Control Your Drinking Online Treatment Module 1 Page No. 1 Welcome to the Control Your Drinking Online Program and CONGRATULATIONS on your decision to control your drinking. We suggest you access each module on a fortnightly basis. Having time in between Treatment Modules will allow you adequate time and opportunity to learn and apply your new skills.
Overview Page No. 2 Here s an overview of the first module: Alcohol information and facts Personal reflection on the effect alcohol has had on your life Introduction to self-recording Let s get started!
What is alcohol and what are the effects of alcohol? Page No. 3 Alcohol is a powerful drug. It is a depressant drug and not a stimulant as many people think. It actually slows down the activity in parts of the brain and the nervous system. The effects of alcohol will vary from person to person. They depend on: how much and how quickly the alcohol is consumed the person's body build: size and weight how good a person's health is the occasion in which alcohol is consumed whether the alcohol is consumed with other drugs age and gender
Immediate effects of alcohol Page No. 4 The immediate effects of alcohol also vary from person to person. As you drink a lot of alcohol in a single session, you many experience the following effects: feelings of relaxation unconsciousness vomiting feelings of well being flushing blurred vision uncoordinated movements loss of inhibitions slow reactions unclear judgement dizziness slurred speech
Long term effects of alcohol Page No. 5 Drinking heavily (i.e. six standard drinks or more in one sitting) over a long period of time often results in physical, mental and social problems. Damage to some of the body organs can be permanent. Long term heavy drinking often results in: memory loss, confused thinking liver damage stomach inflammations heart and blood disorders frequent infections depression skin problems brain damage cancer damage to reproductive organs relationship problems legal problems financial difficulties poor work performance
Binge Drinking Page No. 6 Drinking more than 6 standard drinks in one day is defined as binge drinking. Binge drinking can be very harmful. It gives your body a large amount of alcohol to cope with in a short period of time. This can cause greater damage to your health and make you more likely to have accidents. It can put you in dangerous and risky situations, by increasing false confidence and reducing your inhibitions. Binge drinking reduces your ability to think clearly and act in an appropriate way. Don t think that not drinking for a few days allows you to save up your drinks for one or two big sessions.
Alcohol and Safety Page No. 7 Alcohol, even in small amounts, affects our reflexes, coordination, reaction times, and ability to concentrate. If you drive, use machinery, or do anything which requires care, you can be a danger to yourself and others if you have been drinking. In most states in Australia, it is illegal to drive if your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), that is the amount of alcohol in your blood, is more than.05. A person s ability to drive a motor vehicle or ride a motorcycle is affected by alcohol. In general, the higher a person s BAC, the greater the effect on a driver s or rider s skills. Alcohol is involved in 1 out of 3 of all road traffic deaths.
Guides to keep you within your legal limits Page No. 8 Compared to when the BAC is.00: If your BAC is.05 you are twice as likely to have an accident If your BAC is.085 you are 4 times as likely to have an accident If your BAC is.15 you are 25 times as likely to have an accident Women have to be especially careful. In general, the same amount of alcohol will cause a higher BAC in a woman than in a man. So even if a woman has drunk less, she cannot be sure that she is under.05.
Guides to keep you within your legal limits Page No. 9 If your legal limit is.05, have: 1 standard drink in the first hour and then 1 per hour after that If your legal limit is.02: avoid drinking at all before driving, as just 1 standard drink could be enough to put you over the limit. Alcohol affects different people in different ways so it is very difficult to calculate your BAC accurately.
Tolerance and Dependence Page No. 10 Tolerance to alcohol means that a person needs increasing quantities of alcohol to achieve the same effects as they did before with much smaller amounts. Dependence on alcohol means that alcohol becomes central to a person s thoughts, emotions and activities. A dependent person finds it very difficult to stop drinking and may crave for alcohol when trying to stop. When a physically dependent person stops drinking they may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling anxious, sweating, tremors, vomiting, convulsions, hallucinations, etc. Not all people who drink are physically dependent on alcohol, but if you are concerned about or experience these symptoms, please contact your general medical practitioner right away. However, if one drinks large amounts of alcohol regularly, they can very easily become physically dependent on alcohol.
Mixing with other drugs Page No. 11 Combining alcohol with any other drugs (including over the counter or prescribed medications) can be dangerous or cause discomfort. Mixing alcohol with drugs which depress the body's central nervous system (e.g. tranquilizers, sleeping pills, marijuana) can lead to loss of judgement and coordination and even cause breathing failure.
Alcohol and Pregnancy Page No. 12 Regular drinking of any amount of alcohol during pregnancy can damage the health of both the mother and the baby. Heavy drinking can lead to miscarriage or the baby being born with foetal alcohol syndrome - slow growth patterns before and after birth, and mental disabilities. Doctors now strongly recommend that pregnant women or women wanting to become pregnant should not drink at all.
