I want to drink less, but how?

Preventing excessive alcohol consumption is a strategy that significantly contributes to reducing the social impacts and damage to physical health that this pattern of consumption is responsible for.

The impact of harmful alcohol use is of great relevance in different areas: individual, family, social and economic. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests some strategies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol globally, such as, for example, monitoring this use, greater control and supervision over sales to children and adolescents, increasing the ability of  the healthcare system to identify drinkers with problematic use and care for dependents and family members.

In addition to broad global strategies, there are clinical strategies that we can implement in everyday life to prevent excessive alcohol consumption. The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests some actions that can contribute to this prevention, such as:

1. Avoid drinking too much and encourage others to do the same;
2. Monitor your alcohol consumption and find out more about the benefits of drinking less;
3. If you choose to drink alcohol, limit yourself to 2 drinks per day if you are a man or 1 drink per day if you are a woman;
4. Do not serve or provide alcohol to anyone who should not drink, including people under 18, pregnant women or those who have already had too much to drink;
5. Talk to your doctor about your drinking behavior and ask for advice.

We can also point out strategies such as: setting goals, if you decide to consume alcohol, defining the day and the amount you want to drink; identify what triggers your desire to drink; know your limits and learn to say no; pay attention to the alcohol content of the drinks you drink, especially those containing mixes; and reflect on where and why you usually drink, making alcohol consumption more conscious. Practicing activities and going to places that do not combine alcohol, such as sports, parks or cinema, can help reduce the desire to drink.

If you realize that you are drinking excessively and want to reduce your alcohol consumption, whether for health or personal reasons, an important step has already been taken. The important thing now is to define the best strategy for your case. Talk to your doctor or a healthcare professional for help.

References:

Ryan, S. M., Jorm, A. F., Kelly, C. M., Hart, L. M., Morgan, A. J., & Lubman, D. I. (2011). Parenting strategies for reducing adolescent alcohol use: a Delphi consensus study. BMC public health, 11, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-13