Another Dry January and another sober month is upon us. Last January (2023) was the first full month I was sober (no pot, no alcohol) since I was 15 years old. And I won’t lie to you, it was a tough month! There were several moments along the way when I didn’t think I was going to make it. I got so frustrated at one point that I sat down and created a bunch of Dry January Memes just to try and make light of the whole situation and have a good laugh at myself.
In the end, I pulled it off and was overcome with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I decided to try my hand at another sober month in October and completed my first ever Sober October. Surprisingly, my second shot at a sober month was significantly easier. This time, I added sugar to the equation along with the alcohol and I lost about ten pounds! That’s my goal for Dry January this year: no alcohol & no sugar.
I didn’t do horribly over the holidays this year, but I definitely feel a bit pudgier than normal a wee bit bloated. So, at this end of this latest sober month, I hope to drop both the pudge and the bloat. That’s the goal.
Dry January 2024 Will Mark 18 Months
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that marijuana was my biggest boogie man of all. My meditation journey that began in earnest in June 2022, soon led to a complete cessation of THC use altogether. In fact, I credit daily meditation with my complete and full recovery from 20+ years of marijuana addiction!
This January 15th will mark the 18 month anniversary of my recovery from marijuana addiction. I can hardly believe it. It feels like it happened in the blink of an eye. And I couldn’t be happier!
I feel that when I attempted my first ever sober month last January, the whole giving up THC thing was still fairly new. I mean at that point I had only been pot sober for around 5.5 months. And I was still struggling with giving up alcohol for any significant length of time. I believe my sober ‘record’ when I set about tackling Dry January was something like 21 days. And I am convinced that alcohol was, in some way, trying to make up for the loss of the marijuana.
Not this year. Pot isn’t something I think about very often, and when I do, I am entirely not willing to reset the clock to zero days sober. Certainly not when I’m quickly approaching 18 months. That would be completely foolish. Friends and family smoke it around my all the time. I was offered some at Thanksgiving dinner. No thank you!
And I know that with ‘Smokie’ out of the picture, Drinkie will happily take a backseat this January. That’s my hope, anyway.
The Challenges
There are many challenges in any sober month. One could argue there are right ways and wrong ways to go about it. For me, I’ve created what I call my Sobriety Toolbox. In my blog on the topic I discuss everything from meditation to journaling, exercise, and hobbies (idle hands make the devil’s work) as incredibly important in my ongoing personal journey.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to deal with the trials of physical withdrawal symptoms or anything nasty like that. I suppose that when I cut back on drinking in the early days I suffered some minor symptomatic challenges such as:
- Restlessness
- Insomnia
- General crankiness
- Irritability
And while unpleasant, these were relatively minor inconveniences compared to someone who suffers from substantive withdrawal symptoms. In some cases, the worst of these can be life threatening and require medical intervention. If you are a daily drinker and have been for sometime, a sober month can be a lot more serious healthwise.
If you experience any traumatic physical withdrawal symptoms seek medical help immediately. If you’ve gotten yourself to the point where quitting alcohol for any length of time is dangerous, you may want to visit my recovery resources page. Here you can find lots of support groups, programs, and other resources to aid you in a safe and successful recovery.
Sober Curious January
The Sober Curious movement has driven a lot of interest in things like Sober October, Dry January, and Dry July. I believe that in a society literally drowning in alcohol, even folks without obvious ‘drinking problems’ have come to the conclusion that they should dry out every now and again.
Let’s face it, regular alcohol consumption, even in moderation, has been shown to do quite a number on the liver, brain, and other body processes. According to the Centers For Disease Control & Prevention:
“Emerging evidence suggests that even drinking within the recommended limits may increase the overall risk of death from various causes, such as from several types of cancer and some forms of cardiovascular disease. Alcohol has been found to increase risk for cancer, and for some types of cancer, the risk increases even at low levels of alcohol consumption (less than 1 drink in a day).”
CDC.gov
I won’t sugarcoat it. Alcohol is quite literally poison. That’s why when you drink too much all at once they call it ‘alcohol poisoning’. And some unlucky souls die from said poisoning if help doesn’t arrive in time. So, making it a point to go 30 days sober can be the cleansing your body (and liver) needs to recover from the constant bombardment of poison (alcohol).
According to many articles, blogs, and podcasts on the subject, the sober curious movement was started for this very reason. And the benefits of a sober month cannot be understated.
Benefits Of A Sober Month
After getting through the first harrowing week or so of Dry January last year, things started looking up. And soon, I noticed myself making massive strides in several areas both physically and emotionally.
First, after about ten days of restlessness and insomnia, I began to sleep like a baby. By the middle of the month, I was the most rested I have felt in literally decades. There was no more tossing or turning. No more waking up to pee in the middle of the night. No more restless thoughts. Just restful slumber.
With restful slumber came improved mood. I began feeling happy all the time. I became downright jovial. I was joking and laughing and morphed from introverted to outgoing. And my happiness was contagious.
Not to be discounted is that whenever I do a sober month, I lose 10 – 15 pounds. Of course, the trick here is to resist the urge to swap sugar for alcohol. It’s quite easy to replace an alcohol compulsion with a sugar one. Just like SNAP. I know, because I’ve done it. Yet if you can resist the urge to replace alcohol calories with sugar calories, after a week or so you’ll notice your jeans are a little looser. Maybe you’ve even lost a loop on your belt. After a couple weeks, people may even start to notice and complement your progress.
Finally, about two weeks in, my skin dramatically cleared up. All of my acne disappeared by the end of the third week. And since your skin is your largest, and most noticeable, organ, witnessing it get healthy before your eyes is quite inspiring.
You may experience all these things and more!
And So It Begins
As I write this, January 1st is coming to a close. That’s one day in the bag, 30 left to go. But I’m hopeful that my experience during Sober October is a harbinger of a fruitful sober month ahead. One without the challenges presented by my first Dry January.
As my relationship with alcohol continues to evolve, I feel confident that whatever use disorder I was grappling with 12-18 months ago has eased considerably. But I remain ever vigilant. And I believe one of the best ways to iron my resolve in this matter is to calendar several sober months throughout the year.
Doing so allows my body to heal and my will to strengthen. The more I miss alcohol during any dry month, the more I question who’s in control, me or the alcohol. And the inverse is true, as well.
So, wish me luck! And I’ll do the same for you should you decide to try a Dry January on for size.
Salud! (in February 😉
