Drink Less Alcohol
The desire to drink more than we would like to is an emotional habit. A lot of people think that they are alcoholics, but they’re not – they are just stressed and emotional drinkers. There is nothing wrong with them. They have got themselves into a bit of a bad habit; a bad habit that can be unlearnt. Drinking hides low self-esteem, social anxiety, fear and rejection.
When you feel any sense of vulnerability or fear or anxiety, your unconscious mind thinks, “When I felt this last time, what did I do to make myself feel better?” If alcohol has previously been the answer, you will continue to repeat those patterns of thought and drinking behaviour, even if your conscious mind is saying: “I want to cut back on my drinking.” Your unconscious mind is the stronger of the two.
People see alcohol as their confidence pill. We’re quite shy by nature and many people feel alcohol will make them more funny or interesting or stimulating. The good news is that you can feel these things without alcohol being in the equation. Reaching for that much-needed drink is not liberating you – in fact, it is imprisoning you. Freeing yourself from your mind’s mistaken equation that you will be able to cope only if you have that habitual drink is a new learning concept, but you can learn to throw away that crutch and liberate yourself from that drinking pattern.
Stop listening to your inner critic
That is the part of you that says “You have no self-control. You’ll never lose weight because you eat and drink too much”, and so on, and start listening to your healthy confident part, the one that represents the desire to drink less and live more. We know that positive thoughts turn into positive actions, so practise this as often as possible.
Take a break
Notice that you rarely put the glass down when you are having a drink. We hold it for dear life. One of the first steps to drinking less is to put your glass down between drinks. I also advise people to have a big glass of water before they go out drinking and to take sips of water between sips of alcohol; this is a conscious tool that will get your mind used to doing things differently.
Just say no
People who drink too much often have a bit of a pleaser personality and feel guilty about saying no to the next drink, even if they don’t want to drink. Little white lies are great in situations like this. For example, “I’m on antibiotics”, or “I’ve got such a hangover, I couldn’t possibly drink tonight”. Put some strategies in place.
source: Times Online