Total Alcohol Abstinence vs Moderation: Which One Wins in the End?

However, clinicians often reserve these medications for extreme situations. As it happens, there are many reasons for a person to choose to be abstinent, including for the simple reason that many things from which people abstain can be quite dangerous. It’s already quite common to abstain in the real world; look no further than certain religions—e.g. Mormons, alcohol abstinence vs moderation Muslims, and Bahais—that forbid practitioners from consuming alcohol. Similarly, there were teetotalers and prohibitionists who tried to ban alcohol altogether throughout the twentieth century. In reality, moderation can be even harder than abstinence as it can take as much, or perhaps even more, willpower to stop once you’ve already started.

• Later, she explains that there was a time not long ago when the idea of getting through any day without five or six drinks seemed impossible to her.
• The MM organization attempts to help individuals with alcohol abuse issues, who do not have a physical dependence on alcohol, maintain moderate alcohol use.
• Many of the most common forms of alcohol addiction treatment promote complete abstinence and sobriety; however, alcoholism is a complex and highly personal disease, and this method may not be ideal for everyone.

Only about 9 percent of alcoholics in the United States are classified under the subtype of “chronic severe,” NIAAA publishes. This group of individuals will need to abstain from drinking completely. For all we know, it might also be an option for people who do meet criteria for alcohol dependence but since the study we’re about to assess didn’t talk about it, we’ll leave that for later. Volunteer chronic alcoholics were given access to substantial quantities of alcohol in situations in which a behavioral contingency was attached to non-excessive drinking.

Written by Thrivalist Sobriety

Its founder, Audrey Kishline, felt her alcohol use was a problem, but not so much that she thought of it as a disease or chronic illness. Some pregnant women might think that moderation management is a way for them to consume alcohol. A history of relapsing is another indication that moderation management may or may not be the best solution. The severity of alcohol dependence will determine the risk of future relapses. Alcohol use disorder is a chronic disease, and individuals suffering from alcoholism can relapse. When you quit drinking for thirty days, you can enjoy the health benefits of not drinking alcohol.

But recovery isn’t about figuring out what works best for everyone. Moderation Management has been around since 1994, but it was living more or less in the shadows from 2000 to 2012, mired in controversy over its founder, Audrey Kishline. After starting MM, Kishline left the group, realizing that she could not moderate her drinking after all. She returned to AA, then fell off the wagon, drunk-driving in March 2000 and killing a man and his 12-year-old daughter. She was released from prison in 2003, and in 2014, plagued by guilt and other demons, Kishline killed herself.

A Morning Routine For Sobriety

Future work would need to assess the effectiveness of this tool in the field without such interference. The 12-step approach of forbidding any substances under any conditions strikes many people as dogmatic, and in some cases is not feasible, but it is also a bright line. That is, it’s a simple rule by which you can judge your sobriety.

Lastly, you can join free, therapist-moderated alcohol support groups to get encouragement and gain accountability in a non-judgmental and secure forum. And when you truly learn to change your desire, you don’t need to restrain yourself. You don’t need to be worried about the threat of indulging because the desire to drink is absent. It’s why I don’t say that I abstain from drinking, even though I don’t go out to a restaurant and order a cocktail, even though I don’t end my day with a glass of wine, which is what I used to do. These two approaches are far different from what I teach here on the podcast and what I teach my clients because neither one of these addresses your desire. If you’ve been a listener here, you’ll know that the only way to change your relationship with alcohol is to do this work, and both abstinence and moderation will have you going to war with your desire for the rest of your life.

When To Consider Treatment

Over 6 percent of the adult population in the United States struggled with an alcohol use disorder in 2015, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) publishes. Alcohol is the most frequently used addictive substance in America, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) further explains. For many scholars and health professionals, heterogeneity is a key to successful community health outcomes when talking about treating alcohol use disorders. Heterogeneity means a wide range of programs are available for people with different levels of need. These could range from free informational pamphlets and group meetings to inpatient clinical programs.

Whether you carry a physical card in your wallet or use your smartphone, try tracking your drinks to get a better handle on your consumption. Similarly, make sure the drinks you are counting are standard sizes (12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits). Of course, this is easier to do at home—but you can try communicating your needs to the bartender or waiter. Abstinence and moderation both have pros and cons; however, moderation would seem to be the more difficult option for one main reason.

Again, proponents of MM understand that their program is not for everyone. The MM organization reports that nearly one-third of the individuals who become involved https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-alcoholic-parents-affect-their-children/ in their program eventually transition to abstinence-based treatment programs. The program encourages you to focus on your substance abuse patterns.

Moderation Management assumes that all behaviors can be changed and that alcohol use is a learned behavior for problem drinkers and not a disease. MM also assumes that there are varying degrees of alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems, and a reasonable option for some individuals early in the development of their alcohol use disorder is to find a way to return to moderation. Using alcohol or other drugs in moderation may be challenging, and some individuals may find that they need to become involved in more stringent programs. One program known as Harm Reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support (HAMS) focuses more on the lifestyle-related causes of drug and alcohol abuse. It recognizes the frequency with which these behaviors are tied to social activities and aims to assist members in reaching self-set goals.

And it goes without saying that for anyone who has developed a really serious drinking problem, abstinence is by far the safest course. However, research also has shown that with proper help “problem drinkers” (non-alcoholics with less severe drinking problems) can and sometimes do successfully learn how to moderate their drinking and reliably keep it within safer limits. We offer two types of treatment options for people who want help for drinking problems. One option is abstinence-based treatment for individuals who have decided to stop drinking completely and want to stay stopped over the long term.

• When you make things complicated, you open the way to abuse.
• Its founder, Audrey Kishline, felt her alcohol use was a problem, but not so much that she thought of it as a disease or chronic illness.
• Again, individuals battling severe alcohol dependence should NOT attempt an MM program.
• They can set goals and boundaries that help them reduce or eliminate their drinking.
• He does both in moderation daily, and his concern was more about the frequency and the fact that he can never seem to take a day off than the amount of any particular substance consumed.