EP 58: Exploring the Benefits and Pitfalls of Dry January

We are a little over halfway through January and everywhere I look someone is talking about dry January . Of course , I do consume a lot of media that revolves around sobriety , but something just feels extra different this year . It seems to have gone even more mainstream . If you type in the hashtag dry January , you'll see all sorts of information .

Non-alcoholic options Marketers are just like really going all in on this dry January . In fact , many of my local grocery stores are end capping their non-alcoholic adult beverages , which is great to see , and so many companies are starting to develop non-alcoholic options .

I even saw white claw , which I don't really know what that is , but I guess without the alcohol wouldn't it just be seltzer water ?

But the thing is that you have a white claw can , so it feels like you're fitting in and like you're just doing the same thing with the crowd and it may be nice , because people don't necessarily know that it's a non-alcoholic drink .

So if you're a little bit self-conscious about it , then you'll feel like you fit in more and maybe people won't try to keep asking you if you want a drink when clearly you are deciding not to have alcohol .

The other thing that I've seen a lot advertised and really directed towards dry January although I've seen it advertised all year , it just seems to be coming up a lot more in my feed are herbal mood enhancers or drinks that contain like a seltzer water or something that contains different herbs that are supposed to have like a calming effect on you .

I don't know if those work or how they work or if they're even good . If you've tried them and they work for you , let me know . Just hit me up on Instagram or send me a message , because I would love to know what your experience is with them and whether or not you found them helpful . So when did dry January start ? Anyway ?

Believe it or not , it has its roots all the way back to World War II . I was really surprised when I learned this through my research , because I actually thought it was a fairly new development . So , anyway , the Finnish government was the first to introduce the concept called ratus januar , which translates to sober January .

My apologies to any of my Finnish speaking listeners if I butchered that pronunciation , which I'm sure I did , but the reason for sober January back then was to curb alcohol consumption among the troops , and they believed that it would boost their health and their readiness for combat , which I'm sure they quickly realized was an amazing idea .

So the next thing is that it really caught on , and not only did it lead to a drop in national alcohol consumption , it also sparked a cultural shift towards sober activities and living . So that's pretty cool right . For a while , this whole sober January thing was mostly a Finnish affair , but as time passed , the idea began to spread across Europe .

So fast forward to the early 2000s and the concept of dry January popped up again . People started challenging themselves to stay sober for an entire month and share their experiences on blogs and social media , which helped the movement gain momentum . But let's be honest , not everyone was on board at first .

In a world where every event seems like it revolves around alcohol in one way or another , there was some resistance to the idea of dry January . However , that's when alcohol change UK stepped in In 2013, . They officially launched dry January with free apps , social media groups and a comprehensive website to support the participants .

That year , alcohol change UK reported that 4,000 people signed up for the challenge , but since then it has grown significantly , with over 130,000 signing up to participate in the challenge in 2022 .

These are just the people that are signing up to participate , but so many people are just doing it on their own and they're not officially signing up , so that number , I would imagine , is quite a bit larger than that reported number .

The popularity has spread globally and includes other European countries and the United States and , as I said at the beginning of the show , many people are talking about it . So is dry January worth doing ? After all , it's only 30 days of abstinence .

Well , according to the National Library of Medicine , research has proven that dry January is an effective behavior change campaign . The campaign was independently evaluated in 2014 by the University of Sussex and found 72% of its participants had sustained reduced levels of harmful drinking .

Time magazine also reports that the campaign has flourished during a period of increased alcohol consumption , with one study showing that drinking has increased by 70% . Let me say that again , one study shows that drinking has increased by 70% between the years of 1990 and 2017 .

The World Health Organization also states that no level of alcohol consumption is good for our health . They call alcohol a group 1 carcinogen and the highest risk group alongside asbestos , radiation and tobacco .

Drinking has also been proven to be one of the leading causes of preventable death in the US , and that is per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . And I will leave links to these articles in my show notes because there's tons more information included in them , with links to the studies as well .

So , as you can see from this information , the less alcohol we consume , the better , and it's for that reason I will always encourage happily , for anyone to take a chance on dry January . So whether you decide to do it and make it through the whole month , that's amazing .

If you don't quite make it through the whole month , that's okay too , because you're still getting some benefits and you're definitely gaining some awareness around your drinking . Like I always say , just get curious , figuring out what works for you .

Now I'm going to talk a little bit about the benefits of dry January on your health and some of the pitfalls that you might face , but how to manage those pitfalls so that you can make the most of your dry January efforts , or it doesn't even have to be dry January , it can be any effort to abstain from alcohol for an extended period of time .

So there are multiple health benefits . I've already alluded to some of them when I was quoting from a few of the articles earlier , but I just want to explain five of those right now for you . So one of those is going to be improved sleep and energy levels , because alcohol interferes with our sleep cycle , leading to poor quality sleep .

