Dry January support: where to find help that works (most of it free)

Every December, people ask me some version of the same question: "Is there anything that actually helps with Dry January, or is it just willpower?" It's a fair question. January is sold as a test of character. You decide, you grit your teeth, you count the days. If you make it, you are strong. If you don't, you are weak.

Thinking of spending some or all of January away? Start with my Dry January retreat 2027 guide: the short answers, the cost, and every January guide in one place.

That picture is wrong, and it costs people their month. Willpower is real, but it is a poor plan on its own, because it is weakest exactly when you need it: at 6pm on a Friday, tired, hungry, with a friend saying "just one". What works better is boring and practical. It's support: something or someone that reaches you before the hard moment, not after it. This guide walks through the kinds of support there are, who each one suits, and how to set yours up in ten minutes. I run a small alcohol-free month, so I'm not neutral. But almost everything here is free, and none of it needs me.

Please read this first. If you drink heavily or every day, or use other drugs daily, stopping suddenly can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor before you stop. The Quiet Month is not medical, not therapy and not rehab. In a crisis, call your local emergency number or find a free helpline at findahelpline.com. More in our questions.

The short version

• Support roughly doubles your chances. In University of Sussex research, people who used the official app or daily emails were about twice as likely to finish the month without any alcohol.
• Pick two kinds: one that reaches you every morning (an app or email) and one human (a buddy, a group or a friend).
• Set it up before 1 January, not after the first bad evening.
• Tell your buddy your hardest evening in advance, so they can message you before it, not after.
• Online forums help many people, but read more than you post in week one, and leave any group that makes you feel worse.
• If you drink heavily or every day, your first support is a doctor, before you stop. That is not a weakness; it is safety.

What the research says about support

Most of the good research on Dry January comes from one team: Dr Richard de Visser and colleagues at the University of Sussex, working with the charity that runs the campaign, Alcohol Change UK. In their study of people who took part in Dry January 2019, the University of Sussex reported that participants who used the website, the free Try Dry app or the daily emails were about twice as likely to complete the month without drinking any alcohol as people who did it on their own. Writing later in The Conversation, de Visser made the same point more broadly: people who signed up and used the supporting materials were twice as likely to complete the challenge, and other studies show that social support helps people drink less.

Two honest caveats. First, these are people who chose to sign up, and they reported on themselves; people who seek support may already be more determined. Second, "twice as likely" is about finishing the month fully dry, not about health. Even so, it's the clearest single finding in the whole field, and it matches what I see: nobody I know who finished a dry month comfortably did it in total silence. (Figures checked 25 Oct 2026; sources at the end.)

The reason is simple. A dry month is a long run of small decisions, most of them in the evening. Support moves the decision earlier. A morning email at 7am reminds you of your plan before the day gets busy. A buddy's message at 5pm on Friday reaches you before the bar does. That is all it is, and it is enough.

Six kinds of Dry January support, side by side

There is no best one. There is the one you will actually use. Here is how they compare.

1. An app. The charity's free Try Dry app tracks your dry days, the money you save and how you feel, and nudges you each day. Best for people who like numbers, streaks and seeing progress. Weak point: easy to ignore once the novelty goes in week two, so turn the notifications on.
2. A daily email. One short message each morning with one small thing to try. Best for busy people who live in their inbox and don't want another app. The Alcohol Change UK emails are free, and so is our own 30 Quiet Days (more below). Weak point: emails are passive; they work best with one human alongside.
3. A buddy. One person, ideally doing the same month, who you message on hard evenings and who messages you. Best for almost everyone. It costs nothing and it's the support most people skip, because asking feels awkward. Weak point: a buddy who drops out in week one can take you with them, so choose someone steady, or have two.
4. A small group. Four to eight people with the same goal and a regular check-in, online or in person. Best for people who like company and accountability, and who find one-to-one too intense. Our Circles are small groups like this with a host and one good question a day. Weak point: groups need showing up; a group you never open is just another unread chat.
5. An online forum. Large communities where people post their day counts, their bad nights and their wins. Best for people who want to read other people's honest stories at midnight. Weak point: forums are mixed; some are kind, some are loud, and many are full of people with much heavier drinking than yours, which can be helpful or frightening. Read before you post, and leave if it makes you feel worse.
6. Your doctor. Not just for emergencies. A short appointment before January can check whether stopping suddenly is safe for you, give you a reason to keep going (a blood pressure or liver test now and again in February), and point you to local services if the month shows you something worrying. Best for anyone who drinks most days, or isn't sure.

