Dry January: My Boozy Journey (and the Hangovers That Got Me Here)

Posted on January 10, 2025

So, it’s the tenth of January, and once again, I’m waist-deep in Dry January—for the seventh year running. (Okay, technically sixth, because one year I did Dry February after a January wedding. Details.) This year, I got off to a flying start by obliterating myself on New Year’s Eve. By the time the hangover finally subsided, I didn’t want to look at a drink for a week anyway. Not exactly a health guru’s recommendation, but hey, it worked.

The Annual Existential Crisis

Every January, I find myself wondering: Why do I even bother? The month is long, miserable, and frankly, a bit pointless. Why make it worse by removing the only thing that takes the edge off? It’s a valid question. But then, a darker one creeps in: Do I have an alcohol dependency issue?

Some might say I don’t, but everyone has their own sliding scale of what “dependency” means. For years, I told myself I didn’t, because I wasn’t guzzling vodka out of a thermos in the car park (yet). But deep down, I knew. That little admission was life-changing—not in a glossy self-help-book way, but more of a “Well, now I know why my recycling bin clinks so much” way.

Everyone Has Their Own Rules

Once I started thinking about it, I realised alcohol dependency is like snowflakes: no two are alike, and some people are buried under more than others. Take my accountant, for example. During lockdown, he panicked because he started having one glass of wine every night. Meanwhile, I know blokes who think you’re fine unless you’re siphoning gin out of the dog’s water bowl.

Then there’s my mate from work. He constantly mocks me for doing Dry January, claiming, “I’m not an alcoholic; I just like four pints a night.” Yet the last time I saw him, he inhaled six pints in two hours without breaking a sweat. Now, I’m not here to judge whether he has a drinking problem, but he definitely has a lying problem. Especially when he follows up his hypocrisy with barbed comments about me sipping my coffee.

Why I Keep Doing It?

When people ask why I put myself through Dry January, the answer is simple: it shakes up my habits. By the time November 17th (my birthday) rolls around, I’m on a merry-go-round of booze-fuelled festivities. From there until New Year’s Eve, I might have four or five dry days—total.

But here’s the thing: those four or five days are still better than what I managed in any year before 2018. Back then, I drank every single day, even when sick (because there’s always medicinal brandy). I wasn’t getting battered, but I always had a couple of beers or a glass of wine. Living alone in Andover didn’t help—on the nights I wasn’t with my partner my routine was to hit the pub about 9, then grab a bottle of Merlot on the way home so I had something to swear at Newsnight with.

Six years later, I drink far less. Sure, December still looks like a Bacchanalian tribute to bad decisions, but most of the year, I can go days—sometimes weeks—without bothering. Occasionally, I even think about pouring a glass of wine and just… forget. Seven years ago, that would’ve been unthinkable. Now, it feels like progress.

The “Adrian Chiles Revelation”

A big part of my shift came from reading Adrian Chiles’ book, Drinkers Like Me. It’s brutally honest and hilariously bleak, much like my drinking habits. He helped me realise it’s okay to question yourself—and to be horrified by the answers.

But let’s not get too preachy. I’m not here to tell you how to live your life. I’m still a hypocrite in December, after all. But if you’re reading this and thinking, Yeah, that sounds uncomfortably familiar, maybe Dry January is worth a shot.

Or not. Who am I to judge? Just don’t end up hiding gin under the floorboards—or worse, becoming the guy who sneers at everyone else while downing six pints and calling it “moderation.”


No Replies to "Dry January: My Boozy Journey (and the Hangovers That Got Me Here)"


    Got something to say?

    Some html is OK

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.