How to Stop Binge Drinking and Start Changing Your Habits

11 min readDec 16, 2020

By Team Monument

This story is reposted from Monument. Monument is an online platform for those looking to change their relationship with alcohol.

Photo by HONG FENG on Unsplash

Binge drinking can quickly spin out of control despite best efforts to drink in moderation or stay sober. If you’re struggling to cut yourself off after a couple of drinks, you are not alone in that. A few drinks with your friends can quickly lead to excessive alcohol consumption, which has both short- and long-term effects on your physical and mental health. Learning how to stop binge drinking possible, and often involves reshaping your relationship with alcohol by making behavioral changes, setting goals, and seeking effective treatment.

If you’re wondering how to stop binge drinking, read on for our helpful guide to changing your behaviors.

Making Behavioral Changes

A key part of learning how to stop binge drinking is identifying the environmental factors that surround it. Start by asking yourself a few questions:

What activities do I partake in that often lead to heavy drinking? Can I stop doing these activities, or reduce their frequency? Are there certain circumstances that have led to increased binge drinking?
What other biological, psychological, or social factors might be perpetuating my excessive use of alcohol?

By recognizing your drinking patterns, you can begin to take the steps necessary to stop binge drinking and start making behavioral changes that promote a healthier relationship with alcohol. And you don’t have to do it alone. For many, working with a therapist on a specialized alcohol therapy program can be a really effective way to make a long-lasting change. In addition to your alcohol treatment program , you can also make changes to your daily routine to help take control of your relationship with alcohol.

Refrain from Drinking on an Empty Stomach

Drinking alcohol without having any food in your system can cause your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to rise quickly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define binge drinking as “a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s BAC reaches .08 or above.” While commonly this is five drinks for men or four drinks for women in a two-hour period, without any food to help absorb and break down the alcohol, you can reach the .08 level much quicker.

Alternate Drinking Alcohol with Water

For every alcoholic drink consumed, drink a glass of water. This will help to maintain a lower BAC and can prevent impairments associated with intoxication, including hangovers. Choose a drink with lower alcohol content that you can enjoy over an extended amount of time, such as a glass of wine over a few shots right in a row.

Change Your Environment

Consider if you should avoid situations where heavy drinking is involved or limit your time with friends or places where binge drinking behavior is likely to take place. It’s easy to fall into the trap of peer pressure, regardless of your age group. If you’re around people who are excessively drinking, you’re more likely to be pressured to continue drinking, too. This is common among both work outings and celebrations.

If you want to stop binge drinking, making temporary changes to your environment, or implementing permanent alternatives to activities that involve drinking are effective ways to distance yourself from alcohol.

Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash

Avoid Trying to Reach a Certain Level of Intoxication

Reaching for a glass of wine or a beer may feel like a good way to wind down the week. However, is stopping at one drink normal for you, or does one or two become three or four? The physical and mental effects of binge drinking are just as dangerous as any other type of unhealthy drinking behavior even if you don’t consume alcohol on a daily basis. To avoid drinking past your limit, consider setting a maximum number of drinks for yourself and having someone hold you accountable. Checking in via a virtual alcohol support group is a great way to practice accountability.

Create New Social Habits Sans Alcohol

Many people use alcohol as a “social lubricant” when getting together with friends and family. Meeting for a happy hour or partaking in a prolonged dinner with several bottles of wine may be part of the norm of your current lifestyle. As part of learning how to quit binge drinking, it’ll require exploring other social options that don’t involve alcohol. Coffee breaks, hiking, and participating in sports are just a few of the ways you can still maintain social relationships without relying on alcohol as the binding factor. You might also be pleasantly surprised how alcohol-free socializing creates more meaningful connections.

Share Your Plan with Your Circle

Communicate your intentions and goals to those with whom you surround yourself the most. Let them know you’re focused on drinking less. Here are tips for telling your friends and family you’re getting treatment to change your drinking. You’ll likely be greeted with support and understanding. However, if anyone in your network expresses negative feelings towards your desire to change your behavior, this gives you a chance to recognize potentially toxic behaviors in others that may not align with what’s best for you.

