It's almost that time where all the normies that have healthy relationships with booze are going tee total for a month.
Gonna have a real crack at it this time, the most I've gone this past year without a drink is 20 days. Something about that 3rd weekend I always cave and say fuck it, and end up buying a bottle.
Down to 10 units now after about 25 units daily for the last 2 months. No WDs so probs safe to just stop entirely in the next day or 2.
Here's to a joyless January, although there's about a 99% chance I will pack it in before the end
The fact that I felt that I needed alcohol to feel happy was one of the reasons I quit…I won’t say every day is better but most of them are without alcohol (364 days today!)
Oh wow!! That’s great!! Any big plans for tomorrow? Congrats!
Actually on vacation in Tennessee and surrounded by moonshine and whiskey lol, the temptation is real!
Oh cool! I was just in the smoky mountains camping and hiking over Christmas! Enjoy the state! Anyway, do something fun and healthy for the big day.
I never really felt proud until I hit day 365. Pleased, yes, but hitting that milestone was absolutely awesome for me.
Great work 👏
I don’t want to come across as condescending, but having the mindset of “it’s going to be a joyless January” isn’t helpful. I’ve been sober about 9 years. One of the things that helped me is to write down the top 20 most regrettable things I’ve said or done while drunk or hungover. I have listed some of the relationships I have absolutely ruined or at least severely damaged. I’ve listed several horrible, embarrassing, awful waking up hungover and ashamed moments. I e written down the times I’ve had to go to work feeling like absolute dog shit bc I was so hungover. It’s good to read thru that list at least once a day those first few months and remember it wasn’t all so “joyful”. Reminiscing about the “good times” is your minds way of lying to you.
If they are an alcoholic, it's biological. Whatever the opposite of joy is, that's early sobriety.
For me I realized that if I didn’t stop soon I was probably going to die before I turned 40. I had pneumonia 3 times, my liver was damaged, I was overweight, had damaged my esophagus, the doc said I was pre diabetic I was on the verge of getting fired, I was the sole bread winner and I had a baby at home. It was rough but I’d just had enough of waking up each morning hating myself. Things got better quickly and now I look back at the person I was and they seem like a stranger. I don’t relate to them anymore.
I'm just saying, as a person whose liver did fail from alcoholic hepatitis at age 34, early sobriety is miserable.
Oh yes I couldn’t agree more. Physically it was hard but mentally it was awful. I had used alcohol for years to deal with some rough childhood drama. Once I didn’t have it anymore to suppress those memories shit got real very quick. What helped me was that I knew quitting was my nadir and as long as I was sober I was always on the path to improvement.
This is so on point. Once you change your mindset and see alcohol for what it really is and the damage it actually causes to your health, relationships etc, the last thing you will relate it to is "joy".
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Just a note that a lot of us who attempt dry January have a totally unhealthy relationship win booze, which is why we give it a shot.
I had a bad period this Christmas, a a session with my addiction therapist at 8 am the 22.12, he said I need to do in patient rehab if I cant do it on my own. That led to me buying a sixpack ok my way home at 9 am. Had one sober day since then, average about 6 beers a day, but I am constantly thinking about the consequences about rehab, in terms of work, family etc. I have to make this work on my own this time, hopefully tomorrow is the first day sober. Deep down I know rehab would be good for me, but I want to make this on my own.
Anyway, wish you all the best fellow alcoholics! Lets keep on fighting
Rehab was the best thing I ever did. Being away from my 3 young kids sucked, but for the price of that 30 days, I get to be a good mom for many more years.
Good point, I really have to consider the long term benefits
Good luck dude, you got this
Thanks!
I'm saying this with supportive intentions: think of consequences too of drinking yourself to the rock bottom.
However I'm a hypocrite because I'm definitely in the same boat, probably would need to go to rehab if I continue this way. My therapist is an odd one and giving me kinda unorthodox advice with forgiveness to self and remembering that every sober day is a victory but even she is running out of optimism lol
Thanks, its hard to take that Leap, but its probably what I need if I cant get a handle on this by myself.. Same with my therapist, sounds we are in the same boat lol. Well, I hope this will be my last night of drinking, going to get a couple of nice beers to end this career of being a sort of functional drink. Wish med well. Tomorrow is day 1!
