Thread by @MyHarmReduction

Gonna switch gears for a second to tweet about the problem with Dryuary and other self-imposed periods of 100% abstinence since I’ve now read 5 different tweets about people “failing” their Dryuary goals bc 2021 is currently a dumpster fire and people want to drink. (1/?)

2. First of all, goals like Dryuary for a month free of alcohol are actually quite admirable and probably a good practice for most of us. A break never hurts. And they can be a chance to reboot and get perspective on our patterns of use, role of alcohol in our lives, etc.

3. BUT these kind of goals can also be a troubling set up for a lot of us because these kinds of efforts actually require a bit more conscious planning and preparation than most of us do in advance. And they require us to practice different strategies in the moment.

4. What kind of preparation? I mean things like, planning for what you will do instead. If anxiety is a drinking trigger, I should probably plan for how to cope anxious feelings in January. As a harm reductionist, I always say- “Don’t take away what you can’t replace.”

5. And these kinds of strategies will vary from person to person. Some will only work sometimes and some will work every time. It can be a bit of trial and error kind of thing.

And the thing with alcohol is that most of us use it to celebrate AND to commiserate. It’s complex.

6. It also helps to have the people in your inner circle available to help support you and maybe even for loving accountability. (Even so they are prepared not to offer you a drink.)

7. You also have to prepare for the month by preparing activities and a schedule for yourself that fills the times when you would be drinking. That means a new after-work or “nightcap” practice, a new or modified weekend plan.

8. An ingredient we ALWAYS forget for these months is KINDNESS. A bit of kindness and grace for ourselves.

31 alcohol-free days is ambitious. 25 is solid. 15 are great. 10 is progress!

Any alcohol-free days are a good thing when done consciously.

9. 31 days is possible, though. And maybe they don’t need to match a calendar month. But they can be an accumulation over a few weeks. And maybe you can built up by reducing one or two drinking days a week before trying a full stretch.

10. Now although I used alcohol as an example, we can substitute that word with a lot of other things we would like to cut down (sugar, cigarettes, other drugs, etc.).

We can also use this approach to things we want to introduce, like exercise, healthy eating, etc.

11. We can also reframe the “slips” as lessons and teachable moments as well. We don’t have to view them as signs of personal failure. If anything, “blame it on the plan.” My plan to not drink had a loophole, was missing an important component, didn’t account for x scenario.

12. And maybe we should think about why we feel we need to do these kinds of diets at all.

What is it about my drinking that got me to the place where I had to stop cold turkey for a month?

Maybe instead, the goal should be to be a more mindful drinker in my day-to-day life?

13. And being a more mindful drinker could mean:
- counting my drinks every time I drink,
- planning for drinking by making sure I’ve eaten beforehand,
- having a safety plan for when I drink,
- being attuned to when and why I often want to drink, etc.

14. It may also mean I need some rules for myself:
-I’m allowed to get drunk sometimes as long as I have a safety plan and it doesn’t happen more than x times a month,
- I won’t have more than x drinks on the average sitting,
- I’ll try to allow x days between drinking days, etc

15. Enough of my rant. Be kind to yourself. The world is on fire. We are all just trying to cope. You’re still doing great. Hang in there. FIN.