LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- Many people are embracing a fresh start at the beginning of the year, starting with a Dry January.
For some, the new year is a wake-up call and the first step in their journey to a sober life.
“It makes people realize when they want to stop, even if it’s for a month socially, that they can’t,” Clinical Operation Specialist for Serenity Park Recovery Center Josh Foster said.
Dry January: What an alcohol-free month can do for your health
“Social drinking is big in this country especially it’s one of the legal things you can get, it’s advertised on TV, you know it sponsors sporting events, so it’s very big in our society,” Foster continued.
For Foster, it started out drinking with friends, but then alcohol took over his life for 23 years. Now he is five and a half years sober and using his story to help others share dry January can be a wake-up call.
Foster said the first step is recognizing there’s a problem.
Allyson Gattin struggled for 10 years before saying enough is enough.
“February of 2016 is when I really was like. ‘This is not the path that I want to go down the rest of my life,’” Gattin said.
Gattin, now nearly nine years sober, says she sees a world of difference in her physical and mental health.
“You know I was blessed to escape it with a lot of my health intact,” Foster said. “A lot of people aren’t that lucky.”
Alcohol use is widely accepted in the US, but even moderate consumption is associated with many harmful effects
Once the problem has been admitted, Foster says that is when you must reach out for the help you need.
“You’re not going to change unless you’re willing to change,” Foster said.
Gattin was willing but asked if she needed help overcoming the fears of “What if?” and “What now?”
She still enjoys going out and having fun but not choosing alcohol.
“Mocktails and even just like pretty bottled drinks really empower me to be like, ‘The only options aren’t water and soda,’” Gattin said.
Foster said they aren’t personally for him.
“Just because when I wanted a drink that tasted that way, I also wanted the alcohol that had the effects, but you know there are many different pathways for many people, and so I don’t see anything wrong with it,” Foster said.
Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health
Mocktails aren’t only for people who are in recovery. Many people are embracing it, such as pregnant women, people with health issues and simply those who don’t drink.