Dry January II: Review

After a month without alcohol I feel… pretty much exactly the same as I did before. I lost some weight, about 2.5kg, but I was also exercising a lot and eating less than I was during the holiday period anyway, so it’s hard to say whether the alcohol was a signifcant contributing factor. I saw pretty good progress in the gym and while out running, but again, there’s a lot more to that than just abstention from alcohol. I didn’t feel any great sense of mental clarity either, although perhaps there was a slight mental health improvement across the whole month, although there are other factors that could be pointed at there too, Christmas being over, starting a new job etc. Perhaps the only obvious tangible benefit was not losing any days to hangovers, which was actually very useful. January felt productive, and if I’d have had more Sundays in bed pitying myself, perhaps it wouldn’t have.

There were only a couple of moments when I even particularly missed drinking. One was watching my little brother’s band play in a sweaty, grungy venue, where a pint or two would’ve been a great anaesthetic against my personal space being constantly invaded, and the other was bumping into a friend’s ex after they’d had an especially challenging breakup. Socialising without boozing was by-and-large fine, it turns out my friends and I can actually hold a conversation for a couple of hours without being gently buzzed, and I can even hang out with new friends without the aid of alcohol too.

It looks like my teetotalism is set to continue for at least another month, as lockdown drinking seems like a slippery slope for me in particular. When the pubs open again though, I am definitely gonna be enjoying a couple of pints…