Have you tried outpatient rehab? I found that ti be helpful and it’s evenings, so you can work.
I have considered that as well, I have to consider all my options at my next appointment. I have managed to stay sober for three years previously, so I need to get into the same mindset again I believe
Good luck! Maybe you’ll find some small joys and it won’t be totally joyless? But even if that doesn’t happen, good on you for giving it another go. Every time you have a crack at this thing is a little victory all in itself IMHO.
Ty ty. Sleep is the thing I'm looking forward to the most. Recently, I've been waking up at 2-3am almost every night completely wired and unable to sleep again. (Dunno if that's minor WDs or the GABA rebound, or just generalised anxiety. But it goes away during sober periods)
The problem with Dry January is that it causes you to think about the future for the wrong reasons. Thoughts like "if I can just do X, in the future Y". These are haram thoughts because you (we) suck at the future, writ large.
The "future" does not exist. It is simply another "now". The path to that "now" is through a long series of interim "now"s. The future never comes, you just wake up in a new now and go "holy shit what the fuck happened", followed by either "cool", or "this fucking sucks".
So, Dry January is hopeless. However, Dry Today (or More Dry Today when tapering) is achievable. If we really want to showboat, maybe we'll actually have a Did Some Shit Today. Can't promise you a Dry Tomorrow or Did Some Shit Tomorrow, that is its own independent reality and we don't have the Quantum Mechanics knowledge to even begin addressing that. To quote Paul Erdős, "Mathematics is not yet ripe enough for such questions."
All there is is now, and all you can do is place bets now about what may pay off in another now. This is "Smart Money". A friend invites you out. Smart Money says "do it, friendships are important." What to drink? Smart Money says NA beer in a glass. What to eat later? Smart Money says fish, vegetables, and rice, not super carnitas chimichanga suiza or two entire Dominos pizzas. Smart Money says park in the back of the lot at the store and get 500 extra steps in. Etc, etc, etc. Follow the Smart Money now and give up on worrying about the future, let alone the impossibly long time known in the ancient texts as "End of January" (translated from ancient Aramaic).
" Dry January again, won't be having my usual two pints of Heineken on a Saturday and 150ml of 12% wine on a nice dinner night. Gonna be s struggle don't know how I'll do it 🤠"
And here's me trying not to vomit up my leftover dirt wine at 8am so my family don't see me shaking and vomiting into glasses and bins secretly
Well, I guess the strategy most people here suggest is one day at a time. Don’t bother with the “dry” month or whatever, just put one foot in front of the other.
It’s super hard, I found. You could also talk to your doctor about drugs to ease the cravings.
I only say this because you say you’re an alcoholic which implies that alcohol has a negative impact on your life. The other way you quit, in my experience, is unwillingly, as you’ve hit rock bottom. In a sense that’s easier because there’s no choice.
But it might be nice to have a choice.
You might also try a meeting. Those are free.
But check out your options, while you have them.
In February, if you cannot stay away from alcohol, look up The Sinclair Method. Highly effective medically supported taper and there is free support all over social media.
Quit quit quit quit woooooo! And stick it to the man ✊
Tried naltrexone?
If you’ve managed 20 days before then 31 days is possible. I’m also doing dry January in 2026 but rather than seeing it as ‘joyless’ I’m really looking forward to it. The first week will suck for me (I think I’ve managed 3 days sober in 2025, and most days drunk) so I know what it’ll feel like. If I can get past that part then the part where I go “I don’t feel like shit!? This is amazing” will be amazing. Resisting the urge to celebrate by getting drunk? That’s going to be hard but strangely dry January will (I hope) make that part easier!
I wonder why you think you need to quit? Or, rather, quit then start?
Something I’m not getting here. Could you explain?
Also, is it joyless to be sober? Maybe that’s why you anticipate returning to alcohol?
Because I'm an alcoholic and the idea of quitting forever terrifies me.
The idea of quitting for an arbitrary period of time I can reconcile with, as eventually I'll be hanging out with my best friend again