News article about alcohol moderation
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Join Date: Sep 2014
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News article about alcohol moderation
Hi there, so my friend who is still drinking gave me an article from our Sunday paper about alcohol moderation programs, which apparently emphasize moderate drinking as a treatment for alcohol abuse. One quote from the article was:" It (the program)considers any step forward a success and discourages self-recrimination because people do better when they feel confident."
I'm wondering how anyone who is abusing alcohol could feel confident about playing with fire. Any of us could try that and say "oh, just two or three is fine." But to an alcoholic, that just doesn't work. For me, one always leads to way too many. I have to wonder what my friend's motivation was in giving me this article. His denial about his own drinking? A DUI and a failed marriage isn't enough empirical evidence that alcohol is a problem in his life? Not to mention the mess I made of my own life through alcohol abuse. I'm just utterly perplexed by this and would like to hear others' thoughts. Thank you.
I'm wondering how anyone who is abusing alcohol could feel confident about playing with fire. Any of us could try that and say "oh, just two or three is fine." But to an alcoholic, that just doesn't work. For me, one always leads to way too many. I have to wonder what my friend's motivation was in giving me this article. His denial about his own drinking? A DUI and a failed marriage isn't enough empirical evidence that alcohol is a problem in his life? Not to mention the mess I made of my own life through alcohol abuse. I'm just utterly perplexed by this and would like to hear others' thoughts. Thank you.
That bell or bike person
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: london
Posts: 4,978
Moderation was something i tried for a while . It didn't work i kept slipping up eventually and i was more frustrated after one drink than having none at all .
I had to go through what i went through to get to here . I can't force a solution upon someone and i'd have certainly not responded well to anyone trying to do so for me .
To my thinking sometimes lessons are best tought by example ,
Keep on ,
bestwishes, m
I had to go through what i went through to get to here . I can't force a solution upon someone and i'd have certainly not responded well to anyone trying to do so for me .
To my thinking sometimes lessons are best tought by example ,
Keep on ,
bestwishes, m
bona fido dog-lover
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: SF Bay area, CA
Posts: 99,780
Moderation is just a fantasy for alcoholics. We can't do it. We don't have a limit switch to tell us when to stop.
I tried to moderate but kept failing. It's easier for me to just not drink at all.
I tried to moderate but kept failing. It's easier for me to just not drink at all.
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 479
Having not read the article and not knowing its source (was at an ad for one of these programs?), I can't really speak to that. What I can speak to is my own personal experience with alcohol. It started out innocently enough, but over 20 years my disease progressed and showed it itself to be anything but innocent. Were there times I thought of moderation? Damn straight! Was there any time I was successful? Not a one. Meaning, after two or three days I was back to drinking like my life depended on it. Funny, it did depend on it, but not in the way I thought. After a year of trying to quit, and having some terrifying relapses and withdrawals, I am now on day 71 and believe that the quality of my life has greatly improved due to my not drinking a drop of alcohol. No worrying about how much to consume, how much I actually did consume, did I do/say something embarrassing, and not stressing out over wasted money and time has helped me to feel lighter, to now work my efforts on other parts of my life. I'm free to work on me, have the time to work on me, and have the monetary resources to work towards a vacation, new hobbies, even a delicious meal!
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,682
There are people who have abused alcohol who have remained sober for some time and returned to drinking in moderation, i.e. at a birthday, night out, christmas etc.
These are not people who have devastated their families, ruined their lives, contemplated self destruction etc. These are people who have been told or realised that they are drinking too much too often.
These are not people who have devastated their families, ruined their lives, contemplated self destruction etc. These are people who have been told or realised that they are drinking too much too often.
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Sweden
Posts: 1,649
If it is "that" moderation program started by "that" woman who drank and then killed several people in a drunk accident, amazingly, newspapers still run articles about the program, and often leave out that little detail about the founder returning to drinking.
But, as the previous poster pointed out, we don't know any details about the article.
If it was my friend, I would make the observation that moderation programs, or program, I'm only familiar with "that" one....don't show a lot of statistical success. Yes, stats about alcohol recovery are sketchy at best and often completely lacking, but testimony's from recovered A's are a good source of information. Why not? And, I have never heard a recovered A report any success with moderation.
