Dry January Adventure Party 2022

[Aquarii]

 

Hey everyone! I saw there were quite a few people interested in doing a dry January, so I thought I would go ahead and create a PvP for it for accountability and some good old-fashioned camaraderie.

 

Standard rules are pretty simple: No consumption of alcohol from January 1st to January 31. If you are doing other variations or timeframes, you are more than welcome to join as well!

 

Let the games begin!

 

[Aquarii]

@Mr_Willes @Harriet @TiogaGirl

[Harriet]

4 minutes ago, Aquarii said:

 

Hey everyone! I saw there were quite a few people interested in doing a dry January, so I thought I would go ahead and create a PvP for it for accountability and some good old-fashioned camaraderie.

 

Standard rules are pretty simple: No consumption of alcohol from January 1st to January 31. If you are doing other variations or timeframes, you are more than welcome to join as well!

 

Let the games begin!

 

 

Looking great! Can we have more gifs of classy gentlemen drinking tea? I feel like that would really help my.... sobriety. 😁

 

[TiogaGirl]

A very happy Dry January to us all! Thanks @Aquarii for hosting :)

[Aquarii]

Welcome everyone! Looking forward to challenging with you

 

I figured I would throw some topics and maybe even a side-quest or two in here periodically. So, to get us started - a topic question for you all:

 

Do you have a go-to alternative to alcohol when you are not drinking? Can be a drink, food, activity, etc. (for example, maybe you like to drink tea in the evening instead, or take a bubble bath, or enjoy a piece of dark chocolate, etc). Let's hear all your favorites!

 

I will start: my favorite go-to's are decaf coffee (at night) or a flavored seltzer/sparkling water. Especially during these colder months, I really love something nice and hot and in a mug.

[Defining]

I'm more or less teetotal without really thinking about it these days (picking between booze or painkillers is an easy choice). So I can't really participate in a Dry Jan as such, though I can peek through the windows like a creeper!

But I find hibiscus tea with ginger and cinnamon is a great option - you can drink it chilled with soda water for a 'fancy bubble' option with no sugar. Or even the elderflower cordial from IKEA if you're down with sugar.

 

Apart from that, bog standard tea (I make mine in a 1L travel flask that just lives on the kitchen counter and stays warmer *obviously* than a teapot), options include earl grey, lemon ginger, chamomile, rooibos vanilla or chai, and spiced apple.

 

Bitters in soda water is another good option - that is technically still alcohol, but since you're only using a couple drops in any given glass, I tend to think of it as 'freebies'.

[TiogaGirl]

I’m also a bitters in soda girl, ideally in a hot bath too!

[TiogaGirl]

Wild sweet orange tea right now, in front of the fire! 🔥 🍵 Had a couple toasts last night, so my first day of waking up completely clear-headed is rolling up tomorrow 😎 

[Aquarii]

I started my dry January a little early after drinking wayyyy too much a couple weeks ago. So, I rang in the new year with some flovered seltzer water. Which was actually kinda nice, because I am pretty sure I was hung over an January 1st last year, which is just not a fun way to start the year.

[Aquarii]

20 minutes ago, TiogaGirl said:

Wild sweet orange tea right now, in front of the fire! 🔥 🍵 Had a couple toasts last night, so my first day of waking up completely clear-headed is rolling up tomorrow 😎 

 

I am so jealous. I want a fireplace so bad. Also, sweet orange tea sounds delightful. I don't think I have ever had it before.

[TiogaGirl]

I heartily recommend both the fireplace and the sweet orange tea for wintertime coziness! This is the kind I have. Me, I’m jealous of you getting a jump on dry-Jan and waking up fresh today! I didn’t drink that much last night, but still don’t feel as great as I do after a night of soda water.

/eta ack, sorry for the ginormous images! 

 

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

6 hours ago, Aquarii said:

Do you have a go-to alternative to alcohol when you are not drinking? Can be a drink, food, activity, etc. (for example, maybe you like to drink tea in the evening instead, or take a bubble bath, or enjoy a piece of dark chocolate, etc). Let's hear all your favorites!

Herbal tea definitely! I love caffeinated teas, but need something without caffeine for the evenings. Adagio's lemongrass ginger is a personal favorite, as well as generic peppermint tea bags I can pick up locally. But i am always open to tea suggestions. (and gifs of people drinking tea)

 

 

Also a fan of flavored seltzer or just plain water. But hot tea is divine in the wintery cold times.

[Aquarii]

@TiogaGirl The fireplace looks beautiful, and I am going to have to keep an eye out for that tea at my grocery store. I need to drink more herbal tea...my caffeine constumption has been a little crazy lately.

[Aquarii]

7 minutes ago, Rebel Pilot Gar said:

Herbal tea definitely! I love caffeinated teas, but need something without caffeine for the evenings. Adagio's lemongrass ginger is a personal favorite, as well as generic peppermint tea bags I can pick up locally. But i am always open to tea suggestions. (and gifs of people drinking tea)

 

 

Also a fan of flavored seltzer or just plain water. But hot tea is divine in the wintery cold times.

