Managing your Drink Problem

Helping you to manage your drinking:

  • Avoid going to the pub after work. Arrange a different social activity like sport or the cinema
  • Avoid friends who drink heavily
  • Practice refusing alcohol
  • Avoid situations in which you would normally drink a lot
  • Plan activities or tasks at times you would usually be drinking
  • When bored or stressed try to go for a walk instead of drinking
  • Have a non-alcoholic drink before each alcoholic drink
  • Take smaller sips
  • Avoid drinking alcohol when thirsty and avoid salty snacks, they make you thirsty
  • Eat a meal before drinking, it will make you feel more full and you will drink less
  • Avoid drinking in rounds or in large groups
  • Switch to lower alcohol products or dilute your drinks with a mixer

If you feel that alcohol is becoming a problem for you, it makes sense to seek help sooner rather than later.

You need to work out the number of standard drinks or units of alcohol you usually have.

A standard drink (1 unit ) refers to:

  • A half pint of ordinary strength (4% ABV) beer, lager or cider
  • A small glass of wine (8-10% ABV in a 125ml glass)
  • 1 single pub measure of spirits or aperitifs
ABV = Alcohol by Volume
  • This means the number of units of alcohol per litre of liquid
But remember:
  • Many commonly available drinks are stronger than these
  • Glass and bottle sizes can vary
  • Home measures can be larger / stronger than pub measures

Some examples:

1 pint Premium beer / lager 5% ABV 2.8 units
440ml Can of super strength lager 9% ABV 4 units
330ml Cider 5.5% ABV 1.8 units
175ml Glass of wine 13% ABV 2 units
750ml Bottle of wine 12% ABV 9 units
50ml Measure of sherry / port 20% ABV 1 unit
330ml Bottle of Alco-pop 5% ABV 1.7 units


Recommended Levels for a man:
3-4 units a day
No more than 21 units per week

Recommended Levels for a woman:
2-3 units a day
No more than 14 units per week

Take Care

Extra care is needed in certain situations, even when you drink BELOW the recommended limits.  Some examples are below:
  • Driving
  • Exercising, e.g. running, swimming
  • Operating Machinery
  • Using Prescribed Medication
  • Drinking all your units in 1 or 2 evenings
WARNING!
  • It may be unsafe to stop drinking immediately
  • This can be potentially FATAL
REMEMBER!
  • If you're caught driving over the legal limit you may lose your license.

If you would like help managing your drink problem, then please contact us to find out about our range of services.