The First Rule of Going Dry for January is … What?
Going dry for January. Anyone who's tried it knows the drill. Starting New Year's Day, no booze until February. For some, it's the start of a new alcohol-free life. For others, it's a reset after an overindulgent holiday season. So, what are the rules?
"Everyone always wants to know the rules they need to follow to stick to a resolution or challenge," says Annie Grace, author of This Naked Mind and The Alcohol Experiment. "The first rule of an alcohol-free month is … there are no rules."
Instead, Grace offers the following advice to anyone taking a break from alcohol:
Be Kind - Meet yourself with compassion. Remember, alcohol is an addictive substance. Abstaining is hard. There's nothing wrong with you.
Buddy Up - Don't fly solo. Find an accountability partner or a community of people on the same journey. Support and learn from each other.
Get Curious - Don't ignore alcohol; use the break to explore your relationship with it. Learn how alcohol interacts with your brain and why willpower isn't enough.
Write It Down - Document your experience. How do you feel? What's hard? What's easy? What do you notice about yourself? What makes you want to drink?
Don't Quit - Dry January doesn't end if you have a drink or two. Do your best. Keep trying.
Since This Naked Mind launched The Alcohol Experiment in January 2019, more than 300,000 people have participated. The top three outcomes they report are:
Improved sleep
Feeling happier
Reduced anxiety
Given the continued uncertainty of our current world, these are things so many people can benefit from.
About This Naked Mind
Founded by Annie Grace in 2015, This Naked Mind (TNM) helps people end the conflict between their desire to drink less and their unconscious belief that alcohol is beneficial. Annie Grace overcame a decade of drinking by revamping her own relationship with alcohol. Today she helps others across the globe do the same - 675,000+ people who've bought her books, listeners who've downloaded her This Naked Mind Podcast episodes almost 12 million times, and more than 300,000 people who've gone through The Alcohol Experiment. Rather than teaching people how to be sober, TNM takes away the desire to drink. And, the grace-led, science-based approach helps people where rehabs have not.