Taking a Break from Alcohol: Suggestions for 30 Days
Abstinence Assistance Temporary or Longer
Occasionally situations or decisions need to be made about the use of alcohol. Maybe you just want a break, or university, parental, academic or legal pressures have come to light or you believe you just need to cut back. Regardless of the reason and goal, 30 days of abstinence is the best way to start. Even if the goal is to cut down, the abstinence can assist with lowering tolerance to ease moderation of use, and your body could use the break. This site is to assist you through 30 days of not drinking. When you finish the 30 days, you make the decision whether you intend to continue not drinking or to moderate your use. To begin your daily journey Day one through 30 are located on your left.
Why 30 days of abstinence if your goal is to moderate your use?
Every time you drink alcohol you begin to build tolerance.The frequency of drinking, the amount you drink, the age at which you began use, and family history, all affect how fast your tolerance will grow.The higher your tolerance the more difficult it is for your body to gage what is normal and if you try to cut back chances are you will still be consuming too much. Most people who try to moderate use without lowering tolerance do not find much success. You are already aware it takes more alcohol to get the same buzz you used to get. As you build tolerance you become quite skilled at acting relatively “normal” even though you may have a very high blood alcohol concentration. Students will engage in poor judgment or risky dangerous behaviors because they believe they can still multi-task including driving because they feel they are fine. Your body needs to change this, in order to moderate use temporary abstinence is the best way to get there.
First man takes a drink, than the drink takes a drink, and then the drink takes the man.
—Chinese Proverb
Getting Started
Everyone pretty much drank alcohol for the first time out of curiosity. Most everyone’s first experience was not a big deal. Eventually use can become a little more frequent or regular or for some rare to none. On college campuses drinking to socialize tends to be the number one reason students report drinking.
So how do you know when use is becoming a little more than social? Or, maybe things are happening that indicate you should take a break. Alcohol can be very deceiving and we tend to have stereotypes of what an alcohol problem looks like. However issues with alcohol come in many different ways. Simply put the first question needs to be; has it caused problems for you in anyway? Second question may need to be; is alcohol becoming the only way to have fun?
Let’s look at a few scenarios:
Scenario 1:
Katie is a first year student, Fall semester her rector catches her intoxicated at an SYR, and gives her a warning. Now Katie now drinks two times a month and usually has 2 beers. On this night she has 4 drinks prior to the SYR. Spring semester Katie is walking back from an off-campus party with friends and NDSP stops her and her friends and they are breathalyzed. Katie registers a .03, and now goes to ORLH. Katie receives a fine and a warning from ORLH. Fall semester sophomore year, Katie’s friend is intoxicated and hits something while driving. Katie is a passenger in the car and this time she is breathalyzed along with her friend and Katie is a .03 and is ticketed for minor consumption. She now has a legal ticket and again has to visit ORLH. Is it time to stop drinking or should she continue drinking because she just has really bad luck?
Scenario Two:
Kevin just turned 21 years old. On his 21st birthday he goes out with friends to celebrate. Kevin wakes up in the morning downtown, sleeping in the back of a stranger’s car. He doesn’t know how he got there nor does he remember anything past 11:00 p.m. the time now is 11:00 a.m. The incident scares Kevin enough that he uses a BAC calculator to look at where his BAC was with what he remembers drinking. His blood alcohol concentration from what he estimated to be a .5 with the last drink (most people would have been dead). He has never been in trouble with anyone, he drinks at least 3x a week, usually about 10 drinks maybe more. He weighs 180 lbs. Should he stop drinking?
Although these are two very different scenarios, there are different reasons both these students may need to change behavior. Problems with alcohol don’t always have to do with frequency and amount but can have to do with what happens when a person drinks. Or, can it interfere with future goals and plans. Things to think about, do you plan to go abroad, enter medical school, law school, graduate school, the Peace Corps, or government work? How might alcohol violations or issues come into play here?
The information in this site provides a self-assessment and daily suggestions to support your decision to be abstinent whether for temporary or permanent reasons and/or for moderation. Education is also available through the Office of Alcohol and Drug Education, 204 Saint Liam Hall. You can call 631-7970 to consult with a professional.
The following link(s) can help you self assess your current drinking patterns and offer some feedback:
Additional Self Assessment Questionnaire
Harmful consequences are unwanted, negative complications resulting from use. Listed below are some typical examples. Check yes or no to the ones that are true for you or have ever been true for you.
Social Self
“Social self” is defined as the way one relates to others and the ability to feel comfortable with other people. Initially and for sometime afterward alcohol may seem to enhance certain experiences. People may seem more accepting or less judgmental, and you might experience “fitting in.” You may convince yourself that experiences are more enjoyable and conversation more relaxed. These beliefs can help rationalize the negative experiences that might also occur.
|.Question|.Yes|.No|
|1. My girlfriend/boyfriend has expressed concern about my use.|_||
|2. I have changed friends to be with people who use like I do.|||
|3. My friends have sometimes called me a “drunk.”|||
|4. I have argued with friends about my use.|||
|5.I have done things to my friends while drinking that I have regretted later.|||
|6. I have made plans with friends, but didn’t show because a “better” opportunity to drink came up.|||
|7. I have lied to friends/others about how much I drink.|||
|8. I have upset or lost friends because of my drinking.|||
|9. Some of my friends have avoided me since I started drinking more.|||
|10. If I had a choice between being with my straight friends or drinking friends I would choose the drinking friends.|||
|11. I have endangered the lives of my friends through my use (driving while drinking, taking foolish risks).|||
|12. Being under the influence makes me feel less shy.||__|
School
In the beginning stages of drinking, the experience and effect can be subtle on school work. However with increased frequency and amount drinking, concentration, motivation and memory can be effected.
