Dry January too daunting? Consider a damp January

Editor's note: Last January, the Star Tribune hosted a Dry January challenge for readers, posting a series of articles and hosting a Facebook support group. This year, we'll re-share the articles in our group, which remained active throughout 2022. Join here: startribune.com/dryjanuary

Dry January — or Drynuary, for the initiated — offers your body and mind a chance to reset and reflect after the seasonal bloat. Rather than cutting out alcohol entirely, though, a growing number of people are exploring the approach of cutting back on booze without fully abstaining.

"Mindful drinking," a phrase and philosophy that brings the self-reflection of meditation to a glass of wine or beer, has become increasingly commonplace in recent years, said Rosamund Dean, author of a 2017 book based on the term.

She wanted to become more intentional about her relationship to drinking, she said, instead of seeing alcohol as a habit or a crutch.

"It was going to the work event where there was nasty, cheap white wine and knocking it back," or "putting the kids in bed after a busy day and cracking a bottle open," she said. "It's the drinking you do without really thinking about it."

Mindful drinking, by contrast, means "bringing awareness to your behaviors in terms of your decision to drink alcohol." In other words, paying close attention to why, where and when you're drawn to drinking.

Ruby Warrington, a writer in New York, started using the term "sober curious" six years ago. At the time, she said, her drinking habits appeared to be under control: She never blacked out, or even drank more than two nights in a row.

But she drank more than she wanted to, and she didn't feel able to say no. She craved a middle-ground approach to drinking: the ability to interrogate her relationship to alcohol without ending it completely.

In 2018, she published "Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol," articulating the philosophy behind what she calls "choosing to question" her impulse to imbibe.

Avoiding a crisis

"Collectively, we've inherited this story about alcohol that the only way to change your drinking is if you've hit rock bottom," said Dru Jaeger, co-founder and director of programs at Club Soda, an online community that sprouted up nearly eight years ago in Britain. About half of Club Soda's 70,000-plus members are interested in moderating their drinking, rather than in becoming entirely sober.

A 2017 study of 68 heavy drinkers in Britain found that those who received 11 minutes of mindfulness instruction reduced their alcohol consumption significantly the next week. This "microdose of meditation" might have helped participants regulate their emotions, encouraging them to rely on mindfulness when they might otherwise turn to alcohol to cope with stress, said Sunjeev Kamboj, a psychology professor at University College London and lead author of the study.

The mindful drinking approach draws on similar strategies to cognitive behavioral therapy, a psychological intervention used to address depression and anxiety, said Kenneth Stoller, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. By encouraging people to identify the impact that alcohol has on their thoughts, feelings and behaviors, mindful drinking can be an effective tool for people interested in reducing their alcohol consumption, he said.

Stoller advises thinking through what you like and don't like about drinking. Is it the taste of alcohol that draws you in? The bodily sensation of a buzz? Identify the amount of alcohol you typically consume to induce a certain effect, and then consider the facets of drinking that you enjoy less, like hangovers or the sense of losing control. Articulating these aspects of your drinking life can help you form realistic guidelines for cutting back, he said.

Make a plan

Drinking narrows our focus on the world, Stoller said, creating what some psychologists call "alcoholic myopia" — we focus only on the present moment. That's why it's crucial to establish a plan for mindful drinking ahead of time, he said.

This can include drinking with a friend who's also practicing mindful drinking, making sure you eat while you're drinking and asking the bartender to use half the amount of alcohol in a cocktail. These tricks will slow the rate of alcohol entering your system, he said, which can help you be more intentional about the drinks you do choose to consume.

Another tip: Don't take booze for granted. If you are going to drink, make it a conscious, deliberate choice. Think about whether alcohol will add value to your experience — what difference will drinking make to your time at a party or your night at the bar? And if you're drinking to try to enjoy an event where you're not having a good time, consider just going home.

Millie Gooch, who founded the Sober Girl Society collective in 2018. encourages those new to mindful drinking to keep asking questions about the motivating factors behind their alcohol consumption — like the friends with whom they drink the most, and the situations that tempt them to head to the bar.

"If you really want to have a glass of wine, have a glass of wine," she said. But pay attention to the sensation of drinking it. How does the wine taste? What prompted you to crave alcohol? How do you feel the next day?

"Stay curious," she said.