How do I stop myself finishing a bottle of wine?

“He was much worse than I expected. He never looked after children,” Bree says. “He started drinking when he was 20. He became very abusive after getting married.”

“Although he didn’t mean to hurt us physically, he pushed our toddler over whenever he got annoyed. I stayed with him for fifteen years until my children were old enough to look after themselves.”

The Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend healthy adults drink a maximum of 10 standard drinks a week to cut the lifetime risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, or a maximum of four standard drinks a day to reduce the risk of alcohol-related injury.

Amber Rules is a clinical specialist in supporting individuals and families impacted by addiction, and she says people can take control of their drinking.

“Plan ahead and decide what your drinking limit is and stick to it. Pour your own drinks, make sure they are standard sizes and keep count of how many you drink,” she says.

″⁣Have non-alcoholic drinks that are interesting and enjoyable so you can pace yourself and not feel as if you’re missing out.″⁣

If you struggle with setting drinking limits and sticking to them, it’s important to reach out to a professional, Rules suggests.

Amriit says people don’t have to become teetotallers.

“I think the good news is, we don’t need to ‘break up’ with alcohol and go cold turkey to get results,” she says.

“It is important to recognise when we are using alcohol as a crutch to prop up areas of our life that we are struggling with as opposed to enjoying a glass of wine or a beer with friends or family or over a meal. The two are very different. A big part of my clients’ journeys to greater happiness and well-being and better performance includes learning how to foster a healthier relationship with alcohol.”

Still – according to the data from ABS Alcohol consumption, one in four Australians aged 18 years and over exceeded the Australian Adult Alcohol Guideline in 2020-21 (25.8 per cent). Men were more likely than women to exceed the guideline (33.6 per cent compared to 18.5 per cent).

Psychotherapist Eugenie Pepper says people worried about their drinking need to consider their mindset.

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“You are in control of how much alcohol you drink. When you become more mindful about your drinking, you can change your attitude toward alcohol and drinking habits,” she says.

“You can create a set of new rules for drinking alcohol. You can plan ahead your drinking schedule. You choose your alcohol-free days. Choose the number of drinks you limit yourself to prior to social events.

“When you put something in writing you are much more likely to stick to it so write down your goal and maybe keep it with you. When planning how much you want to drink, be honest with yourself. What is your tipping point? That is the point when you stop caring. For some, it can be one or two drinks. Others can get away with more. If you don’t establish your tipping point all your planning can go out the window.”

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