Abstaining from alcohol can improve your sleep patterns and boost energy levels . I do want to note that this doesn't always happen right away , though , so don't feel discouraged if you don't notice all of a sudden having an uptick in energy and amazing sleep .

This is something that takes a little while , because your sleep pattern has to adjust , and after that then you should reap those benefits .

Another one is weight loss . Alcohol is just high in calories , so cutting it out can contribute to weight loss . You'll also notice that your skin looks better , because alcohol dehydrates the skin and it can cause it to look dull and tired . The other benefit is improved mental health . Regular alcohol consumption isn't great for our mental health .

It increases our risk of depression and it heightens anxiety .

So a period of abstinence will improve your mental health and it will also help you see a little bit more how alcohol is affecting you , because sometimes , when we're just doing it , we don't realize what it is that's causing a symptom , and when you cut it out then you realize oh , it actually was that .

The last thing I'm going to talk about is just awareness of your overall health . So dry January can lead to a better understanding of your relationship with alcohol , which is what we're all about here , right ? Just gaining that clarity and confidence so that you can choose to drink or not drink from a place of peace .

I have in no way saying that you have to never have alcohol again . I just think that well , I know taking these bouts of abstinence will definitely help you as you get more sober , curious and start to find the level of sobriety that works for you .

Now let's just talk about a few of the things that might hinder you or it might be considered a pitfall , as you do dry January , it might be a stumbling block of sorts . The first is social pressure . We talk a lot about that on this podcast and I have a lot of episodes on how to deal with that .

But social events that involve alcohol , where you are normally drinking , are just going to feel uncomfortable , and there might even be pressure from peers to drink , and that can be challenging as well . So I do want you to keep that in mind .

The other thing is just like your habitual drinking pattern , so for some reason , maybe drinking has become a regular part of your daily routine . Breaking the habit can be really difficult , especially if you don't have meaning behind it and you're just doing it to see if you can do it .

You may also find that some negative emotions come up , because when you don't have your coping mechanism for stress and anxiety , all of a sudden you're actually having to feel your feelings , and because maybe you don't allow yourself to do that very often , it can be really uncomfortable and even overwhelming at times .

And then another pitfall can just be lack of support . So if you don't have people in your life who are supportive of your decision or even your challenge , your month long challenge to not drink can be really really difficult to maintain your motivation . So now , how can we manage these hindrances ?

The first , main , first important , is just preparation and planning .

Preparing what you want to say when those questions come up , when you are in those social activities , figuring out , maybe , what you will want to drink , maybe just deciding that you don't want to go to an event because you will find it really hard to say no , and this is something that's really important to you .

So just try to plan activities that don't involve alcohol and if you are going to be somewhere where there is alcohol , just make sure that you plan and prepare for what you want to say .

Now , another thing that you will learn during dry January , as you face these pitfalls and obstacles and hindrances , is how to develop coping mechanisms , because if you can't just reach for alcohol to deal with your negative emotions , you're almost forced to find healthier coping mechanisms .

This could be exercise , journaling , meditation , reading , prayer , pursuing a new hobby there are so many other ways to cope . So I always suggest making a list of things to do instead of drink . You don't have to sit down and write down your end all be all list , like , just start a list and then , as something comes to your mind , add it to your list .

So that could be walking your dog , calling your friend who lives across the country . It could be going , you know , for coffee or I don't know . There's so many different things . Sometimes it's just giving yourself a nice evening facial during the time when you would have been drinking a glass of wine .

So trying to develop healthier coping mechanisms is going to be key and that will help you resist the urge when it arises . If you are looking for support , a lot of times there are other people who in your life who are also kind of wondering about the role that alcohol plays in their lives .

So if you are like , yeah , this January I'm not really drinking , or maybe you're thinking about lint , because this year lint starts on February 14th , on Valentine's Day , so maybe you're thinking about it not for dry January , but you're thinking about it for lint maybe getting a group of girlfriends together who also want to abstain from alcohol over the month of

January or during lint would be a really great thing . You guys could even just meet up and do something . It can be helpful . You can feel seen .

You guys can talk about what's hard , what's easy , what good things you've noticed , maybe what obstacles have come up , and just really make it a time of not just bonding but learning about , not just what you're going through , but learning from your friends as well . So I highly recommend that . Support networks are so so key .

Another thing to keep in mind is that while they do say it can take 21 or 28 days to change a habit or at least that's something I've always been told or thought it actually isn't going to change the habit just simply from abstaining from alcohol . We have to be focused on a meaning or have a reason why we're choosing to abstain .

Of course , you can do a challenge just for just to see if you can do it , and that's fine and you'll still learn something . And you'll learn something and you'll still gain awareness .

But if you are looking to have a transformation , to actually make a change in the way that you're drinking , or change your habit , then it's really important to be focused on a purpose . And the reason for this is because a lot of times , when we are just abstaining for the sake of abstaining or for a challenge , we focus a lot on the deprivation .

We focus a lot on what we're not having , what we can't have . For example , my husband and I have done a whole 30 , the whole 30 diet , like a bunch of times , and the very first time we did it , we completed it , we did the whole 30 days .

