Cut Back Drinking by Recognizing Your Weaknesses

There are many different kinds of alcohol, and many different circumstances under which we will drink it. Over the years you have probably gravitated toward one or two specific types of alcohol, and tend to drink it most often in one or two specific environments.

A lot of us may tend to drink the most when we are out with our friends on a Friday or Saturday night, and it's usually in this environment that some of us get carried away with binge drinking.

Others may have the habit of getting drunk at home, perhaps while sitting in front of the television - or simply because they are embarrassed at the prospect of friends or co-workers seeing them intoxicated in public. Chances are that sometimes you DO abuse alcohol, and sometimes you do NOT.

Learn from Your Own Experiences

Notice under what circumstances you tend to lose control. When you have figured out the area of your life that you are most likely to abuse alcohol you will have gained valuable insight on how to take the best action to overcome your addiction.

For instance, if during the week you drink a glass of wine with your dinner - and you're satisfied with that - but on the weekends you're getting drunk with your friends, then you know where the problem lies, don't you? It really doesn't make sense for you to beat yourself up over that one glass of wine during the week, as it doesn't cause you NEARLY the problems that your weekend binge drinking is.

If this article concerned dieting, I might advise you to not worry about eating that occasional donut for lunch, because it's those 3 slices of pizza you're eating before bedtime that's causing you the real harm!

Keep Alcohol at Home was MY Weakness

When I first decided to start cutting back on my drinking, the most important thing for me was to STOP keeping alcohol around my home. By not having that constant temptation to drink I found it easier to cut back on my overall consumption, and often I avoided drinking completely simply because it wasn't there. Storing alcohol at home was MY biggest weakness, and 90% of the time it was the sole reason I had a alcohol problem.

So, what IS the biggest problem area of your life concerning alcohol, and how can you change it? How can you change your behavior around your friends so that you do not get drunk? Do you need to meet them in a different environment? Or earlier or later in the evening? Or, maybe it's the TYPE of alcohol you're drinking?

Perhaps a glass of wine doesn't cause you any problems, but you're getting carried away with beer or hard liquor on the weekends? Perhaps you're hiding your alcoholism, drinking it at home and getting drunk when no one can see you?

Recognize under what circumstances you are abusing alcohol, and make up your mind to change something about that particular circumstance. Whether it's not having alcohol stored at home, avoiding a certain type of drink, or not doing "shots" with your friends - there is going to be something that you can change about one of your drinking habit that will help your overcome this problem area.

Analyze the what, why and where of your drinking, and you'll have a better understanding of your own weaknesses, and you'll take a big step toward overcoming them.

There is nothing wrong in having a weakness, as everyone has some in certain areas of their lives. But, once you recognize your own weakness, you absolutely must take steps to overcome it in order to truly heal your mind, body and spirit. The bottom line is that TODAY you should take at least ONE baby step toward changing your life for the better.

Don't let another second go by without DOING SOMETHING about your problem. You'll be glad you did.