Dry January: How to take a break from alcohol so you’ll actually stick with it

Get weeks and then months under your belt and you smash all of your self-limiting beliefs around alcohol (that you need it to have fun or to relax). And before you know it, you realize, if I can do this, what else can I do? What other limiting stories have I been telling myself all along that are just rubbish?

• Research shows that most people believe that drinking can make them feel better.
• I was in my early 40s, that career stage when you’re eager to leave a good impression.
• Your liver has enzymes that work like special tools to help metabolize (break down) different toxins that enter your body, such as alcohol.
• It can make a significant difference to remove alcohol from your immediate environment as much as possible.
• Drinking dehydrates your skin and makes it puffy and sallow while also yellowing your eyes.

It’s possible to develop a better relationship with alcohol and make more mindful, informed choices about drinking without total sobriety. There is a wide range of options — from residential „detox” programs to cognitive behavioral therapy, to medications such as naltrexone which can help people drink less, or acamprosate, which can help people stay dry. What many people don’t realize is that alcohol produces a toxic effect on the body.

Ditch alcohol and express your greater purpose

You can visit the Monument Community to hear from others about their experiences, and attend therapist-moderated support groups to check in with yourself and others. Like other types of self care (working out, meditation, skincare, intuiting eating), finding sustainable habits that work for you is key. And while care can feel preventative, not responsive, it means you’re setting yourself up to confront life’s challenges as your most perseverant, present self.

Alcohol is high in sugar, so when you quit it, you may find yourself reaching for other sugars (this was definitely the case with me). If you’re used to de-stressing after work with a glass of wine, try a quick burst of exercise. Not feeding the habit comes down in part to changing the ways you enable or encourage drinking. Alcohol’s impact on the bacteria in your body can increase gastric levels and acid secretion and speed up digestion, often causing diarrhea or constipation depending on the person, type of alcohol, and amount consumed. Excessive alcohol use can also impact your liver, where alcohol is metabolized, causing a build-up of fats, inflammation, and scarring , significantly disrupting its normal functioning. Social media can also be a great place to start making sober friends by following hashtags such as #soberlife, #soberissexy, and #sobercurious.

Ways To Take A Break From Drinking

Now there’s „Dry July” and even „Sober September.” And the movement has spread across the U.S., with people challenging each other to see what life is like without alcohol and share in that experience. Although it doesn’t always happen instantly, weight loss is a natural occurrence of taking a break from drinking. When we think about it, those beers or wine in the evening can make up half our daily recommended calorific intake – so cutting this out is going to result in shedding the weight, especially if you keep going over several months.

This article is part of a content partnership with our friends at Tempest, the first evidence-based digital recovery platform. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission Here’s our process. For those with alcohol misuse and dependence, the conditions are connected to chronic sleep disturbance, lower slow-wave sleep, and more rapid eye movement. Dasgupta said the best people to avoid alcohol always are those under 21 years old, and not just for legal reasons.

Can taking a short break from drinking make a difference? Absolutely.

For instance, Dasgupta cited research he conducted on the relationship between genetics and alcohol misuse. He noted that people of Chinese and Indian descent do not benefit from drinking alcohol due to a genetic reason that isn’t fully understood. Other studies, such as this one from 2022, have found similar results, showing no health benefits of consuming alcohol in moderation for people under 40, only risks.

Regardless of the reason and goal, 30 days of abstinence is the best way to start. Even if the goal is to cut down, abstinence can assist with lowering tolerance to ease moderation of use, and your body could use the break. This site is meant to assist you through 30 days of not drinking.

Is Alcohol A Problem? Online Tool Helps Assess Risk And Find Help

Cori’s key responsibilities include supervising financial operations, and daily financial reporting and account management. Cori’s goal is to ensure all patient’s needs are met in an accurate and timely manner. She is a Certified Recovery Residence https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/6-ways-to-take-a-break-from-drinking-alcohol/ Administrator with The Florida Certification Board and licensed Notary Public in the state of Florida. He is a member of over a dozen professional medical associations and in his free time enjoys a number of different activities.