Why there’s no better time to reassess your drinking habits
Challenging yourself to Dry January could be more crucial than ever. Linda Stewart finds out how to put your relationship with alcohol under the microscope this year
AS the tinsel comes down and the last of the cream is thrown out, many of us are looking ruefully at the empty bottles and wondering why we feel so weary after the holidays.
But for some, the new year is the perfect opportunity to turn over a new leaf and give up alcohol for Dry January — while also raising money for charity.
Alcohol Change UK, the charity behind the Dry January campaign, says a spell off the booze can bring untold benefits, including brightener skin, cleaner minds and a healthier wallet. A study by the Royal Free Hospital in 2018 revealed that an alcohol-free month will even lower blood pressure, cut diabetes risk, lower cholesterol and reduce the levels of cancer-related proteins in the blood.
And for some, it can mean life or death. Celebrating the fact that he is now 45 years’ sober, legendary Hollywood actor Sir Anthony Hopkins provided some encouraging words for those embarking on Dry January.
“I have my off days, sometimes little bits of doubt and all that, but, all in all, I say hang in there,” he admits in a video shared on Twitter.
“Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday. You young people, don’t give up, just keep in there, just keep fighting. Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid. That’s sustained me through my life.”
Meanwhile former model Chrissy Teigen has opened up about why she gave up alcohol as she celebrated her onemonth sobriety anniversary, admitting she was tired of making a fool of herself in front of people, drinking during the day and being unable to sleep at night.
Alcohol Change UK says it’s expecting a record 6.5 million people across the UK to take up the Dry January challenge this year a significant increase from 3.9 million last year.
Chief executive Dr Richard Piper says: “2020 has been a year like no other. Many of us have spent the year stressed, scared and tired. When things get tough, we can find ourselves slipping into drinking habits we wish we could break, but Dry January can help.
“It’s our chance for a reset, to try something new, and to see some amazing benefits like brighter skin, a fuller wallet, a calmer mind and a better night’s sleep.”
‘It’s about drinking more water and more exercise’
Cool FM presenter Neal Mcclelland (47), from Newtownabbey, isn’t doing the full Dry January but has decided to reduce his alcohol intake as part of his fitness regime.
“I decided I needed to pull back my alcohol intake. I felt really sluggish after Christmas and now I’m just really trying to bring it back as much as possible,” he says.
“I would maybe have had one or two drinks after work, maybe two or three times a week — usually red wine.”
Neal says he has a family history of cancer and decided to bring down his alcohol intake as much as possible, on the advice of his mentor and trainer Andrew Faulkner at Just Active in Larne.
“I decided to cut it down to maybe once a week. I would love to do a Dry January but it’s tough enough, so I just wanted to bring it back to once a week,” he says.
Instead, he reserves Friday as the night when he has a Chinese and a glass of wine, and during the week makes sure to drink plenty of water and be aware of the times when he would normally tend to have a drink.
“If you can just get past that witching hour where you would normally have a glass of wine, and get settled down, that helps. It’s about drinking more water and doing more exercise,” he says. Neal says he’s looking forward to getting back to his normal fitness training regime and aims to have abs for April. For many people, the current lack of a routine and goals is affecting their mental health and they may find themselves drinking more, he points out.
“All our routines have been completely taken away, our goals have been taken away, all our direction has been taken away and we’ve been put in a place where we’ve never been before,” he says.
After starting his new regime between Christmas and New Year, Neal is already reaping the benefits.
“I have a lot more energy and I don’t feel as sluggish, which you do feel when you have a drink. I feel cleaner and I’m drinking a lot more water. If you can drink two litres of water a day, that’s a big thing,” he says.
‘There are physical and mental health benefits’
Tommy Canning (46), who is head of treatment at Northlands Addiction Treatment Centre in Derry, says that Dry January can be a good opportunity for people to put their relationship with alcohol under scrutiny.
For some people who have become dependent drinkers, stopping drinking for Dry January can be a life-or-death decision, but the benefits can be immense for social drinkers as well, he says.
“If you look at it through a lens of social drinking, there are still huge benefits in terms of physical health and mental health — your mood improves, your finances improve, your sleep patterns improve and it’s good for your immune system. There are huge benefits to stopping drinking.”
Even before the pandemic, he says, drinking patterns had begun to change, moving from drinking in clubs and bars to home drinking, and Covid has accelerated those changes.
“The research has shown that home drinking has increased and the amount of alcohol purchased has increased,” Tommy says.
“Dry January is always a good starting point for people to look at their relationship with alcohol. Most people will have a drink to unwind, but this way we get to look at it through the prism of our relationship with it — what does it do for me? Why do I have a drink on a Friday evening? Why do I have a drink after work? Why, when I am stressed, do I have a glass of wine?”
Tommy says that when you
take on the challenge you don’t necessarily need to tell yourself that you’re never going to drink again.
“It’s the practical things — you can begin to notice the patterns of the times when you drink and you can put something else in their place — go for a walk or change something up until you get past that normal hour when you would usually sit and have a drink.”
But he says you don’t have to bid goodbye to your social life.
“There’s an incredible range of high-quality non-alcoholic drinks on the market that range from beers to Guinness to red wines, white wines and gins. I think they help in the sense that if people still want to socialise, Dry January shouldn’t be about shutting the doors and battening down the hatches,” he says.
“People don’t have to just sit there with a soft drink or a cup of tea. Social life doesn’t have to cease just because you are doing Dry January.”
‘I’ll be enjoying making smoothies and juices’
Animal rights activist and mum-of-one Sophia Goti (33), from Lisburn, says she entered 2020 gripped with addiction and discovered she was pregnant days before she was due to enter rehab. She became sober while she was carrying her baby daughter and has now pledged to do as many dry months as possible, incorporating a whole foods plant-based diet to help stay on track.
“I’m donating the money saved to vegan animal sanctuaries and using my sober nights to volunteer doing homeless outreach,” Sophia says.
“Instead of having pints of vodka with a dash of lemonade, I’ll be enjoying making smoothies and juices.”
Sophia recommends glass bottles of apple and elderflower as a refreshing substitute on nights out when the bars reopen.
“I’m looking forward to a healthy year and spreading awareness about how damaging alcohol can be.
“I always thought it was the liver we had to be concerned about and I was unaware how much harm can be caused to the brain with heavy or binge drinking,” she says.
Tommy Canning adds that he thinks January 2021 is probably a better time than ever before to give up drinking, saying people’s boundaries may have subtly shifted to the point where they’re not aware of how much they drink.
“Our drinking can creep up, rather than dropping off the edge of a cliff,” he says.
“Dry January can be a positive way for people to be aware of their drinking. As we say at Northlands, you can’t change something until you see it and maybe it’s about seeing it and taking stock of your drinking.
“What you want is for people to be able to enjoy alcohol in a healthy way rather than moving closer to dangerous or dependent drinking, and that can happen sometimes without people even realising it.
“It may be easier because there are fewer social events happening and it could be an easier time than most to do Dry January.”
‘It’s about seeing it, taking stock of your drinking’