You have a couple of choices:
- Completely stop drinking
- Drinking less
- Prevention from you falling back into excessive drinking
- A period and then stop drinking or moderate drinking
- First try to drink less, but when it fails, completely stop drinking
Whatever you choose, it’s completely up to you. It’s important to support your choice 100%: it increases the chances of success.
If in doubt then you can still just phone a treatment centre near you for some sound advice (you can keep it anonymous). You do not instantly have to change. You only have to make a choice when you fully understand the implications and are ready to commit yourself 100% to the prescribed treatment.
There is no ready answer to the question of which is easier: to stop drinking or cut down. Sometimes it is easier for a period – for example three months, not to drink. That becomes ingrained habit that you get used to.
It is not easy to say what will work for an individual, cause everyone is different. But when there is a direct medical danger when you drink alcohol, then the choice is clear: stop.
Good reasons to moderate your drinking:
If you want to drink less, the list below will help you. It is good to use as a checklist.
- You do not want to stop drinking completely and you will see yourself in a position where in the future you can be a moderate drinker.
- You want a safe and responsible way to learn drink.
- You want to learn to drink in a way that is not harmful to you.
- Your loved ones are confident that you can drink moderately (they know you better than you think).
- If moderate drinking does not appear to happen, you would you stop drinking completely.
- You have a physical condition where moderate drinking is also medically justified (no medical benefit).
- You want to remain a moderate drinking because you are nice to your friends will join in and drink because you like the way it tastes.
- Your friends are moderate drinkers.
- You haven’t been drinking excessively for a long period of time.
Moderate drinking is often more difficult than stopping completely, and sometimes it’s not. You must decide which works best for you.
In short: just try it and see if it works!
Several studies have shown that the probability of successful moderate drinking is greater when:
- You are under 40 years old
- There is no history of alcoholism in your family
- You do not suffer withdrawal symptoms and previously never have
- You are female
- You have had a drinking problem for less than 10 years
- You don’t have any major problems in other areas of your life, such as in your work, financially, your family, your love life, with housing
The more of the above points apply to you, the greater the chance of success.
If you find it hard, please phone a treatment centre near you. They are always there to help and can give you sound advice.
