Why You May Want to Try Dry January
Are you tired of feeling sluggish and unmotivated after a night out? Do you want to improve your health and reduce your alcohol consumption? If so, dry January might be the perfect challenge for you.
Dry January can give you a whole bunch of benefits that go beyond just avoiding hangovers. Right away you are probably going to notice a HUGE improvement in your sleep quality, and because you are getting your 40 winks your energy levels, and overall health will feel better. Bonus, you might just discover that you’re more productive and motivated, both during and after the challenge. So look out list of things to accomplish in 2024!
Another benefit of dry January that may go unnoticed by social media but one that is not lost on us here at Heritage Home is this time gives you a chance to really assess your relationship with alcohol. You may find that you don’t miss alcohol as much as you thought, or that you’re able to enjoy social events without feeling the need to drink. And this may just lead to a healthier and more mindful approach to alcohol consumption in the long run.
Let’s not forget that dry January is a great opportunity to explore non-alcoholic drink options and learn about mindful drinking habits. With so many delicious and healthy alternatives available, you may find that you enjoy drinking less alcohol and feeling better overall.
So, if you’re looking to reset your habits and improve your health, why not give “Dry January” a try? It might just be the start of a healthier and happier you.
However, if your alcohol consumption is beyond the “social drinker” level then you may want to speak with your health care provider and tell them that you want to go dry in Jan, for some, this is not a thing to be undertaken lightly.
If you have an average of 4-5 drinks each day, you are living with an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), and because of this, you could suffer from some dangerous alcohol withdrawal symptoms like delirium tremens.
If you are dealing with AUD then avoiding alcohol for a month could fool you into thinking that you don’t have a problem with drinking, even if an alcohol use disorder exists, or it can turn into a nasty Binge Clean Binge cycle, for people living with AUD cold-turkey makes it even more likely to binge once January ends, starting a vicious abstinence-binge cycle over the long term.
And perhaps most importantly, for people living with AUD alcohol withdrawal can make them seriously ill and in some cases can even be fatal.
Long-term alcohol use changes our brain’s chemistry, making it dependent on the substance to function.
That can mean that quitting ‘cold turkey” may trigger:
- Tremors
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
- Changes in breathing, blood pressure, circulation, and even body temperature.
This is why it’s so important to have an honest conversation with your healthcare provider before you try Dry January. They can help you evaluate if it’s safe to quit cold turkey or if it would be better for you to try residential rehab and go through a professionally guided recovery program instead.
A program like the one we offer here at Heritage Home Foundation, call us today and we can help guide you through the process of selecting the right program to help you step off the treadmill of alcohol use disorder and onto the road to recovery.