Do I Have to Quit Drinking Forever How to End Dry January Without Ruining Your Progress

As Dry January comes to an end, many people feel unexpected pressure.

Questions like:
 “Do I have to quit drinking forever?”
“Was this just a break?”
“What if I mess this up now?”

In this episode of the Sober Vibes Podcast, I walk you through how to end Dry January without undoing the progress you’ve made.

This episode is designed to calm the urgency, quiet the all-or-nothing thinking, and help you move forward without forcing a decision you’re not ready to make.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why the end of Dry January creates pressure that leads to self-sabotage
• Why you don’t need to decide if you’re quitting alcohol forever
• How to reflect on your first 30 days without alcohol without turning it into a rule
• Why “just having one drink” often feels more complicated than expected
• How to quit drinking alcohol without labels, announcements, or rigid timelines
• What actually matters if you’re a grey area drinker questioning your relationship with alcohol
• How to protect your progress without white-knuckling or perfectionism

This episode is especially helpful if you’re sober curious, working with a sobriety coach, or navigating life after Dry January and wondering what comes next.

Resources & Support Mentioned:

• Sobriety Circle — ongoing support for women exploring alcohol-free living
• Sober Breakthrough Session — personalized guidance from a sobriety coach
• 1:1 Sober Coaching 
• Free tools for navigating the first 30 days without alcohol

PODCAST SPONSOR:

This episode is sponsored by ExactNature, a trusted holistic tool for anyone navigating recovery and sobriety. Use code SV25 at checkout to save on your order. Click here to shop and save. 

Grab my Masterclass for Free:

Gain access to my Masterclass when you submit a review on iTunes. Email me sobervibes@gmail.com with a screenshot of the review, and I will send you the code to unlock my Masterclass for free!

Thank you for tuning in!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to the Sober Vibes Podcast
• 1:34 End of January Reflections
• 3:51 Dealing with Pressure and Self-Sabotage
• 4:26 Personal Experiences and Coping Strategies
• 5:43 Questions for Self-Reflection
• 10:08 The Importance of Clarity and Consistency
• 13:08 Ending Dry January Successfully
• 17:56 Final Encouragement and Resources

