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If you struggle with this form of alcohol abuse, it is important to honestly assess your own behavioral patterns and ask yourself what you are willing to change. If you find that your use of alcohol leads to feelings of guilt, shame, or remorse, choose to be honest with yourself about the problem. You can make the choice in this moment to rethink your relationship with alcohol and begin to drink more responsibly and mindfully moving forward. Use the present moment as an opportunity to begin to act differently.
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For men, this typically translates to no more than one to two standard drinks per day, while women are advised to limit their intake to one standard drink per day. These guidelines aim to strike a balance between enjoying the occasional drink and safeguarding one’s health. Alcohol causes dehydration, which contributes to hangovers, which absolutely no one wants.
Keep track of your drinking.
You don’t need to have a ‘rock bottom’ to seek treatment and community. Connecting with medical professionals and a peer support network can give you the tools to reach your goals, and set you up for long-term success. The adequate intake is 15.5 cups (3.7 liters or 125 ounces) for men and 11.5 cups (2.7 liters or 91 ounces) for women. How you choose to consume these 125 or 91 ounces of fluid is up to you. Although this is the closest figure we have to a recommended daily intake, even these numbers differ for each person based on their health condition. Many people who struggle with alcohol have found it difficult or impossible to moderate their drinking in the past, often due to how alcohol affects the brain’s reward system.
What is moderate drinking?
In the opening examples, neither person could consistently predict how much they would drink – and, in Alex’s case, it wasn’t always clear what would happen when he drank. His pattern of alcohol use was also impacting his relationship with his wife, but he continued to overdrink anyway. Both individuals have developed what I would consider an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, whether or not they would be diagnosed as having an alcohol use disorder.
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- But as temperatures rise, staying hydrated becomes more important.
- Despite wanting to drink more, make the choice not to – and consider how good you’ll feel the next day when you wake up and know that you did not overdrink.
- A similar mindset shift is necessary when on vacation or around the holidays when it’s easy to relinquish controlled drinking and consume more than one or two drinks.
If you are working outside during a heat wave, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends drinking 8 ounces (1 cup) of water every 15 to 20 minutes during work. Drinking water both before and after work can help prevent chronic dehydration. Here’s how much water you should really be drinking as the weather warms up. Get started today before this once in a lifetime Sober living house opportunity expires.
Issues with past studies on moderate alcohol use and health
Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. 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. Whether you carry a physical card in your wallet or use your smartphone, track your drinks to get a better handle on your consumption.
If you are tempted to drink more than you should, try to think it through and recall your list of reasons for choosing to drink less. Despite wanting to drink more, make the choice not to – and consider how good you’ll feel the next day when you wake up and know that you did not overdrink. If you sense that your drinking, while not severe, is less healthy and predictable than you would like it to be, the next section is designed to give you the tools to achieve positive change. Often, any tension with others around drinking goes away and relationships improve.
- Compared with drinking excessively, moderate drinking reduces your risk of negative health effects.
- According to Livestrong, a margarita contains 400 calories, a long island, 425, a white Russian, 500, a piña colada is a whopping 600 calories.
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It allows you to see yourself and reality exactly as they are. If the idea of casting the bright light of mindfulness onto your drinking habits makes you uncomfortable, it is worth asking yourself exactly what it is that you are afraid to see. Mindfulness does not create anything that isn’t already present. It is a tool that enables you to see things exactly as they are. When being mindful, you make no attempts to judge or change reality – you simply accept it. Once you see things clearly and accept them for what they are, you are in the position to assess what you would like to see change.
