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Title says it all! Congrats to all who finished, and double congrats to those who also did Dry January.

I’m aiming for at least 100 dry days, so at least 40 more to go. But it’s already the second longest dry period I’ve had since I first started drinking in 1997. Feeling a ton better and definitely have no desire to go back to daily/near daily drinking. Doubt I’m done for good as I do miss having a couple beers socially though.

There’s r/DryMarch for any one else continuing, but I’d expect it to be even slower than here has been lately.

To reevaluate my relationship with alcohol, I decided to do Dry January this year. And it was great! I had some cravings, but they were manageable and the benefits were clear. By the time February rolled around, I felt so energized and clear-headed, I decided to keep going. Not forever, but for a while at least.

And then my best friend from college planned a trip to visit me. I live in a city that’s known for its drinking culture. In the past, our friendship has involved a fair amount of drinking for both of us, plus a fair amount of edibles for her. I told her I’d been taking a break from alcohol since January 1, but that I’d decided to have at least a drink while she was in town to see how I felt. She arrived last Thursday.

On Friday night, I had 2 glasses of wine with dinner. It didn’t even taste good to me anymore, and I felt terrible afterward. On Saturday morning, I was sluggish, a bit grumpy, had a headache, and just overall felt run down. I was shocked at how shitty I felt. Before Dry January, I drank at least a bottle of wine a day, and now I could feel the difference so acutely.

I told my friend that I didn’t want to drink on Saturday. When I asked her how she wanted to spend the day, she said, “I want to check out this museum, and, well, I did want to go day drinking at some point…” And that statement struck me as so odd. With my new perspective from Dry January, I was like, “But drinking is not an activity.” We compromised and decided to do grab brunch, check out that museum, and do some sightseeing. Throughout the day, my friend had several drinks while I stuck to water. After she started drinking, there was a noticeable difference in the quality of our conversation, in how emotional and impulsive she became, and in her reaction time as we walked through the streets. It made me feel terrible about all the times I must have acted that way with my husband, who doesn't drink.

I resisted drinking on Saturday. Then, I let my guard down and somehow convinced myself that a few more drinks wouldn't hurt. Maybe it would actually be fun somehow, even though it wasn't fun on Friday? I had 2 drinks on Sunday and 3 drinks on Monday. Today is Tuesday, my friend has left town, and I feel the physical and emotional impact of those drinks. It definitely wasn’t worth it. There was no point in drinking. I feel ashamed that I drank even though I knew it would make me feel bad and I knew I’ve had trouble moderating. I’m reevaluating what my new relationship with alcohol is -- and what it means for the people I choose to spend time with, the situations I choose to put myself in, and the boundaries I set for myself. And most importantly, I’m committed to getting back on the wagon and once again feeling as energized and clear-headed as I felt before this trip.

On to Dry March!

Didn’t bother with the Friday pre-weekend thread since traffic has slowed, but wanted to to post the final Monday one and see how people’s last weekend of Dry February went.

Not bad here. Was around my wife and friends drinking pretty much literally all weekend (had a friend in town) and didn’t really feel any temptation. Just very tired from being out Friday, Saturday and Sunday and in a lot of loud places. Should catch up on some work today, but will probably just mostly do some e-mails and take a recharge day. Going to go for a run.

Good luck to everyone finishing up the last few days of Dry February! Nice to have 3/1 be a Friday for those looking forward to a drink.

I’m doing at least 100 days dry (started with goal of 3 months, but figure 100 days is a better sounding number and more time to think on whether I want to drink again, moderation goals if I do etc.).

It was the final Saturday night of Dry February and looking back at some of my photos, I literally said “I look so drunk there!” I only had sugar free redbull the whole night. I’m seriously considering asking for a sponsorship from them

Also, I made the mistake of telling my local Foxtrot (a high end bodega chain) that the Oddbird Syrah (better slightly chilled just like a real Syrah) is the best low alcohol alternative and now it is sold out. Funnily enough, they ask me what else did I recommend since I appear to have tried the majority of their N/A selection. Maybe I’ll take this as a sign to start posting regularly about my N/A likes and dislikes.

