Join Us for Dry July

Everywhere you look lately there seems to be a good reason to pour a drink or two. Many offices now have a beer fridge or a wine bar to help employees take the edge off the stress of the day. Children’s play dates are no reason to stop your Rose all Day routine as wine is now an accepted component of the parenting tool kit. It’s being sold as essentially cool to end your yoga session with a Super Size tumbler of Sake .

“Defend your Right to Wine Time” and “Tequila for Breakfast”

are standard cheers, and the hippest gymnasiums are offering open bars to encourage people to hang around and kick back after a tough workout.

Everyone seems to be lifting a glass in every environment at every time of day. It is decidedly un-cool to step back and say

“No Thank You I Don’t Drink”

If you would like to take a break from drinking, are sober curious, and are finding it a daunting task to stop, come hang out with us a bit and we’ll help. Sometimes there are simple solutions that can help you break out of the habitual drinking routine. When the community around you is constantly insisting that you need to drink, it’s great to have a team behind you helping you see that you don’t. Australia is starting their Dry July campaign tomorrow and even if you’re not down under in Oz , July is a great month to grab a hold of the momentum in our online community BOOM Rethink the Drink, and try a 30 day alcohol detox. We are community run, decidedly non-commercial, and tucked away from the busy noise of social media so you can focus on figuring out what you need and what you want without being sold anything by anyone. Join our Dry July Team HERE

Circle of Hands Community - Boom Rethink the Drink Dry July

I’ve read some interesting critiques of the Dry July and Ocsober initiatives. It’s been said that the system of setting up a marathon, paying people pledge money to people to take a month off alcohol, encourages us to glorify drinking and see it as an essential part of adult life. It’s also been said that offering “gold tickets” to take a night off here and there for emergencies like weddings and office parties, re-enforces the idea that even short term sobriety is near impossible. But I love the Dry July tradition and think that the Australians who came up with it are visionary.

We’ve been told for years that drinking red wine and alcohol in general, can do everything from lower our risk of heart disease to help us control our weight. The recent reports that alcohol actually contributes to the development of 7 types of cancer has done little to hinder the marketing of wine and alcohol as healthy, essential, and fun. Dry July turns the whole shebang on it’s head by making it healthy, essential and FUN to NOT drink for a month while raising money to help people with cancer in the process.

I think Dry July is a brilliant initiative that should be international. It raises a lot of questions about why it’s so hard to take even a temporary break from drinking. In a world full of conflicting messages about how and why we should drink , a world where health-conscious people are encouraged to continue choosing alcohol no matter what the possible health risks, a world with products like spiked sparkling water, vegan wine and red-fruit infused gin, and a world where Mommy’s Time Out wine is drunk at Wine O’clock, there is a drink for every occasion and every occasion requires a drink. In that world, where there is tremendous pressure to drink daily and see that as normal, Dry July gives us another focus for thirty days. How to enjoy life WITHOUT the booze.

I stopped drinking permanently a bit over four years ago because my drinking was setting a terrible example for my kids. They saw me drinking almost every night and often way too much. Although I handled my responsibilities, as most moms who follow the wine-o-clock routine do, I realized that my children almost always saw me with a wine glass in hand at the end of the day. A lot of Australians will model a different version of grown-up down-time this month while continuing to add to the almost 30 million Australian dollars raised for cancer patients care through Dry July. That is the beginning of something beautiful indeed.

And that is why I love Dry July.

If you’re “sober curious” or trying Dry July …

If you are drinking too much too often and want to take a break from drinking…

come join us.

We are an independent, anonymous and private community who share resources, support and talk it through every day. It helps to have a community behind you in a world where alcohol is the only addictive drug that people will question you for NOT using

You can read more about us Here And join Here

community support 24-7 or sign up and sign in here

Don’t let the shame of the stigma keep you from saying

“I think I have a problem with drinking”

How do you go Sober? ( more reading in blue titles)

B Be accountable Talk to Us We Understand
A Avoid alcohol like the plague  Ideas Here
L Let yourself enjoy regular sober treats  Ideas Here
A Allow yourself to cry when needed  Ideas Here
N Nourish your body with good food  Ideas Here
C Create happy & fun memories  Ideas Here
E Enjoy the precious moments in your day Ideas Here

W Work hard to get what you want Ideas Here
O Organise things for less stress Ideas Here
R Realise you can’t control it all Ideas Here
K Keep going & prepare for success Ideas Here
S Sleep enough for body & mind rest Sleep Solutions