Can You Moderate Your Drinking? There Is Only One Way To Find Out

If you are unable to cut back on your drinking even when you want to, consider speaking to your doctor. You may have an alcohol dependency and need some extra help to change your drinking habits. Cutting back may not be easy and some people who drink heavily are better off avoiding alcohol completely. But if your techniques don’t seem to be working, consider getting support. You may benefit from the help of an addiction treatment program, a therapist that deals with addictions, or by attending an AA meeting in your area. You may drink socially or even enjoy a drink after a long day of work. But it is important to pay attention to your consumption habits as sometimes drinking can become problematic.

The normal drinker might not drink again for a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or a couple of months. However, the patient must seek treatment in good time as an extended drinking problem can be damaging both mentally and physically. There are several ways on how to help an alcoholic that doesn’t want help. While the benefits above are certainly commendable, the risks often outweigh the advantages. For instance, drinking rubbing alcohol even in moderation can be life-threatening. Decreases Chances of Dementia –According to a study by the Loyola University Chicago, one of the effects of moderate drinking is toughening up brain cells thus making them resilient to major stresses down the road. This reduces the likelihood of developing cognitive impairment that often leads to conditions such as dementia.

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People have a lot of success reducing alcohol, with many shifting out of a diagnosis with alcohol or drug dependence, moving into controlled or low-level use. They don’t necessarily need to identify themselves as “in recovery” and most of them do it without any assistance from the mental health world at all. But most are just making decisions themselves and shifting into control use. I havehad clients who were drinking beyond the NIH guidelines who moderated simply from being told what they were. I’ve also worked with clients who would have left treatment if they were told they had to abstain, but who were willing to adopt an abstinence goal after having failed at moderation a number of times.

They can maintain moderate drinking for years at a time. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ So who’s more likely to be successful at moderation?

How to Drink in Moderation

If you’re unsure whether you should be drinking alcohol, follow up with your doctor or healthcare provider. There are bountiful resources available to you if you are considering treatment, a support group, or even tips on how to moderate or abstain from alcohol. You have already made the crucial first step of evaluating alcohol in your life. If an alcoholic were somehow able to enjoy a few drinks without getting hammered, and without resenting the fact that they’re not getting hammered, then that would truly be an amazing thing. But by definition, this person would be no longer an alcoholic – they would be cured. As anyone who has been in recovery knows, this sort of thing simply doesn’t happen.

Alternate between alcoholic drinks and wateror other non-alcoholic drinks. Eat before and during your drinking.Having food in your stomach slows the absorption of alcohol and can reduce the level of intoxication you feel. Be sure to avoid salty snacks, which will make you thirsty. One of the best things about moderating your alcohol use is filling those times spent drinking or obtaining alcohol with fun hobbies and activities. By doing so, you may even identify any triggers that cause you to drink—for example, certain social situations, stress from work, or even boredom.

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An alcoholic will go on a spree or bender and usually will not stop until a consequence jolts them back to reality. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform.

• MM asks participants to take a realistic look at their drinking patterns and reasons for drinking.
• The person who drinks 3 to 4 drinks per night might commit to the principle of abstaining from alcohol during the week.
• But if you look at the trajectory of an alcoholic’s life, it paints a different picture.
• If an alcoholic were somehow able to enjoy a few drinks without getting hammered, and without resenting the fact that they’re not getting hammered, then that would truly be an amazing thing.
• Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals.

When someone is drinking in moderation, they are not drinking excessively. They also don’t have to fight the urge to not drink too much. The first is that when an alcoholic starts drinking, eventually he or she will do way more than they intended to do. The second is that once they do in fact stop, they will drink again. Pinpoint your heavy drinking triggers and plan ahead.

You can also skip the CheckUp and go straight to our Choices programs that empower you to cut back or quit.

Finding alternative ways to achieve those feelings is a crucial part of changing your relationship with alcohol. You don’t need to have a ‘rock bottom’ to seek treatment and community. At the end of four to six months of treatment with the Sinclair Method, 80% of people who had been overusing alcohol were either drinking moderately or abstaining entirely. Verywell Mind articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and mental healthcare professionals.

• For example, even light drinkers have a tiny, but real, increased risk of some cancers, such as esophageal cancer.
• By explaining how important it is to you that you moderate your drinking, they may be able to offer their help.
• Shots can also impair your movements and thinking more quickly than other drinks because the alcohol hits your system all at once.
• No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
• Reassess if you want to keep the same goal or modify it.

Avoid taking shots, because they’re consumed quickly and make it more likely that you’ll have additional drinks over Can You Moderate Your Drinking the next hour. A free-pour of wine or liquor could actually be a much bigger drink than the standard serving.