The pattern that works for most people is one from 1 or 2, plus one from 3 or 4. Something that reaches you every morning, and someone who knows your name.

How to find a Dry January buddy (and what to ask of them)

Asking someone to be your buddy is the single cheapest support there is, and the one most people never ask for. A few things make it easier.

• Ask someone steady, not your usual drinking partner. The friend you drink with may want to help, but your Friday habit is shared, and so is the temptation. A sibling, a colleague, an old friend in another city: steady matters more than close.
• Ask for something specific. "Will you be my buddy?" is vague. "Can I text you on Friday evenings in January, and will you text me back 'Proud of you'?" is easy to say yes to.
• Swap your hardest evening. Tell each other the one evening you expect to be hardest (the first Friday, a birthday, the day the payslip lands) and plan a message, a call or a walk for it.
• Agree what happens if one of you slips. "We tell each other, no lecture, and carry on" stops one bad night becoming a silent end to the month.

A message you can copy:

"I'm doing January without alcohol. Would you be my check-in person? Nothing heavy: I'd text you on Friday evenings, and you'd text back something kind. If you want to do it too, even better."

Not sure how to tell people in the first place? I wrote how to tell people you're not drinking in January, with scripts for work, family, friends and dates. And if you're looking for new company for the long term, see how to find sober friends. No one steady to ask? Our sister project, Be My Friend AI, is a free way to meet a new friend in your city when you both say yes.

Set up your support in ten minutes, on 31 December

Do this before the first evening, ideally on 31 December or the morning of 1 January. It takes ten minutes.

1. Minute 1 to 3: the morning reminder. Download the Try Dry app or sign up to daily emails. Turn notifications on. Choose a time you are usually awake and calm.
2. Minute 4 to 5: the human. Send the buddy message above to one or two people.
3. Minute 6 to 7: the hard evening. Look at your January calendar. Circle the one evening you fear most. Write down what you will do instead, and who you will message at 5pm.
4. Minute 8: the fridge. Print the free Dry January 2027 tracker (PDF, A4) or keep the phone-size version, no email needed. A sheet of ticks is support you can see.
5. Minute 9: the house. Move any bottles out of sight, or out of the house, and put two drinks you actually like in the fridge.
6. Minute 10: the safety line. If you drink most days, book a doctor's appointment for the first week. Save a helpline number in your phone; you can find free ones in many countries at findahelpline.com.

That's it. Ten minutes, and the month no longer depends on how strong you feel at 6pm on a Friday.

Ask Rowan: What support should I use for Dry January? Rowan is our AI assistant. Please keep health details for the video call.

Want the prompts on paper? Print the free Dry January 2027 planner: a 31-day calendar for the fridge with one small thing to try each day, and a look-back day each week. Give a copy to your buddy too.

Support for the hard moments: what to do at 6pm

Most support fails at the same moment: the craving arrives, and you are on your own with it. Here is a short plan for that moment.

• Name it and time it. "This is a craving. It rises, and then it fades." Most fade if you wait them out and do something else; set a timer for 20 minutes if it helps.
• Message first, decide later. Text your buddy before you decide anything. The message itself breaks the pattern.
• Change the room. Go for a walk, take a shower, cook something. A craving is tied to a place and a time; move either one.
• Eat and drink something. Hunger and thirst feel a lot like wanting a drink at the end of the day.
• Open the app or the email. Read the day's message again. It was written for exactly this.

The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's Rethinking Drinking guide gives the same kind of advice: plan for your triggers, have your "no" ready, and find something else to do with the time. The NHS tips on cutting down add one more: let the people around you know, because a friend who knows can help. For a list of things that genuinely fill the evening, see what to do instead of drinking.

Support at home: partners, flatmates and the fridge

The people you live with are your biggest support or your biggest obstacle, often both. Three things help.

