Dry January can be extremely positive or can actually reinforce the stronghold alcohol has on someone. Here’s why. When we give up something we feel is benefiting us, we feel deprived. While you might be able to get through the 31 days of January without drinking, there is a good chance that…you have actually created more of a desire for it. As soon as we tell ourselves we can’t have something we tend to want it even more. Annie Grace to Jess Cording, Forbes
If you’re concerned about your drinking and not sure Dry January has helped, consider Annie Grace‘s strategies, which you’ll find in her book This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life. Grace, who has successfully worked on changing her own alcohol use, has already helped many individuals in similar circumstances via various other resources.
From the publisher’s blurb:
Many people question whether drinking has become too big a part of their lives, and worry that it may even be affecting their health. But, they resist change because they fear losing the pleasure and stress-relief associated with alcohol, and assume giving it up will involve deprivation and misery…
This Naked Mind will give you freedom from alcohol. It removes the psychological dependence so that you will not crave alcohol, allowing you to easily drink less (or stop drinking)…
Disclaimer noted by Grace: This is not for those who may be physically dependent on alcohol, which can require a different kind of detox under a professional’s care. From her website: “It is strongly recommended that you seek professional advice regarding your health before attempting to incorporate any advice…Withdrawal symptoms due to a physical dependence on alcohol have the potential to be severe, and in some cases life-threatening.”
A book excerpt posted on Amazon elaborates on Grace’s mission:
I can put you back in control by removing your desire to drink, but be forewarned, getting rid of your desire for alcohol is the easy part. The hard part is going against groupthink, the herd mentality of our alcohol-saturated culture. After all, alcohol is the only drug on earth you have to justify not taking…
I offer a perspective of education and enlightenment based on common sense and the most recent insights across psychology and neuroscience. A perspective that will empower and delight you, allowing you to forever change your relationship with alcohol. And remember, sometimes what you are searching for is in the journey rather than the destination.
Did Dry January fail to work adequately for you? Consider reading her blog or listening to her podcast. Or join her support community. Or all of the above.
Want to try her 30-day Alcohol Experiment? Click on this link if the following five possible benefits, per Grace, interest you:
- clarity and focus
- your time becomes freed up
- better health and sleep, increased libido, reduced anxiety, no hangovers, etc.
- whereas failing is not possible, learning is inevitable
- mindful relationship with alcohol
Several selected quotes from Grace in This Naked Mind:
You will no longer suffer the mental division caused by one side of your brain wanting a drink and the other side feeling like you should cut back.
While illegal drugs kill 327 people per week, and prescription drugs kill 442 people per week, alcohol kills 1,692 people per week.
I drink as much as I want whenever I want. The truth is I no longer have any desire to drink.