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If you are wondering whether your drinking has crossed the line into a problem or it’s on the higher end of what would be considered normal, this post is for you. A lot of people with excessive drinking habits cannot tell when their drinking is out of control. If this is you, it’s time to take a hard look at your problems with drinking and become aware of exactly how much you are drinking.
You need to think about:
· How many alcoholic beverages do you have when you drink?
· How often do you have them?
· How are your problems with drinking affecting your life or the lives of people around you?
According to healthcare providers, your drinking habits start to become medically unsafe when you drink:
· 5 or more alcoholic beverages on one occasion, or every week;
· 3 or more drinks in one day; or
· Several times a week or month.
You may have problems with drinking if you meet at least two of the following criteria:
· You spend a significant amount of time drinking, or getting over the effects of drinking, or being sick from drinking;
· You have not been able to stop or reduce your drinking on your own, despite your best efforts or intentions;
· Your urge to drink is extremely strong, so much so that you cannot focus on anything else;
· You spend less time engaging in activities that you used to enjoy; instead, you use that time to drink;
· You cannot stop drinking even though you are well aware it’s causing problems with your loved ones;
· You don’t do what you are expected to do at home, school, or work as a direct result of your problems with drinking;
· You need to consume more alcohol than you did before to get the same effect;
· Your drinking habit makes you forgetful, depressed, or anxious, but you continue drinking;
· Your drinking has resulted in situations where you or someone else could have been seriously injured, like having unsafe sex or driving while drunk; or
· You experience withdrawal symptoms when the effects of alcohol start wearing off. These symptoms include insomnia, nausea, sweating, full body tremors, hallucinations, and seizures.
If you have decided to make a change, we can help. At CheckUp & Choices, we offer innovative tools and motivation enhancement strategies to help people assess their drinking and find an effective way to address it.
You can start with this free 10-question screening tool and receive valuable feedback about your level of risk for problems with drinking. This quick, confidential quiz is designed to help you self-evaluate your drinking and determine whether it is an issue that you would like to address.
If you want a more comprehensive screening, the CheckUp is a great tool that takes about 40-45 minutes to really delve into what’s going on with your drinking habits and cognitive behavior. The entire program is web-based and has 2 parts:
CheckUp – that helps you evaluate and receive personalized feedback on your drinking habits
Choices – 3-12 month program to help you moderate or completely stop alcohol consumption
People using CheckUp & Choices have reported a 55% reduction in drinking frequency, quantity, and intensity, according to several randomized clinical trials funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). If you have any questions regarding the program, don’t hesitate to reach us online.
