I don't know if it's just because I'm sober but alcohol seems to be everywhere I look at the moment. Social media is rife with the 'celebration' of Dry January being completed, the invention of 'Smashed Saturday' to glorify getting annihilated and now the build up to Valentines Day which simply must involve Prosecco in order to have a good time.
On TV, particularly on Emmerdale this week (don't judge me), that there was a drink for every occasion. Emmerdale centres around a pub for a start .. everyone is in there .. all of the time. Where do they get the money from?! It's not a cheap night down the pub these days! I know, I know, it's 'just a soap' but soaps are extremely popular in the U.K. and audiences are very influenced by storylines within them. This week, white wine was seen in abundance in several abodes, wine was served with olives at the book club and there was even a boozy hen night held in the pub with the 'ladies' vomiting freely all over the bar. Beautiful.
Similarly, alcohol is served on reality shows such as Big Brother, to encourage stupid behaviour and get more viewers. Shows such as this are very popular with under 18's and are therefore condoning drunken behaviour and making it acceptable to the younger audience.
In the supermarkets, there is also great joy that it is now February and the drought is over. There are offers galore tempting all those martyrs who survived a sober January to get smashed. It really does make me question what the actual point of Dry January actually is? I seriously doubt there are any major health benefits if you just intend to get obliterated the moment the clock strikes midnight on 31st? And believe me, I used to be one of those people.
On some of the sites I now belong to, there is much discussion about the art of moderation. Lots of people complete Dry January in an attempt to analyse their drinking habits and then plan to 'moderate' going forward. Sadly, my belief is that if you need to think about your drinking habits AT ALL, it is unlikely that you will be able to moderate. After all, if you could've drunk in moderation, you would've done right? And therefore wouldn't be sober now? It's an interesting concept and not one that I will be trialling. I can almost guarantee that any attempt I made at moderation would, without doubt, end in disaster and back to square one. And I've come too far to go back now. #day70
