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Laura Van Antwerp tried Dry January for the first time 11 years ago. She reveled in the immediate benefits: She slept better, went to the gym more often and saved money.
But as February approached, Ms. Van Antwerp felt excited — “maybe overly excited,” she admitted — to drink again. She would be traveling to Southeast Asia for a six-week trip, and she imagined sipping a glass of wine in Bangkok when she got off the plane.
While people like Ms. Van Antwerp tend to put thought and effort into planning for a month of sobriety (and slogging through it), they don’t necessarily consider the off-ramp — and what they want to take away from the experience. “That’s one of the most important parts of the month,” said Gillian Tietz, host of the “Sober Powered” podcast, “and something a lot of people don’t think too much about.”
Research suggests that people who participate in Dry January tend to be more concerned about their drinking habits during the rest of the year than those who don’t.
Reflect on your experience. At its core, Dry January is all about gathering information about your relationship with alcohol, said Joseph Schacht, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine who studies treatment for alcohol and addictive disorders.
Ms. Van Antwerp, who runs the social media account Your Sober Pal, echoed the recommendation. Sober now for seven years, she recognizes that her first break from alcohol over a decade ago was a steppingstone on her path to a new relationship with alcohol.
Experts are very clear that Dry January is not a replacement for treating alcohol use disorder. But it can offer participants a physical and mental reset, and there is also evidence that most participants want to change their drinking habits beyond those 30 days.
Laura Van Antwerp tried Dry January for the first time 11 years ago. Like many who participate in this monthlong sobriety challenge, she reveled in the immediate benefits: She slept better, went to the gym more often and saved money.
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