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Time to cut back on drinking? Here’s how…

Draft beer taps 1

Written by Felice J. Freyer & published by The Boston Globe, the following article provides excellent tips to those who drink. Timely information for those who use, misuse, or abuse alcohol.

Alcohol is deeply ingrained in American life, central to our habits of socializing, celebrating, and relaxing. But the pleasure of these routines can keep you from noticing when drinking has become a problem.

You can drink too much without necessarily being addicted to alcohol. Although some people who drink excessively find they must abstain, many others can just cut back — and moderation often makes their lives better.

How do you know when it’s time to reassess your drinking? And if you want to drink less, how do you do it?

The Globe asked for tips from experts in alcohol use at Harvard Medical School, the Boston University School of Medicine, the VA Boston Healthcare System, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Here’s what they said.

Signs that you might be drinking too much

  • It’s starting to worry you or other people. Friends or relatives comment on your drinking.
  • You’re drinking more frequently and alcohol is starting to take a bigger role in your life.
  • You suffer from poor judgment while drinking, doing or saying things you regret when sober.
  • You find that you’re drinking more than you planned.
  • You can’t control how much you drink once you start.

Other reasons to cut back

Even if you’re not experiencing any of the problems listed above, it might be worth reducing your drinking if any of these apply to you:

  • You’re not getting any younger. At some point after age 55, your body’s ability to process alcohol slows down, and you may get drunk or sick with amounts of alcohol that didn’t faze you in your youth.
  • You have diabetes. Most alcoholic drinks pack a lot of carbohydrates.
  • You have high blood pressure. Alcohol makes it worse.
  • You’re overweight. Alcohol contains a lot of empty calories.
  • You suffer from a mental illness, such as depression and anxiety. Alcohol can bring temporary relief but can make symptoms worse over time.
  • You’re concerned about the health risks. John F. Kelly, Harvard Medical School professor of addiction medicine, lists the hazards: addiction can occur at any time; intoxication leads to accidents and injuries; and alcohol raises the risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer, and damages the liver.

Time to cut back? Here are some ways to do that.

Track your drinking and set a goal

  • Learn what is a standard drink size. Twelve ounces of beer, five ounces of wine, and 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits all have the same amount of alcohol. One martini is equal to 2½ standard drinks.
  • Make a note every time you take a drink, advises Amy Rubin, a research psychologist with VA Boston Healthcare. Writing it down will reduce your drinking because you’ll be paying attention, and it’s also the best way to get an accurate tally.
  • Then, decide how much you want to be drinking. One possible goal: the federal guidelines. These define low-risk drinking as having up to seven drinks per week with no more than three on any one day for women, or up to 14 drinks per week with no more than four on any one day for men.

Slow down

  • Make sure to eat before and during drinking to slow absorption into the bloodstream.
  • Start drinking later in the evening, to reduce the amount of time you have for drinking (but don’t drink close to bedtime or you’ll disrupt your sleep).
  • Intersperse every alcoholic drink with a nonalcoholic one. Take small sips. Put the drink down between each sip.
  • Choose drinks with lower alcohol content. Or dilute your drinks with ice cubes or seltzer.

Do something else

  • “Ask yourself, why are you drinking? Try to find other things that meet those needs,” said Aaron White, senior scientific adviser to the NIAAA director. If you drink to relax, for example, try a yoga class or a swim instead.
  • Change your routines. Perhaps go for a walk, or see a movie during the time you would normally be drinking.
  • Avoid places where you expect to see a lot of drinking. Even if you go to a bar, get up and play a game of pool or do something other than sitting there drinking.

Take a break

  • Try abstaining for 30 days. You’ll find other ways to spend your time and money and get a sense  of what it feels like to be alcohol-free. For many that means better sleep, more energy, and better memory. And your tolerance for alcohol will go down, so when you resume drinking you can get the same effect with less.
  • If you don’t want to take a month off, try taking a day off here and there. Make sure there are some alcohol-free days each week.

Be kind to yourself

Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t succeed at first. It’s hard to break habits, and few succeed on the first try. Try different methods or set different goals.