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. I have a reputation for being a partier. | ____ | ____ |
| 2. I have come close or have gotten caught under the influence. | ____ | ____ |
| 3.I have skipped or missed class because of using or being hung-over. | ____ | ____ |
| 4. My grades are not what I expect them to be. | ____ | ____ |
| 5. My motivation for school work has been declining. | ____ | ____ |
| 6. I skip class more often since I have been drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 7. I can’t concentrate on classes as well since I started drinking more often. | ____ | ____ |
| 8. The university has asked that I have an evaluation. | ____ | ____ |
Families often do not know what is going on but they begin to mention changes they are noticing. You may tell yourself that nothing is different and your family is just being paranoid or picking on you. Denial of these changes can negatively affect family members and family life.
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Parents have asked if anything is going on due to my mood. | ____ | ____ |
| 2. Parents have asked me if I was on anything or if I am drinking too much. | ____ | ____ |
| 3. Parents have found my alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 4. Parent/friends have waited up to see what I was like when I got home. | ____ | ____ |
| 5. Trust with my parents has changed. | ____ | ____ |
| 6. My siblings have expressed concern or seen changes in me. | ____ | ____ |
| 7. I find it harder to talk to my family since I have been drinking more. | ____ | ____ |
| 8. I avoid family functions because I want to get drunk or have been drunk at family functions. | ____ | ____ |
| 9. I isolate myself more from my family. | ____ | ____ |
| 10. I have lied to my family about my drinking. | ____ | ____ |
Money can become an issue with the need to support drinking or other use. Stress about money can become an issue in taking care of personal needs and appearance as it might be spent on use in place of basic necessities.
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Many times I am broke because I use too much money for alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 2. I owe people money for alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 3. I have stolen or sold things to support my drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 4. I have put off buying things I need to use the money for alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 5. I have gambled to get money for alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 6. Most of my money goes for or I have begun to spend more money on alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 7. I have done things I am ashamed of in order to get money for drinking. | ____ | ____ |
Though you may not have experienced any legal problems resulting from your drinking, you may have had some close calls. Legal consequences often affect future opportunities such as employment, admittance to academic programs, or going abroad.
|.Question|.Yes|.No|
|1. I have done risky or foolish things I could get arrested for while under the influence.|_||
|2. I have gotten in a fight and come close to or been arrested while I have been under the influence.|||
|3. I have been fined by the courts for alcohol use.|||
|4. I have had legal problems related to my drinking.||__|
Personal
Effects of alcohol can influence your life in many ways, ways in which you are afraid to maybe admit to yourself, let alone anyone else. You may not always recognize them until somebody else points it out. Even with awareness, denial can play a role in finding other excuses for things that happened or blame placed on others.
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. I have done things I am ashamed of while under the influence. | ____ | ____ |
| 2. I have given up interest, sports, hobbies, and other events I used to do for fun. | ____ | ____ |
| 3. I have had blackouts or memory loss while drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 4. My memory is not as good as it was before drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 5. I get anxious and sometimes preoccupied about drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 6. When I am not drinking I think about and look forward to when I can drink. | ____ | ____ |
| 7. I don’t seem to care about things I used to as much. | ____ | ____ |
| 8. My goals have changed since I have been drinking, it is hard to set new goals. | ____ | ____ |
| 9. I have hurt myself physically when under the influence (UPI’s unidentified party injuries) . | ____ | ____ |
| 10. I find it harder to talk to friends/other people when I am not under the influence. | ____ | ____ |
| 11. I have done things while under the influence that when I thought about them later,it really scared me. | ____ | ____ |
| 12. have overdosed on alcohol by passing out. | ____ | ____ |
| 13. I have had to go to the hospital because of being injured while under the influence. | ____ | ____ |
| 14. I have had suicidal thoughts since I have been drinking. | ____ | ____ |
| 15. I have seriously thought of suicide. | ____ | ____ |
| 16. I have tried to cut down on use because I have worried about what it may be doing to me. | ____ | ____ |
| 17. I have tried unsuccessfully to quit in the past and question if I can do it successfully. | ____ | ____ |
| 18. I have done things that I am ashamed of in order to get alcohol. | ____ | ____ |
| 19. I have found myself hooking up more when under the influence. | ____ | ____ |
| 20. I have gained weight since coming to college and drinking regularly. | ____ | ____ |
Hopefully this self assessment has helped you to evaluate your use and make decisions that will best work toward your success as a student, a leader within your community and family member. The site provides self-help tips and strategies that can aide in quitting and also what to expect should you decide to quit.
Prior to starting these suggestions if you have been a frequent user of alcohol you need to have a physical and consult with a physician about the possibility of experiencing withdrawal symptoms as medical supervision may be necessary. Symptoms can occur to different degrees based on history and prolongation of use.
Withdrawal symptoms are included here for your awareness.
| Physiological | Behavioral | Sleep |
|---|---|---|
| Nausea | Restlessness/agitation | Insomnia |
| Perspiration (sweating) | Irritability | Disrupted sleep |
| Tremors | Depressed mood | |
| Increased body temperature | Aggression (in different degrees) | |
| Seizures | Loss of motivation | |
| Increased pulse rate (over 100) | Anxiety | |
| Hallucinations (visual or tactile) |
If you begin to experience any of these symptoms please seek a physicians care.