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Becca Monaghan
Jan 02, 2023
6 Things That Can Happen When You Stop Drinking Alcohol
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If there's one sign the festive period is officially over, it's social feeds filled with Dry January attempts.
Dry Jan is a 31-day break from alcohol following what some may call December overindulging.
It's all about "taking a break, living better, feeling better", and "starting your new year the right way," according to Alcohol Change UK, a leading UK alcohol charity formed from the merger of Alcohol Concern and Alcohol Research UK.
Research conducted by the Royal Free Hospital and published in the British Medical Journal in 2018 claimed the temporary alcohol ban could: lower blood pressure, reduce diabetes risk, lower cholesterol and reduce levels of cancer-related proteins in the blood.
It is also said to reap benefits in other areas of life, too, by improving sleep, increasing energy, improving mental health and concentration.
On top of this, skin can appear brighter, 86 per cent of people said they saved money, and there's an overall sense of achievement.
Inevitably, Dry Jan participants turned to Twitter equipped with memes and jokes about the challenges of the upcoming weeks – and they did not disappoint:
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\u201cday one of dry january\u201d— Ben (@Ben) 1672616732
\u201cdry january day 1: getting invited to the bar and saying yes\u201d— kylecringetweets (@kylecringetweets) 1672618357
\u201cDay 1 of dry January complete\u201d— Charlotte Kenny (@Charlotte Kenny) 1672603499
\u201cMy kinda Dry January \ud83e\udd2a\ud83e\udd23\u201d— Emily \ud83d\udc95 (@Emily \ud83d\udc95) 1672616934
\u201cMe leaving the liquor store knowing I\u2019m doing dry January\u201d— danny lime (@danny lime) 1672442272
\u201cI don\u2019t know why people find Dry January hard. Mine is already going great. So far today I\u2019ve had 3 glasses of dry white wine, 2 pints of dry cider and a dry martini.\u201d— Amanda (@Amanda) 1672577041
\u201cI keep telling people I\u2019m doing dry January but I have absolutely no intention of doing dry January \n\u201d— Mel (@Mel) 1672103758
\u201cme saying im doing dry january but then drinking whole bottle of wine watching gossip girl\u201d— matt (@matt) 1672533181
\u201cDry January? Yeah sure\u2026\ud83e\udd25\ud83c\udf7b\ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f #MvA\u201d— \ud83d\udc64Man vs Ale\ud83c\udf7a (@\ud83d\udc64Man vs Ale\ud83c\udf7a) 1672597158
\u201cBring on it on Dry January, 31 days\u201d— Victoria morrissey (@Victoria morrissey) 1672511733
\u201cWas thinking about doing Dry January but I am once again delayed in the Vegas airport\u201d— b3n (@b3n) 1672622010
\u201cI\u2019m doing Dry January! I\u2019ll still be drinking\u2014but more of my jokes will be delivered without any emotion\u201d— Sara K. Runnels (@Sara K. Runnels) 1672593284
While the memes are all in the name of fun, Alcohol Change UK warn that stopping drinking suddenly can be dangerous – and can even kill if a person is dependent on alcohol.
If a person experiences any of the following symptoms after a period of drinking, it could be a sign of alcohol dependence and they should not stop drinking completely:
- seizures (fits)
- hand tremors (‘the shakes’)
- sweating
- seeing things that are not actually real (visual hallucinations)
- depression
- anxiety
- difficulty sleeping (insomnia)
Find out more about getting support here.
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