Alcohol abstinence

If you have the desire to be a little more careful about your alcohol consumption, here are some inspirations for you:

You can do a challenge (alone or with friends) and try to abstain from alcohol for a month and pay attention to what changes (weight, skin, happiness,...). More and more people are trying to start the new year alcohol-free and are trying "Dryjuary" (combination of "dry" & "January"). But you don't have to wait until January to do the challenge - it can be started any day of the year.

If a whole month sounds too long, you can start with two weeks.  With drugcom.de's program, you can set a goal for the next fortnight, think about what you want to reward yourself with at the end of that time, and record your progress in a drinking diary.

You can record how much money you spend on alcohol for a month and then donate the same amount to a charity.

You can download an app that supports you in your conscious behavior towards alcohol. Examples of apps include drinking diaries, where you can record how much alcohol you consume. The app MeSelfControl first monitors your alcohol consumption and then shows you ways to reduce it and maintain your new habits.

There are also podcasts that focus on alcohol through which you can further educate yourself on the topic. For example, in this episode of the bevegt podcast, you'll learn what it's like to give up alcohol for an entire year. In Nathalie's podcast, she tells her story of how she became addicted to alcohol and how she found a way to deal with it.

You can try non-alcoholic alternatives to the typical cocktails. They're just as tasty and cheaper, too. You can find delicious recipe suggestions on this website, for example.

You can set aside (at least) two or three days of the week when you don't drink alcohol.

You can brag to your friends about your alcohol knowledge and make them aware of what low-risk consumption means.

You can find strategies that will help you personally drink less. Think about what works for you. For example, you can drink a glass of water after every glass of alcohol, avoid drinking games, only drink alcohol during a certain period of time that you determine, or arrange to meet friends for breakfast or sports the next morning so that you don't stay too long at the party and can enjoy the next morning.