‘Depriving myself just made me binge drink’
Gina Clarke, 32, G is a PR manager from Basingstoke. She’s married to Jonathan, a 35-year-old dentist, and has a three-year- old son, William.
She says, “I decided I’d do Dry January last year, because I felt under pressure to go on a health kick. I enjoy a couple of glasses of wine with dinner midweek and usually share a bottle with my husband Jonathan at the weekend, so didn’t think it would be hard.
“But as soon as I quit alcohol, I started thinking about it far more than usual. Depriving myself made me feel restricted and I started obsessing about it, whereas I’d barely thought about it previously.
“If I’m honest, not drinking was boring. After a stressful day juggling my job with looking after my son, I just wanted to be able to put my feet up with a glass of wine. While I’m not a big boozer, I felt self- conscious drinking cola in the pub while my friends enjoyed a glass of wine.
“Whenever I wanted a drink, I’d tell myself, ‘You can have one next month.’ I had a long-planned holiday to New York booked at the start of February and even started researching where I could find the city’s best cocktails.
“When February finally dawned, I felt I deserved to let my hair down as a reward. My cousin and I tucked into a Cosmopolitan cocktail at the airport just after 5am and, once in New York, we enjoyed beers at lunch time, then sipped on four or five porn star martinis in the evenings.
“I was binge drinking and I consumed more alcohol than I had in years. Now I’m convinced that if I hadn’t deprived myself in January, I would’ve paced myself better.
“At home, I continued drinking more than usual for a few weeks, but I’ve gradually reverted back to having a couple of glasses midweek and sharing a bottle over a weekend.
“Now I have two or three days without alcohol every week, but I won’t be doing Dry January again. For me, it had the opposite effect to what was intended, because it just made me want to treat myself even more. Instead, I’ll drink when I fancy it, without going to extremes.”