“It’s a trial-and-error process,” said Justin L. Enggasser, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine. “The people that are most successful are the ones who keep trying and keep it as learning process.”

Face facts

If you still can’t reach your goals, no matter what you do, your drinking problem might be more serious than you realized. The NIAAA ( https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-use-disorders ) offers a helpful description of alcohol use disorder and a “navigator”to help you find treatment.

The Council on Recovery provides prevention, education, and treatment programs for individuals and their families dealing with alcoholism, drug abuse, other addictions, and co-occurring mental health disorders. Start at The Council. We can help. Call 713-942-4100 for more information or contact us online.

Council Mourns Loss of ABC13’s Ed Brandon, Long-Time Council Board Member & Supporter

Ed Brandon 1The Council on Recovery is saddened the recent passing of Ed Brandon of ABC 13, long-time supporter and board member of The Council. The following is from ABC13’s website: 

Houston television icon and longtime member of the ABC13 family Ed Brandon died peacefully last night in Houston.

Ed came to Houston in 1972 to become the weathercaster for 13 Eyewitness News. KTRK’s station management gave him the title of “Texas’ Most Experienced Weathercaster.”

Ed played a prominent role on Live at Five, and Eyewitness News at 6 and 10pm, alongside anchors Dave Ward, Shara Fryer, Gina Gaston, Melanie Lawson, Art Rascon, Sports Director Bob Allen and Action 13’s Marvin Zindler.

ABC13 General Manager Henry Florsheim said, “Ed was part of the Eyewitness team that formed the foundation for ABC13 today. Ed presented weather with a smile and made it understandable for all.”

A native Texan, Ed was born in Texarkana, Texas in 1942 and attended Austin’s McCallum High School and the University of Texas at Austin. He started his broadcast career as a disc jockey at radio stations in Texarkana and Longview. After a stint as an announcer at an Austin radio station, he moved into television as a talk show host and weather reporter at KHFI-TV in Austin.

In May 1972, Ed left Austin to accept the weather position with KTRK-TV. He retired from ABC13 in May 2007 after 35 years with the company.

Ed’s brother Burt Branstetter tells us, “Ed was the sweetest guy I ever knew and loved his Channel 13 family.”

Ed served for many years on the Advisory Board of the Houston Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He hosted an annual golf tournament benefiting Cenikor, one of the nation’s largest and most successful non-profit residential treatment centers for indigent alcoholics and drug addicts.

Ed will be greatly missed by friends, family and many Houstonians whose lives he touched. A public memorial service is being planned.

Ed will be greatly missed by friends, family and many Houstonians whose lives he touched. A public memorial service is being planned.

As School Starts, Know the Facts About College Drinking

College Drinking 1As students start the Fall Semester at college, The Council on Recovery urges parents and students to consider the facts about college drinking from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Harmful and underage college drinking are significant public health problems, and they exact an enormous toll on the intellectual and social lives of students on campuses across the United States.

Drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. Many students come to college with established drinking habits, and the college environment can exacerbate the problem. According to a national survey, almost 60 percent of college students ages 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month, and almost 2 out of 3 of them engaged in binge drinking during that same time-frame.

Consequences of Harmful and Underage College Drinking

Many college alcohol problems are related to “binge drinking”. Binge drinking is a pattern of drinking that brings blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels to 0.08 g/dL. This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2 hours. Drinking this way can pose serious health and safety risks, including car crashes, drunk-driving arrests, sexual assaults, and injuries. Over the long term, frequent binge drinking can damage the liver and other organs.

Drinking affects college students, their families, and college communities at large. Researchers estimate that each year:

  • Death: About 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor-vehicle crashes.
  • Assault: About 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking.
  • Sexual Assault: About 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
  • Academic Problems: About 1 in 4 college students report academic consequences from drinking, including missing class, falling behind in class, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. In a national survey of college students, binge drinkers who consumed alcohol at least 3 times per week were roughly 6 times more likely than those who drank but never binged to perform poorly on a test or project as a result of drinking (40 percent vs. 7 percent) and 5 times more likely to have missed a class (64 percent vs. 12 percent). Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) About 20 percent of college students meet the criteria for an AUD.
  • Other Consequences: These include suicide attempts, health problems, injuries, unsafe sex, and driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as vandalism, property damage, and involvement with the police.

