HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - It's a new year and many people have new goals, but for some getting their drinking habits under control can be an extreme challenge.
That’s why some are participating in Dry January, which means they are not drinking alcohol this month.
For many people drinking alcohol is associated with all kinds of different emotions. Sometimes people drink when they are upset, happy or if they want to celebrate all kinds of different events but what happens when you start to feel like alcohol is controlling you.
For some people that is the reason they participate in Dry January.
For the first time in her life Sarah Vogt is taking part in Dry January as a goal for the new year.
“I'd have two glasses of wine which would turn into 3 glasses of wine and then I’m telling them (her children) the same stories over and over again,” said Vogt.
She said she did not want to be that parent.
Vogt said taking a break from drinking was always something she had considered but put it on the backburner.
She says she struggled to cut back and then decided to go cold turkey.
Alcohol is a problem for many people across the country.
The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reports on average more than 141,000 Americans die every year. They report that 10 percent of people over the age of 12 have an alcohol use disorder and 60 percent increased their drinking during the COVID lockdowns.
An increase was also seen in zoom meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous during COVID, according to a member we spoke to.
News 3 met up with two members recently who shared their stories, but didn’t want their identities revealed.
“I was a blackout drinker. I’d get in the car and drive. I could’ve killed somebody or myself. I didn’t want to live that life anymore,” said this member of AA. “I had to do something about it after I had three DUIs.”
She said drinking was making life unmanageable. She said she was a functioning alcoholic and never missed work but when she started to drink she couldn’t stop.
She started going to AA and said it changed her life.
Another member of AA told us he was 29-years when he got a DUI and his second wife was threatening to leave him.
He said he started attending AA meetings and was reluctant to participate, but then realized the group was helping him.
“I was afraid of myself. I was a Jekyll and Hyde type of personality. I used to be a good time, fun loving partying type of fella, that started changing, started having fights,” he said about drinking.
They both began going to AA, made changes and now live happy sober lives and help others in recovery.
Quitting drinking can be tough.
The Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Authority reports another year of increased sales topping 1.6 billion dollars in 2022 – that’s a 3.1 percent increase over the year prior.
ABC said 92% of people in Virginia live within a ten-minute drive of an ABC store.
“When you start having those mental cycles where you know you're spending a lot of time thinking about alcohol it is probably time to really sit and consider some changes,” said Vogt.
“Welcoming the New Year can be our time to reset and recharge with healthy resolutions,” said Pat Kane, an ABC Representative.
ABC said for the first time they’ve started a campaign called Sip Responsibility which works to educate people about what is in alcohol and promotes low or no alcoholic drinks.
“We see these trends growing interest in sober curiosity, in sobriety challenges, and things like that so we want to have those products on our shelves that support that,” said Kane.
Even with more options -- getting sober can be challenging.
“Alcoholism is a disease and there is no cure for it,” said the woman in AA.
Even acknowledging there’s a problem is tough.
“There’s a difference between saying you’re an alcoholic and sensing you’re an alcoholic and deep down, admitting it in 100%,” said the man in AA.
But if you need to they both say getting help from AA can change your life.
She said, “I don’t want to drink. I don’t need a drink. This program has taught me how to live life one day at a time.”
For Vogt, she’s staying busy and removing herself from certain social situations and taking it one day at a time.
“I want to get a grip on it because right now it has had a grip on me,” said Vogt.
Here is a link to AA: https://www.aa.org/meeting-guide-app
Here is a link to determine if AA is for you: https://www.aa.org/self-assessment
ABC Campaign Sip Responsibly: https://www.abc.virginia.gov/sip-responsibly
