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Alcohol Moderation Management: Programs & Steps to Control Drinking

If one drink still leads to several more, attempting moderation isn’t the safest choice. People who have a more severe drinking problem and find moderation difficult to maintain often do better with abstinence. When your drinking is under control, you may have the internal bandwidth to accept the professional psychological support that can help you develop healthier ways of coping. You could also get help to better manage your emotions, address past trauma, and understand how anxiety, depression, or other emotional difficulties have powered your alcohol abuse. Moderation offers a path to sobriety without completely eliminating drinking. Limiting the amount of alcohol you drink, or taking breaks from drinking alcohol, are ways to get your alcohol problem under control while providing space for you to address the issues that power your drinking.

alcohol abstinence vs moderation

It defines a moderate drinker as a person with the following characteristics. Alcohol abstinence is the decision to cut booze out of your life completely and permanently. Depending on the severity of the presenting issue, this is often seen as the safest way to move forward, and for many, it eliminates any risk or uncertainty that may come with finding the right path to moderation. When considering or committing to complete abstinence, the AA is the most commonly known program of support, offering more than 123,000 meetings worldwide, working through the infamous “12-step programme”, created in 1935. This program is the predominant recovery method in treatment centres all around the world (interestingly around 90% of centres in the US).

Is abstinence the only way?

Here is an example of how the “bottom line” might be reestablished in your home. If they say they will only have two beers, then as long as they stay within that boundary you will behave as though they’re not using at all. So, based on the usual guideline of rewarding non-use and disengaging when there is use, you are going to slide down the scale a bit – from “zero tolerance” to tolerating one or two drinks. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (the main piece of literature utilized by 12-step fellowships across the globe) states three main types of drinkers. On the other hand, the temptation to continue your consumption will be ever-present and, potentially, getting more severe.

Submit your number and receive a free call today from a treatment provider. Moderation often requires that you take anti-craving medication for an indefinite controlled drinking vs abstinence period of time. Medication makes it easier to put the brakes on after a drink or two, and sticking to moderation is challenging without it.

How can I help you in your alcohol moderation journey?

Instead of drinking alcohol, plan out the non-alcoholic beverages you can order or make instead. Enjoyable, non-alcoholic alternatives include soda and fresh lime juice, virgin mojitos, soda with fresh fruit, kombucha, or mocktails. The World Health Organisation (WHO) undertook research in 1996 with 1,490 heavy but non-dependent drinkers at ten differing locations across the world who had each received a short intervention relating to alcohol. The group was monitored nine months after receiving the support and information and it was discovered that the group had managed to curtail their consumption by one third.

  • The Wallace et al. patients had a high level of abstinence; patients in Nordström and Berglund had a high level of controlled drinking.
  • Research indicates that while the likelihood of avoiding heavy alcohol consumption is highest in abstinence-focused individuals, those with moderation objectives were also able to reduce their alcohol use.
  • 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.
  • In those times, he would steal her son’s ritalin, a stimulant prescribed for Attention Deficit Disorder and for which her husband acknowledged having trouble.

Studies that recognize the potential benefits of moderation programs also see its risks. People who went through non-abstinence programs reported a lower quality of life compared to people who went through abstinence programs, according to one study. Abstinence is certainly the advisable route for those with a severe alcohol use disorder (AUD), although many with mild or moderate symptoms may also opt for an alcohol-free life if they feel that it just isn’t working for them anymore.

Drinking in Moderation vs. Abstinence

Harm reduction programs focus on the motivating factors behind a patient’s treatment. Some patients want to reduce their alcohol consumption slightly, but not completely. Others want to reduce risks related to drinking, such as driving drunk or engaging in risky behavior. It’s considered that those without a physical dependence on alcohol, such as mild to moderate use disorder are more likely able to reduce their intake to safer levels and move forward to live happier lives.

alcohol abstinence vs moderation

Of the 322 with one or more risk factors, 114 (35.4%) had experienced AUD. Also, 161 (50%) did not have alcohol-related risk, but they smoked daily. During the study, Dr. John and his team examined data from a random sample of 4,028 German adults who had taken part in previous interviews. The original interviews included questions from a standardized AUD identification test and took place between 1996 and 1997. At the time, the participants were between the ages of 18 and 64 years. Drinking in moderation means you’ll likely need to turn down a drink now and again.

And now there is even a treatment center focused on moderation as a treatment goal. A permanent commitment to abstinence means we no longer have to fight a battle with moderation; but rather devote ourselves to sobriety permanently. Ours is a “no excuses” program, we are responsible for our decisions and behaviors; we have a choice.

  • After all, most of their triggers revolve around alcohol consumption, and having the possibility of relapse is too much of a burden.
  • Her grown son has moved back home and is using cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana — and angrily denying it.
  • When people aiming for abstinence make a mistake, they may feel like quitting is impossible and give up entirely.
  • She liked to have a couple drinks with him on some evenings and felt he could manage it.
  • If you do slip, the outcome does not have to be an experience without worth, it can be a powerful learning experience.
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