Dry January - are you in??

Happy New Year!!
I hope you enjoyed the festive season.
So I guess now the NY celebrations are behind us, are might be on the couch today still dealing with the hangover?

Do you drink alcohol regularly?

Have you decided to participate in dry January?

Alcohol has been a topic that has come up for me more and more over the last 6 years, remarkably since I STOPPED drinking.
My decision to join the Teetotalism ranks was born purely out of wanting to live my life as healthily as possible during and after my cancer recovery.
Frankly, when I got the news that I was cancer free, I went straight for a glass of wine with my folks to celebrate and felt ILL!!
I am not talking the usual wobbliness or hangover type symptoms, but serious digestive pain and sickness.
Since then, that was it - no more alcohol for me.

Interestingly - for quite some time after taking the decision to abstain from alcohol there was a lot of gentle nudges from people around me to ‘go one, just have one’ or those tilted head comments assuming I have experience issues with it in the past and that’s why I no longer partake.
Drinking alcohol is such a mainstream part of our culture now that if you don’t, you are often seen as a party pooper, weird or boring!
Ask anyone that knows me though, I am sure they would tell you different. Plus they now always have a designated driver on a night out!
Save’s a fortune in transport!!

When I get asked ‘don’t you miss having a drink’, the honest answer is no - not at all.
There have been a number of times in my life where wine and my favourite boys, Jack and Jim had become a dangerous crutch during challenging times. I told myself that I would just have the one to take the edge off to help me relax at the end of a challenging day, but this quickly turned into a bottle when things got really difficult. Easier to numb the feelings than to deal with them, right???? WRONG!!!

Deciding not to drink post cancer has meant that I have learned much healthier coping strategies to help me deal with my emotionas and help me relax when life gets stressful. Granted - it can sometimes be the family size bar of a famous chocolate - but in the main its usually something like taking my pups out for a walk, relaxing, journalling, yoga or connecting with friends. There are so many healthy coping strategies and they will be different for everyone, depending on what you like to do.
(If you want to know more about that - you will have to get in touch with me about my emotional resilience training sessions :-) )

Anyway - I am not writing this to get all preachy about the ‘evils’ of alcohol, as I fully believe that everyone has the right to make their own choices and do what works for them.

It’s interesting to chat to other people who no longer drink though and many say the same thing as me, that they don’t miss it and actually feel so much better taking the decision to abstain.
General mood is improved, energy levels are increased and many, including myself, noticed that we didn’t pick up as many pesky bugs/virus’s that circulate - especially this time of year.

There has been so much press over my lifetime about the health benefits vs the dangers of drinking alcohol, some used to say that a glass of red wine was good for the heart and back in my grandmothers day Stout/Guinness was prescribed to pregnant women to increase their iron levels. - Scary now egh?

Media have muddied this water over the year and again make your own conclusions from this, however there was some interesting research recently from Cancer Research UK with more definitive links to certain types of cancer. Watch out for that campaign in the media.
Will this deter people from drinking? I suspect not, as we all know the risks of smoking and people still choose to roll the dice, but who knows, maybe it will slowly start to change our culture around alcohol consumption??
I am not a doctor, but what I can say without a shadow of a doubt is that my health both mental and physical is much improved by deciding not to drink any more (amongst other lifestyle changes). I firmly believe, rightly or wrongly that this decision aided my physical recovery from cancer treatment, helped prevent a reoccurrence, plus I get to use the time I used to spend on the sofa and in the loo with a raging hangover, in a much better way. Not to mention it has probably saved me a good bit of ££££££
Win win!!

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that as a post menopausal woman and a Menopause Mentor, I know first hand the effects that alcohol can have on symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
It can exacerbate a number of symptoms including hot flushes, brain fog, low mood, sleep disruption and anxiety.
So if you are sitting in the menopause camp with me, it might be worth considering how you could alter your alcohol consumption to support your symptoms. Seriously, it sounds so simple doesn’t it, but it has completely changed the experience of menopause for many clients.

Even if you are not menopausal and you experience any of the above symptoms (or any others) first I would say - please consult your doctor and get checked out, but of course, consider your use of alcohol too. It’s amazing how one small change can set you off on a completely different trajectory.

So, perhaps if you were on the fence about ‘Dry January’ - maybe think about giving it a shot and see how you feel by the end of the month. Who knows - maybe you will make a different choice by the 31st??

I would love to hear in the comments how you get one so please do let us know - or even pop a post on our social media channels @BarbourCoaching.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing challenges with alcohol, please visit alcoholchange.org.uk where there is lots of information and support available, or find your nearest 12 step meeting.