Are you thinking about cutting back on alcohol over the holidays? Drinking less alcohol is better for your health. It can help you feel better, improve your relationships with family and friends and reduce issues at school or work. If you’re “sober curious” – looking for ways to limit alcohol – here’s help for the holidays.

Why Limit Alcohol?

Drinking less not only improves your well-being, but it can also lower your risk for injuries, health conditions such as cancer and heart and liver disease, learning problems, memory problems (including dementia) and mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Drinking excessively on any one occasion puts people at risk for injuries, violence and alcohol poisoning or overdose. Over the long term, drinking alcohol can lead to chronic diseases and other serious health problems, including cancer, stroke, a weakened immune system and heart and liver disease. Drinking can also impact your well-being and lead to social, emotional and mental health challenges.

How Can You Stay Sober?

Fear of feeling different is one of the reasons people drink at parties even when they don’t want to. Don’t let fear stop you from cutting back! Set your strategy and seek allies in your quest to drink less or stop drinking entirely.

Here are four tips for cutting back on drinking.

Find support. Tell people that you’re planning to be sober or cut back this holiday season and enlist their support. Find someone who will cut back with you at parties. Be ready with a standard response about why you’re not drinking and redirect the conversation to another topic.

If you’re willing, you can also be the designated driver. Telling people that you’re the designated driver discourages them from offering you alcoholic drinks.

Set limits. If you choose to drink, set a safe limit for yourself before you start drinking – and don’t drive if you’ve had alcohol.

Offer to bring alcohol-free drinks to events. Count your alcoholic drinks and stop when you’ve reached your limit. Switch to soft drinks, alcohol-free mocktails or water.

Manage your "triggers." If certain people, holiday events or activities tempt you to drink more than you plan, you can limit your time with those people, at those events or doing those activities. For example, instead of celebrating the holidays with a happy hour event with co-workers, suggest catching up at lunch instead.

Remember your reasons for drinking less. Make a plan before events where alcohol will be served. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a helpful tool that will help you identify your reasons for cutting back, your goals for limiting alcohol and actions you can take to overcome barriers to drinking less. It is available in English and Spanish.

Review your plan before leaving for the event. Take something with you – a note or a small object – to remind you of why you want to cut back. Tell people you trust about your plan and ask for their support.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The StayWell Company, LLC