Indeed, even in such cases, moderation management with the balance requirement is a significant element for progress. For some people, certain hereditary, familial, environmental, and relationship factors prevent them from achieving health. controlled drinking vs abstinence At Silicon Beach Behavioral Health, our mission is to ensure that every person can reach his or her full potential. When you surround yourself with others who moderate their drinking, it’s much easier to moderate your own intake.
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A moderation approach may be recommended for those who prefer a gradual approach to progress. Here are additional reflection questions from a therapist to help you understand your own relationship with alcohol, and if moderation meets your needs and preferences. When people aiming for abstinence make a mistake, they may feel like quitting is impossible and give up entirely. You can have an occasional drink without feeling defeated and sliding deeper into a relapse. You have experienced enough consequences in your life that no one needs to tell you that you are fed up with your addictive behavior.
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These health risks can be severe, and some even contribute to alcohol-related mortality rates. On the other hand, upon cutting back on drinking, many heavy drinkers experience improvements in sleep, cognitive function, weight loss, productivity, interpersonal relationships, energy, and overall mental health. Your specific health goals, health risks, and medical history may play a role in your choice to either moderate or abstain from alcohol. This is especially true if you suffer from specific health conditions or are cutting back to avoid increased risk of specific health consequences. There is no “one size fits all” approach to changing your relationship with alcohol, and all pathways are unique. One person may start out with a moderation goal and later decide that a sober lifestyle more closely supports their aspirations and wellness.
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This is important to keep in mind if for no other reason than the fact that it might be easier to not start at all than it is to will yourself back to sobriety if you get carried away. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/what-sober-networking-is-and-why-it-is-important/ In addition to—or, perhaps, instead of—therapy, there’s medication you can take that helps with alcoholism. However, clinicians often reserve these medications for extreme situations.
- It is simpler to just give up the substance entirely than to try to manage or regulate it.
- “Moderation” is a term that is often used to suggest that a person with an alcohol or drug problem does not really have to give it up but can “control” it.
- Missing a strict alliance, Shrewd Recuperation shows individuals the devices they need to deal with their substance misuse issues without a guarantee to a higher force, however more so with a pledge to themselves to have moderation management.
- As authors point out, all groups improved to varying degrees particularly in terms of fewer drinks per drinking day, despite the fact that new skills to reduce or abstain were not an explicit part of any of the three treatments in the initial randomized trial.
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- These resources offer a secure and encouraging atmosphere to share stories, gain inspiration from others in similar circumstances, and foster a sense of community and responsibility in maintaining long-term sobriety.
- 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.
- For a recovering alcoholic, having just one drink can be the catalyst for a full-blown relapse.
- It’s also important to know that you can change certain circumstances, and therapy can aid in helping you set boundaries that empower your progress.
- In reality, moderation can be even harder than abstinence as it can take as much, or perhaps even more, willpower to stop once you’ve already started.
Individuals confident in their ability to reduce heavy drinking are most likely to respond well to a moderation-focused treatment and, as authors point out, they may be more willing to try abstaining on certain days to reach their overall moderation goal. It is also worth mentioning some baseline (i.e., pre-treatment) differences between the three groups to get a sense of the types of individuals in each group. Participants were asked about their substance use history; specifically, which drugs they used ten times or more times in their lifetime.
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- The results indicated that the chance of successfully drinking moderately decreases dramatically according to the severity of dependence.
- The majority of people who use mind-altering substances without becoming addicted are able to maintain their sobriety by carefully moderating their intake.
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