‘Never again!’ you groan as you prize open sticky eyelids and heave yourself cautiously out of bed, anxiously waiting to see whether your hangover is going to hit your head or your stomach first.

If that was how you started the New Year, you may well have decided to make your ‘Never again!’ pledge stick by signing up for Dry January.

And the first few days were a breeze. 

Buoyed by the memory of recent festive hangovers and a boundless enthusiasm to ace your ‘New Year, New you’ goals, you happily downed large glasses of ice cold H2O with every meal.

Only, now we’re almost a week into January, and it’s getting a little harder. You’re back at work, the weather is miserable, and the leftover bottles from Christmas are winking merrily at you.

So you’re tempted — and you know a tiny glass of red won’t hurt too much.

But then, you’ve made that pledge. That promise to yourself that this year you really are going to show up for yourself, to honour your health and your happiness, to prove to yourself that you aren’t going to give in at the first hurdle.

You know you’ve got this. 

You just need a few tips and tricks to make your sobriety stick.

Happily I’ve been teetering on tee-total for years now after realising that, as a sleepy drunk, I’m actually far happier, healthier, and way more fun when I don’t drink! 

That said, resisting an alcoholic drink or two hasn’t always been easy, particularly during celebrations, times of stress, or, at the end of a loooong working week. So I’ve developed a few super easy — and satisfying — strategies for sticking with it.

Find (or create!) your own signature non-alcoholic drink.

Of course nothing beats a long cool glass of water when you need to hydrate. But then, we don’t only drink for hydration any more than we only eat to satisfy hunger. Sometimes we crave a hit of flavour, sometimes we fancy some fizz, often we just want to feel…fancy!

The good news is, whatever you’re searching for from a bottle, you can find a 0% treat that’ll hit the spot. 

For example, if your usual Friday night treat is a zingy mojito or fruity cocktail you can find some truly incredible non-alcoholic recipes online or even turn your quest for a new drink into a cocktail-making party. Just line up the bottles of fruit juices and cordials and have fun experimenting with new flavours.

If you miss the bitterness of a G&T, you’ll find that your usual tonic with a splash of Seedlip does the job. You can create a refreshing Aperol Spritz alternative by mixing Lyre’s Italian Orange with some soda water and orange slices. And I’ve been reliably informed that Kopparberg’s 0% ciders taste EXACTLY the same as the alcoholic versions.

If you’re missing the ritual of pouring yourself a drink on a Friday night, you can recreate that feeling of occasion by sipping your non-alcoholic drink of choice from your classiest wine glass or making fancy garnishes for your virgin cocktails. And yes, you can still go to town on the bar snacks occasionally too!

There is such a huge choice of 0% drinks nowadays — both in pubs and in supermarkets — you’re bound to find something to replace your ‘usual’ that won’t feel like a compromise.

Oh, and mine’s a fresh lime and soda, if you’re buying! 

Find other ways to de-stress.

If you find that your usual where’s-that-bottle-of-red trigger is a hellish commute home from work or fighting with your kids over homework, try to come up with alternative stress-relievers in advance. 

Whether it’s a steaming hot bath with your fanciest bath oils, an online yoga session, or a half hour of ‘you time’ to call a friend or catch up with the ladies in The Balance Club, promise yourself a non-alcohol related treat you can indulge in as soon as you have a minute to yourself.

Make early morning plans you don’t want to miss.

How many days have you lost to hangovers? How many Saturday mornings have been spent comatose in front of Netflix? How many Sundays spent in search of greasy food in the hopes of settling a queasy stomach? For most of us, it’s not a number we’d like to dwell on.

Because that’s the thing I’ve found with alcohol — any joy we feel while we’re drinking doesn’t come for free. It’s usually a withdrawal from tomorrow’s happiness bank.

So, make your Dry January weekends easier to stick to by making really lovely plans for Saturday and Sunday. Book yourself in for a live online yoga class, arrange to meet a friend for a beautiful walk in the countryside, promise the kids a trip to their favourite park. 

Revel in how much longer (and more sparkly) your weekend feels when you don’t waste a single precious second on alcohol-induced tiredness. And know that every Friday night you don’t sit down with an alcoholic drink, you’re making a huge deposit in your weekend’s happiness bank!

Tune in to how your body feels.

Both when you drink and when you don’t.

If you feel yourself wavering, visualise how you feel after you’ve had an alcoholic drink. There are very few of us who escape unscathed — at least not past the age of about 28 (30 if you’re lucky)!

Maybe it’s the disturbed sleep that gets you, or the morning-after sensation that you’ve spent the night licking a stinky old shoe. Perhaps it’s the red wine headache you’re keen to avoid or that low-level ‘hangxiety’ that makes you feel down or on edge after you’ve had a drink or two.

Remember how your body feels when you’ve had a drink and now deeply tune into how you’re feeling after a few dry days. Maybe your skin looks brighter, your mood has stabilised, you have more energy or more patience with your kids.

Focus on how great you’re starting to feel and remember that you absolutely deserve to honour your body in this way.

Alcohol is such an ingrained part of our culture — we use it to celebrate and to commiserate. We use it to relax us, to energise us, to give us confidence, to help us socialise. You may even have convinced yourself that you aren’t capable of any of those things without a glass in your hand. Giving it up, even for a short time can be daunting. But do you know what else it is?

Liberating.

Realising that your confidence, your strength, your ability to relax, to be the life and soul of the party, to have an amazing time is ALL YOU and nothing to do with what you’re drinking and everything to do with the superstar you are, is hugely empowering. 

It’s a gift — and one that you deserve to give yourself this year.