Transcript

Courtney Andersen: 0:58

Welcome to Sober Vibes, your podcast for alcohol-free lifestyle tips and real talk about long-term sobriety. I'm your host, Courtney Anderson, sober coach, author, and mom. Each week I share strategies, stories, and encouragement to help you navigate cravings, build confidence, and thrive in sobriety. Whether you're sober curious or years in, this is your space to feel supported and inspired. Hey, welcome back to the Sober Vives Podcast. I am your host and sober coach, Courtney Anderson. You are listening to episode 261. Now, this episode is coming at the very end of January. And again, the whole theme of this past month of January of 2026 is to help you continue to not only take your alcohol-free slash sober journey one day at a time, but also to help you keep going for the year. Okay. But let's dial it into this episode. And again, so if you're listening to this right as the end of the month or shortly right after, and your brain keeps asking you these questions, right? Do I have to quit drinking forever? Am I supposed to decide something new? What if I mess this up? This episode is definitely for you because I know at the end of January it can create a lot of unnecessary pressure. And again, today I want to help you step out of that without undoing what you have already started building. Because the goal for you, for anybody who steps into this, into this arena and who is pressing plays on Sober Podcasts, is to help keep you going in your life in an alcohol-free journey. Because people who are pressing play on this people who don't have drinking issues are not pressing play on this. Unless they're listening because they're one of my friends, or maybe because they're listening to try to help figure out a loved one who is going through this and trying to understand this. All right. And to my gal pals who are listening, hi, or any family. So why does the end of January, why does that always feel so intense? Okay. January 31st, it makes people panic. And especially too if you have participated in dry January, right? It can feel like a deadline, it can feel like a test, right? A decision point. And Sally, you're expected to know if you are quote unquote done drinking. And if this was just a break, if it was just a break, or if you're sober now, maybe too, if you should should I be celebrating with a drink because I just went 31 days without not drinking. And this is the truth about January ending. It doesn't require a decision. Okay. And I want you to know that it just triggers one. And pressure has a beer has a way of making us self-sabotage, right? Pressure and deadlines. Again, you don't need to decide forever. I want to say this very clearly. You do not need to decide if you're quitting drinking forever, if you are at the very start of this, right? And even too, if you're a little bit farther down the road, because I know that there's issues, things will come up in people's lives where it will trigger them. Seriously. This past month after losing my dad and the drama that has unfolded in all of this, like if I wasn't as strong as I was in my sobriety today, I could see how very easily that could make somebody crack. So I'm not, I'm not going to sit here and say to you, like, that's not the decision. And I have always been very transparent about that in that as if you've listened to this podcast from the beginning, that there is stuff that will break people, trauma, an unexpected loss, even uh an unexpected loss. And we don't know what tomorrow is going to bring, but I just know for me personally that would it's not gonna be in my wheelhouse where that's not the way that I cope anymore. And I know I would actually be very disappointed in myself if I ever went back to that. So it's just again, it's easier to keep going than to start out of day one. Okay. So going back to this, I just want you to take the pressure off of you. Don't need to label yourself, right? You don't need to announce anything on your journey. You don't need to justify your next step. So what matters isn't the conclusion of this, it's what you have learned, right? In this time of you not drinking, and this is gonna be helpful. So ask yourself these questions. How did I feel without alcohol? What changed? What felt easier? What felt harder? What surprised me living an alcohol-free life? And all of the answers you're gonna get, this is all information. And it's more valuable to you than any promise you could make to yourself right now because you are gonna learn exactly how you felt and were living in when you chose a life without alcohol, because I know very much that the pressure is like people get in their heads about being perfect, and this hasn't ended with a specific day count. But you really have to go back to getting all of this data for yourself and what is the truth. And the truth is of how you are feeling and how you are showing up. Because even if you are you listen, even if you are having high anxiety right now because you are in that sober state, and that's what will happen to people in their early sobriety, but you're like, but man, I'm really kind, I'm really proud of myself. Even though I have this like high anxiety, I'm really proud of myself that I have not had a hangover. I'm starting to show up a little each day that I haven't shook up like this. Like I don't have that shame that I once carried because you were in that active use on a daily or weekly basis. You guys know the shame I'm talking about. It's an awful shame, right? You're starting to feel freer of the cycle you have broken out, and especially to in that moderation cycle that so many people get stuck in the end of their drinking days before they're finally like, I need I'm done with this. I am done with this. Why just having a drink can feel complicated, right? A lot of people say, January is over, I'll just have one. I proved to myself that there was no problem because I was able to go 31 days without it. But what happens here is that often it's not really about the drink. Okay. It's about the relief, the permission you're giving yourself, wanting to stop thinking about it, right? Wanting the tension to go away. And here's the thing of that you don't need to drink to release the pressure. You need to release the pressure first. So a lot of times, too, that when people quit drinking, they don't really know. And this is why you have to give this a very fair shot. You don't really realize how much you're using alcohol as a coping tool. And for a lot of people who have gotten sober before, where it was like a forced decision where they were in, they were, they had to make this decision and they did not want to. And then it was like they spent however much time in that sobriety. They spent that much time in their sobriety pissed. It's because they weren't making the decision for themselves, but also they weren't taking that time to start incorporating new tools, new ways of coping. And it always was a constant thought of what you were missing out of and you felt forced. And that goes back to a resentment. Just you need to release the pressure off of you first. And then also, too, when you're held to accountability, especially with family members or loved ones as well, it is very easy to then lose the focus of taking care of yourself and oh, I have to do this for somebody else. Okay. And for me, when I quit drinking, you guys all know my story, it was very much a fuck, man. I lost my rescue cap for the second time. Like in those four years of that moderation game, I was I was trying to control it so I could make others happy around me, but still have it in my life. And so for me, it really was in those, I was doing it for those first couple months, was based off of losing Fiona and then of not drinking in my relationship. However, by 90 days, though, that switched for me because it was like, no, I'm because I started to learn to love myself. Okay. I did not love myself like 1000% at that 90 days, but it was like, oh, okay, this is something that I'm nourishing and taking care of a little baby, because that's what you