Have you heard of Dry January? It is not about the water levels in Beaver Lake being lower than many remember. Dry January is choosing not to drink alcohol for the month.
“If you’re feeling sober curious or simply ready to cut back, consider joining millions of others who abstain from alcohol during Dry January,” according to Executive Editor of Harvard Men’s Health Watch Matthew Solan. “Your heart, liver, memory, and relationships could be all the better for it.”
The timing may be particularly important in light of the fact that the Covid pandemic resulted in the biggest spike in alcohol consumption seen in 50 years.
“Yet even before the pandemic sparked disruptions, losses, stress, and isolation, alcohol use among older adults had been trending upward,” Sloan wrote in an online article. “And a quarter of people 18 and older reported heavy drinking (five or more drinks for men, four or more for women). Dry January began in 2012 as a public health initiative from Alcohol Change UK, a British charity. Now millions take part in this health challenge every year.”
Sloan said cutting out alcohol for even a month can make a noticeable difference in your health. Regular drinkers who abstained from alcohol for 30 days slept better, had more energy, and lost weight, according to a study in BMJ Open. They also lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduced cancer-related proteins in their blood.
Heavy drinking can increase physical and mental problems, especially among older adults. Heart and liver damage, a higher cancer risk, a weakened immune system, memory issues, and mood disorders are common issues.
To stay the course, it can be helpful to have a buddy or buddies join you for the challenge, keep a log or diary, find low-calorie substitute drinks, don’t keep alcohol in the house, and avoid triggers such as going to a Mardi Gras party. Add something fun and healthy to your routine like a dance or exercise class. There is also a free phone app called Try Dry.
For those who think they may have a serious problem with drugs or drinking, Eureka Springs has a number of options. There is a treatment center and an active recovery community with Al-Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings in town. AA and NA are for people with addictions and Al-Anon helps friends and families of the alcoholic and addicts deal with the consequences of these addictive diseases.
Ali, a local woman who has been sober for 34 years, attends these groups.
AA has a resource called The Big Book based on the 12 steps, which include traditions and concepts as developed by Bill Wilson, Bob Smith and others of the initial recovery community in 1939.
As summarized by the American Psychological Association, the process involves:
- Admitting that one cannot control one’s alcoholism, addiction, or compulsion
- Coming to believe in a Higher Power that can give strength
- Examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member)
- Making amends for these errors
- Learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior
- Helping others who suffer from the same alcoholism, addictions or compulsions
Ali suggests that the Dry January seems addressed to non-alcoholics who might want to start out the year by cleansing toxins from their body and adopting healthier habits. Her thought about Dry January is that the challenge is for people who may have had more to drink than they think is healthy, but don’t have alcoholism—a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol.
“When AA started, it was found that people who had an addiction to alcohol could not stop drinking on their own using will power alone.” Ali said. “It is an uncontrollable craving that does not go away. AA suggests a program of 12 steps based on spiritual principles that, if followed and practiced, is an alternative to insanity, jail or death. These are the consequences of this insidious disease. It is an addiction. An alcoholic is someone whose mental, physical and social and emotional life is affected by alcohol.”
Ali came into AA when she was 42. She had started drinking at age 13. Initially, she was a functioning alcoholic. But as time passed, she began to notice the outcomes of her addiction. She made poor judgments, choices and decisions that she wrote off as bad luck, etc. Because she had a persona that seemed respectable, few knew of her disease. But her family did, and it was her children and the mistakes she made with them that allowed her to recognize how bad she had gotten.
“That is when recovery through the AA program became an option,” Ali said. “I was lucky I did not have more monumental consequences. With all the times I had driven drunk or left my kids unattended, I could easily have killed them, others, or myself.
“Alcoholism is a progressive disease; it gets worse over time. Even after long periods of sobriety, it can return powerfully and destructively. Addiction as a disorder does not go away. In 12-step programs, those with addiction learn ways to live without the compulsions to use substances. We get a reprieve, but we do not recover. It is a process that we follow on a regular basis.
“When we go through the 12 steps of recovery and practice the principles of those steps: acceptance, hope, faith, courage, honesty, patience, humility, willingness, brotherly love, integrity, self-discipline, and service, life can be wonderful.”
This is a spiritual program and Ali thinks it is important to distinguish between religion and spirituality. The 12 steps don’t require participants to be members of a certain religion or country. The steps and the program of AA, NA and Al-Anon are worldwide.
The Coffee Pot Club located at 103 Stadium Rd. near Huntsville Rd./Hwy. 23 South has been in Eureka Springs for about 25 years and hosts meetings every week. There are also meetings at the United Methodist Church located at 195 Huntsville Rd./Hwy. 23 South. Ali said visitors are welcome to attend open AA, Al-Anon and NA meetings if they want to learn more about AA. The only requirement to attend is a desire to stop drinking, using or suffering.
“I love AA,” Ali said. “It saved my life and the lives of many of my friends.”
To find local meeting times, go to AA.org or Alanon.org or NA.org and type in the zip code for Eureka Springs, 72632.