One month abstinent

Dry January? “It can be very useful!”

The well-kept after-work beer: How deeply rooted alcohol is in our society and how often we drink alcohol often only becomes clear to us when we give it up.

(Bild: Shilling Bier)

The "Dry January" challenge, i.e. not drinking anything in the first month of the year, is becoming increasingly popular in this country too. But is abstinence actually any good?

A mulled wine here, a punch with a shot there, a beer, a glass of sparkling wine. People often drink more in the period around Christmas. It's only understandable: after the exertion on the cold ski slopes or the perhaps nerve-wracking reunion with the family, a sip can't hurt. But unfortunately, despite the tradition, alcohol consumption can still do harm. Not only then, but especially when it becomes an addiction. An increasingly popular New Year's resolution is therefore to abstain from alcohol for a month.

More and more followers in Austria too
The Dry Month, also known as "Dry January", is a health campaign that is particularly popular in France, the UK, Switzerland and Germany, but is also gaining more and more supporters in Austria. The "Tiroler Krone" newspaper spoke to expert Franz Altenstrasser, Head of Psychiatry B at Hall Regional Hospital, about alcohol addiction. He explains how useful such a dry month is.

When negative feelings are swallowed up
Alcohol addiction is not a marginal phenomenon, as Altenstrasser knows. The disease affects all sections of the population and affects all (adult) ages. It is the most common addiction and there are factors that promote addiction. Genetics is not one of them: "Nothing has ever been found with regard to genetics," reports the expert, "it is often factors that play a role in developmental history. For example, if you learned as a child or adolescent to swallow negative emotions instead of expressing them - either because role models did the same or if caregivers were particularly explosive with their emotions, so that you had to hold back yourself." Certain life circumstances also encourage alcohol addiction: These include unemployment, problems - for example in marriage or at work - crises, loneliness or even illness.

Franz Altenstrasser is the head of Psychiatry B in Hall.

(Bild: Tirol Kliniken)

So how useful is it in general, but also for addicts in particular, to take a month-long break? "Complete abstinence is no longer the sole goal for addicts according to newer therapy concepts. For some, this is not even achievable. You look at what the goals can be with the person concerned. And a reduction is very helpful here. An alcohol-free month can therefore be very useful. This gives you the experience that you can be sober for a while. That's why the experience of a dry month is an important one that you can also apply - in the sense that you don't drink in certain situations or days."

However, if there is a real addiction, it is important that a dry month is medically supervised. Withdrawal symptoms - in extreme cases even epileptic seizures - can be countered with medication in this way.

In principle, the challenge of a dry month is not harmful to anyone.