r Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) sponsors Alcohol Awareness Month, states the website of the Columbia Basin Health Association (CBHA). The aim of the NCADD is to increase awareness and understanding the causes and treatment of alcoholism, or Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), which is the No. 1 public health problem in the U.S.

An important part of Alcohol Awareness Month, CBHA states, is choosing an Alcohol-Free weekend during the month of April. The intent is for you to stop drinking from Friday through Monday, and then gauge the effect of the alcohol-free days.

“If your body has become used to the continual presence of alcohol,” the website says, “suddenly stopping can cause physical effects, such as sweating, nausea, headaches and trouble sleeping. If it was difficult to manage 72 hours without drinking, that struggle could signal a dependence on alcohol that should be more closely examined.”

For most people aged 21 and older who can legally drink, alcohol can be enjoyed socially with few adverse effects, Aspirus.org stated in a release. But this substance can also have detrimental costs, such as fatalities and injuries, alcohol-related blackouts, health problems, birth defects, and AUD.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that over 14.5 million people in the United States aged 12 and over struggle with an AUD, also known as alcoholism or addiction to alcohol. Because drinking alcohol is so socially accepted, bad habits can sneak up and it can be difficult to identify that there are any issues.

“Many people may not even realize they have a problem. A self-assessment is a good first step,” says Kirk Klemme, M.D., Addiction Medicine Specialist. He suggests asking yourself questions such as:

– Are you preoccupied with thoughts of drinking?

– Have you had difficulty cutting back or stopping drinking?

– Does drinking interfere with your ability to care for yourself, home, or family?

Dr. Klemme adds that “if you’re questioning whether you might have a problem, this alone could be a sign to cut back.”

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offers these strategies for cutting down on alcohol. Try a few or try them all to find what works best:

– Keep track. If alcohol is a regular part of your routine, you may not even be aware how much you are consuming. You could use the notes in your phone, a drinking tracker card stored in your wallet, or check marks on a kitchen calendar, but find something that works for you and start tracking.

– Count and measure. Know the standard drink sizes of an alcoholic beverage so that you’re able to track your drinks more accurately. In the U.S., a “standard drink” is one 12 ounce beer, one 5 ounce glass of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

– Safe Drinking Levels. Staying within safe drinking levels places you at low risk of developing liver damage related to alcohol and also lowers your risk of developing Alcohol Use Disorder. For a man under 65 years old safe drinking levels are no more than 14 drinks per week and no more than four drinks in any one day. For a woman those numbers are 7 per week and no more than three per day.

– Find alternatives. If drinking is how you occupy a lot of your time, one challenge you may face is the free time that you will have left to fill. Consider taking up new healthy activities, hobbies and friendships or rekindling ones that you may have let slip.

– Avoid triggers. Are there certain people, places or certain feelings that trigger the urge to drink? Try avoiding these situations altogether for a while.

– Plan to handle urges. Sometimes despite our best efforts, triggers and urges to drink are unavoidable. When that happens, consider these options:

– Remind yourself why you want to change.

– Make a phone call or send a text to someone who can offer support.

– Distract yourself with a healthy activity, such as exercise or another hobby that doesn’t involve drinking.

– Instead of fighting the urge, accept that you’re feeling it and ride it out without giving in. It will pass.

– Know your “no.” Have a polite, convincing “no, thanks” ready for when you are offered drinks and don’t want one. There is no need to feel embarrassment about not wishing to take a drink. Try these ideas to help build your drink refusal skills.