Her main mission is to be a platform for all voices and stories, and to provide tangible resources to those seeking recovery for themselves or loved ones. Symptoms of withdrawal can include anxiety, confusion, heart palpitations, increased blood pressure, shaking and tremors, and insomnia. These symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening, so it is imperative to understand your relationship with alcohol to avoid withdrawal.

It does not mean that you will repeat this behavior in the future. Forgive yourself, learn from it and remember that a commitment applies to what we plan for the future. In addition, it may be interesting to use a sequential research design that investigates if poor responders to moderation-focused treatment do better in an abstinence-focused approach. Motivation & confidence are important psychological variables in treatment for alcohol use disorder, with confidence appearing to be especially key. For drinks per drinking day, the High group had significantly greater reduction than the Moderate (19%) and Low group (20%), while the Moderate group also had significantly greater reduction than the Low group.

Contact the Alcohol Management Program:

Nonetheless, Helzer et al. rejected the value of CD outcomes in alcoholism treatment. Moderation in alcohol use is often the first step taken by nearly everyone who attempts to reduce problems they experience with their drinking. MM is designed for people who are starting at this point. After evaluating drinking patterns and possible concerns related to alcohol consumption as well as gaining an understanding of what moderate drinking entails, a person may then decide if this program will work for them. Some individuals may opt to go with an abstinence-based program instead while others may decide that moderation will work for them. If a moderation management program is chosen, during the 30-day period of abstinence a person will explore alternative activities other than drinking and learn to manage potential triggers that encourage drinking.

One drink is equivalent to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits. Kern has been helping patients with moderation in a clinical setting for more than a decade, which entails a formal therapeutic protocol that includes using a Breathalyzer and closely monitoring patients’ progress. He also managed to get MM approved by the city of Los Angeles and the state of California as a program for first-offender drunk drivers 15 years ago.

Generous to whom? The influence of oxytocin on social discounting

Typically, the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about addiction recovery is how to quit using or abusing a substance forever. There are proponents of another theory though, that one can control addiction through moderation management behaviors, and there is evidence to support this theory, too. To adhere to these principles, each type of drinker will have to make changes to his or her routine. The man cutting back to weekend use may not want to keep alcohol in the house during the week in order to decrease the decision fatigue that comes with easy access. He may want to exercise in the evenings or engage in some alternate pleasurable activity. The woman who typically binges may want to alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks to slow down her drinking; she may want commit to going home at a certain time on the weekend or not hanging out with certain friends.

Identifying some of the best practices that have worked for others gives MM members a better idea of the goals of moderation management. Moderation can also be the first step towards abstinence. This helps drinkers who are resistant alcohol abstinence vs moderation to cold turkey abstinence-based programs. The program encourages you to focus on your substance abuse patterns. Those are important questions, because their answers reveal wounds that need fixing and a general lack of coping skills.

Startups, Tech Culture, and Alcohol: What Gives?

It is also not intended for formerly dependent drinkers (i.e., alcoholics) who have been abstaining. Even the founder herself was unable to drink in moderation and ended up relapsing and getting into a serious car accident after driving drunk,NBC Newsreports. Audrey Kishline was unable to follow her own rules of the MM program and admits that it might not be an effective strategy for everyone, including her. Alcohol is a substance that can have significant withdrawal symptoms for a person who is physically dependent on it; therefore, it should never be stopped “cold turkey” without a professional medical detox protocol if dependence is present. If physical dependence is not present, then a person may safely stop drinking for a month to assess their situation.

Take charge of your drinking with this free 90-minute course. I can’t know what’s right for you, but I can promise you this. Restraining yourself or fixating on a number is not going to get you where you want to go. And if you don’t know how to do that right now, that’s okay. It’s something that you have to be committed to learning.