A Case Against Dry January
It’s only a halfway through January and most if not all of the people I know doing Dry January are already abandoning it. I understand the attraction to this trend- maybe you overindulged in food and drink over the holidays. Maybe there’s a camaraderie in abstaining that makes it feel more like it is possible to push through. As a therapist, when this topic comes up, I will always be curious about why Dry January feels necessary for that person, but I can confidently say I will never recommend it. There are several reasons why:
1. Perfectionism- I treat a lot of people with perfectionistic, black and white, all or nothing thinking. This can show up with bingeing and restricting food, procrastinating because it’s not perfect and then getting a flurry of tasks done in record time, or holding in anger until it explodes out. In any of those situations, abstaining completely isn’t the answer. In eating disorder recovery, we’re neither ever stuffed or starving. In procrastination, we work to take smaller steps more regularly to not get fueled by overwhelm later. And we practice letting our frustrations out in smaller doses so that letting it out is a choice rather than something we feel we have no control over. Not only can Dry January encourage and perpetuate these binge/restrict cycles, but it might make the overindulgence worse in anticipation of not drinking so that it “counts.”
2. Relationship Change Comes from Consistency- If you are questioning your relationship to alcohol even semi-seriously, it may take more in-depth work to notice your tendencies, your discomforts, and habits. Some people who are working through anxiety and depression for example in addition to their alcohol use may require individual therapy, group therapy, AA meetings, and/or psychopharmacology interventions to explore these factors. Willpower will fade, and most people return to their habits (food, alcohol, sex) if their time away was used for enabling their denial of a usually complicated issue. You deserve more than an oversimplification of your relationship to alcohol.
3. Temporary Dopamine- Any short-term health improvements after not treating our bodies well (better sleep, weight loss, improved liver function) can be quickly reversed if old drinking habits resume in February. Anything compared to bad conditions feels better, and some report almost feeling a high when they stop drinking, start eating better, etc. This is actually helpful at the beginning of habit change, since we need the motivation. But when you quickly move into a new baseline and it no longer feels as good as it once was, it’s no surprise that people resort to their old habits because, “What’s the point?” It’s way more challenging to motivate yourself without the huge dopamine hit, but a middle ground like a Damp January might be a way to notice more subtle, long-lasting changes. Fewer, not none.
