Simple steps can help rein in excessive drinking
who had children between the ages of 5 and 7.
Another study published in JAMA Network Open in October found that Americans increased the frequency of their alcohol consumption by 14% compared with a year earlier. But the same study found a 41% increase in the number of days on which women drank heavily, defined as having four or more drinks in a couple of hours.
The psychological damage from the past year has caused sharp declines in physical health, including widespread weight gain and disruptions in sleep. Hospitals around the country have reported an increase in admissions for hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver failure and other forms of alcohol-related diseases. Almost no group has been spared.
Driftwood Recovery, an addiction and mental health rehabilitation center in Texas, has had so many requests for treatment this past year that it has a two-month waiting list. Vanessa Kennedy, Driftwood’s director of psychology, said that many of her clients are parents who started drinking heavily as they struggled to balance their day jobs with home-schooling and other parental responsibilities.
Before last year, Gordon Mueller, a retiree who lives in Rochester, New York, rarely consumed more than one or two drinks a day. But when the pandemic struck and the economy and stock market stumbled, Mueller was consumed by anxiety as he followed the news and worried about his retirement account.
As Mueller sheltered in place at home with his wife, his alcohol intake escalated to seven drinks a day: vodka cocktails in the afternoon, wine with dinner
ZACK WITTMAN/THE NEW YORK TIMES and a whiskey nightcap before bed.
“We had no idea if we were going to financially get through this thing, let alone get sick and potentially die,” he said. “It was just a lot of fear and boredom. Those were the two emotions.”
But many people have found novel ways to rein in their drinking. In December, Mueller turned to Moderation Management, an online community that helps people who want to cut back on their drinking but not necessarily abstain. He started attending Zoom calls with other members and using the organization’s private Facebook group to learn tips and advice to reduce his drinking. Then, in January, he decided to give up alcohol for a while to see how he would feel.
“I’m happy to say that I haven’t had a drink this year, and I feel a lot better:
I sleep better, and I can get more things done,” he said. “The nice thing about this moderation group is that it’s not an all-or-nothing, ‘You can never drink again or you’re a failed alcoholic’ approach.”
In Tampa, Carbone started using a popular app called Cutback Coach, which helps people track their alcohol intake and set goals and reminders so they can develop healthier drinking habits. Using the app, Carbone makes a plan for how much she will drink each week. The app tracks her daily intake, sends her notifications about her goals and updates her on her progress, including all the calories she avoided and the money she saved by drinking less. She now has at least two “dry” days per week and has cut her drinking in half.
“Seeing the progress that I’ve made makes me feel good and makes me keep doing it,” she said. “I sleep a lot better. I wake up less at night. I wake up feeling less sluggish, less tired, and I’ve been going to the gym more regularly, whereas before I couldn’t drag myself there.”
For people who want to reduce their drinking, here are some simple tips that might help.
Try precommitment: Rather than relying on willpower alone, make a plan every Sunday to limit your drinking to a specific amount each day of the week and stick to it. This is a tactic known as precommitment. The idea behind it is that you increase your chances of success by committing to a plan and restricting your ability to back out later on.
Find social support: Talk to your spouse, a friend or a family member about your plan to drink less. They can hold you accountable and help you find healthier ways to manage your stress. Make a plan to go for a walk with your friend or partner at the end of the day, for example, instead of opening a bottle.
Create obstacles: Set up rules to slow your drinking. Mary Reid, executive director of Moderation Management, follows a simple rule that helps her avoid drinking heavily: Each glass of wine she drinks has to last at least one hour. Kennedy at Driftwood tells people to alternate every alcoholic drink they have with a glass of water.
Change your routine: Some people drink more out of habit than an actual desire for alcohol. Try substituting sparkling water or another beverage for your usual drink. Mueller used to have a cocktail every night while watching the evening news. But when he cut back on alcohol, he switched to drinking a cup of tea or nonalcoholic beer and realized he just needed a beverage to sip.