Can you go without booze for 31 days?

Katy , bet you wish you had not opened this can of worms ! xx

Great to know that KatyK.

Sadly though, there are 1000s of High Functioning Alcoholics out there in total denial, and at huge risk to permanent damage- with partners and family suffering or at risk due to their behaviour. Lots of info out there. Here is just a start:

Alcoholics have poor attendance at work. Alcoholics drink every day. Alcoholics are mostly old men. Alcoholics are usually homeless. Alcoholics are unable to do well in their careers. Alcoholics always drink in the morning.

These are just a few of the stereotypes about alcoholics which are pervasive throughout society. These stereotypes increase denial and prevent many alcoholics from getting proper diagnosis and treatment. High-functioning alcoholics (HFAs) defy these stereotype and often go undetected because they do not fit the image of the "typical" alcoholic. The term "high-functioning alcoholic" is one that most people seem to understand or identify with, but ironically it has yet to be formally defined or examined. A landmark study in 2007 by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism categorized alcoholics into 5 subtypes: 20% are the "functional" subtype, 32% are the "young adult" subtype, 21% are the "young antisocial" subtype, 19% are intermediate familial subtype (middle-aged with mental illness), and only 9% are of the "chronic severe" subtype, fitting the stereotype of the low-bottom alcoholic. Other addiction experts estimate that between 75% and 90% of alcoholics are high-functioning.
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An HFA is an alcoholic who is able to maintain his or her outside life, such as a job, home, family, and friendships, all while drinking alcoholically. HFAs have the same disease as the stereotypical "skid-row" alcoholic, but it manifests or progresses differently. Many are not viewed by society as being alcoholic, because they have functioned, succeeded and/or over-achieved throughout their lifetimes. These achievements often lead to an increase in personal denial as well as denial from colleagues and loved ones. HFAs are less apt to feel that they need treatment or help for their alcoholism and often slide through the cracks of the health care system, both medically and psychologically, because they are not diagnosed. Sadly, according to the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions only 25% of alcoholics ever receive treatment-indicating a serious problem of denial on a societal level.

Flickety - That's fine. I think we all have different senses of humour and they don't always come across with the written word.

Grannyknot I think Allison Pearson must be the model for Private Eye's columnist Polly Filler

To be fair, the OP was about a serious charity campaign to go dry for January... so it might be a bit unfair to take the mick, either way.

Sorry, KatyK I was running my eye down about five days of postings. 5 extra people in the house for 5 days is not conducive to keeping up with Gransnet, or anything else. It means that when I did finally get online their were so many posts to catch up with that many did not get read thoroughly and nuances like humour got missed.

I didn't believe you were the resident alcoholic Katy.

Just showed DH - he now has a fit of the giggles!

Well that is cleared up now !!

Just read these through. Oh dear I seem to have been crowned GN's resident alcoholic. I was actually joking. We had a lovely Christmas Day, lots to eat and drink, the same as most other people. No children were present and even if they had been no one was drunk. Note to self: Make it clearer that you were joking.

Yes my comment WAS tongue in cheek !!!

All KatyK actually says is that she doesn't think she went without a drink for 31 minutes, which could just mean that her glass was never empty for that long. She could have made two drinks last all day!

So did I jingle- but thought it was best not to say anything at the time. Most of us drink a bit too much at Christmas- but a drink every hour... depending when you start and finish - could end up as a big mess indeed, and does not 'sound quite right' somehow. Sorry, but the truth.

Mind you, Alison Pearson writing in the article, link above, is another one who thinks that 'spending a day in your home office writing your newspaper column is tough' and she needs a drink to chill after that. Pleese.Spare.Me.

I'm very happy that Dry January have achieved their goal of getting 10,000 people to give up alcohol this month. Here's another one of those people, I'm finding all those who are 'coming out' interesting:

www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10541685/Dry-January-will-be-tough-thats-why-I-must-do-it.html

I must admit I thought the same about someone having a drink every half hour. Christmas Day would have passed in a befuddled haze if I did that! [hic]

As the daughter of a 'functioning' alcoholic, whose brother went the same way, I have huge concern for friends who seem to think having a glass or two every night is Ok, and find it strange that people like to boast about how much they drink /need a drink

I have seen the damage that alcohol does to a family, and if someone really thinks it will be challenge to go 31 days without a drink, they need to examine their lifestyle very carefully and maybe talk to a professional

I have an occasional drink - maybe 2 or three times a year , with a meal. or at an occasion such as a wedding, but have perfectly good fun stone cold sober.

I assumed Katyk's comment was tongue in cheek - sorry if I'm wrong!

Sorry, my comment about KatyK was not meant to be snotty. I really did have a profound sense of shock when I read her posting about never being without a drink for more than half an hour. Allow one drink an hour that is at least 12 or more drinks over the course of a day. By any standards that is a lot. It may be that every drink lasted three hours, which would of course be different but there was nothing in her post to suggest this.

I have no objection to people drinking more than me but as I read KatyK's post, my interpretation of it was that she was drinking continuously all day. And I consider that shocking.

Never touch the stuff. I don't like the taste and I don't like the effect it has on me. But I don't object to anyone who drinks in moderation.
Can't stand drunks though, sorry !!

It was certainly rather judgemental! KatyK is old enough to know what she's doing, and just because FlicketyB has never really enjoyed more than a couple of drinks doesn't make those who do wrong...

The point about whether children were present or not is another matter, for another thread, perhaps.

I do understand where you are coming from Flickety although I have no wish to single anyone out for what they might have posted. I really find it strange that in our society it is socially acceptable for adults to drink alcohol to the point of intoxication but not to use other drugs such as cannabis to get the same effect. I can't for the life of me see any difference.

Flick , your comment to KATY sounded a bit snotty to me , if you don2t mind me saying .
Each to his own !!

KatyK I found your comments about drinking on Christmas Day really scary. Didn't all that alcohol spoil your enjoyment of the day? Were there children present?

I am not teetotal, nor is anyone in my family, but I do not think anyone consumed more than three drinks all day on Christmas Day and most drank only one or two. Nobody was being 'virtuous' or careful. We had a huge variety of alternative non-alcoholic drinks, which most of us preferred.

Could someone explain to me what the attraction of more than an occasional drink is. Yes, I have drunk more than I should in the past and I cannot remember ever enjoying it. I felt light headed, unbalanced and as if I was looking at the world through a smeary window. I cannot ever remember it making me feel clever, witty or confident and as for the next day..........

I was breathalysed on Friday evening here in Australia. The police just set up RBT's (random breath tests) whenever and wherever, which is good because it makes drivers far more aware of their drinking habits. I had chosen to not drink after seeing how much the rest of them were putting away. However, had I chosen to drink, we would all have returned home by taxi, no question. I still felt guilty for being stopped and questioned and then having to count from 1 to 10 into a machine and my knees were like jelly - strange how the police have that effect even on the innocent!