To cut down on your drinking habits, it can be helpful to recognise what type of drinker you are. This can prepare you for any challenges you may come across.
If you think that you are addicted to alcohol, you must remember that quitting alone can be very dangerous. In order to do it safely, you may require medical assistance and alcohol rehab treatment.

We outline three of the main types of drinker, along with strategies you can use to help you stay motivated in cutting down your drinking.

The Weekender

Friday night has landed, and you don’t have any plans for both Saturday and Sunday as you know you’ll be out till the very early hours of the morning. Obviously, you’ll be recovering well into the afternoon as well. Not drinking during the weekdays is easy for you. You work hard and want to reward yourself.

If this is you, the struggle you will have is not wanting to miss out on the fun and you might feel deprived of not having your release. Secondly, you might think everyone has an expectation of you to be there and be fun. To combat this, use your alcohol-free weekends as a sort-of experiment for what else you can do on your weekends. You might find an activity you were made to do!

The Unwinder

At the end of a working week or day for that matter, you may feel like you deserve a drink to help you relax. When particularly stressed, you might opt for one or two to help you sleep. If this is you, you might not think about booze if things are running smoothly. But what’s the alternative if a crisis arrives?

What you need to do is explore other means of relaxing. Draw yourself a really inviting bath, put your favourite songs on the speaker, try out yoga, or tend to the garden. There are so many different options – it’s just finding which one is more suitable to you.

The Emotional Drinker

You drink when you’re either sad, lonely, or bored. You also think that you might be more outgoing once you’ve had a drink. Maybe if you have a free evening, you’ll have a drink in order to find something interesting to do. Alcohol might be helping you get over a bad break up, or forget over negative emotions.

If this is you, you’re going to have to figure out another way of dealing with your emotions – and the best way to do this is to face up to them. Practice mindfulness and start to think more into what triggers you to reach for the bottle. You can then start to work on ways of reacting differently to that emotion.