Tips and Advice to help you change your drinking habits

Once you have read through this website, you will know quite a lot about the effects of alcohol and the problems they can cause for your health and your personal life.

On this page, we have laid out six rules that you can follow to help you cut down drinking.

1 IDENTIFY GOOD REASONS FOR CHANGING YOUR DRINKING HABITS

Deciding on good reasons for changing your drinking habits will help you to succeed. What we mean by a ‘good’ reason is one that makes sense to you. Right now, think of some good reasons for changing your habits.

There are dozens of good reasons to change your drinking habits; they will be different for each person. For example,

  • You will have more time for things you have always wanted to do.
  • You will save a lot of money and be able to spend it on other things you enjoy.
  • You will have more energy.
  • You will lose weight.
  • You will be less likely to have arguments with those around you.
  • You will be less likely to develop serious health problems such as liver disease.

2 SET YOUR GOALS

Having a plan for changing your drinking means you need to set goals to work towards. You should pick a day when you are going to start your plan, and set your daily drinking goals each week.

The next thing to do is to keep track of your drinking – this will help you work out whether you are meeting your goals and staying on target.

The main thing to remember, if you do not meet your goals, is to keep on trying – and work out strategies to help yourself in the future.

3 RECOGNISE DIFFICULT TIMES

No matter how much you want to change your drinking habits there will be times when you find it difficult. We call these high risk times.

Stop and think for a moment about the last few times you were drinking too much. Where were you, and what were you feeling?

The following is a list of common high risk times. You can use this list to help you think about your own high risk times. In the next section, we will get you to think of ways of coping with these difficult times.

  • After work
  • When I am out celebrating at a party or a club
  • When I have had a really difficult day at work or looking after the children
  • When I want to relax
  • When I feel lonely or depressed

4 DEAL WITH DIFFICULT TIMES

You now have a list of the hardest times for you – so you have already worked out when you are most likely to drink. Now you have to work out how to deal with those difficult situations – without a drink in your hand ...

WAYS OF COPING WITH DIFFICULT TIMES

  • Avoid going to the pub after work – perhaps arrange a different social activity, like jogging.
  • Avoid your friends who drink heavily.
  • Plan activities or tasks at those times that you usually drink.
  • When you are bored or stressed, have a physical workout or go for a walk instead of drinking.
  • Eat a meal before drinking: it will make you feel more full and then you will drink less.
  • Remind yourself that the craving for the drink will go if you occupy yourself with something else.
  • Avoid drinking in 'shouts' or 'rounds'.
  • Dilute your drink – add soda to wine and mixers to spirits.
  • Practise refusing alcoholic drinks.

5 FIND SOMEONE TO SUPPORT YOU

This plan is all about changing your habits. Some people find it easier to change a habit if they have someone to help them. This person could be your partner/friend, or someone at work who also wants to change their habits.

Your support person should be someone you can talk to easily and be honest with, someone you can ask for advice when you need it.

If you are very worried about the effects of drinking on your health, your doctor or nurse can help you. There are also special alcohol counsellors for this reason, and a telephone number to contact them is listed on the last page of this website.

6 STICK TO YOUR GOALS

Drinking alcohol is an enjoyable part of many people’s lives – a habit that they would feel lost without. This type of habit is hard to break. However, the information you have recorded from using this website will help you.

REMEMBER: Every time you stop yourself from doing something by habit, you are one step nearer to breaking the habit altogether.