Total Alcohol Abstinence vs Moderation: Which One Wins in the End?

The decision to abstain from alcohol or attempt moderate drinking varies for each individual, with factors such as personal history, genetics, and environmental influences playing a role in determining the best approach. Abstinence is a powerful recovery strategy because it eliminates the risk of relapse, allowing individuals to stay focused on their recovery journey. It also helps break the illusion of control that many alcoholics have, making it easier to quit drinking alcohol for good. Severity of alcoholism is the most generally accepted clinical indicator of the appropriateness of CD therapy (Rosenberg, 1993). Untreated alcohol abusers probably have less severe drinking problems than clinical populations of alcoholics, which may explain their higher levels of controlled drinking.

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• These individuals know alcohol affects their personal and professional lives directly, but they can’t stop drinking.
• However, clinicians often reserve these medications for extreme situations.
• If you use alcohol to manage stress or self-medicate, fear of how you’ll cope without alcohol might hamper your efforts to regain control of your drinking.
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Another, older study concludes that men who drink moderate amounts of alcohol have a higher life expectancy than individuals who drink alcohol occasionally or heavily. By addressing emotional triggers head-on, recovering alcoholics can reduce the likelihood of relapse and maintain their commitment to a sober life. It’s considered that those without a physical dependence on alcohol, such as mild to moderate use disorder are more likely able to reduce their intake to safer levels and move forward to live happier lives. If moderation is your chosen objective, https://ecosoberhouse.com/ then I would suggest you try it and see how you get on, you wont know if it’s possible until you commit to a structured approach, track your journey towards moderate drinking and review your progress. Alcohol moderation or “harm reduction” is increasingly considered a viable pathway for those suffering with an alcohol use disorder (usually at a mild or moderate level) but don’t wish to cut out booze completely from their lives. This means that they may be looking for a way to review and modify the amount and frequency of their intake.

• Most people in the population who have alcohol issues fall into this category and with structured support can bring their drinking down to safer levels.
• Similarly, there were teetotalers and prohibitionists who tried to ban alcohol altogether throughout the twentieth century.
• On the other hand, if you are struggling with your drug and alcohol use but the consequences are not rising to very serious proportions, perhaps you have more leeway to experiment with moderation.
• The answer may seem straightforward, but there are so many factors that play a crucial role here, including your social support network, medical history, etc.
• Studies have shown that regardless of the method employed to become sober, the number one factor for sobriety success is a permanent commitment to discontinue use permanently; a commitment to abstinence.

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Both abstinence and moderation are useful tools for changing your way of dealing with alcohol. However, cutting back on alcohol consumption without medical supervision might result in experiencing withdrawal symptoms like slow heart rate, stomach pain, controlled drinking vs abstinence head ache, weakness, etc. This individual enjoys the effect produced by alcohol – just as the alcoholic does. However, once this individual begins to experience consequences due to their drinking, they have no issue putting down the drink altogether.

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We defined age of initiation of regular substance use as the age at which participants started regularly using any substance. Participants were asked about their substance use history; specifically, which drugs they used ten times or more times in their lifetime. Data were collected by the survey company GfK, using a probability sampling approach. A representative subset of 39,809 individuals from the GfK KnowledgePanel were sent the screening question via email, to which 25,229 responded (63.4%). This response rate is similar to other nationally representative surveys (Grant et al., 2015, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

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• In team Thrivalist we, therefore, have one moderate-drinker and one non-drinker.
• By seeking professional help, building a strong support network, and developing effective coping strategies, individuals can overcome the challenges of recovery and enjoy a fulfilling, alcohol-free life.
• Abstinence from alcohol has been proven to be the most effective way to maintain sobriety, especially for recovering alcoholics.
• This response rate is similar to other nationally representative surveys (Grant et al., 2015, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2016, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).
• That is a completely different picture of moderation than typical thinking about problematic drinking suggests we should be seeing and much closer to the Witkiewitz research about drinking (see here).

• Rates of abstinent recovery in the current study (54.0%) were greater than those among individuals in alcohol use disorder remission from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (54.0% vs. 28.9%; Fan et al., 2019).
• Take this “getting back to normal” as a chance to rethink your relationship with alcohol.
• If you are having life threatening, relationship ending or otherwise serious consequences that you need to get a handle on immediately, then perhaps abstinence is the only route for you.
• Earlier studies have shown an increased mortality risk in people who abstain from alcohol, compared with individuals who consume low to moderate alcohol amounts.
• I’ll explore some common considerations when approaching the question of moderation vs. abstinence so you can get started on your recovery journey today.