have to protect your sobriety and that's what it becomes. And then it was like, oh no, now my why switched over, and it's this is 100% for me because I don't want to go back. Because after 90 days, I had that period of you gain a lot of clarity in those 90 days. So even at the end of 30, you start putting alcohol back into your system. You haven't even entered the max capacity of the clarity you're about to get. And they're like, even after 90 days, I gained more clarity. It's it's the clarity you gain is it's fucking beyond. It is beyond, and it answers so many questions for your inner peace. I'm not kidding. Like, even the way like family systems are set up of whatever type of family that you came from, where it makes you look at things differently, makes you look at your job differently, it makes you look at how you've been parenting differently, like it really puts such a spotlight on yourself and not in a negative way, but it just gives you answers to be like, okay, that I don't want to go back there. So by not going back there, I'm going to continue this not drinking each day and continue to build this solid foundation for myself to keep moving forward because this is the person I want to be. I don't want to be a shit bag. For me, I didn't want to continue to be a shitbag. That grew tiresome. So I wanted to do the complete opposite of what I had been doing for 10 years. So by releasing the pressure first, decisions, also too, because decisions made from urgency usually don't reflect what you actually want. It's a big thing I tell people too. It's don't act out of emotions because sometimes when you act out of anger, you're gonna get a result that the next day you're gonna be like, oh, why did I do that? You have to take a pause from that, right? January is here, that challenge where you take a month-long break from alcohol to reset your habits and see how life feels like without drinking. Time off can bring huge benefits: better sleep, more energy, weight loss, and improvements to your liver health, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. But those first few weeks can be tough. That's where Exact Nature comes in. Exact Nature makes safe, non-intoxicating CBD products designed to help you take the edge off, easing cravings, calming anxiety, improving sleep, and stabilizing your mood, all without getting you high or causing harm. Founded by a father-son team in recovery, Exact Nature truly understands this journey. Their range of products is value-priced, subscription ready, and designed to support your success over time. As a listener, you'll get 25% off your order at exactnature.com with checkout code SV25. Start off strong in 2026 with ExactNature. Your future self will thank you. You can also find the link in the show notes below. Make sure to use code SV as in Sober Vibes25. SV25. So how really to end dry January without quote unquote blowing it up, right? So what's gonna actually help you right now? First, I want you to slow the moment down. There's no rush, nothing magical happens because the calendar flipped, right? Second, don't turn this into a reward or a punishment, right? Alcohol doesn't need to be the prize for surviving January. Third, keep choosing curiosity over conclusions, right? Instead of asking what am I doing forever, ask what supports me right now. Because I'm trying to get you to live in the present moment instead of future tripping. And then fourth, remember continuing doesn't declare a declaration. You're allowed to keep going quietly, right? You're allowed to take it day by day. You're allowed to not know what the future is gonna hold for you right now until eventually I'm gonna tell you eventually down the road in your sobriety, you're gonna be like, yeah, this is for everything. But I'm not gonna tell you that at 30 days because that's too much to think about. And you're gonna be like, you're fucking lying, Courtney. But I'm gonna tell you this. And if you ever ask one of my one-on-one quiet clients, I say this to all of them. The person you are starting at day one is not the person you're gonna be who ends up at day 500. You are gonna be a totally different bitch for the greater good, where you will shock and surprise yourself. Trust me when I say that. Just staying steady and consistent is your success. If you're afraid of ruin that, you know, that's okay to be afraid. That's okay. Because that's fear. And where you are at currently right now, it is normal to have that fear is normal to have, right? So just remember that this the progress you are making, you just need to keep going with it. And it's not measured by perfection, because in this game, it doesn't, it's not about perfections. What matters right now is that you interrupt in an old pattern and you are changing the story around for a lot of you too. By quitting drinking, you are breaking a generational cycle in your family. And I know that some people don't want to look that serious, but it is true. You are breaking a pattern that was maybe, I'm not even just talking about drinking. There might have been a pattern in your family of self-sabotage. And by you quitting drinking, because maybe that has become your self-sabotage, in the story you keep telling yourself of what you think your life should be, because that's what your mother and father's life should be, or even your grandparents, right? But interrupting this old pattern is key. And you have created awareness around that. And you have proven to yourself that you can pause and you can stop that. But that all this, what you have worked for in January, doesn't just vanish just because January ends, okay? And let's just say that there is a slip down the road, right? There's a slip down the road. I don't ever want you to forget the times that you had of sober living, right? Because that matters. And a lot of people neglect that and they don't think that matters. And I want you to do it even if you get tripped up in 2026. If you get tripped up in 2026 and you come to the point where you're like, I can't do this. You make a consult with me. I can't tell you how many women. I'm like the last good time gal, where they come to me and they're like, I can't do this anymore. I get my one-on-one support. And but they have all had periods of sobriety before. And it's like you cannot forget that time because those particular times have brought you up to this point where then these women are never drinking alcohol again. So just remember if something happens in 2026 that you go back to drinking, it is not going to be the end of your story. Keep remembering that. If dry January it's ending, dry January 2026 is ending and you feel unsure or conflicted or pressured, again, you are not failing. You are at a pause point, and you just need to decide what is going to support you today. You don't need to rush again into declaring to people that you are this alcohol-free, sober person. You don't feel like you need to make Instagram accounts and start sharing your sobriety. Just keep doing what has worked for you, right? Up until this point of this is working for me. I am a person who just doesn't do this anymore. And that is great. Okay. So as always, I'm very proud of you. Keep moving forward. If you need any help, need any support going further in your 2026 sober living experience. Make sure you to check out my one-on-one coaching and also to my sobriety circle. And that is a private group community, which is a lot about connection in there. And I keep that group very small. So everybody, if they want the chance to be seen and heard, they can be seen and heard. All right. I hope this episode helped you today. And make sure to, if you haven't done this yet, please rate review and subscribe to the show. And when you do that, screenshot it. It needs to be on Apple Podcasts. Screenshot me the review. Email it at silvervives at gmail.com. All of this stuff you're going to find in the show notes. And then I will give you free access to my unlocking your next level sober self masterclass. All right. As always, keep on trucking, and I'll see you in the next episode.