Why I’m Starting my New Year’s Resolution to quit Alcohol a Month Early.

A couple of years back, I decided to give up alcohol the month before Christmas.

Now, before you praise my stoic virtues, I’m ashamed to say my intentions were not actually based around permanent abstinence.

It was in fact, just a pre-Christmas detox plan I’d come up with to rid myself of toxins before the season began. My reasoning was that I could safely enjoy my eggnog in the knowledge my liver was in good condition for another good soaking until the new year.

But it didn’t go quite go to plan …

After a couple of weeks of not drinking alcohol, I found I was not reaching for my heartburn meds as much. I also went out cycling in freezing cold temperatures, which was not like me at all. I hate the cold. Especially cold feet!

Another week passed and I found my sleep pattern improving. I was going to bed earlier and would fall asleep much faster. This beat my usual habit of worrying about unnecessary crap for hours while staring at spiders on the ceiling (I like spiders by the way. Smart creatures!)

Then just before Christmas, I received the University assignment I had written on Shakespeares ‘As You Like It’ during my detox period. My score was 84%. A first class grade. Maybe there is a God after all, I thought.

Uni was now finished for Christmas and I was feeling fit, healthy, happy, and even rather intelligent for once in my life. All that remained now was for me to enjoy the festivities, crack open a bottle of wine and join in the fun.

But something held me back …

I was starting to realise that my month without alcohol had changed me for the better. I didn’t really want to go back to being moody all day and having rubbish sleep. I didn’t want to feel lethargic and not ride my bike in the freezing cold. I didn’t want to get a lower mark in my next assignment.

So when I was asked if I wanted an alcoholic drink by anyone over the Christmas period, I just said no.

At first, people who knew me thought I’d gone crazy. A friend even asked me if I’d quit atheism and turned to God …

‘But you can’t not drink at Christmas! You’re Irish!’ they would say.

But I stuck to my guns. I just kept saying … no!

My abstinence from booze continued through the new year until I eventually finished University in June with a really good grade. It was the longest period I had gone without alcohol since I was 15 years old. I was actually starting to feel really positive about being tee-total.

But of course being the weak minded fool I am, it didn’t last forever. Old habits die hard as they say, and during a lovely summers day in a pub garden I turned back to the dark side …

‘A couple of ice cold beers in the sun won’t do me any harm,’ I thought …

Sadly I was wrong.

It’s not that I think I’m an alcoholic in the sense that I need serious help. But I will openly admit I have a rather unhealthy relationship with it and have done since my teens. Alcohol was part of culture in Northern Ireland and I know it has been ingrained in me. I sometimes wonder if I had not moved to England would I maybe have ended up as a ‘proper’ alcoholic. I think it likely.

So this brings me back to why I’m beginning my New Years Resolution early. Just like before, I have another uni assignment due. This time it’s three thousand words on Shakespeares ‘Hamlet,’ so a clear head and eager brain will be essential to get a high mark.

‘To Booze or Not To Booze, that is the question?’

I’m thinking not …

Thanks for reading

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Originally published at https://medium.com/never-stop-writing/why-im-starting-my-new-year-s-resolution-to-quit-alcohol-a-month-early-e1929d164808