Dry January to Celebrate Tenth Anniversary in 2023

(KNSI) — Dry January, which originally started in the UK with 4,000 people taking the first pledge, has grown into an international movement and will celebrate its tenth anniversary next month.

CentraCare Addiction and Family Medicine Physician Kurt DeVine says experts generally support the effort.

“Those kinds of things I think help people reflect on how much they actually are using. And I think that often people don’t understand how much is really at-risk drinking. If we look at how much we’re drinking over the holidays, are we drinking substantially more than we should be? Does that put us at risk of developing further problems?”

CentraCare Addiction and Family Medicine Physician Heather Bell says people who are participating need to examine why.

“I think the only fear with something like that is that you’re doing it just for the fad of doing it. Do you then hit February 1 and then go out and be like, ‘Woo hoo, I did it?’ And then it kind of took away all that reflection time.”

A study from the University of Sussex says abstaining from alcohol leads to better sleep, more energy, and weight loss, among other benefits. As many as 35% of American adults took part in Dry January this past year.

DeVine says if you can’t stop for a month, then it forces people to ask tough questions like why they are unable to take a break and if they need outside help. He stresses that you shouldn’t be ashamed of having an alcohol problem, and if you need help, do not hesitate to ask.

___