SHOULD YOU CALL TIME ON WINE O’CLOCK?

Do you find yourself reaching for the bottle as a reward after a stressful day – every day? Hypnotherapist Ailsa Frank shares ten tricks to help you drink less

If you’re drinking too much, too often, here’s how to break the habit

Almost without you realising, alcohol intake can increase gradually over time until you reach a point where drinking to excess is a difficult habit to break. During the ten years that I’ve been working with clients to help them reduce their drinking, I’ve seen people transform their lives from sad and frustrated to fulfilled and empowered, no longer hostage to a life of disturbed sleep, wasted weekends, hangovers, excess calories, arguments and a sense of being worthless. The vast majority of my clients want to reduce their alcohol intake rather than stop drinking altogether, and many of them tell me the same thing: ‘I want to stop alcohol controlling me.’ I help them regain control rather than make alcohol a taboo for ever.

There are many triggers that make people drink more than they want to. For example, just thinking about that glass of wine you’d like might excite your taste buds and induce overwhelming cravings that can make it hard to say no. Once you identify the hotspots of stress in your week, you can begin to make changes to eliminate those pressures and your need for alcohol. By making small changes to your daily routine, you can break the habits connected with drinking.

People think that life with less or no alcohol will be boring, but the reality is that it gets better and better. Drinking less means feeling more energised and focused, having more money and being in control so that you use your time wisely. However, I wouldn’t recommend going cold turkey. Instead, reduce your alcohol intake by following my tips to change your thinking, routines, cravings and lifestyle.

1 Identify hotspots and triggers

Make a list of the hotspots in your week, then think of a solution for every situation. Are you using alcohol as a coping mechanism to help you juggle work with home? Perhaps your job is too demanding or boring, or you dread work meetings or after-work drinks with colleagues. Do you pour a glass of wine following a stressful phone call with a relative, or after the children’s homework or bedtime? Perhaps you are running too fast to keep up, giving yourself no me-time. Or maybe the pace of your life is too slow, leaving you bored or lonely.

Deal with the problems by making new choices. Solutions could include going to bed earlier, creating relaxation time for yourself, limiting the time you spend on each task, learning to delegate, taking phone calls at a time that suits you or explaining things differently to your children or partner so that they become team players.

2 Plan your drinking

Whether you are at home, meeting friends and family or on holiday, get into the habit of planning and visualising what you will drink and on which days. By seeing this in your mind in advance, you will have already begun to programme yourself to drink less. Buy bottles of sparkling water to keep in the fridge (or still water if you prefer). Try pouring the water into a wine glass with a sprig of mint or a slice of lime. Half the battle is won by having the comfort of a wine glass in your hand. By taking time to pour yourself a refreshing glass of water you are giving yourself permission to relax, too. Visualise this ritual during the day so that your mind knows what you will be doing later. Turn wine o’clock into sparkling-water o’clock.

3 Social drinking

If you are meeting up with people socially, plan to start the occasion with a long soft drink or glass of water. Say ‘I’m thirsty’ – no one will stop you having a drink of water if you’re dehydrated. Then alternate water or a soft drink with an alcoholic drink sipped slowly. Limit yourself to two alcoholic drinks to stay in control.

Visualise this in your mind in advance of the event.

When you first change your drinking habits it’s a good idea to avoid telling people that you are reducing your alcohol intake. If you do tell them, you might feel that they are watching you to see if you stick to your word or they could say something critical if you do have a drink of alcohol. Others who know about your intention might try to encourage you to drink with them.

If someone hands you a drink, accept it casually, then visit the loo and lose the drink on the way back – by putting it on a table, for example. Replace alcohol with a soft drink such as a sparkling water with ice and lemon, which looks like a vodka and tonic. You need to be clever until you have got used to the new you. What often works best is inventing an excuse for not being able to drink alcohol, such as pretending you’re taking antibiotics, that you have an important early-morning meeting, for which you need to have a clear head, or that you’re driving. In the early days of cutting down, avoid events where there’s likely to be heavy drinking. Once you take back control of your intake, you will find that many of your friends will want to drink less, too.

4 Detox your cravings

This exercise will put you off drinking too much alcohol. I suggest you actually do this in the kitchen, but if that’s not possible, visualise it instead. l Pour wine into a glass, or open a bottle or can if you are used to drinking out of one. Take some ketchup and/or mayonnaise, add it to the alcohol and stir or shake to mix. Bring the glass towards your lips. Imagine what it would be like to drink it. Disgusting? Imagine it being ten ➤

People think that life without alcohol will be boring, but the reality is that it gets better and better