Stage 3

Pre-contemplators advice

You have indicated that changing your drinking is not important to you at the moment. Why are you at an …. and not 0? What would it take for you to move from _ to _? (a higher number). Fortunately most people can stop or reduce their drinking if they decide to do so and work hard at changing their drinking habits.

Low risk drinking involves limiting alcohol use to amounts or patterns that are unlikely to cause harm to oneself or others. The risk of harm increases significantly when people consume more than 2-3 standard drinks per day for women and more than 3-4 standard drinks per day for men and more than five days per week.

As your drinking places you in the higher risk category, you risk causing harm to yourself and others. Having 3 or more drinks on one occasion creates the risks of "accidents" involving injuries, problem in relationships and at work, and medical problems such as hangovers, sleeplessness and stomach problems. Drinking more than two drinks per day over extended periods may cause cancer, liver disease, depression, and dependence on alcohol.

There are a number of benefits of cutting down:

Physical

Reduced risk of injury
Reduced risk of high blood pressure
Reduced risk of cancer
Reduced risks of liver disease
Reduced risks of brain damage
Sleep better
More energy
Lose weight
No hangovers
Improved memory
Better physical shape

Psychological/Social/Financial

Improved mood
Improved relationships
Reduced risk of drink driving
Save money

Improved mood due to

Less stress
Clearer thinking
Better judgement
Meeting more of my own personal standards.

This picture shows the kinds of health problems that are caused by high-risk drinking. The best way to avoid these problems is to cut down on how often and how much you drink so that you reduce your risk, or stop drinking entirely. Many people find it possible to make changes in their drinking.

Take a few minutes to consider the following:

Should I stop drinking or just cut down?

You should stop drinking if:

You have tried to cut down before and have not been successful, or
You suffer from morning shakes during a heavy drinking period, or
You have high blood pressure, you are pregnant, you have liver disease, or
You are taking medicines that react with alcohol

You should try to drink at low-risk levels if:

During the last year you have been drinking at low-risk levels most of the time, and
You do not suffer from early morning shakes, and
You would like to drink at low-risk levels

Note that you should choose low-risk drinking only if all three apply to you.

If you choose to drink at Low risk levels the weekly guidelines for adults are:

up to 14 standard drinks in a week for women, and
up to 21 standard drinks in a week for men.

View more information on standard drinks.

When people successfully change their habits they usually follow a simple plan, if you decide in the future that you would like to make changes to your drinking please revisit the website and look at our self help section for tips on goal setting. Please click here for tips on cutting down and other tools that can help you take action to improve your health.

If you follow this advice you can reduce your drinking to low risk limits. It may not be easy to reduce your drinking to these limits. If you go over the limits on an occasion, make an effort to learn why you did and plan how not to do it again using the tools on this site. If you always remember how important it is to reduce your alcohol related risk, you can do it. If you are finding it difficult to cut down please revisit this site and look at our links for services and the live helper section.

If you wish to read more information on alcohol please visit our Alcohol Info section. You can also view services in your area or launch the drugs.ie online interactive live helper chat service to speak to someone directly.

Thank you for taking the time to visit the website and share your answers, good luck if you decide to change your drinking in the future.