Factors Affecting Student Drinking

Although the majority of students come to college already having some experience with alcohol, certain aspects of college life, such as unstructured time, the widespread availability of alcohol, inconsistent enforcement of underage drinking laws, and limited interactions with parents and other adults, can intensify the problem. In fact, college students have higher binge-drinking rates and a higher incidence of driving under the influence of alcohol than their non-college peers.

The first 6 weeks of freshman year are a vulnerable time for heavy drinking and alcohol-related consequences because of student expectations and social pressures at the start of the academic year.

Factors related to specific college environments also are significant. Students attending schools with strong Greek systems and with prominent athletic programs tend to drink more than students at other types of schools. In terms of living arrangements, alcohol consumption is highest among students living in fraternities and sororities and lowest among commuting students who live with their families.

An often-overlooked preventive factor involves the continuing influence of parents. Research shows that students who choose not to drink often do so because their parents discussed alcohol use and its adverse consequences with them.

Addressing College Drinking

Ongoing research continues to improve our understanding of how to address the persistent and costly problem of harmful and underage student drinking. Successful efforts typically involve a mix of strategies that target individual students, the student body as a whole, and the broader college community.

Strategies Targeting Individual Students – Individual-level interventions target students, including those in higher-risk groups such as first-year students, student athletes, members of Greek organizations, and mandated students. They are designed to change students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors related to alcohol so that they drink less, take fewer risks, and experience fewer harmful consequences. Categories of individual-level interventions include:

  • Education and awareness programs
  • Cognitive–behavioral skills-based approaches
  • Motivation and feedback-related approaches
  • Behavioral interventions by health professionals

Strategies Targeting the Campus and Surrounding Community – Environmental-level strategies target the campus community and student body as a whole, and are designed to change the campus and community environments in which student drinking occurs. Often, a major goal is to reduce the availability of alcohol, because research shows that reducing alcohol availability cuts consumption and harmful consequences on campuses as well as in the general population.

For more information on individual- and environmental-level strategies, the NIAAA CollegeAIM guide (and interactive Web site) rates nearly 60 alcohol interventions in terms of effectiveness, costs, and other factors—and presents the information in a user-friendly and accessible way. For more information, visit www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/CollegeAIM.

The Council on Recovery provides prevention, education, and treatment programs for individuals and their families dealing with alcoholism, drug abuse, other addictions, and co-occurring mental health disorders. Start at The Council. We can help. Call 713-942-4100 for more information.

The Lifelong Quest For Sobriety…The Ultimate Hero’s Journey—Part 36

Guest Blogger and long-time Council friend, Bob W. presents Part 36 of a series dealing with Alcoholism and Addiction from a Mystical, Mythological Perspective, reflecting Bob’s scholarly work as a Ph.D. in mythological studies.

Punxsutawney PhilIn 1993, comedian Bill Murray stared in a film called Groundhog Day. It is about a fictitious Pittsburgh TV weatherman, Phil Conners, who is sent to cover the events of Groundhog Day, Feb 2, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh.  Punxsutawney is the actual site of an annual event where a real-live groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil either sees his shadow or doesn’t on that day, an event which signals the remaining duration of winter. Conners is a crass, self-absorbed, obnoxious character whom no one likes and who resents horribly that he has to perform such a mundane task as traveling to Punxsutawney and covering the Groundhog Day Festival.