 

Oooooh, lemongrass ginger tea also sounds amazing!

[Harriet]

I like sparkling water, but herbal tea just doesn't hit the spot, somehow. I used alcohol free beer and then sparkling water heavily to cope when I first quit, but after a while I just didn't need anything. I am trying to get used to sitting down to things without a drink. It's about me feeling agitated and needed something additional (when watching tv, for example) and during the day it's tea. But I'd really like to be able to just be present without any help.

Had my last drink on Sylvester--just half of a half sized bottle of champagne. And now I'm looking forward to the benefits.

[Aquarii]

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

I like sparkling water, but herbal tea just doesn't hit the spot, somehow. I used alcohol free beer and then sparkling water heavily to cope when I first quit, but after a while I just didn't need anything. I am trying to get used to sitting down to things without a drink. It's about me feeling agitated and needed something additional (when watching tv, for example) and during the day it's tea. But I'd really like to be able to just be present without any help.

 

I am more of a weekend drinker, and social. Social tends to be the hard one for me when I cut out alcohol. I don't do a lot of social stuff, especially in January (because it is cold and it takes something pretty great to convince me to venture out into the cold), but on the occasion that I do, it is tough. I know I definitely lean on alcohol in social situations to deal with social anxiety and awkwardness, especially if everyone else is drinking too. I am at that age where most social outings involve alcohol, in varying amounts depending on the outing.

 

I was starting to get into drinking some during the week as well, and it is similar to what you describe - just like needing something else to be present and to relax.

[Mr_Willes]

i am a very social drinker, though especially in the summer time i love cracking open a beer in the garden when it's nice and warm in the evening after dinner. That's why DryJan worked pretty well for me last year. Next to none social thingies to attend, and too cold for th garden. First few days of showing restrain are in the books, with a minor battle yesterday as we visited the inlaws for the first time this year. FIL was (as usual) drinking beers, but i kept it at tea and diet coke.

[Mr_Willes]

Blowing the viking horn for @Yasha92

 

 

[Yasha92]

2 minutes ago, Mr_Willes said:

Blowing the viking horn for @Yasha92

 

 

Woot woot (toot toot!) I’m here and I’m in!

 

cranberry juice, I swear!

[Sylvaa]

So I'm doing Dry January, with the potential to increase this to a longer term thing. I've found that alcohol in general isn't great for me (it brings on a lot of anxiety, which is out of character as anxiety isn't something that I normally struggle with) and I haven't been able to find a really good balance between, "I can have a glass without having symptoms" and "I can't sleep because I'm freaking out".

 

Usually if I'm going to have a drink, it's with a meal or while cooking, so I don't really replace it, I just stick with my normal water. 

[TiogaGirl]

I just got interviewed about Dry January by the local radio station and will be on the air tomorrow morning! 😂 slow news day in the great white north I guess. Talk about accountability!

[TiogaGirl]

6 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

So I'm doing Dry January, with the potential to increase this to a longer term thing. I've found that alcohol in general isn't great for me (it brings on a lot of anxiety, which is out of character as anxiety isn't something that I normally struggle with) and I haven't been able to find a really good balance between, "I can have a glass without having symptoms" and "I can't sleep because I'm freaking out".

 

Yeah I get anxiety issues with alcohol too  I think mostly because I sleep more lightly, and though I’m not typically anxious, should I happen to wake up at 3AM everything seems bleak and scary. Looking forward to another night of solid sleep!

[Rebel Pilot Gar]

18 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

So I'm doing Dry January, with the potential to increase this to a longer term thing

I’m glad this 5 week challenge goes a little into February actually. Gives me some time to continue being dry while figuring out how and if I want to reintegrate alcoholic beverages or stay dry a little longer.

[Harriet]

18 hours ago, Sylvaa said:

So I'm doing Dry January, with the potential to increase this to a longer term thing. I've found that alcohol in general isn't great for me (it brings on a lot of anxiety, which is out of character as anxiety isn't something that I normally struggle with) and I haven't been able to find a really good balance between, "I can have a glass without having symptoms" and "I can't sleep because I'm freaking out".

 

I also get anxiety. Apparently it has something to do with increasing GABA, a calming neurotransmitter, the receptors for which are then downregulated in response. Which can lead to increased anxiety both long and short term, I think.

 

12 hours ago, TiogaGirl said:

I just got interviewed about Dry January by the local radio station and will be on the air tomorrow morning! 😂 slow news day in the great white north I guess. Talk about accountability!

 

Ooh, yeah, can't show up to the interview with a drink in hand, eh? Good luck!

[Yasha92]

Had a rough day and Mr’s Uzo smells really delicious, but I know it smells better than it tastes and I’m still on the wagon ❤️