Alcohol Management Program: Moderation or Abstinence Human Resources University of Michigan

It’s important to note, too, that not everyone considering these approaches has an alcohol use disorder (AUD). If you view yourself as someone who would like to cut back on how many drinks you have a week, then moderation may be best suited for you. However, if you find yourself struggling with regulating how much alcohol you drink in a day or week, an abstinence-based approach may be necessary for changing your drinking habits. Total abstinence is not the only option when changing your relationship with alcohol. For some people, drinking in moderation can be a viable pathway to a healthier life.

One of the best ways is to remember why you are making the commitment. The consequences of using should be remembered, not with a guilty conscience, alcohol abstinence vs moderation but in a realistic portrayal of why you have chosen sobriety. Also to be remembered are the experiences and feelings that come from abstinence.

What Happens If You Drink Whiskey Every Day?

While there is a framework to MM, based on Kern’s book Responsible Drinking, it’s also a program that prides itself on flexibility and enabling people to find their own paths forward. Three out of the 10 people at the meeting I attended said they weren’t ready to do a 30 yet, but were planning shorter breaks. One man celebrated the fact that he’d taken one day off from smoking weed and drinking. He does both in moderation daily, and his concern was more about the frequency and the fact that he can never seem to take a day off than the amount of any particular substance consumed. “I make plans for my non-drinking days so that I’m not thinking about it so much – I work out, I schedule late work meetings, so it’s not even a temptation,” a tall, thin older woman says. Later, she explains that there was a time not long ago when the idea of getting through any day without five or six drinks seemed impossible to her.

However, if the individual cannot become intoxicated, then what’s the point of consuming alcohol or drugs? There are bountiful resources available to you if you are considering treatment, a support group, or even tips on how to moderate or abstain from alcohol. You have already made the crucial first step of evaluating alcohol in your life. Contacting a treatment provider

can help you determine the next steps in your journey.

Moderate Drinking and Obesity Risk

We are not perfect beings, we are fallible and breaking a commitment is not the same as giving up on one. A permanent commitment means we are committed to a course of action for the future and we will do every thing in our power to fulfill and maintain that https://ecosoberhouse.com/ commitment. This word “abstinence” can be an intimidating word to many, especially those in the early stages of recovery. Your whole body may convulse saying, “I’ll do anything, just don’t ask me or tell me that I have to stop forever.” This is normal.

In this case, moderation serves as a harm reduction strategy that minimizes the negative consequences of drinking. It’s a healthy step in a positive direction, and is often achievable with medication. We will help you decide whether moderation-based treatment or abstinence-based treatment is best for you. Our evaluation process will give you objective feedback about the nature and severity of your drinking problem and its impact on your life.

Levels of Care in Drug and Alcohol Rehab Programs

In team Thrivalist we, therefore, have one moderate-drinker and one non-drinker. Through Moderation Management’s Steps of Change, individuals are able to assess how drinking impacts their lives and learn how to better manage drinking-related problems. Through the Steps of Change, a person is asked to initially chart their drinking, write down all the issues that alcohol has created in their life, and keep a drinking diary of how much and how often they drink. Through this diary, a person can then look at how alcohol is involved in their daily life and identify potential problems. Not everyone who drinks alcohol will suffer from harmful consequences, however.

In 2020 alone, about 4 percent of all new cancer cases worldwide were attributable to alcohol consumption, or about 741,000 cases, another study found. A few types of cancer — tumors of the esophagus, liver, and breast — accounted for most alcohol-related cases. And while heavy drinking and binge drinking explained the majority of these cancer cases, 14 percent were due to moderate drinking.

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