A Dry(ish) July? Dry July in Australia is not about committing to sobriety long term. It is a month-long challenge to raise money for people affected by cancer, like running a marathon. There has always been an out written into the rules of Dry July. Even if you commit to the 31 days alcohol-free you can purchase gold tickets to get a night off here and there for special events. Events that pose an extra challenge like weddings and boozy works events. The suggestion with the Gold Tickets of course is that there are some situations where you simply have to drink.

This year Dry July has officially gone Dry(ish) due to the pandemic.

We get it. 2020 has been challenging. So this year, we’ve introduced some new options for Dry July. We’re calling it Dry(ish) July.

Challenge yourself to 31 days dry, or this year, have a Dry(ish) July and choose 21 or 14 days.

No matter how long you choose to go dry for, you’ll still be raising vital funds for people affected by cancer, who need us now, more than ever.

14 days is often the tipping point for most peoploe doing a month long alcohol-free challenge , even if it is not a challenging year. In our online community, Boom Rethink the Drink, Dry July is a focus. A daily check-in point for people who hope to go alcohol-free long term, but find it helpful to take it in daily bites. We host an alcohol-free challenge every month of the year and in these month-long challenges, there is always a tipping point around day 14. People tend to fall by the wayside somewhere near the beginning of week three, even if their goal is sober for life. 

But even if your July has been Dry(ish), today is a great day to get back on track.  

I disagree that the pandemic has made drinking alcohol essential. Quite the contrary really. In my opinion, there has never been a better time to go sober. There are a lot of things that many of us do not have a choice about right now. We may have to continue to stay at home. We may have to wear masks when we go out. We may not be able to work in our chosen field anymore. Our children who were off at university may suddenly be home. Not having control of how long the Covid19 lockdown may last is hard. Not having choices about our daily lives is putting many of us in a sort of dull, standstill. But there is one choice that you can definitely make for yourself. There is one thing that you definitely have control over.

If you are finding that you are drinking too much and it’s deepening your sense of isolation, Alcohol is NOT essential. You do Not have to drink. If you are looking for inspiration to stay alcohol-free today, whether as part of a Dry(ish) July or a larger alcohol-free plan – Be PROUD! that you are chosing not to drink today, Feel HOPE!

I hope that this post I wrote a few years ago will help-

In this moment, in this hour on this day —