Stepping into Dry January

Dry January – what does it mean to British people?

Dry January – a challenge to go the entire month without drinking alcohol. A campaign was established by Alcohol Change UK to encourage people to take a break from drinking in January.

The Pros of Dry January challenge

• Challenging yourself: Keeping yourself disciplined undertaking new challenges will improve your self-discipline and self-control.
• Improving your self-control: Make sure you control your own body & mind rather than a bottle of alcohol dictating what you do!
• Reviewing your current habits: Our everyday habits shape our personality and life path. Take your time to abstain from having alcohol and look at the habit from another angle.
• Taking care of your health: Consumption of alcohol puts you at risk. For example an increase in weight, loss of sleep, lower energy levels. It can also increase the risks related to cancer, insulin resistance, and high blood pressure.

The consequences of Dry January

As mentioned above, we can reach the conclusion that the health risks which alcohol causes can explicitly impact our social and academic life. Lack of sleep, nervousness, hangover – these can damage your productivity at university, work, and in your personal life. Remind yourself of the goals that you have set before coming to the University of Northampton: career related objectives, personal or academic goals. Don’t allow yourself to drink an excessive amount of alcohol which could delay, deny or damage your life, your plans and goals.

Refuse or reconsider?

Dry January is a great chance to reconsider your habits, life and preferences.

It is not a way of denial, abolishment or refusal – not at all! You are an adult, a creator of your own destiny, free to do what you like. However, Dry January is a popular time to pause having alcohol and to attempt to focus on other enjoyable things that you love doing.

Why I am alcohol free?

I tried the alcohol for the first time around the age of 15. It happened at my house under parental supervision. To be fair, it happened on the proposal of my parents! The culmination of the story was that I absolutely didn’t like it. I cannot say I hated it – but I, let’s say, didn’t enjoy it at all.  Overall, I didn’t like the taste of it, I was not happy about the fact that I lost my focus, self-control and had a headache next morning. I much prefer my obsession with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, pistachio croissants, etc.

Take up the challenge of Dry January and explore other heady tastes of life!

Find out about the support we offer to our students by visiting our Student Support pages.

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Yulianna Skakun

Yulianna is a first year Law student at the University of Northampton. She is enjoying her course because of the legal sector experience and passion of the academics about the subject they teach. She is a tutor of English and a musician, and in her spare time, she is keen on producing qualitative and aesthetic content to inspire and motivate others.