It starts today: Dry July is a chance for us to take a break from alcohol, improve our health and raise funds for people affected by cancer.

You can do Dry July for your own benefit, do it to support a friend or family member, sign up to the Dry July website and do it for a good cause, or for all of these reasons.

If this is your first time going dry, or you’re going to need some motivation to get you through a dry July, you’ve come to the right place. The Central App will be posting articles and resources throughout the month, designed to help you navigate July without alcohol, help you improve your health, and reset your relationship with alcohol.

There are proven, widespread benefits from having a month-long breakup with booze, so why not take up the challenge?

To kick off the month, here are our six top tips for staying dry this July.

Tip 1: Focus on the money!

Set yourself a savings target for the month. How much do you normally spend on alcohol? Be realistic. 

Save that amount each week, and reward yourself at the end of the month with something you enjoy and wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

Tip 2: Get fancy.

So much of our alcohol consumption revolves around social settings. During July, sip your non-alcoholic drinks from a fancy wine glass – there is something about drinking from a nice glass that makes drinks so much more enjoyable.

Tip 3: Do it with friends and family.

Tell your friends and family you’re doing Dry July and recruit them to join you. Together, you can motivate and encourage each other, help raise funds if you choose to sign up to the website challenge, and reap the many benefits of taking a month off alcohol.

Tip 4: Remove temptation.

Try to remove temptation by not having a perfectly chilled, ready to open bottle of wine or beer sitting in the fridge. It might be far too tempting to crack it open (just this once) after a long day at work. 

Do yourself a favour by cleaning out your alcohol supplies and storing them somewhere else for the month.

Tip 5: Stock up and make it easy to stay on track.

Now you’ve removed temptation, what about those times when you’re craving your favourite alcoholic beverage? 

It’s a good idea to stock up on supplies that will help you go the distance when the temptation is strong. Make sure you’ve got plenty of alternatives you enjoy, and get ready to experiment with mocktail recipes, kombucha, sparkling water or herbal teas.

Tip 6: Get inspired.

Need some inspiration? Help to stay motivated? A reminder of the benefits of Dry July? The team here at The Central App will be posting resources, recipes, inspiration and information throughout the month, so keep checking out our Dry July resources inside the ‘Be Better’ section on the App.

We’re in this together.

To find our Be Better and Dry July resources, click here.

Find the official Dry July website here.

Advertisement