But, as the previous poster pointed out, we don't know any details about the article.
If it was my friend, I would make the observation that moderation programs, or program, I'm only familiar with "that" one....don't show a lot of statistical success. Yes, stats about alcohol recovery are sketchy at best and often completely lacking, but testimony's from recovered A's are a good source of information. Why not? And, I have never heard a recovered A report any success with moderation.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 181
Originally Posted by rachelle77 
Having not read the article and not knowing its source (was at an ad for one of these programs?), I can't really speak to that. What I can speak to is my own personal experience with alcohol. It started out innocently enough, but over 20 years my disease progressed and showed it itself to be anything but innocent. Were there times I thought of moderation? Damn straight! Was there any time I was successful? Not a one. Meaning, after two or three days I was back to drinking like my life depended on it. Funny, it did depend on it, but not in the way I thought. After a year of trying to quit, and having some terrifying relapses and withdrawals, I am now on day 71 and believe that the quality of my life has greatly improved due to my not drinking a drop of alcohol. No worrying about how much to consume, how much I actually did consume, did I do/say something embarrassing, and not stressing out over wasted money and time has helped me to feel lighter, to now work my efforts on other parts of my life. I'm free to work on me, have the time to work on me, and have the monetary resources to work towards a vacation, new hobbies, even a delicious meal!
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
Rachelle my experience with moderation is the same. Just doesn't work for me. The article was about a program out of Alta bates in Berkeley developed by a local doctor who based her program on a harm reduction model. I wonder how the success is scientifically quantified.
As to the motives of my friend? Most likely self-serving and a tool of his denial. I certainly did not tell him he needs to stop drinking. But it's difficult for me to watch the havoc wreaked upon his life by alcohol, and difficult for me to listen to him lament about alcohol hurting his life and then watch him try to convince himself and those around him that moderation is a good idea. Moderation is definitely not for me. Thanks for your input I appreciate it.
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: California
Posts: 2,693
Moderation would never work for me. I didn't even enjoy just a few. Once I had one or two the craving became like an itch I could only scratch with more alcohol until I became too drunk to notice the itch.
If God parted the sky and came down from the heavens and told me that I could drink two beers a day for the rest of my life and live to be 110 I wouldn't. Two beers brings more anxiety than pleasure. Moderation? Bah! I drank to get drunk.
If God parted the sky and came down from the heavens and told me that I could drink two beers a day for the rest of my life and live to be 110 I wouldn't. Two beers brings more anxiety than pleasure. Moderation? Bah! I drank to get drunk.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: California
Posts: 2,693
Originally Posted by rachelle77
Having not read the article and not knowing its source (was at an ad for one of these programs?), I can't really speak to that. What I can speak to is my own personal experience with alcohol. It started out innocently enough, but over 20 years my disease progressed and showed it itself to be anything but innocent. Were there times I thought of moderation? Damn straight! Was there any time I was successful? Not a one. Meaning, after two or three days I was back to drinking like my life depended on it. Funny, it did depend on it, but not in the way I thought. After a year of trying to quit, and having some terrifying relapses and withdrawals, I am now on day 71 and believe that the quality of my life has greatly improved due to my not drinking a drop of alcohol. No worrying about how much to consume, how much I actually did consume, did I do/say something embarrassing, and not stressing out over wasted money and time has helped me to feel lighter, to now work my efforts on other parts of my life. I'm free to work on me, have the time to work on me, and have the monetary resources to work towards a vacation, new hobbies, even a delicious meal!
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
My secret? Staying away from that first drink! Along with having a strong support system and toolbox. I can't moderate. That was the whole point of my long and rambling post; moderation just isn't in the cards for me! And I'm becoming okay with that.
To those alcoholics who can learn to moderate, well, my hat is certainly off to them! To borrow a phrase from a program in my toolbox.
As to why your friend passed that article along to you? There are a few thoughts that come to mind... But why don't you just ask him?
Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 5,937
Originally Posted by MavisTheFairy13
I think some people can moderate. Those who haven't got so far down the line. And for others it's never going to work. I think I'm still clinging onto the dream of moderating to a certain extent 
Originally Posted by Stayingsober72
One quote from the article was:" It (the program)considers any step forward a success and discourages self-recrimination because people do better when they feel confident."
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