The Thing About Dry January

So, it’s the start of the new year, and it seems that just about everyone is making resolutions of some type. If I had to venture a guess, 90% of those New Years’ resolutions made on January 1^st have already been forgotten, broken, or cheated on. It’s okay, honestly; it happens to the best of us. I long ago stopped bothering to make resolutions for the new year. It hardly ever seemed worth it, rarely was my heart ever in it any way, and I never bought into the “new year, new me” hype to begin with. Where my curiosity lies, however, is in how the “Dry January” people are doing.

New Years’ Resolutions

I harbor no resentment for Dry January. Four years ago, I started the 2019 new year sober. Actually, at that point, thanks to rehab, I had been sober for 20 ish days. So, while I was technically committed to staying sober for the next 365 days, I didn’t really consider it to be a New Year’s resolution in any capacity.

I was committed sure, and while it was ironically timed, I didn’t really think past managing to stay sober one day at a time, never mind another week, month or year. It wasn’t really until much later that I started hearing about designated sober months or trends such as “Dry January.” Honestly, it wasn’t even until recently that I learned “Dry January” was anything more than just the typical crash dieting, or a cutesy trend for Earth people to “cleanse” themselves after the holiday season.

Progressively Sober

As mentioned in other posts on the blog, Stan and I tend to be a little behind on the times as it relates to sobriety in “pop culture.” Blame it on the strictness of 12-step programs, being an “old Soul”, or in Stan’s case, just being old, there was a lot we didn’t know about sobriety in the larger societal context.

I personally had never heard much about “MockTails,” NA Wine/Spirits, other approaches to recovery, or the infamous “California Sober.” One could even accurately say that I was nescient to modern sobriety, as it is easily identified in my more conservative views of what it means to be sober, and how to get there.

Starting this blog has really allowed me to broaden my horizons, step out of my comfort zone, and explore some more “radical” ideas as it relates to sobriety and recovery. One might even say that I am becoming more progressive in my views on sobriety. All in all, I am of the mind that growth, progress, and open-mindedness are all good things to practice, especially in my recovery. All of this has led me to write this post, and share my thoughts on the thing about Dry January.

Dry Months

As always seems to be the case, I am not the only person in the world who has some questions about “Dry Months” such as Sober October, No-Drink November, and of course, Dry January. In fact, one of my favorite sober accounts on Instagram, “SoberandFunky,” shared some of her questions on this subject late last month. One of her questions in particular really resonated with me: “What do dry months mean for someone that is sober every day of the year?”

Personally, I am under the impression that dry months aren’t necessarily designed for people who are already sober. Perhaps this is a very divisive “Us VS Them” mentality, and if it is, I certainly don’t mean it to be. However, as someone who has been sober for a few 24 hours, I don’t really feel the need to set goals or limitations on my sobriety.

In the early days of my recovery, sure, every day was a notch in my belt, every week was one step closer to the next sobriety coin, and every month gave me a little more room to breathe and feel “safe” from the perils of active addiction.

After a while though, for me anyway, being sober, became a working part of my life. My new normal so to speak. From what I hear from others in sobriety, this happens for everyone, eventually. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, and all that. It’s not that after some time, sobriety isn’t worth celebrating, it’s just that counting every single day doesn’t really seem necessary. With that being said though, not everyone is me, and there’s no right or wrong way to be sober; if it works for you, work it!

The Sober Curious

So, if Dry January, as I see it, isn’t for the already sober, who is it for? This is where I get really excited! What I truly believe and hope to be true is that dry months, especially Dry January, are designed for those who are questioning their relationship with alcohol, better known as, the sober curious community. What I love about this group of people is that they’re curious… about sobriety!

Maybe alcoholism runs in their family, they are experiencing health problems, or perhaps they are discovering that their rate, frequency, or intensity of alcohol consumption is creating problems in their life. Perhaps they are alcoholics; maybe they’re not even borderline alcoholics but still want to explore the benefits of abstinence. Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that not drinking is never a bad thing!

So What?

To hear that a large portion of our society is actively pursuing taking a break from alcohol, quitting drinking altogether, or prolonged moderation is exciting to hear as an alcoholic. A common misconception that Earth People have about sober alcoholics like myself, is that we judge their drinking habits. I can only speak for myself, but the fact that I don’t drink has no bearing on my opinion of your drinking habits.

Consider me Planet Fitness; this is a no judgment zone! I promise that at any given point in time, I’m not judging your glass of wine with dinner, beers while tailgating or your scotch on the rocks before bed. I really don’t care how much or how often you drink, unless you do.

Has getting sober changed my life? Yes. Did I drink entirely too much, too often? Yes. Did my compulsive consumption of alcohol almost kill me? YES! Is it doing the same thing to you? I can’t answer that, but what I can do is share what my experience was and how I changed the trajectory of my life by getting sober.

So, if you’re curious about sobriety, my sober journey, or how to start your own; heck yeah, let’s talk about it! Getting sober is a radically courageous act. It takes grit, courage, and humility. If starting with a “Dry Month” such as Dry January makes the process more palatable, then DO IT! If it doesn’t work out, no sweat, any random Thursday is a great time to start, too. Either way, there is an entire community of people doing this thing to support you.

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