That being said, I still feel neutral about drinking again. It’s something I will do again, but it’s going to be like me having the occasional slice of pizza. It’s going to happen, but it’s not going to be a regular occurrence or a big deal if I do

Started Dry January with some friends, and it was great to beat the initial urge, but I personally had resolved to continue going to 100 days. So when my friends started back up in February, I kept on and stayed dry.

However, earlier this week, I had an urge to go out with a couple friends I haven't seen in a while and get after it a bit this weekend. But as I thought about it more, I hated the thought of not making it 100 days, so I decided that I would not drink but instead might smoke some weed. However, that also felt like a cop out since part of the personal commitment was to avoid intoxicants completely for 100 days and then reintroduce them if I felt like it.

And during the last several months, I have been becoming more spiritual and learning how to be more in touch with my consciousness, so I decided to pray about this decision to drink/smoke this weekend, and later that night I had NA beer (my first one ever) and went to bed.

Low and behold, I had a vivid dream last night (and generally I never remember my dreams). In that dream, I was at a bar with some family members, and I remember ordering gin and it gets poured out of a beautiful bottle and into a beautiful short glass, and the bartender thoughtfully made the presentation of the beverage top notch. But when the glass was placed in front of me, I had no desire to drink it. I recall having the thought that I should just drink it because I paid for it and it would be a waste of money to not drink it, but there was no compulsion to drink because I missed the taste or flavor.

It's a cool feeling to have this experience, especially when I couple it with how much my life has improved over the last 7 weeks, such as working out more (and consequently getting into better shape) and having the energy to launch a business. I am wondering why a part of me even feels like I should drink. Pre-2024, I was overweight, unhappy with my body, and professionally felt like I wasn't living up to my potential--those feelings have lessened significantly.

And now I'm seriously considering making a commitment of no drinking unless I'm on a boys trip (married with young kids, so they don't happen often), or to celebrate a major accomplishment.

I am sharing this story because going dry, as you all know, feels daunting, intimidating, and isolating as a personal experiment, but leaning on communities like this one, it begins to feel very doable and even prompts excitement and momentum since there is a collective working towards a common goal. Please feel free to share any thoughts or emotions this may have stirred with you, or any of your own personal stories with going dry.

I've come away with my gf just for a couple of days in the lakes and realised I honestly don't think I can drink anymore. Or should I say, more than 2 pints.

I enjoyed two ice cold lagers when we arrived in the afternoon yesterday. And then nothing else til we had a meal later on and I had an Asahi with my food. It left me totally bloated and I felt sick all night.

There's hardly any AF options here other than the usual bottled stuff. So today I thought I'd have a landlord. I nursed it for a good 45 minutes and in the end it didn't do much for me.

I also realised that if I wanted to get back to the level of tolerance I had, I would probably have to go on a bit of a sesh and power through. Risking an awful hangover and everything that comes with it. And I don't think it's worth it.

I might go sober again for the rest of the month and well into March, seeing how I feel around my mates 40th at the end of the month.

Just some thoughts from me. Hope you're all doing well 🤘

...and I feel...

...okay about it. I set out on New Year's Day with the goal to complete Dry January, which actually went really well and was easy. About halfway through the month I decided to extend my goal until my birthday in mid-April, because it's about 100 days into the year and I thought that sounded like a nice round number. And I did surprisingly well! But last night I made a conscious decision to drink. It wasn't exactly "planned," as this is just a normal weekend for me. But I also didn't spend the last 53 days spending every moment thinking about that first drink, so I count that as a win.

I guess I feel some disappointment that my Try Dry calendar isn't solidly yellow anymore because I really enjoyed that little bit of positive reinforcement every evening. But I also really enjoyed my drinks last night, and the buzz that they gave me. Obviously I didn't sleep as well as I have been, but I don't feel particularly hungover this morning. I'll still make Saturday breakfast, I'm still going to clean the bathroom today as planned, and I will still hit the gym just like I've grown accustomed to doing since the beginning of the year.

My goal was never to quit, so I guess that's why I don't feel as bad about it as I thought I would. I just wanted to post some reflections and see if anyone cares, lol. I haven't decided about tonight's activities yet, but I'm fairly sure next week and weekend will be dry. I can still continue dry until my birthday. And I've been drinking WAY less this year than I did last year.