We are very strict with it , but the entire time when people would ask me about it , or when I was out to eat or when we were somewhere , I always focused on well , we can't , I can't have this and I can't have that , and I can't have this and I can't have that .

And what I didn't talk about was all of the benefits I was getting , not just health wise , but we were eating like completely different dinners . I was cooking real food .

We were trying all different kinds of recipes , because you know how it is , when you have been married for a long time and you make the same meals that your family always loves , it's really easy just to kind of go back to those and there's nothing wrong with that .

But this just kind of helped branch us out into some new and exciting ways to cook and eat . It was wonderful , but again , I wasn't focused on how great it was until much , much later . I was focused on all the things that I was giving up .

And at the end of that 30 days I am embarrassed to tell you , but we went to a basketball game for my sons and they lost their game and we were like , oh , let's go to Krispy Kreme and get a donut . And we went and I ate the sugary donut and I will tell you like within five minutes I had a pounding headache and I felt terrible , like for two days .

And that just goes to show you how when you remove certain things from your body and then you introduce them back really quickly , like all at once , like flour and sugar and all these things , it can really wreak havoc on you because you're just not used to it .

So the next time we did Whole30 , I tried to keep in mind and remember like how good I felt , how much energy I had , how much mental clarity I had , and it just every time we have done it since then , like as a reset . It just is so much easier . Like we don't have all the symptoms that they list in the like between day one and day seven .

You'll feel this between days . You know , whatever , whatever you'll feel this , it's very minimal to what it was in the beginning and that's kind of like with abstaining from alcohol , maybe the very first time you do it . It's going to be really hard , really uncomfortable .

You're going to be focused on all your giving up what you're not doing , even though you're going to also be experiencing these really incredible health benefits clarity , maybe even relationships improving , anxiety improving but when we're focused on the deprivation instead of what we get to fill our time with , what we get to fill our bodies with , instead of that , then

it can make the process or even just the entire challenge not really very fruitful for us , if that makes sense .

So , before you even start abstaining whether that's just because you really want to take a break for a while , or you want to greatly reduce your alcohol consumption , or you're giving up alcohol for a long , whatever it is just make sure that you have the purpose and your why in mind , and that will just make it go so much easier for you .

I want you to know that if you slip up or maybe you don't even feel as great as you thought that you would , or maybe you're thinking I'm not drinking and I'm completely bored , I can't relax , I'm not going to get it because this urge is too big . Maybe you feel like an outsider .

If you are having all of these thoughts or obstacles come up as you are trying to take a break and step back and analyze your drinking , don't be discouraged . Just don't be discouraged . Let it be learning . Don't beat yourself up about it . Just ask yourself what can I learn from this ? Why am I bored ?

What could I do that maybe would feel fulfilling or bring me joy ? What did I used to do when I wasn't consuming this much alcohol ? What did I do with my time ? If you can't relax , maybe you can find different ways that you can relax . Is it painting ? Is it journaling ? Is it crocheting ? Is it exercising ?

When you think you just won't get it , those thoughts are not the kind of thoughts that are going to get you the results that you want . I encourage you to change that thought too . This is just going to take some time Building my sober muscles . It's like going to the gym . I just need to give myself some time and I'm going to get it .

And if you feel like you're on the outside looking in , think of ways that you can not feel that way , maybe it is having a non-alcoholic drink in a pretty glass or finding a non-alcoholic option . Maybe , again , it's just deciding . Right now I don't really want to go to an event like that , and if you don't have to , then don't .

Or you could create a plan with your spouse or your friend or your sister or your mom that when you're starting to feel uncomfortable , you have a code word and you guys can just leave . Just having that support and letting people know how you're feeling and what you're going through is going to be so , so helpful .

Whether you're doing dry January or you're just getting sober curious , it's all about changing your thinking and it's going to require learning new skills and practicing . So just be patient with yourself , and I have tools and I have resources that can help you as you do this .

This podcast is a big one that I'm very passionate about and I hope that it's helpful for you and , if it is , I hope that you'll share it with others who might find value in it . I also have my five day sacred sobriety kickstart . I'm going to be redoing those videos really soon , but if you want to grab that , it's free and you can get started .

You can grab it and decide to do it at Lent . It's self-paced , you can just do it whenever and however you want . And then , lastly , I've just opened up my sacred sobriety lab , so check out all the information . I have tons of information on that at sacredsobrietylabcom .

Well , that does it for this episode of the Catholic sobriety podcast . I hope you enjoyed this episode and I would invite you to share it with a friend , who might also get value from it as well , and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a thing .

I am the Catholic sobriety coach , and if you would like to learn how to work with me or learn more about the coaching that I offer , visit my website , thecatholicsobrietycoachcom . Follow me on Instagram at theCatholic sobriety coach . I look forward to speaking to you next time , and remember I am here for you . I am praying for you . You are not alone .