Dry January, Sobriety, And the Curious In Between
January has long been a month for a reset. You have your New Year’s resolutions, a fresh will for a better you, and a fiery motivation to level up your health. Dry January is a socially acceptable way to try out sobriety because you’re not an alcoholic, you’re just doing a detox. No one will give you flak. Outside of Dry January, however, it gets trickier. Culture makes it difficult for the sober-curious, with their questions and strange comments, to ensure you feel like a stick-in-the-mud-party-pooper. “Why?” “You’re not drinking?” “Is it ok if I drink?” “Are you pregnant?” “Boo, you’re no fun anymore.”
Navigating the zero-proof life in social settings will require understanding your “why,” your own body, and a few handy catch phrases.
Here is our starter tool kit for Dry January or getting curious about a life of sobriety:
Handle Cravings
If you’re accustomed to ending your day with a glass of something, and the sudden absence leaves your evening routine begging for closure, you can find the right combination of hacks by learning what you’re most craving. If it’s the evening sip, mastering the art of the mocktail is your key. Honor that it is an evening treat and take your time prepping it. Pour flavored soda waters into your usual glass (or buy a new glass style altogether to reinvent your brain’s routine). Add fresh herbs like rosemary or basil and a splash of lavender bitters or lime juice. Another 0-calorie, sugar-free option is Seedlip—Plant-based and botanical blends that will give your drink’s flavor a lovely complexity without the empty calories. Keeping your bevvies calorie-free means you can drink glass after glass to flow with a current habit.
If it’s not just the sip, but the texture and the buzzy feeling, try Curious Elixir, or adaptogen drinks like Recess. Curious Elixir, unlike Seedlip, has more than flavor; it has a denser viscosity that gives you the mouth-feel you’re used to and a twinge of an afterbite that your brain is wired to expect. Adaptogens have a powerful relaxing effect, giving you that chilled-out, buzzy feel. (Tip: adaptogens hit different with every person, and the speed of consumption is a factor)
The other underestimated reality is that alcohol is sugar. This means that when you stop drinking, your body looks for the sugar you usually give it. Sometimes having something sweet can help calm cravings while you help your body break the habit.
Keep Your Hands Occupied
An overlooked struggle for sober newbies in handling social settings is being unprepared for how awkward your hands are. Give those puppies something to do! Amazing trick that helps avoid questions when you’re not in the mood to put a spotlight on your dry night: Ask the bartender for soda water with a lime and a mint sprig, but ask them to put it in a highball glass. If people ask what you’re drinking, you can shrug and tell them you asked the bartender for a classic. Another zero-questions order is ginger ale in a champagne flute.
Enlist Your Quick Wit and Clever Catch Phrases
Take note that often people will make comments to make them feel better when they are uncomfortable. Your sobriety choice challenges their own choice to drink, so their ego feels threatened and arms itself with quick lances of the tongue. To help them not feel like an idiot (and you not feel like you’re being insufferable), have a few phrases on hand to quell the awkward comments. Here are a few of ours:
I want to try it on for size and see what its all about
I thought it would be easier than going gluten-free. Gluten is in everything!
Taking a little break — turns out I still like parties.
I’m raw-dogging reality tonight.
I’m just pacing myself
I’m the designated rememberer.
I’m doing a curiosity check-in with my habits.
I’m in a season of listening to my body more.
I realized I don’t actually need alcohol to enjoy people.
I’m experimenting with hydration
I’m off alcohol right now, but fully on the dance floor.
What are you drinking? It smells amazing!
Stay Motivated
Follow fun accounts on social that are sober-friendly to have upbeat comedy and reminders that you’re among MANY who are on this journey. You can also check out this cheeky read by Holly Whitaker, Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol.
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Choosing sobriety is a commendable endeavor for your overall wellness. Keep in mind, it is a journey. Don’t expect perfection. Grant yourself the grace to navigate the changes at your own pace and hold on to your clear “why.” I remember the first time I tried on sobriety for size. It was like suddenly I was seeing the world in technicolor. I have since navigated unraveling that I did not need to vilify alcohol; I instead needed to understand why staying alcohol-free was the choice that aligned best with the vision I have for my life.
Cheers to navigating Dry January, or to your sober curiosity! It is your choice and your life, so fan the flames of your pursuit and have fun with any nay-sayers because you still party like the best of them.