• Ask, don't demand. "Could you keep your wine in the cupboard this month, not on the counter?" is easier to agree to than "Please don't drink around me."
• Plan one shared evening a week that doesn't involve a drink: a film, a long walk, cooking something new together. It turns your month into something you share.
• Let them help in their own way. Some people cheer, some people go quiet. Quiet is often support too.

If your partner still drinks and this feels hard, I wrote a calmer, longer plan: Dry January when your partner drinks. And if work is the hard part, see Dry January at work.

When you need more than Dry January support

Dry January is a public health campaign for people who drink, not for people who are dependent on alcohol. Alcohol Change UK says this plainly: if you are dependent, stopping suddenly can be dangerous, and you should get medical advice first. Signs that the month may not be the right first step: you drink every day or most days; you feel shaky, sweaty or unwell when you go without; you have tried to stop before and could not; or drinking is causing real harm at home or at work.

None of that makes you a bad person, and none of it means you can't change. It means the right support is a doctor or a local alcohol service, not an app. In the UK, the NHS lists free alcohol support services; in other countries, your doctor can point you to local help, and findahelpline.com lists free helplines. If you find in week two that you keep slipping, or can't stop when you want to, that's worth knowing, and worth talking about with someone qualified.

Our free support: 30 Quiet Days

If you'd like company on the way, 30 Quiet Days is our free January programme, 1 to 31 January 2027: one short email each morning with one small thing to try, and an optional daily check-in with Rowan, our AI assistant (an AI, and he says so). You don't have to be sober to join, and you don't need to buy anything, ever. Pair it with one human, a buddy or a small Circle, and you have both halves of good support.

For the month as a whole, my practical Dry January 2027 plan gives each of the five weekends a theme. If you do slip, read what to do if you drank during Dry January before you give up on the month. And for the end of January, after Dry January: how to keep the good bits.

"Dry January" is a registered trademark of Alcohol Change UK. The Quiet Month is not linked to the charity.

Or spend January where the support is built in

Some people know that an app and a buddy won't be enough at home, with the same sofa, the same fridge and the same Friday. That is what I do. The first Quiet Month starts on 1 January 2027, with up to four guests. Each guest lives in their own private flat a short walk from me. We share simple low-carb meals, move every day at a pace that suits you, sit for a short, always optional meditation, explore, and talk over coffee in the evenings. The rule is no alcohol, no smoking, no drugs for the whole month, for everyone, me included. The support isn't an app; it's the whole day.

Honestly: I'm self-taught, not a doctor or counsellor. The Quiet Month is not medical, not therapy and not rehab. Every guest is 21 or over and brings a doctor's fit-to-join letter and travel insurance. I don't publish where I am; after a free video call, if we both want to go ahead, you learn the country and city before you sign anything, and nothing is paid before that call and a signed agreement. The programme fee is US$10,000 for the month; your flat and flights are extra. See January 2027: the founding guests and the price page.

Email me first at info@thequietmonth.com, start step 1 of the application (about five minutes, free, no commitment), or book a free 20-minute call.

The Quiet Month team

Doing January at home instead? Read Dry January 2027, somewhere quiet, or join the free 30 Quiet Days emails.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. University of Sussex: Take part in Dry January and you’ll reap the benefits for months (Dr Richard de Visser, December 2019) (website, Try Dry app or email users twice as likely to complete without drinking; 87% achievement, 72% slept better)
2. Alcohol Change UK: Dry January and the Try Dry app (free app and emails; Sussex research; safety note for people who are dependent)
3. Richard de Visser in The Conversation, republished by Sleep Review (Jan 2025): reported benefits of Dry January (4,232 adults; twice as likely to complete with support; social support helps people drink less)
4. University of Sussex (Jan 2019): Dry January research by Dr Richard de Visser, 2018 participants (self-reported survey; 71% slept better, 80% more in control)
5. NIAAA, Rethinking Drinking: Tips to try (plan for triggers; "know your no")
6. NHS: Tips on cutting down on alcohol (let others know; drink-free days)
7. NHS: Alcohol support (UK) (free services)
8. Find A Helpline: free helplines in many countries

Prices and facts were checked on 25 October 2026. Prices change; always check the source before you book anything.