When it comes to drinking often, the lines can become blurry about how much is too much. In many cases, we hear the term, “drink responsibly.” But what does it really mean to do that? Well, here’s what it means to drink responsibly and a few ways you can do it.
Drink Responsibly: Tips for Handling Your Alcohol
What It Means to Drink Responsibly
In short, drinking responsibly means choosing to drink while keeping both your health and safety in mind. For instance, drinking a moderate amount so that it does not bring about harmful effects on your health. It may even mean choosing a healthier drink option. That also includes not drinking when it jeopardizes your ability to fulfill important responsibilities.
Also, in order to drink responsibly you should also concern yourself with your safety. That means planning transportation so that you never drink and drive. It also means drinking a moderate amount to prevent accidents, injuries, or dangerous side effects like alcohol poisoning.
How to Drink Responsibly
Assess Yourself
In order to learn to drink responsibly, you must first asses your current alcohol intake. You want to give yourself a fair and accurate picture of just how much and how often you drink. One of the best ways to do this is by keeping a drinking diary. In this diary, you want to list every detail about your drinking habits. For instance, write down what you drank, how much you drank, where you drank, and who you had drinks with. Since the more information you can gather, the better you’ll understand your drinking habits, you may want to keep this diary for at least one month. As little as a week may do, but the more data, the more you’ll understand where you are.
Establish a Goal
Now that you know what your drinking habits look like, establish a goal around what you want them to look like. That could mean scaling back how much or when you drink. For instance, you may say you only want to drink on weekends. Or you may decide you want be able t drink without becoming drunk.
Establish a Plan
Now that you have a drinking goal, you’ll want to establish a plan to make it happen. Start by figuring out your safe drinking amount. In short, that means the BAC that you feel most comfortable and safe at. Once you know this number, you can calculate how many drinks you can have before reaching that number. Then, only purchase the amount of alcohol that you want to drink. That may mean you need to switch to buying individual bottles or cans.
In order to know whether you are beginning to drink responsibly, you want to continue to keep your drinking journal. That way you can assess your drinking goals and the ways you are keeping them.
