For all of you wonderful people doing Dry January, and if you haven’t already read it, I thought this extract from my book ‘I Don’t Drink’ might help.
One Whole Week - What a fantastic achievement.
You can be really really proud of yourself, and your star chart and spreadsheet will be starting to fill up.
How do you feel? I know that even after just one week I felt like a new person. My eyes were clearer and brighter, I felt more alert and agile, I had far more energy – more get up and go, and I felt more positive about everything. Of course, you might feel the complete opposite. It is obviously stressful giving up drink and if you have really struggled to get this far it could leave you feeling worn out. If that is the case just try and relax, you are over the worst and if you do feel like a wreck on the outside, just think how much cleaner and healthier you are on the inside!
Have you been exercising as well, as suggested? If so that should also be making a difference already. You might ache from using muscles that haven’t been tested for years, you might even feel exhausted, but if so that is positive tiredness. It means your body has been working and getting better and fitter and healthier and getting rid of years of abuse and neglect.
Hopefully the weekdays ahead will seem like a breeze now you have managed a weekend, there should be little temptation to have a drink at all. Next weekend may already seem a bit daunting however.
I remember thinking just that. Thinking to myself that I have managed one weekend but I actually missed having a drink and relaxing with a glass of wine, or rewarding myself with a cider for having mowed the lawn, and consequently was not looking forward to the weekend ahead. But strangely enough when the second weekend finally came around I didn’t want a drink after all. I didn’t want to undo the good work I had done and have to start all over again having failed. I also made sure I had lots of activity planned to keep me busy. I also came clean with my wife that I had given up drink for ever, and I enlisted her help to make sure I got through that second and all important weekend without being put in the way of temptation, and asking her to watch to make sure I didn’t waver. I found that just telling her and seeing her positive reaction was all I needed as an incentive.
Have you told anyone yet? Now might be the time to let your partner or whoever is closest to you know, so you can enlist their support. Don’t tell you pals yet though. They might not understand just how important a thing this is, they probably won’t believe you anyway, they might even take bets on how long you will last out, and they may be just a little too jealous for their own good.
By the way, how much have you saved so far? I saved over £10.00 per day so after a week it was like finding £70.00 laying in the street. What could you spend that on and not feel guilty? For the first few weeks I actually took the cash out of the bank on a weekly basis in five pound notes so I could see the pile swiftly mount up. I couldn’t believe how much I had been wasting on drink, and £10.00 per day was a conservative estimate.
And please remember, Dry Forever is SO much easier! You can find out more about me and my book at www.idontdrink.net
One Whole Week - What a fantastic achievement.
You can be really really proud of yourself, and your star chart and spreadsheet will be starting to fill up.
How do you feel? I know that even after just one week I felt like a new person. My eyes were clearer and brighter, I felt more alert and agile, I had far more energy – more get up and go, and I felt more positive about everything. Of course, you might feel the complete opposite. It is obviously stressful giving up drink and if you have really struggled to get this far it could leave you feeling worn out. If that is the case just try and relax, you are over the worst and if you do feel like a wreck on the outside, just think how much cleaner and healthier you are on the inside!
Have you been exercising as well, as suggested? If so that should also be making a difference already. You might ache from using muscles that haven’t been tested for years, you might even feel exhausted, but if so that is positive tiredness. It means your body has been working and getting better and fitter and healthier and getting rid of years of abuse and neglect.
Hopefully the weekdays ahead will seem like a breeze now you have managed a weekend, there should be little temptation to have a drink at all. Next weekend may already seem a bit daunting however.
I remember thinking just that. Thinking to myself that I have managed one weekend but I actually missed having a drink and relaxing with a glass of wine, or rewarding myself with a cider for having mowed the lawn, and consequently was not looking forward to the weekend ahead. But strangely enough when the second weekend finally came around I didn’t want a drink after all. I didn’t want to undo the good work I had done and have to start all over again having failed. I also made sure I had lots of activity planned to keep me busy. I also came clean with my wife that I had given up drink for ever, and I enlisted her help to make sure I got through that second and all important weekend without being put in the way of temptation, and asking her to watch to make sure I didn’t waver. I found that just telling her and seeing her positive reaction was all I needed as an incentive.
Have you told anyone yet? Now might be the time to let your partner or whoever is closest to you know, so you can enlist their support. Don’t tell you pals yet though. They might not understand just how important a thing this is, they probably won’t believe you anyway, they might even take bets on how long you will last out, and they may be just a little too jealous for their own good.
By the way, how much have you saved so far? I saved over £10.00 per day so after a week it was like finding £70.00 laying in the street. What could you spend that on and not feel guilty? For the first few weeks I actually took the cash out of the bank on a weekly basis in five pound notes so I could see the pile swiftly mount up. I couldn’t believe how much I had been wasting on drink, and £10.00 per day was a conservative estimate.
And please remember, Dry Forever is SO much easier! You can find out more about me and my book at www.idontdrink.net
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