a problem. I’m not opposed to drinking. I’m just fascinated by the concept of dry January (be it alcohol or cannabis or … shopping). I’m Catholic so abstaining from something is not a foreign concept to me, so adding dry January sometimes seems like a repetitive concept. I rarely drink to the point that some friends/neighbors (not all) in the DMV make a point to say something that I’m having a drink. It’s weird because I don’t think of myself as a non-drinker but I guess it’s all relative when I have a drink maybe 4x a year and friends have a drink or more every week.

Again the thing that struck me was how many people (my age and younger) in the conversation said that dry January would be a struggle. I would not have beeen surprised if they were boomers or older. Although I shouldn’t have been surprised since COVID closures didn’t negatively affect ABC stores and takeout alcohol restrictions were relaxed.

I wonder how much people are actually trying to communicate "I'd struggle with signs of physical/psychological dependency if I didn't drink for a month" vs. "I enjoy a drink occasionally and just don't feel like giving it up for a month."

[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.

This is the most sanctimonious drivel I think I’ve read on this site.

[Anonymous]

Struggling with dry January doesn’t necessarily mean someone is an alcoholic. It could mean they have anxiety or are super shy and find it hard to socialize without a drink - even if they rarely have more than one. It could mean their work culture or social circle is alcohol focused and it’s awkward to not go along with the group - again, even if the person rarely has more than 1-2 drinks in an evening. Having been pregnant twice and abstaining during a long year of fertility treatments prior to that, living completely without alcohol is an adjustment. It’s more like taking on a keto diet than just trying to eat more whole grains and veggies. Or to use a money analogy, it’s more like giving up using credit and debit cards than reducing your spending on frivolous things. Even if you don’t have an alcohol addiction, it’s an adjustment that is not convenient.

What I would find concerning is if someone could not talk to their spouse without drinking at dinner or in the evening - or if someone had trouble abstaining from alcohol at home when not hosting / entertaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t drink, but for a lot of people it’s routine: your office has a happy hour, or you got to a fundraiser, or to a sporting event, or out to dinner. You are used to ordering a cocktail or having a glass of wine or something, and you feel a little awkward ordering a Diet Coke.

More restaurants are offering mocktails, but if you’re used to wine, mocktails are usually not the flavor profile you’re going for.

It’s just a hard habit to break, which sometimes can have absolutely nothing to do with dependence.

I think this is spot on. And it’s important to remember that a habit and actual dependence are different things.

But I do it because it feels like a reset. For me, there are an outsized number of events between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I tend to have a drink or two at those events. So it feels good to do the opposite for a month or so. But there are still a few events where i would normally have a glass of wine and don’t. It’s not the end of the world hard, but it’s different than my normal habit of drinking at those events.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here — I came from a heavy drinking family and culture. Several close relatives and family friends owned and managed bars while I was growing up. Consequently, i spent a lot of time in bars even as a child. I saw people who didn’t have a problem, and people who said they didn’t have a problem. I’m not opposed to drinking. I’m just fascinated by the concept of dry January (be it alcohol or cannabis or … shopping). I’m Catholic so abstaining from something is not a foreign concept to me, so adding dry January sometimes seems like a repetitive concept. I rarely drink to the point that some friends/neighbors (not all) in the DMV make a point to say something that I’m having a drink. It’s weird because I don’t think of myself as a non-drinker but I guess it’s all relative when I have a drink maybe 4x a year and friends have a drink or more every week.

Again the thing that struck me was how many people (my age and younger) in the conversation said that dry January would be a struggle. I would not have beeen surprised if they were boomers or older. Although I shouldn’t have been surprised since COVID closures didn’t negatively affect ABC stores and takeout alcohol restrictions were relaxed.

I wonder how much people are actually trying to communicate "I'd struggle with signs of physical/psychological dependency if I didn't drink for a month" vs. "I enjoy a drink occasionally and just don't feel like giving it up for a month."

Hence, my post to a wider group.
—OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Struggling with dry January doesn’t necessarily mean someone is an alcoholic. It could mean they have anxiety or are super shy and find it hard to socialize without a drink - even if they rarely have more than one. It could mean their work culture or social circle is alcohol focused and it’s awkward to not go along with the group - again, even if the person rarely has more than 1-2 drinks in an evening. Having been pregnant twice and abstaining during a long year of fertility treatments prior to that, living completely without alcohol is an adjustment. It’s more like taking on a keto diet than just trying to eat more whole grains and veggies. Or to use a money analogy, it’s more like giving up using credit and debit cards than reducing your spending on frivolous things. Even if you don’t have an alcohol addiction, it’s an adjustment that is not convenient.

What I would find concerning is if someone could not talk to their spouse without drinking at dinner or in the evening - or if someone had trouble abstaining from alcohol at home when not hosting / entertaining.

We can speculate but not speak for others. What is it like for you? —OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is the most sanctimonious drivel I think I’ve read on this site.

And the PP didn’t read further that that increase is for heavy drinkers. Light to moderate drinkers have been linked to a possible up to 5% risk. Then it goes on to explain that this non-randomized study also account for the lifestyle issues around heavy drinkers, ie heavy caloric intake, poor food choices, etc. For a possible 5% risk increase—and even if that risk turns into diagnosis—it’s worth the risk to stop worrying about everything and enjoy life a little. I’d rather die of breast cancer at 75 than prolong life unnecessarily anyway, honestly. Eighties and on life kind of sucks. We should be focused on making our lives better, not longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Mayo Clinic says one glass of red wine a day for women may have health benefits.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281

Every responsible medical professional caveats reports like these with the assertion that you should NOT start drinking to gain any health benefits posited as correlated with alcohol consumption. Pushing consumption as healthful is old school bad advice more than likely from industry funded studies. Alcohol abstention is best advice of any responsible medical professional in the here and now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Mayo Clinic says one glass of red wine a day for women may have health benefits.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/in-depth/red-wine/art-20048281

Every responsible medical professional caveats reports like these with the assertion that you should NOT start drinking to gain any health benefits posited as correlated with alcohol consumption. Pushing consumption as healthful is old school bad advice more than likely from industry funded studies. Alcohol abstention is best advice of any responsible medical professional in the here and now.

Yeah, the article clearly states that one should not start drinking for this reason. But for those of us who enjoy an occasional, or even daily, glass of wine responsibly, it’s more than likely going to be just fine.

[Anonymous]

Because they're alcoholics in denial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here — I came from a heavy drinking family and culture. Several close relatives and family friends owned and managed bars while I was growing up. Consequently, i spent a lot of time in bars even as a child. I saw people who didn’t have a problem, and people who said they didn’t have a problem. I’m not opposed to drinking. I’m just fascinated by the concept of dry January (be it alcohol or cannabis or … shopping). I’m Catholic so abstaining from something is not a foreign concept to me, so adding dry January sometimes seems like a repetitive concept. I rarely drink to the point that some friends/neighbors (not all) in the DMV make a point to say something that I’m having a drink. It’s weird because I don’t think of myself as a non-drinker but I guess it’s all relative when I have a drink maybe 4x a year and friends have a drink or more every week.

Again the thing that struck me was how many people (my age and younger) in the conversation said that dry January would be a struggle. I would not have beeen surprised if they were boomers or older. Although I shouldn’t have been surprised since COVID closures didn’t negatively affect ABC stores and takeout alcohol restrictions were relaxed.

That’s because actual alcoholics account for something like 80% of alcohol sales. Liquor stores weren’t closed specifically because we didn’t need our ERs full of withdrawing alcoholics. It wasn’t because of the wine moms. I can’t believe how many people still don’t understand this.