Taking a month off alcohol is a great way to undo some of the damage from drinking over Christmas and New Year, it’s also a handy way to lose some weight and think again about the way we drink over the next 12 months.

The benefit of taking a break from alcohol is both physical and mental – on the physical side your body can give itself a chance to have a rest from constantly processing alcohol through the liver. You should see your skin looking healthier and brighter. You may find you even sleep better and feel lighter due to fewer calories from alcohol. 

Here’s some tips for making Dry January a success for you:

Get rid of the alcohol in the house

 Hide away any left-over cans and bottles in a cupboard, somewhere out of temptation 

Go alcohol-free

Buy in some alcohol-free drinks of your choice – there are many more alcohol-free lagers, ciders and spirits than you may imagine, try as many of these as possible and experiment with which one you like the best

Plan ahead

Think about any social occasions coming up that you would normally have a drink – consider what you will drink during those situations instead

Practice saying no

Come up with some well-rehearsed lines for why you’re not drinking alcohol – “I’m doing Dry January” works well

Change your routine

There are lots of activities that don’t involve alcohol – this is your chance to try out all the things you could do but never got round to. You could also use the opportunity to exercise more – but please do stick to Government guidelines for Covid-19 restrictions.

Keep a journal

If you want to understand your drinking a bit better, try using a journal to note down times, places and situations when you really wanted to drink – this is really useful information for the future to help you plan ahead

Don’t give up

There may be times when you have a slip and drink even when you don’t mean to – don’t give up. Use this as an opportunity to learn from this and find out what you would need to do differently in the future. You can still stay dry for as long as you want afterwards.  

Connect remotely with friends

Do you have friends doing Dry January? Go dry together and connect online as a group of friends to keep in touch. That way, no one will be pressuring you to have a drink.

Further support

You may find you want a bit more support to help change your drinking. If so, you can get further advice and information here.       

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2020’s been… pretty awful! Here’s some top tips for staying in control of your drinking over Christmas and New Year 

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