Jan so dry

[Ferris]

I know you were against it, but fizzy water was nice. I was eating more shit food as well which (for someone like me who eats pretty well most of the time) makes it feel like an event without booze ("ooh ice cream! Gonna get stuck into that bastard later!")

Also played a lot of absorbing video games in the evenings which occupy your brain and there's no room to be thinking about booze because I'm this close to reassembling the Crown of Barenziah.

[holyzombiejesus]

I think that my terror about doing this means I really need to do it.

[Norton Canes]

Terror is a great motivator

[Ferris]

It's worth it. I've tried to minimize banging on about it because it looks like I'm fishing for compliments or whatever, but I find it a helpful exercise once a year to completely recalibrate my relationship with booze. I know a month of moderation works for some people, but not me. I'm a stubborn twat though, so when I say I'm stopping something for a period of time I go through with it which is helpful.

[JaDanketies]

Did yous find the January thing easy? The thought of not being able to have a glass of wine of an evening is filling me with all kinds of dread.

I found it much easier than I expected and I used to have far more than a glass of wine with a pizza on the weekend.

If you're nervous about stopping, that's probably a good indicator that you ought to stop. I remember early on I was telling my family on Zoom that I hadn't drank alcohol for six days and my brother mocked this accomplishment. But for me, it was the longest I'd gone for a long time. So probably my brother doesn't need dry January if he thinks being proud of not drinking for six days is risible, and I did because I was proud.

[JaDanketies]

I was thinking last night, when I still didn't feel right because I'd got drunk 24 hours earlier - I think alcohol is better when you've got a bit of a tolerance. And I think I've always drank regularly enough to have a continual tolerance. My liver was probably releasing so many enzymes into my blood because of this.

So that's probably why there are all these people who say, "I don't really like alcohol." You need to work at it before it gets good. You need to tell your body "this poison is the new normal, get used to it."

It's no secret that cannabis is better when you've got a bit of a tolerance to it. But weed doesn't feel poisonous.

Hopefully I will remember that I get hangovers now and this will discourage me from drinking more than is sensible. I can also watch out for tolerance developing.

[Johnboy]

I haven't drank since the middle of October but I'm looking forward to a drink with friends as soon as is possible.

[Cuellar]

Saw a video of a doctor carving a massively cirrhotic liver up like rare roast beef earlier. Big slices of it. That'll help your resolve.

[amputeeporn]

I'm still going from Jan 1st - had dreams of maybe getting quite far through Feb but today I idly thought about getting or making a really high end cocktail, then afterwards was salivating at the thought. I hung in there tonight - so maybe I'll make it to next weekend, but likely no further. The longest I've been without a drink in 17 years.

[checkoutgirl]

I broke my duck on the 5th of February and got drunk and pissed up on booze. But that month dry seems to have made it easier for me to get through Fridays without drinking and I haven't drank since then. I assumed after January I'd fall right back into banging a bottle or two of vodka over the weekend but just that few weeks break has had a bigger impact than I expected. Maybe booze can be a monthly treat that is savoured and considered rather than an automatic reflex consumption followed by feeling horrible.

The fact that I'm 42 is another motive as booze is not the healthiest. I think about people my age who still smoke and think they are nuts. One blowout per calendar month is the new aim.

[holyzombiejesus]

I've done 15 nights so far and it's going ok. I'm not getting the amazing restful sleep that some speak of, in fact I'm waking up with back ache. Some mornings I even feel like I've got a hangover which is a bit odd. I still feel odd not having a drink on Friday and Saturday nights but it's made me realise that I shouldn't be drinking so much of a weekend anyway. It's 'helped' that my wife had bashed her ribs and is sleeping in the spare room, so I can go to bed early and read rather than sitting up in front of the TV thinking about how lovely a glass of wine would be. Will carry it on for at least another 10 nights and when I restart I'll only have a drink on Friday or Saturday rather than both.

[thugler]

Fucking hell. Have had a few drinks for a weekend or two, not a huge amount, but the next 2-3 days it just seems to make me feel depressed and irritable. Thinking about knocking it mostly on the head again. Maybe my resistance is juts right down.  Maybe will just have a toke instead.