Dry January: Rethinking My Relationship With Alcohol
Alyssa Grieshaber, BSN, RN
At 29, I am embarrassed to admit that I had fallen into the routine of working all day in hospital administration and coming home to enjoy a glass of wine, or two, or even three a night while cooking dinner, watching Parks and Recreation for the 1,000th time or just chatting with my husband.
With a background in psychiatric mental health nursing, teaching healthy coping skills and the importance of sleep, a balanced diet and exercise, I know better.
I often think about when I use to ask my patients about their substance use and figured they were probably not telling me the truth. Why? Because I lie too.
How many drinks per week would you say you consume? “Umm, like 2 or 3 on the weekends,” secretly afraid of what the nurse would think of me if I told the truth.
Now alcohol has never affected my relationships, or my work. I don’t think about it when I wake up or crave it while I’m working. It’s just that it became…a routine.
An unhealthy routine.
Photo via The Good Trade
At the end of December, I was feeling unhappy with my job and increasingly more tired throughout the day. I had heard of dry January and had even attempted to make it the 31 days last year, but for the wrong reasons.
I thought that if I gave up wine, I would lose weight. Once I hit Day 12 and saw no difference in the scale, I was like BUMP THIS and fell right back into my routine. But for 2020, I truly reflected on my habits, my routine and how I wanted more for myself.
It also helped that I read an article on the rise of excessive drinking. Sometimes we forget that a glass of wine is 5 ounces and I’ll be real, my pours of wine resembled more of an Instagram meme than the CDC definition.
Once I calculated that that my two “glasses” aka half a bottle of wine per day equals around 17.5 glasses PER WEEK, I met the definition of an “excessive drinker.” I was shocked and I decided this was the habit I needed to prioritize.
Now, I won’t take this time to lecture on how alcohol is bad for you or its negative effects on women’s health (but if you are interested in more research on this, let me know below) however, as I am finishing up this sprint of not drinking, I wanted to share my own experience in hopes that you reflect on your own relationship with alcohol.
Photo via Consumer Reports
My reflections over the past 31 days:
Alcohol is everywhere. All my social engagements usually involve alcohol and it is challenging to find activities or do things that do not involve drinking. As tough it is, I had a ton of fun this month WITHOUT ALCOHOL. My husband and I explored a state museum, I went to a meditation workshop and had a lot of coffee or lunch dates with my friends instead of happy hours or dinner.
I feel motivated. I can’t stress this enough. Things at work that really bothered me before no longer seem like a big deal and I’m more focused on my projects. This one act of courage to quit drinking has led to other small acts of courage like training for a 5k and applying to be a health coach intern here at hhc 😊.
I don’t wake up exhausted. I used to wake up with a brain fog that had me rushing to the coffee to start making my brain fire. Conversely, this month I get up feeling more rested and my husband and I can have a conversation without me stopping him saying “You know I need my coffee first!”.
I feel happy and proud of myself. At one point during the month I had felt like giving in but oddly enough, checking one more day off on my goal planner of no alcohol was more rewarding than the glass of cabernet. Overall, this month I have felt happier than I have in months and I’m proud of myself for making this small change.
I don’t need it. Sure, wine is delicious and pairs perfectly with the new episode of The Bachelor on Monday, and there is nothing like a crisp Blue Moon while watching football. Nevertheless, I realized The Bachelor is just as ridiculous with a cup of chamomile tea and I don’t need a beer to have fun watching football with my family.
With this said, am I giving up alcohol forever? No.
Could I have a drink now that is it February? Maybe.
What I know for sure: Drinking wine nightly will NO LONGER be a part of my routine.
My hope with this article is that if you feel embarrassed to tell the truth to your healthcare provider like I was, or if you often think about cutting down on your alcohol use…DO IT GIRLFRIEND!
Just because it’s the last day of January, doesn’t mean it is too late to make a change. “Willpower is like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets.”
If you too have been participating in dry January or are rethinking your relationship with alcohol, I’d love to read your thoughts below in the comment section!
Alyssa Grieshaber is a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse and health coach intern with Holistic Health Code. Alyssa enjoys being outdoors, supporting local farmers markets and advocating for mental health and the professional practice of nursing.