An Addiction Expert’s Insights On Festive Drinking

This is Dr. Christopher Kahler. He’s Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Director of Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, all at Brown University.

What does he want us to know?

It’s the trickiest time of the year

Per stats, alcohol sales peak in December, with the heaviest drinking being from mid-December (getting an early start on the Christmas cheer) to New Year’s Eve. As for why, there’s a collection of reasons, as he notes:

❝The main challenge is there’s an extra layer of stress, with a lot of obligations and expectations from friends and family. We’re around people who maybe we’re not usually around, and in larger groups. It’s also a time of heightened emotion and, for some people, loneliness.

On top of that, alcohol use is built into a lot of our winter holiday traditions. It’s often marketed as part of the “good life.” We’re expected to have alcohol when we celebrate.❞

As for how much alcohol is safe to drink… According to the World Health Organization, the only safe amount of alcohol is zero:

Can We Drink To Good Health?

Dr. Kahler acknowledges, however, that many people will wish to imbibe anyway, and indeed, he himself does drink a little, but endeavours to do so mindfully, and as such, he recommends that we…

HALT!

Dr. Kahler counsels us against making decisions (including the decision to drink alcohol), on occasions when we are one or more of the following:

• Hungry
• Angry
• Lonely
• Tired

He also notes that around this time of year, often our normal schedules and habits are disrupted, which introduces more microdecisions to our daily lives, which in turn means more “decision fatigue”, and the greater chance of making bad decisions.

We share some practical tips on how to reduce the chances of thusly erring, here:

How To Reduce Or Quit Alcohol

Set your intentions now

He bids us figure out what our goal is, and really think it through, including not just “how many drinks to have” if we’re drinking, but also such things as “what feelings are likely to come up”. Because, if we’ve historically used alcohol as a maladaptive coping mechanism, we’re going to need a different, better, healthier coping mechanism (we talked more about that in our above-linked article about reducing or quitting alcohol, too, with some examples).

He also suggests that we memorize our social responses—exactly what we’re going to say if offered a drink, for example:

❝It’s important to know what you’re going to say about your alcohol use. If someone asks if they can get you a drink, good responses could be: “A glass of water would be great” or “Do you have any non-alcoholic cider?” You don’t have to explain yourself. Just ask for what you want, because saying no to someone can be difficult.❞

See also:

December’s Traps To Plan Around

Mix it up and slow it down

No, that doesn’t mean mix yourself a sloe gin cocktail. But rather, it’s about alternating alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, to give your body half a chance to process the alcohol, and also to rehydrate a little along the way.

We talk about this and other damage-limitation methods, here:

How To Reduce The Harm Of Festive Drinking (Without Abstaining)

Take care!