My Honest Opinion of Dry January

Mocktail called Winter Can Wait, at Olde Ebbitt Grill in Washington D.C.

🫒 30 days is not long enough to change your relationship with alcohol, but it’s a great place to start! (*Unless you hardly drink, or haven’t been drinking for very long.)

🫒 I “failed” at Dry January 3 years in a row. Including 2024! Yet this year I have had 10 months completely alcohol free. “Failing” at Dry January doesn’t indicate you will fail at changing your relationship with alcohol. Reframe “failures” as data points.

🫒 If you can’t get through a 30 day break without drinking, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to. It just means you haven’t had enough practice yet!

🫒 Any break from alcohol is a positive thing! Physically, mentally, spiritually.

🫒 Everyone experiences health benefits from a 30 day break, regardless of how much they drink. The more you usually drink, the more your body will benefit from the break.

🫒 If you feel like $h!t, that’s bc you’re experiencing some minor withdrawal, that is NOT what sobriety feels like! You don’t have to be an alcoholic or a heavy drinker to experience withdrawal when you stop, that is a common misconception! I was a gray area drinker and let me tell you, I went THROUGH IT.

🫒 Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get it perfect, don’t throw in the towel! Just get back on the wagon and try to finish out the month

🫒 Dry January is a great tool for assessing your relationship with alcohol. If you find it really easy, that’s great! If you find it challenging, that’s something worth considering.

🫒 Do not feel the need to reintroduce alcohol into your life at the end of January if you feel better without it. I have heard of many people who did Dry January and never looked back. I applaud them!!

🫒 Health benefits of a 30 day break often include:
- weight loss (for me this started to happen after about 90 days, not 30)
- improved sleep
- better mood
- increased energy
- improved immunity
- better workouts
- reduced liver fat
- reduced cancer risk
- lowered blood pressure
- healthier diet

Are you participating Dry January this year? Tell me in the comments!

Rooting for you always,

Gretchen