Dry January: These three people quit alcohol for a month. Will they stay off the booze?

Dry January is now entrenched as a bona-fide event in the calendar.

Dry January is now entrenched as a bona-fide event in the calendar: 31 days of abstinence to see if you have the discipline, stamina and self-possession to fight the cravings and reset your body and mind for the year ahead. But every change of habit throws up new questions and revelations.

We talked to three Dry January partakers to see what the past month taught them.

Matt Writtle, 49, photographer

I try to do Dry January every year, but the main driver this year was weight loss - if I don’t drink, I’ll eat more sensibly. If you’ve had a few, the next day you always want something that’s unhealthy. So I’ve stayed off the booze and by January 25, I’d already lost 13 pounds [5.9kg].

I also wanted to start 2023 with a positive mental attitude; I wanted to feel good as well as lose weight. So I’ve been exercising more and I’ve got more energy, and I’ve been sleeping well. I’ve also been feeling upbeat and enthusiastic about the goals I want to achieve.

I haven’t craved alcohol at all. I’ve been in a few situations where everyone is drinking apart from me. And I don’t mind it. From a psychological perspective, it’s interesting to see how people’s personalities change once they’ve got a few drinks down them.

On a deeper level, I do think Britain has got this fascination with drinking and socialising; they go hand-in-hand. And if you go to an event when you’re not drinking, people tend to look at you like you’re a bit odd. I turned down an invitation to a birthday party last weekend and I put the kids to bed. Once they were asleep, I just sat at home thinking: “This is a bit dull.”

I always try to stay off booze Monday to Thursday anyway, but at the moment my mindset is that while I could have a drink today, I’m going to wait until Saturday and try to keep drinking to Saturdays only. We’ll see how that goes.

Anon, 41, teacher

I’ve attempted Dry January before - once I lasted one day, and once I lasted six days. This year, I wanted to prove I could do it and change my lifestyle. It was coming in after a long day, and the natural thing is to pour a glass of wine. That’s a very easy habit to get into, so I needed to hit the reset button.

Before January, my husband and I had to make a concerted effort to say: “We’re not drinking this week,” and it rarely lasted. We’ve spent years at home looking after young children so it’s become a massive part of our domestic arrangement. And while Dry January has been great for my health, it is boring. Having a few drinks together once the children have gone to bed is a nice part of our domestic situation - doing that with a glass of squash isn’t the same.

But the really nice thing is that I’ve got my weekends back. I’m not groggy getting up and taking the kids to football or dance. I can start early and go for a run. I’ve been running 5 kilometres three or four times a week.

As for my intentions? Well, I like drinking; I like the social aspect. We’re going for drinks with friends on Friday and I wouldn’t want to do that without alcohol. But at the same time I want to be able to say to myself, “You’ve done this, you know how better this makes you feel,” and have a non-drinking working week. That’s my hope. Whether I will, I don’t know.

Joanna Morris, 57, journalist

My attempts to complete Dry January were scuppered last year when I was made redundant, so I was determined to do it this year. I’ve long had a love/hate relationship with booze - love drinking it, hate the aftermath.

Being “dry” over the past 31 days has given me the space to analyse why I drink, and most of the time it is linked to my emotions - I drink when I’m happy and I drink when I’m sad. But the results are the same - it makes me miserable.

I’ve found going without booze very easy. It hasn’t stopped me from socialising and my partner is still drinking, so there is alcohol in the house. But I haven’t been tempted - the thought of a bad night’s sleep and the subsequent low mood were enough to put me off. Emotionally, I have been on an even keel. So much so, I’m going to continue into February and beyond. Watch this space!

My top tip is to download the NHS Drink Free Days app. It shows your progress as well as the calories and money you’ve saved.