Some celebrated their success with “Dry January.” The 30-year-old woman from Utah, who chose to remain anonymous, tried it for the first time to prove to herself that she could survive a month without drinking. “I’m so glad I did,” she wrote. “I’ve lost about 10 pounds, I’m sleeping better, I have more strength and stamina during physical activity, and I’ve noticed a significant reduction in my anxiety levels.” Now, she occasionally drinks wine. However, I plan to significantly reduce my intake to continue the positive effects on my health.
When Ken from Massachusetts realized that the wine glass he was using was much larger than a standard drink, he realized that he was drinking more than he thought and started drinking less. I was able to do that. By being conscious of glass size and the alcohol content of his drinks, Ken was able to reduce his intake by 70%.
Another helpful tip came from Anna in Illinois. He reminded me of one of his “easiest and most fun” ways to stay sober. That means, “Instead of alcoholic beverages, drink delicious (and healthy, depending on how you make them) mocktails!” Anna is happy that the mocktail movement has increased the number of offerings in shops, restaurants and bars. “People are no longer relegated to non-alcoholic beer, bland seltzers, or sugary sodas.”
Teddy, from Washington, D.C., tried Damp January, a more forgiving version that doesn’t require abstinence and instead sets a goal of reducing consumption. He liked it so much that now he and his wife each commit to no more than five drinks a week. “I need your help to resolve the argument,” he wrote. “I think you should have all five drinks on Saturday night. She thinks you should spread them out and have one drink a night over five nights. Who’s right?”
His wife is right. Drinking large amounts at once is much more harmful than spreading the drink out. Binge drinking, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as drinking five or more drinks for men and four or more for women, is associated with many negative health effects, including increased rates of car accidents, falls, and drownings. I am.
Consuming large amounts of alcohol also puts stress on your body’s organs. There is a condition called holiday heart syndrome. It is named after people who drink heavily on holidays and develop atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that increases the risk of blood clots and stroke.
There’s a reason national dietary guidelines set daily, rather than weekly, alcohol recommendations. It’s great that Teddy and his wife decided to follow these recommendations and drink alcohol in moderation. However, don’t “save” your consumption for a big night out.
Replacing alcohol intake with other substances is also not a good idea. Destiny, who lives in New York, and Callum, who lives in Colorado, wrote that their families were worried about their alcohol intake, so Destiny replaced alcohol with daily cannabis and Callum with psychedelic mushrooms.
I do not recommend this kind of behavior. Contrary to popular opinion, marijuana is not a harmless drug. Although it has medicinal properties, it impairs judgment and cognitive function. Frequent use increases the risk of heart attack. Approximately 30% of regular users also suffer from cannabis use disorder, which is difficult to treat.
Similarly, psychedelic drugs, including psilocybin, found in “magic mushrooms,” appear to have great promise in treating serious mental illnesses. However, psilocybin can also cause hallucinations, psychosis, and suicidal tendencies when used outside of a carefully monitored treatment setting. Do not self-medicate with these drugs.
There are other proven methods for people who need help abstaining from alcohol. “Please talk to me about medication,” Becky, from Maine, begged. As she said, a person addicted to heroin cannot be expected to recover without drugs, and a person addicted to alcohol should not expect this either. She said, “Medical care is based on scientific evidence. This is a crime, but more and more people don’t know that.”
Becky, thank you for raising this important issue. Alcohol use disorder is an underdiagnosed and undertreated medical condition. Effective treatments exist, including his three drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration: naltrexone, disulfiram, and acamprosate. These can be very effective tools for treating alcohol use disorder alongside psychotherapy, community support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and other treatments.
Despite their proven efficacy, the use of these drugs is surprisingly low. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that only 2.2 percent of adults with alcohol use disorder received alcohol use treatment with medication in the previous year. This may be due to a lack of awareness among clinicians and patients, as well as widespread stigma against addiction. People with alcohol use disorder and people who are concerned about their alcohol use should talk to their doctor about treatment options.
Thank you to everyone who wrote comments and questions. Many people also responded to last week’s request to share their experiences accessing paxlobid through Pfizer’s new product. Patient support program. We have a new report on this topic and will write about it in next week’s column. stay tuned!