As you may realize by now alcohol can be a very dangerous drug but only if you take more than the recommended amount which is:
Men - should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week and no more than four units in any one day.
Women - should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week and no more than three units in any one day.
If you take more than the recommended amount and drink every so often this will lead to physical damage, the effects of this are, increasing the possibility of catching diseases and making other diseases worse.
Excessive drinking is related with loss of brain cells, liver failure, stomach ulcers, certain types of cancer, nerve damage, heart failure and epilepsy.
Even though alcohol is used to make people feel relaxed, excessive drinking over a long period of time increases anxiety and causes depression. It also affects problems with sleeping, mood swings, violence and suicide.
If you personally drink a lot and would like to stop, it may help if you keep a diary which records how much alcohol you drink every day, also if you could set yourself a target of how much you are allowed to drink everyday eventually it will make a change in how much alcohol you consume.
Here are a few tips on how to help you cut down:
- You could try to replace your usual drink with something different which contains less alcohol.
- Try something new rather than going to the pub e.g. go to the cinemas, go out with your family e.t.c.
- Try to miss at least two days of the week where you don’t drink alcohol.
- Try drinking more slowly or take non alcoholic drinks between alcoholic ones.
- You could visit your local GP and receive confidential advice
- Get involved in the community and join alcohol clubs
- Consume alcohol with food.
- Visit special organizations which deal with your particular problem for example Alcohol concern and Alcohol Anonymous this may help you in a great deal as they will concentrate on just alcohol and how you could stop.
- Try to take no more than one drink per hour
- Have plenty of water in between drinks
Treatment
To prevent withdrawal symptoms, heavy drinkers can prescribe for a certain medication such as diazepam for a couple of days after they have stopped drinking.
There are also another two types of drug treatments that are used to help stop drinking these are, Disulfiram and Acamprosate.
