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life & style lifestyle
the courier
Monday 24 February 2020
Should we ditch the drink? Sophie Wilson discusses whether Dry January is a cocktail for disaster or a shot of success as she debates the pros and cons
D
ry January-the new hip thing to do for when you’re needing a ‘new year, new you’ kind of vibe. But are the benefits worth the full month of self-restraint? After failing to give it a go this year, my research has told me that it is definitely on my todo list for next January. Here are the top three reasons to try it out yourself. Firstly, the process of not drinking from 1 January (that IS right, you will have to stop drinking whilst on your new year’s night out), to 1 February will improve your health. ‘BMI Healthcare’ states that dry January gives you an increased amount of sleep, more energy and aids weight loss. We have all had those nights where we have had a few too many drinks, and we lie awake in bed staring at the ceiling, frustrated at our inability to sleep. With alcohol damaging your quality of sleep, stripping out alcohol from your diet can help you get those well needed hours of sleep. More rest inevitably brings more energy, and that is why Alcohol
Image: Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash
Concern have said that 71% of people who undertook it had better sleep and 67% had more energy. Considering weight loss, the reduction of liquid calories is going to make you shed a few pounds. A bottle of wine, a few pints, mixers - they are all high calorie drinks. If losing weight after Christmas is something that you want to embark upon (not that you should necessarily do this because you all look perfect as you are), then dry January can help you after Christmas. Secondly, there may be a change in attitude without alcohol. With alcohol being a depressant, when those January blues hit it can be easy to reach for a beverage to lift your mood. But if alcohol gives you a high and then leaves you feeling worse off, surely cutting out that depressant in a month where many feel at a low-point anyway can only be a good move? Restraining from alcohol is not just about physical health, but your emotional and mental health
Alcohol is not a secret potion to enjoying a social occasion
(which is always of the upmost importance). Finally, the long-lasting effect of it may be that you realise alcohol is not a secret potion to enjoying social occasions. When going out with friends and not drinking is proven to be just as good as getting really drunk and spending time with them, your perspective might just shift regarding your dependence upon it. Even if the effect is a few less drinks at pres, or a few less drinks at a bar each night you go out, then your body will be thankful. So all in all, dry January is such an appealing concept, and I definitely need it to help me in my January slump next year. Why don’t you join me for next January?
Image: Authority Dental
Television’s Phillip Schofield comes out as gay Em Richardson discusses the This Morning host’s courageous announcement and how it’s actually none of our business
T
elevision presenter Philip Schofield recently announced he is gay, despite being married to a woman for 27 years. Naturally, this has led to a lot of speculation… about whether he knew he was gay when he married a woman, about why he didn’t ‘come out’ sooner, and about how his family might be feeling at this time. As far as I’m concerned, there is a single answer to all of these questions: none of our business. We can speculate, of course. Maybe he genuinely believed he could suppress his feelings for men at the time of his marriage. Maybe he didn’t feel comfortable coming out earlier in his career because LGBTQ+ people were less accepted back then, and he worried about how the public might react. Maybe his family can happily accept that he is still the same person he was before he came out. Ultimately, however, Schofield has every right to keep the answers to these questions between himself, his wife, and his daughters. With regards to his wife, she is the only person who really knows how she is feeling. She might be devastated, and she might feel deceived, as online commentators keep claiming.
the massive changes her life is currently undergoing. Let’s stop telling her how she ought to feel.
The darkest depths of Twitter have seen fit to make some rather unpleasant allegations
The majority of reactions to his news have been positive - as they should be, in this day and age
Yet, she could just as easily feel happy that he is finally able to be true to himself. After all, this is someone with whom she has a long, shared history. Regardless of her feelings towards her husband in this moment, at some point, she loved him. Only she knows the extent to which this is still true. Rather than people speculating about her feelings online, she needs time, and privacy, to allow her to process
Image: @PhillipSchofield on Instagram
As for Schofield himself, the majority of reactions to his news have been positive - as they should be, in this day and age. The majority of negativity comes from the belief that he has misled his wife and daughters which, whilst unpleasant and hurtful, at least doesn’t mock him simply for the fact he is gay. His personal appeal has not been diminished by the news about his sexuality, for the majority of people. That being said, the darkest depths of Twitter have still seen fit to make some rather unpleasant allegations. Several conspiracy theories have emerged, claiming Schofield has ‘pursued’ younger men, despite very little evidence. I firmly believe such allegations are rooted in homophobia. A certain breed of person doesn’t seem to want to believe that Schofield kept his sexuality private simply because he wasn’t ready to speak his truth. They are convinced there must be a darker, more unpleasant reason for his silence. Such theories stem from the appalling belief that being gay is a ‘dirty secret’, and the evil stereotype that gay men have a tendency to ‘pray’ on younger men. In the wake of Caroline Flack’s suicide, I think we need to remember that the consequences of constant, cruel speculation about one’s private life can be devastating, and call out such behaviour. Personally, I think we should just be glad that Schofield finally felt comfortable enough to come out whilst in the public eye, regardless of how long it has taken him to reach this point.
