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Warning: This story discusses the topic of alcohol abuse and drinking. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When you do a quick Google search on\u00a0quitting drinking, you will find hundreds of articles and listicles that explain ways to manage your intake. The advice usually entails counting drinks, asking allies for support, or drinking only on Tuesdays. While these tips might work for someone who is looking to minimize their drinking habits, they won\u2019t necessarily work for someone, like me, who has a more complicated relationship with alcohol.<\/strong><\/p>\n My ultimate attempt to become a casual,\u00a0social drinker\u00a0was when I first got sober. Rather than giving up drinking for good, the only thing that seemed feasible or rational was taking off a temporary period of time:\u00a0a year.<\/strong><\/p>\n But after attending twelve-step meetings, going to a therapist, and immersing myself in the sober community, I realized the problem I had was more serious than I was initially willing to admit. Immersing myself in the sober community and connecting with sober humans, affirmed that no amount of time off would relieve me of my dependence on alcohol. I learned that no matter what I did, my disorder would be waiting for me when I returned to drinking. But why? Why is it so hard to let this go?<\/strong><\/p>\n Since committing to sobriety for the long haul, I\u2019ve spoken with a number of women who also thought time off would cure them of their inevitable hangovers. This phenomenon is common because, sometimes, we believe we can change our\u00a0habits with control, whether it be biting nails or leaving the toilet seat up. When it comes to alcohol use, though, it can either be a habit or a physical illness and deciphering between the two is why one person can go back to drinking, while another person can\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n In hopes of unraveling this idea, I spoke with a recovery coach and interventionist Amanda Marino. Amanda\u2019s experience stems from years of working with people dealing with substance abuse and also being in recovery herself, where she connects and listens to others. Here\u2019s what she had to say about this complicated topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n For some consumers, a lapse in use may be equivalent to the other strategies you find on the internet. Because for every harrowing relapse story, there are also a number of people who returned to drinking without the brazen impact it had before.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt depends on the person. If someone situationally overdrank\u2014like they had experienced a loss in their life, or they were going through something\u2014then they could stop and possibly regain control as soon as they work through what they had going on. But for someone with the addiction gene, I don\u2019t think it is possible,\u201d says Amanda.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Not everyone who has a complicated relationship with drinking has a physical dependence on it. For many, it could be an isolated reason that\u2019s driving them to drink that has become a phycological habit, which is manageable. For others, the reason to drink is rooted in their DNA. So what is the gene and how do you know if you have it?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe gene\u201d is a phrase used to describe alcohol use disorder and can encompass a number of things. However, no single gene is responsible for alcohol use disorder. Rather there are multiple genetic factors that may make someone susceptible to a problem with drinking. According to the\u00a0Addiction Center website, \u201cAmong the behavioral traits parents can pass on to their children is a predisposition toward alcohol abuse and addiction.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Though genetics do play a contributing role in someone\u2019s predisposition,\u00a0behavioral genetics, which is the study of genetic and environmental influences on behavior, plays just as big of a role in the development of any addiction. For instance, according to an article study that was found in a book called\u00a0Military Medicine,\u00a0<\/em>the main factors for drug addiction to occur in a family are \u201cfamily atmosphere, the strength of family ties, sense of family happiness, the structure of authority in the family, and alcoholism.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Family influence, peer group association, cultural and media representation and more are all environmental factors that can contribute to addiction. If you don\u2019t think you have \u201cthe gene,\u201d consider altering your surrounding environment to see if that improves your relationship with drinking. That may mean letting go of friends who drink or limiting media consumption.<\/strong><\/p>\n If someone has the perfect concoction of predisposition, it\u2019s unlikely that a person can ever moderately drink. If someone only has one of the environmental elements of a problem, then they may be able to drink moderately. For gray area drinkers, it can be tricky to pinpoint which camp you fall into, which is why it\u2019s so impactive to understand your relationship with the substance.<\/strong><\/p>\n Understanding why you drink is essential if you\u2019re thinking of ways to moderate your drinking.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re even in the gray area, it\u2019s definitely a good idea to do some work on yourself to figure that out. Because it\u2019s something only you can come to terms with yourself. People can tell you that you have a drinking problem, but unless you believe that, it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d explains Amanda.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Despite telltale signs of a physical problem, I wasn\u2019t confident I was addicted to alcohol because I hadn\u2019t let my life completely unravel. In meeting with a\u00a0counselor\u00a0who specialized in helping people unpack their relationship with alcohol, I realized I did have a physical and psychological dependence with it. Temporary sobriety was not a solution for me personally, but instead, a cop-out to dealing with the actual problem.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re not totally confident you\u2019re addicted to alcohol, speak with a professional trained in substance abuse. They can help assess your patterns and unpack why you drink. Knowing the reason why is the most important key to understanding if you should give up drinking while you work through current tribulations, or if you should give it up completely.<\/strong><\/p>\n I realized I shouldn\u2019t drink ever and committed to abstinence from alcohol. But if you\u2019re someone who might be situationally overdrinking, playing with time could work in your favor.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cStop drinking for a little bit and really work on yourself. If you stop and you find yourself not able to stay sober for any reason, then you should seek deeper help,\u201d advises Amanda.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n However, controlled drinking or \u201charm-reduction drinking\u201d is an option for people who can stop drinking for a period of time and come back to it without issue. Controlled drinking has been\u00a0proven successful\u00a0for patients who have not yet developed a dire pattern of consequences from drinking. The idea is that rather than giving up alcohol for good, the person reduces the times and amount they consume alcohol. Harm-reduction drinkers may\u00a0join support groups and see therapists work on their relationship with alcohol, similar to how people approach recovery.<\/strong><\/p>\n Abstinence, on the other hand, is likely the only viable option for someone with an\u00a0alcohol-use disorder\u00a0because they cannot change the genes or wiring in their body. To make the idea of total abstinence more bearable, many in sobriety approach it day by day. Setting small goals can help the sober lifestyle seem more achievable.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re contemplating your relationship with alcohol and think a period of time off can help you, speak with a coach or therapist first. Diving into your motives to consume will guide you in moderating your drinking. A professional will ask the right questions to help you evaluate your relationship with the substance first, before making any rash decisions.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Warning: This story discusses the topic of alcohol abuse and drinking. \u00a0 When you do a quick Google search on\u00a0quitting drinking, you will find hundreds … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","tag-healthy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tipsforahealthylife.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}I thought that in a year, I\u2019d be able to detox my innate ability to overdrink and blackout, and I believed the urges and obsessions would subside. In my head, I thought a year off from drinking would cure me of my alcohol-use disorder.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBe mindful of your environment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Understanding your relationship with alcohol<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Abstinence vs. controlled drinking<\/strong><\/h2>\n