If you were planning to participate in Dry January (that is, abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January) and then changed your mind sometime last week, you’re not alone. Following the attempted coup on Wednesday (January 6th) people on Twitter started declaring that Dry January was over, and encouraged everyone to drink guilt-free. However, addiction experts say that our behavior that night offers important insight into how we cope with stressful events and may make dry January even more important. Clinical psychology professor at University of Texas, Kim Fromme, says dry January is “a good way to give your body a rest, you can decrease your tolerance so you no longer have to drink as much, and it’s a good way to better understand how important alcohol is to you.” On top of that, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates some 15 million people in the U.S. have alcohol use disorder, and psychotherapist Nancy Colier says she’s never seen so many people self-medicating in her practice as she is seeing now. She says women in particular are drinking more amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She adds that dry January offers an opportunity to explore other ways of dialing back the stress, examine what’s causing it, and to really look at what nourishes our feelings. She adds, “Whatever is driving you to have a dry January—if it’s to be more present, to be more joyful, to sleep better, to clean your liver, if it’s physical, emotional, spiritual—every moment is a chance to restart your day and your life.”
(Yahoo)