8 Cognitive Behavioral Steps to Reduce Problematic Drinking

And peer pressure doesn’t necessarily come in the form of friends loudly encouraging you to drink more. You might convince yourself that you need to drink to impress someone or fit https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ in with the crowd. This can be particularly true of teens who want to drink to seem older or more mature. You might also worry about whether alcohol is causing permanent damage to your brain or heart health.

  • By understanding your triggers, you can make more informed choices about when and how much to drink.
  • You might binge drink in order to feel confident talking, flirting, or making jokes with strangers.
  • Developing healthy coping mechanisms for stress is crucial when moving away from mindful drinking.
  • Drinking too much alcohol raises your risk of injury and accidents, disease, and other health problems.
  • Relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners often suffer as a result of alcohol misuse.

The abstinence vs. moderation debate

Alcohol problems come from drinking too much, too fast, or too often. People with alcohol dependence are addicted to alcohol, and they can’t control their drinking. When alcohol-dependent people try to stop drinking, they may feel anxious and irritable—so they may drink some more, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

Learn more about alcohol use and changing your drinking:

Fortunately, urges to drink are short-lived, predictable, and controllable. This short activity offers a recognize-avoid-cope approach commonly used in cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps people to change unhelpful thinking patterns and reactions. It also provides worksheets to help you uncover the nature of your urges to drink and to make a plan for handling them. Talk with a healthcare professional if you’re concerned you may experience detox symptoms when quitting drinking or cutting back. If your body is used to a certain amount of alcohol, you may feel certain effects when you stop.

why cant i control my drinking

If mindful drinking isn’t giving you the results you want, don’t be afraid to try a different approach. Talk to a doctor or mental health professional, explore resources like online alcohol assessments, and build a strong support network of people who understand your goals. Many people turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism for stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues.

Professional resources and helplines for alcohol treatment and recovery

Pursue new interests with them that don’t involve drinking. Instead of inviting your loved one out for drinks at a bar, invite them over to work on a crafting project or go out and see a movie. Be mindful of how often you engage in activities that could involve alcohol, such as local trivia nights or sports events. Try to make those types of activities take a backseat to other hobbies. So what should you do if your loved one initially denies having a binge drinking problem?

why cant i control my drinking

Identify Your Triggers:

why cant i control my drinking

If your excessive alcohol use is a recurring issue, you might admonish yourself for your poor self-control or even develop a sense of self-loathing. Ashwagandha is an herbal supplement used in traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine. It has long been used to prevent alcohol cravings, improve immune function, and reduce stress.

Creating connections is a top secret to learning to control your alcohol intake and improving life in general. Do you come back from a comedy show and talk about how great the draft beer was or are you still chuckling about the jokes and what a good time you had with your friends? Our logic gets twisted and we start to assign significance to alcohol that it just does not deserve. We have become accustomed to drinking on social occasions. Even though we didn’t Sober Houses Rules That You Should Follow need alcohol to enjoy them before now we have developed a habit of drinking. We have intertwined, within our minds, the alcohol, and the joy we feel from the occasion.

Or you could let them know how it’s affecting your relationship. Studies show that binge drinking can affect your working memory, which is your ability to store short-term information and keep track of what you’re doing. As you start to prioritize your alcohol use, it can have a negative effect on your work, school, or social life. You might try cutting back on your drinking but find that you suffer headaches, fatigue, anxiety, or irritability on the days when you don’t drink.

  • Similarly, if you struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, or trauma, alcohol can exacerbate these conditions and hinder your progress in managing them.
  • Which approach is right for you depends on your particular situation.
  • Alcohol abuse can cause or worsen symptoms of depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders.
  • Everyone who drinks now drinks more than they used to; I know this is true because at one time they didn’t drink at all.
  • Digestive problems and liver disease are also potential long-term health risks that binge drinkers face.

Similarly, if you struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, or trauma, alcohol can exacerbate these conditions and hinder your progress in managing them. Behavioral therapy, such as counseling or support groups, can help people develop skills to avoid or overcome stress and other triggers that could lead to drinking. The approach can help people set realistic goals, identify the feelings and situations that might lead to heavy drinking, and offer tips to manage stress. The urge to drink might seem haphazard, but if you really set out to monitor when and where it happens you will usually start to see some predictable patterns.

Trying a period of complete abstinence from alcohol

Whatever the fear or concern might be, it helps to practice what you are actually going to say, and how you might respond to any follow up questions your refusal might bring about. Best strategy for refusing a drink is to keep the refusal simple and direct, and to be prepared to state it a couple of times if needed. Knowing these things ahead of time will help you be prepared to give in to drinking as you will already have a coping plan in place. In the following article I would like to share 8 impactful strategies to reduce or stop your drinking that you can start implementing today.

Drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, so make sure you eat food when you drink. Make it clear that drinking will not be allowed in your home and that you may not be able to attend events where alcohol is being served. Here are some general guidelines to help you start thinking about the choice you would like to make about your drinking. Which approach is right for you depends on your particular situation. It also can depend on whom you talk to and the approach they embrace.

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