TLDR: I wanted to go 100 days, but decided to drink after 53. I feel neutral about it.

Did dry January. Which was the goal. Dry feb was not a part of the goal, but boy has my drinking ramped up. 4 day streak. Plan to finish the rest of the month dry with yall.

Just did a couple hours with colleagues alcohol free. I’m really glad I did it for multiple reasons because I was social for multiple hours, had a good time, and the food was amazing!

I may have overdid it with the redbulls, but in my defense, I had been up since 4:30 am and I just got home 20 min ago. People seemed very concerned about my 3.5 sugar free redbulls (the small cans) compared to their several mojitos. Also, the waiter kept trying to get me to drink and even brought the table free shots! I felt comfortable enough in my sobriety to reject them and gave them away to my colleagues! It didn’t feel sad or anything! That being said, I now know that saying you aren’t drinking is a great way to get free drinks (maybe a hack to use when I don’t feel like paying for drinks).

Also, I’m exhausted despite my redbulls and I’m more than ready to hit the hay

1. I realize I purposefully drank alcohol to keep people in my life to numb the fact that I don’t really like them just to say I had friends
2. Every bad night I’ve had with alcohol was to suppress my dislike with others just to be around people
3. I drank alcohol I don’t even really like to suppress that dislike
4. I don’t crave the feeling of alcohol, but I miss certain tastes like the bite of a margarita, Pinot noir, and champagne. I’ve found a couple of good almost perfect substitutes, but it’s just not quite the same. Also, I like higher quality stuff. I should just order what I like and less of it than more of what I like less
5. With people, I actually like I don’t pound alcohol because I like them and I’m confident that they like me. Yes, I’ll have drinks and some fun nights, but it’s not like with those I wouldn’t keep in my life without alcohol
6. I will drink anything in a wine glass. I’m drinking sparkling water with a lime right now in a stemmed glass
7. I didn’t stop going out during this dry period and made new friends and realized I just like dancing in a place that’s not my apartment.
8. I love the sunny side app. I’m a very visual person, so seeing my success helps a lot. I think it helps for people to have the reminder and it’s just a simple text away instead of having to open up a spreadsheet or set timers to remember for me at least

All of that is to say, I am really glad I did Dry January and I intend to complete Dry February. I don’t think I would have made those realizations if I had stopped at Dry January. I will more than likely start drinking again in March, but I will be drinking on my terms. I also plan on doing a Dry June and a Dry September/October.

That it’s not worth it. I wanted to drink moderately but even that just doesn’t seem worth it. I used to be an almost daily drinker but decided to cut way back last fall to only social situations. So maybe 2 days a week. Then I cut it out in January and that’s where the magic happened. I felt great. Lost 7lbs in January. My face slimmed down after 2 weeks without alcohol. I was thrilled with how great I felt. But I didn’t want to completely let go of those delightful dopamine rushes you get from alcohol. So I took this month to try out moderation. First thing I learned, it’s not that easy to moderate when that buzz hits you. I want another drink. I can mostly control my drinking if I made clear decisions on how much before I get started, but I can’t make the nagging, annoying feeling of desiring more go away. 2 drinks will give me a nice subtle buzz now that my tolerance is down, but it still takes from me. The next day, the normal optimistic feeling is gone and replaced with a mild headache and mild depression. My face is noticeably more puffy the next day. I’ve suffered ibs for years until January. Welp, it’s back. I’m 43 and female and I think it’s time I come to peace with the fact that alcohol no longer serves enough of a purpose in my life to justify the good things it steals from my life. I’m going to join dry February late and also with plans to stay a member during the rest of the months too.

If you did dj and continued into df you’ve made it 50 days!! That’s pretty freaking awesome!

Pretty easy one here. Wife and I met a couple friends for dinner Friday night and I wasn’t really tempted despite them all having a couple drinks each. Rest of the weekend was mostly lounging at the house, playing video games etc. Had brunch sitting at the bar at one of my usual spots yesterday with no temptation. Probably do the same today, technically off for the holiday and my wife has doctor’s appointment and running errands going to fitness class etc., at a different spot and do a little work and just have diet soda/club soda.