Dry January: Healthy Living, Improving Your Mood And Coping With Social Anxiety.

Hey everyone!

I’ve been doing Dry January. At the time of writing, I’ve got four days left. I joked with a work colleague the other day about how, although I have felt the strain a little at times, I’m not the type of person to head straight for the fizzy pop the moment the clock strikes midnight on Sunday. 

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I read some insights a few weeks ago from others who’ve done Dry January. The most notable one, was the person in question saying that going a few weeks without their chosen beverage helped them to reevaluate their relationship with alcohol. i.e. you noticed how you feel without, you discover how much willpower you’ve got and a lot of people report that they felt much healthier.

I can say that I’ve had the same sort of experience. I get eczema and other skin issues, which are largely controlled by diet, fresh air, water and sleep. My skin felt a lot better within a matter of days. 

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I’m quite a shy, introverted person and, as with a lot of people with similar personality traits, I find a bit of Dutch Courage can really help in large social situations. Parties and gatherings, even small ones, can be overwhelming for anyone who finds it difficult to socialize. Obviously, introverts haven’t needed to deal with quite so much of that in the last year or so. And in many ways, that made completing Dry January a little bit easier.

Something else that I’ll clarify – there are various ways to deal with social anxiety without the use of Dutch Courage.

My usual trick is to locate other introverts and hide in a quiet corner. It’s also a great chance to use that social situation as an opportunity – test yourself and see if you can get around the room and talk to some different people. Even if it’s just offering somebody the last sausage roll.

Another trick – get there as early as possible. Nothing takes away any anxiety I’m feeling like turning up to a family party and discovering an almost empty room. I like having the chance to take in my surroundings, get my vocal chords warmed up, get the initial greetings, handshakes etc. over with, and take the chance to get a cuppa in my hand without lots of people listening to how I like my tea. This doesn’t completely remove anxiety from my day, but it helps to reduce it. 

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I have to be honest, I’ve never really brought into the idea of “get there as late as possible and you’ll be spending less time there”, there’s nothing that fills me with more dread than entering into a busy room, full of relatives and/or strangers, and having a whole host of questions filling my head. Where does my coat need to go?  Where do I sit? Who likes shaking hands and who prefers a verbal greeting and a wave?!

More tips:

If it’s a buffet lunch type gathering, try to get food while there are a couple of other people getting food. You won’t be the only one there, and there’ll be fewer people watching.  

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This piece of advice seems to be rather versatile, but taking a toilet break can be useful, even if you don’t necessarily need one. Not only do you discover where the toilets are, you’ve also got a good reason to come back and pick a new seat.

But back to Dry January. Things people usually report from periods of avoiding alcohol, or whatever they treat themselves to on special occasions:

More energy

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Better sleep

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Better skin

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Improved overall mood

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I’d say I would tick each of those boxes. Over the last couple of weeks in particular, I’ve started to feel a sense of freedom. A bit more get-up-and-go.

Weirdly, I haven’t really replaced alcohol with anything. It felt a bit strange not having an accompanying beverage alongside any takeaways, or during the online pub quiz that we do every Thursday night (I’m not here to plug anything, but if you do enjoy quizzes, it’s a cool way to spend an hour or so if you want something to do during a video call with family or friends).

One thing I’ll also report, because I think this one is particularly important, is that I felt a bit more in control of my mental wellbeing. I usually find that it’s a bit hit and miss for me personally, in terms of how a cheeky lemonade will affect my mood. 

 

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Good moods, particularly if they’re influenced by caffeine or anything else, can often lead to a dip later on, which isn’t ideal. Cutting out these influences can help to keep your mood more stable.

Although I’m glad to discover that I’d be happy to try another month with the same lifestyle. At some point in the future I would likely want to sample some old pleasures, but at the moment it just feels a case of “I’m enjoying this more than I imagined… let’s continue for a while”.

The harder times came at work, particularly weekends when I spend much of my time assisting with customer’s desires to buy strong beverages.

One thing I really enjoyed about Dry January – it’s something to bring up in conversation. Admittedly most of my conversations involved the other person saying that they either don’t really consume enough in general for it to be worth trying, or that they wouldn’t have the willpower. Both completely fair enough. I think most people would look at you in horror if you asked them if they wanted to give up their morning cuppa each day.

My own reasoning was mostly that in the aftermath of Christmas, it’s good to have a little detox. 

 

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I’ve never done Dry January before and it did seem a bit intimidating at first, but the prospect of being healthier, feeling happier and saving money was motivation enough to at least see how it goes. I’m not being sponsored and there’s no requirement to fill out a form with feedback afterwards, it’s just an experience that I can have for myself. And for this article.

That's all for today, folks! Hope you enjoyed our big January Finale. Well, unless I get anymore blog ideas between now and Sunday. But in the meantime, reach out and say hello :)

Matt 

 

Follow Matt: @Matt_jl_24

 

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