Remember that the path towards lasting recovery isn’t linear — there will be ups and downs. But with patience, persistence and these strategies at hand – you’re better equipped than ever before on this journey towards healthier living minus harmful drinking habits. Abstinence benefits extend beyond just physical improvements though; they also encompass mental health improvements. Emotional resilience begins to grow as you learn new ways to cope with stress or anxiety without reaching for a drink. It’s heartbreaking to see loved ones caught in the grip of addiction, but there’s hope – research shows that many people find success with programmes aimed at reducing consumption.
Electrical Currents as Treatment for Depression
We believe in the power of personalised therapy, where our experts tailor a recovery plan suited to your needs and circumstances. Still, when it comes to looking at entire population, most individuals that abuse alcohol are specifically NOT those more severe cases, which means the results might actually be more generalizable. In case you’ve never heard of Moderation Management (MM), you should check out their website. Moderation management offers face-to-face and online meetings, a listserv, a forum, online alcohol drinking limit guidelines, a self-help book that can be ordered through the site, and an online calendar where users can report their drinking. In general, “more serious” consequences are not reversible, and call for an immediate and serious response like rehab, abstinence, and support groups.
Which Medications are Best for Individuals That Want to Moderate Their Drinking?
Medication makes it easier to put the brakes on after a drink or two, and sticking to moderation is challenging without it. If you want to resolve problem drinking without medication, abstinence may be a better alcohol abstinence vs moderation choice for you. When your goal is only one drink instead of no drinks at all, the temptation to stray can become less powerful and you can more often enjoy positive reinforcement from your successes.
Benefits of Helping Others
- More time at home may have contributed to less peer pressure to drink, less time in a “wet” culture, and lifestyle changes that might support a shift towards moderation.
- Drinking is often a coping strategy subconsciously used to avoid having to deal with uncomfortable or painful issues.
- Moderation management has been found most successful for those who have a problem with drinking but who do not meet the criteria and have not been diagnosed with moderate or severe alcohol use disorder.
- If you are curious to get a better understanding of where you might fall on the continuum of alcohol use disorder then the guidelines set by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) may be helpful.
Moderate drinking differs between men and women, according to health authorities like the CDC and NIAAA. The effects of alcohol consumption can also differ greatly based on a person’s physical composition, regardless of sex or gender identity. You’ve noticed that you’re drinking more and more often, or maybe you’ve experienced some unwanted consequences from your alcohol use. Should you just try to tone down the drinking, or should you fully stop all alcohol use and aim for abstinence?
What is Controlled Drinking or Alcohol Moderation Management?
- Many people with an alcohol use disorder end up drinking more than they intend and struggle to return to moderate levels.
- You’re part of a community now – one united by shared experiences and common goals.
- When you’re looking to drink in moderation, it’s a good idea to designate a few days as no-drinking days.
- But if they have a problem with alcohol, taking a harm reduction approach could be a constructive way to help them take a look at the negative consequences of their behavior and motivate them to make positive changes.
- A moderation approach may be recommended for those who prefer a gradual approach to progress.
- Whether it’s through continued counselling or group meetings within the community -we’ll be there every step of the way- supporting you as much as needed so that recovery becomes less daunting and more hopeful.
Drinking in moderation means you’ll likely need to turn down a drink now and again. Planning exactly how you’ll say no—in a quick, polite, and convincing way—can make it easier for you to stick with your convictions and avoid a spiral of uncomfortable excuses. Of the 322 with one or more risk factors, 114 (35.4%) had experienced AUD.
- Indeed, moderation appears to be a viable pathway to alcohol use disorder remission for some.
- For individuals with severe alcohol dependence, abstinence remains the most effective and safe strategy to avoid the devastating consequences of alcohol-related health issues, social disruption, and the potential for relapse.
- Moderation management offers face-to-face and online meetings, a listserv, a forum, online alcohol drinking limit guidelines, a self-help book that can be ordered through the site, and an online calendar where users can report their drinking.
When people aiming for abstinence make a mistake, they may feel like quitting is impossible and give up entirely. You can have an occasional drink without feeling defeated and sliding deeper into a relapse. Just because your loved ones do well with moderation or abstinence does not mean that you will, too. Investigate your situation, goals, and past to decide which option would work best for you, and use all of the available tools and coping skills to create the best outcomes.
An individual’s ability to avoid excessive drinking is also influenced by other factors such as past alcohol consumption, as reflected by an alcohol use disorder diagnosis. Depending on the number of criteria met, an individual will be diagnosed with mild, moderate, or severe AUD.Individuals with severe AUD often find that in the long term, sobriety is the most achievable goal for them. Keeping alcohol in your life in a healthy way can be really challenging, especially for people who have exhibited more severe drinking habits and patterns. While many people and treatment centers follow the alcohol abstinence model, there are others that argue that drinking in moderation is effective.
Too Much of a Good Thing: Exercise Addiction
As such, I think these results are very encouraging in terms of offering another possible solution for individuals who are looking to reduce their alcohol consumption and the problems that keep creeping up along with it. Lastly, this being a study, it is very possible that participants were better motivated, more informed, and more likely to put in the effort required to use the moderatedrinking.org program. Future work would need to assess the effectiveness of this tool in the field without such interference. Alcohol moderation programs are endorsed as an effective option by organizations like the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Sinclair Method (TSM), which involves taking the drug naltrexone to relearn moderation, has a success rate of 78%. Whether via self-talk or a conversation with a trusted friend, family member, or healthcare professional, it’s important to talk about your urges and remind yourself why you chose to moderate your drinking in the first place.