Personal Reflection (worksheet) Page No. 13 Take some time to consider what we have covered so far by printing and completing the PERSONAL REFLECTION WORKSHEET at the link below. IMPORTANT: Whenever you see this icon, it means a worksheet needs to be completed. Completing all the worksheets will assist you in getting the most out of this program and achieving your goals. Please use the links below, print, complete, and store your worksheets in a folder that you can refer to as needed.
Now that you know the facts about alcohol Page No. 14 Let s move on and look at changing your drinking habits. Planning what you are going to do next will make things easier. In order to get started, we suggest you think about making a plan for the next fortnight by keeping track of the number of standard drinks you consume each week, for the next two weeks. For this purpose we have included a Drinking Record Card. This card also contains some tips to control your drinking and a Standard Drink Conversion Chart. To access the Drinking Record Card, please click on the Drinking Record Card link below and print it out.
How to use your Drinking Record Card Page No. 15 On the first page of the record card, write down your goals. Make sure your goals are realistic and achievable in relation to your current drinking levels. Do NOT select goals that are too easy or too hard. Select the number of days you choose to drink in one week. Try not to drink 7 days a week. If you are not confident of achieving 3 alcohol free days, aim for at least 1 or 2 alcohol-free day(s). Select the number of drinks you will have on any one drinking day. Aim for a reduction that you are confident of achieving. MY GOALS ARE: I will drink 4 days a week I will not drink more than 3 drinks on any one day. I will not have more 12 than drinks a week. My main reason for cutting down is: to improve my relationship with family Plan not to have more than a set amount of drinks per week. This should be less than your usual pattern. Refer to your Self-Assessment Report to gauge your current drinking pattern. Next to the trophy, write down your main reason for cutting down.
How to use your Drinking Record Card Page No. 16 To assist you, we have included on your card Tips to Control Drinking. There are four groups of tips with examples under each. These are also listed on the next page. The first letter of the four tips spell out BOSS This is to remind your that YOU are the BOSS when it comes to changing your own drinking habits.
Tip # 1: Be Prepared Page No. 17 Plan beforehand HOW much you will drink, WHOM you will drink with, WHAT you will drink, HOW much money you will take with you and WHAT you could do instead of drinking. Tip # 2: Observant When you are in a drinking situation watch out for factors that may make you drink more. Tip # 3: Show Control When you are in a drinking situation show control and make it harder for yourself to drink a lot. Tip # 4: Self- Encouragement When you are tempted to drink, encourage yourself not to and remind yourself of what you are trying to do and can achieve.
How to use your Drinking Record Card Page No. 18 Write down the week number, the date of commencement, and the total consumption per day as shown on the sample card below. Drinking Monitoring Chart for Men Week # 1 Date 15/09/03 Standard Drinks 15+ 14 13 Degree of Risk 12 High 11 10 9 SAMPLE ONLY 8 7 X 6 X 5 X X Medium 4 X X X 3 X X X X 2 X X X X Low 1 X X X X 0 X X X X Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun
How to use your Drinking Record Card Page No. 19 Use the Standard Drinks Conversion Chart on your card to calculate the total number of standard drinks you consume. One Standard Drink = 10 grams of alcohol NB: Often alcohol glasses used in hotels, pubs, and restaurants hold more than a standard drink.
Recommended drinking limits for men Page No. 20 No more than 4 standard drinks per day. Have at least 2 to 3 alcohol-free days per week. Do not save the drinks and drink them all in one occasion. See the Standard Drink Conversion Chart to calculate the number of standard drinks you consume.
Recommended drinking limits for women Page No. 21 No more than 2 standard drinks per day. Have at least 2 to 3 alcohol-free days per week. Do not save the drinks and drink them all in one occasion. See the Standard Drink Conversion Chart to calculate the number of standard drinks you consume.
Tips Page No. 22 Make sure you fill in your drinking record card promptly on the same day that you had a drink. We suggest you keep your record card in your purse or wallet. Having your drinking record card with you makes it easier to record your drinking immediately after you have finished, when it is easier to remember how much you drank.
Summary Page No. 23 Well done! You have now completed Treatment Module 1. Let s recap what we have covered in this module. Firstly, we have provided you with information regarding alcohol and its effects. Secondly, you reflected and thought about the effect alcohol has and continues to have on your life. Finally, we have taught you how to self-record your alcohol consumption. CHECKLIST Have you: Completed the Personal Reflection Worksheet? Started self-recording your alcohol consumption on your Drinking Record Card?
What next? Page No. 24 Keep recording the number of standard drinks you have on your Drinking Record Card. Schedule in your diary to access Treatment Module 2 in 2 weeks time. REMEMBER! Changing your drinking behavior IS possible.