In the process of performing his duties, he insults and abuses everyone and tries to flee the town as fast as he can after the Festival.  A snowstorm makes that impossible so he must stay over.  But he wakes up the next day to find that it is still Feb 2…and he proceeds to re-live that same day over and over and over…every day being Feb 2 with the same things happening, and  he, and only he, being conscious of the repetition.  As it sinks in what is happening, he realizes that there are no repercussions to whatever he does because all the tomorrows will never come. He can do whatever suits him, even things that would otherwise have severe consequences.  He seduces women, steals money, and disrupts the festival.  Despair sets in and he kills himself, over and over.  Each event in such behavior just keeps happening and he wakes up each day starting completely over.  In typical Bill Murray madcap fashion, it is also hilariously funny…but, for this alcoholic it also conjures up a life in the diseases of addiction, doing the same ugly things over and over fantasying that somehow there will be different outcomes.

Finally, the pathos of some of the things Conners experiences, the trauma he sees in some people’s lives and his inability to fix some fundamental wrongs, has a startling effect…he begins to change.  He uses the fact of his recurring Feb 2 to adopt a new view and an alternative pattern of behavior.  He begins to care and the profound changes in his attitude and behavior have some startling impacts on the community.  After a particularly poignant evening, he wakes up the next day and it is finally Feb 3.  He is overcome with joy.

For me this story conveys much of what we experience in our life in our diseases and our dramatic shift to sobriety.  Once we realize what is happening, once we accept the uselessness of our constant bad behavior, once we surrender to the presence of a higher power in our lives, things begin to change…and our future suddenly takes on a brightness that is profoundly joyful.

Magic Mushrooms (Psilocybin) Remain a Popular Hallucinogen

Mushrooms 1

Among the hallucinogens abused by those who have a substance use disorder (SUD), psilocybin mushrooms are still a popular source of getting high.

Similar to other hallucinogens, such as mescaline and peyote, and known on the street as “magic mushrooms”, they contain the hallucinogenic chemical psilocybin and are found throughout the U.S. and Mexico. Fresh or dried, these fungi have long, slender stems topped by caps with dark gills on the underside. Fresh mushrooms have white or whitish-gray stems; the caps are dark brown around the edges and light brown or white in the center. Dried mushrooms are usually rusty brown with isolated areas of off-white.

Psilocybin mushrooms are abused by being eaten or brewed as tea, or added to other foods to mask their bitter flavor. Their effect on the body may include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, and lack of coordination. The psychological consequences of psilocybin use include hallucinations and an inability to discern fantasy from reality. Panic reactions and psychosis also may occur, particularly if a user ingests a large dose.

Effects of a psilocybin overdose include a longer, more intense “trip” experience, psychosis, and possible death. Abuse of psilocybin mushrooms can also lead to immediate poisoning if one of the many varieties of poisonous mushrooms is incorrectly identified and ingested.

Psilocybin is a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that it has a high potential for abuse. There is no currently accepted use  in medical treatment in the United States and no level of accepted safe use under medical supervision.

If you or a loved one is suffering from a substance use disorder as a result of psilocybin mushrooms or any other addictive substance, The Council on Recovery can help. Call us today at 713-942-4100 or contact us online.

Why is Early Childhood Important to Substance Abuse Prevention?

NIDA Early Childhood preventionRecent research by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) indicates that substance abuse prevention in early childhood can help prevent drug use and other unhealthy behaviors and that intervening early in childhood can alter the life course trajectory in a positive direction.

The NIDA’s  online guide, Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood, offers research-based principles that affect a child’s self-control and overall mental health, starting during pregnancy through eight years old. It addresses the major influences on a child’s early development such as lack of school readiness skills, insecure attachment issues, and signs of uncontrolled aggression in childhood behaviors. Special attention is given to a child’s most vulnerable periods during sensitive transitions, such as a parents’ divorce, moving to a new home, or starting school.

“Thanks to more than three decades of research into what makes a young child able to cope with life’s inevitable stresses, we now have unique opportunities to intervene very early in life to prevent substance use disorders,” said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. “We now know that early intervention can set the stage for more positive self-regulation as children prepare for their school years.”

Principles of Substance Abuse Prevention for Early Childhood is published by the NIDA, part of the National Institute of Health.

The Council on Recovery’s Center for Recovering Families offers children’s services as part of our broad range of programs. Read more here or call 713-914-0556 for more information.