Welcome! 
Welcome @Mel_berk
You will be amazed how quickly you feel better health kicking in.
Emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally etc. Your blood pressure and resting heart rate comes down. Your blood sugars starts stabilizing, your skin clears, you start losing weight, the brain “fog” lifts, your sleep cycles are DEEP, your orgasms are more intense. You start “facing” things instead of reaching for the wine every time you feel stressed or overwhelmed and it forces you to really “sit with your stuff” without soothing or medicating… oh MAN there are just so many benefits. I think that’s why most members on here are shooting for complete abstinence.
Alcohol also messes with certain medications and taking alcohol out of the equation eliminates that issue that straight away.
You have our full support and we wish you the best of luck. Enjoy your Dry January xox
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Welcome! Glad you’re here. 
For me its like playing with fire, sometimes id get burned a little sometimes alot, eventually im learning that its better for me not to mess with it so i dont get burned. Wish you the best in the new year😊
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I’m in your same boat! Covid has really made my drinking worse and I’m ready to feel good again! Good luck we got this 
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I think the longer you stay dry the more you enjoy life without your DOC. Mine was cannabis. I tried quitting many times, I also tried moderation, but the consistency led back to daily use. Being 4+ month clean has made me realize that I don’t need weed or alcohol to enjoy a meal, activity, social gathering. It hasn’t been an easy road but everyday I’m sober I feel better and better, and miss being intoxicated less and less. Best of luck
https://talkingsober.com/t/daily-gratitude-list-gratitude-the-air-of-recovery
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I’ve been where you are 60 days sober from sheer willpower. Then that voice starts, your doing great, maybe you’re not an alcoholic, maybe you can control your drinking, and I do for a while, glass of wine with dinner on the weekends, then that turns into every dinner and 2+ on the weekends, then a bottle on the weekends, then hard alcohol comes into the picture and I’m binge drinking again. Decide I have a problem and rinse and repeat. I made it 8 months sober the second time before that same voice creeped back into my head and I ended up abusing alcohol again. I’ve got 11 days sober and I’m committed to never drinking again. I am doing therapy and working the 12 steps this time. AA meetings are really helping.
Hopefully you take it seriously the 1st time around and don’t follow in my wishy-washy footsteps.
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I REALLY needed to read this today.
Sending you lots of love beautiful human.
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I like the quote: ‘ WE CAN NO MORE MAKE THAT CHANGE (to turn back into a normal drinker/moderate) THAN A PICKLE CAN CHANGE ITSELF BACK INTO A CUCUMBER!’
It’s so simple and easy to understand, and stops me agonising about how l can keep Alcohol in my life.
No stigma,blame or guilt attached. It just is what it is! I’m a pickle!
Why waste energy, trying to turn myself back into a fresh crisp cucumber 
when it’s not logically possible?
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I’m right there with you! Starting over with Dry January. I work from home most of the time and it’s allowed me easy access to drinking whenever I need to try to mask my anxiety and depression. It’s not as easy as I expected it to be but I’m taking one day at a time. I try to keep mind busy with work, reading and calming shows or music, and funny posts. But all of that anxiety I’ve been trying to keep at bay is really starting to creep up on me. I hope things get better for us! And I hope to keep this going beyond Dry January.
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Dry January gang here! I believe moderation may work for some and I hope it does! So don’t forget we can always do another dry month again to really cement our New Life! “There is no magic reset button on the first of the month, your work began yesterday”
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We are probably a bit pickled already.
Sorry bad joke.
Does anybody know of a cute pickle song 
“I’m a little pickle, short and stout” 
Need some more lines…
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‘Here is my stem, l’ve got clout!’
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I think l need to work on it!
I started Dry January in 2019 and could not believe that I will be able to make it a whole month, not even thinking about longer. Forever seemed just way too long. When January was over i wanted to do February as well, but still far away from “forever”. After around 100 days i really realized that my life has become so much better and that there is no need for it anymore. So I decided to continue. Three years one day at a time.
Good luck on your journey. I promise it will get easier
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Haha, so cute…trying to carry on but what on earth rhymes with stout and clout
Shout, about, lout,flout! It’s like Word find! Maybe we can ask one of our many talented musos on here to help?
Anyone interested in making a song about a pickle?
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Yes please, come on you clever musicians.
Else we have to settle for this one, with no lyrics at all.
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Starting with a Dry January is a positive step
Blockquote
As you said it. Not sure if I have done the quote correctly @Irishman .That should be a meme, I love it.
@Mel_berk The first step is always the hardest. But it is the most positive too.
There are so many apps, articles and online resources to guide you. A search on Facebook will give you a multitude of Private Dry January groups.There are even companies who make the most amazing non alcoholic drinks, with exotic ingredients like Hibiscus or Elderflower, Cranberry etc that would even make drinkers jealous.
Most people know about Dry January so you don’t have to explain yourself in a social situation. True friends will encourage you as most people see the health benefits.
A silly comment from someone probably just means, you have triggered their guilty conscience because not everyone can do it. It takes balls (no pun intended) Just ignore them and you do YOU.
A little bit of interesting information:
Dry January began in 2012 as an imitative by a British charity called Alcohol Change UK to ditch the hangover, reduce the waistline and save some serious money by ditching alcohol for 31 days. Millions of people all over the world, take part in this challenge and it grows more and more every year.
If you need advice or guidance, there are always willing souls here to offer support.
@planchette Hope your Java January is going ok for you.
Have a blessed healthy day / weekend everyone.
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Welcome, never worked for me too, not even one sip as after that I was ending up with a blackout and months, sometimes years of daily drinking.
The only think, that worked for me total sobriety and knowledge, where it will lead.