Reflections from a dry month

And what does it mean for my drinking going forward?

Photo by Adam Wilson on Unsplash

This article is cross-posted from my weekly newsletter, The Sunday Soother, a newsletter about clarity, intention, and useful tips for creating more meaning in your life that goes out every Sunday morning. Subscribe here. I am also a personal development strategist and coach working to help people with self-acceptance, self-trust, and self-compassion. You can learn more about working with me here.

Well, I’ve done my dry February (plus a few days of January)! I broke the fast with a martini with my boyfriend last night, was immediately tipsy, laughed a lot, and fell asleep about an hour earlier than I normally would have.

And the question on my lips is… what now?

I learned a lot of things about myself and my relationship to booze during these short 33 or so days:

1. When I’m alone, the urge to drink is usually to distract me from something — primarily loneliness or boredom.
2. When I’m with others, the urge to drink comes from a sense to connect more deeply, or conditioning from the atmosphere, if we’re in a bar, restaurant or at a dinner party.
3. Not drinking has made my anxiety MUCH better, but also made my emotions MUCH more all over the place — since the alcohol was being used as a tool to…