Alcohol dependence and how to cut down
Having a pattern of needing or wanting a drink can be hard to change. Some people find it much harder to control their alcohol consumption than others, and there are biological aspects to this.
Alcohol dependence is an illness, and recovery from this state depends only in part on how hard the individual tries as well as on how much help is received. It seems that alcohol dependence not only runs in families, but actually has a genetic (hereditary) component.
Most heavy drinkers reach a point in their lives when they take stock and decide to cut down - either of their own accord, or on the advice of their GP. If you want to cut down on your alcohol intake, read our guide for advice.
Make a plan
List your reasons for wanting to change. Do they outweigh the advantages to you of continuing to drink the same amount? List your trigger situations and work out how to handle them. Set a goal you can stick to, for example, maximum units per week, or maximum units per occasion that you'll allow yourself to drink. Then, choose a start date.
Take action
- Saying "NO". Practice ways of refusing a drink, stay away from people who might give you a hard time about drinking less.
- Discuss with your partner the pros and cons of having a drink at home.
- If you are drinking - pace it. Sip (eg one hour between drinks), dilute your drinks, take lower strength drinks and take a spacer not a chaser!
- Manage your triggers.
If that doesn't work, remember these facts:
- alcohol raises the pulse and blood pressure causing a misleading feeling of warmth. Alcohol actually causes the body to lose heat
- having a cold shower does not help sober you up - the only thing that sobers you up is time
- alcohol may be filling, but it can never provide a sufficient dietary intake of nutrients - there are virtually no useful nutrients in alcohol
- the initial effects of drinking are mild relaxation and elation, but this is due to alcohol's depressant effect on the brain. More often than not, drinking will increase feelings of unhappiness and depression
- alcohol may make you feel sleepy, but many people suffer from insomnia after drinking because alcohol interferes with natural sleep patterns
It's not all bad news
If you really have problems trying to control your drinking habits, then there are many organisations which can help you. The programme and companionship of Alcoholics Anonymous is a powerful aid.
Further information
There are nearly 200 health factsheets on this website which deal with a range of issues, including alcohol-related ones:
View our health factsheets