Setting Personal Goals

Setting achievable goals is a great way to practice accountability and create lasting change. Align your goals to what you’d like to achieve with regards to your relationship with alcohol and your image of your ideal self . Monument plans connect you with licensed physicians and therapists who can help you set goals based on your needs and preferences. While everyone’s goals are personal and unique to them, here are a few high-level goals to consider as you create a plan with your Care Team for quitting binge drinking.

Limit Number of Drinks Per Week

Reduce how many drinks you consume each week. Set a number and an end date when setting goals. By starting smaller, you can build upon newly formed habits. For example, you can set a goal that cuts your number of drinks in half by the end of a three-month period. Calculating how much alcohol you regularly consume sheds light on patterns of when and how often you choose to drink.

Reduce Number of Drinks Per Social Situation

Binge drinking involves consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short amount of time. To stop your binge drinking behavior, reduce the number of drinks you have per sitting. Whether you’re drinking at home, out with friends, or part of a celebration, make a goal ahead of time. Decide on the number of drinks you’ll limit yourself to for the event or refrain from drinking altogether if you find that’s a more realistic goal for you.

Photo by Larisa Birta on Unsplash

Start a Healthy Habit As a Replacement

Replace rewards that involve alcohol with a healthy habit. (Spoiler: it can still feel rewarding!) Rather than end the week with a night out drinking, go for a walk, take a class, or enjoy a good book. Call a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Schedule an at-home movie marathon. Reorganize your living space to make it more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing for you. Start to shift your mindset to turning to other ways of entertainment and feel-good, celebratory moments.

Seeking Effective Treatment for Binge Drinking

While binge drinking may not seem problematic because the occurrence doesn’t happen frequently, every time you binge drink, it poses a risk to your health. Bingeing has both short- and long-term effects, including damage to the heart, brain, and liver. And it can be treated. You can make a change to reduce those risks and lead a healthier life.

As you may already be aware, binge drinking also causes delayed cognitive function, memory loss, and can result in blackouts. The physical reactions of binge drinking can then lead to other incidents like driving accidents, physical violence, and problems with friends, family, and colleagues. The incidence of bingeing behavior also presents an increased risk for alcohol dependence.

Fortunately, binge drinking can be treated with holistic methods including community support, specialized alcohol therapy, and prescription medication. At Monument, we’ve brought all of these tools online so you can make progress on your own terms, and own time.

Get Community Support

Self-reflection and intention setting are great tools to identify your path forward if you want to stop binge drinking. And you don’t have to go down that path alone. For many people, peer support and outside accountability are key tools in their treatment toolkit.

Monument’s anonymous forum connects you to other people navigating similar challenges. It’s a judgment-free community where you can feel comfortable asking questions and getting the motivation you deserve as you make progress.

Photo by Aleksander Vlad on Unsplash

Engage In Evidence-Based Methods

It’s easier to achieve a goal with the right tools, resources, and people to empower you along the way. The same goes for treatment for binge drinking. By working with therapists and physicians who are trained in treating unhealthy substance use, together you can create a customized plan that works toward your goals in a way that feels right for you.

Monument plans support goals for sobriety and moderation. Your Care Team will recommend a combination of prescribed medication, alcohol therapy, and community support that get you from where you are to where you want to be.

Go Online on Your Own Time

A modern, online approach allows you to receive guidance and support whenever you need it, and on your own time. Your life doesn’t have to stop while you make progress. No in-person meetings or expensive rehabs required. This type of treatment allows you to change your relationship with alcohol in a way that’s easily accessible, and more affordable than most therapy options.

Taking action toward changing your relationship with alcohol is something to be proud of. We’re here to support you along the way, and empower you to get more out of life by drinking less. You can do this!

Disclaimer: Our articles and resources do not constitute clinical or licensed therapy or other health care services. If you need counseling or therapy services please contact a licensed provider. If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/treatment-alcohol-problems-finding-and-getting-help

About the Author

Monument is an online platform for those looking to change their relationship with alcohol. We connect members to a free anonymous community, therapist-moderated groups, and a collection of resources to provide the support and information they deserve. Members seeking medical treatment are introduced to a licensed physician and a specialized therapist to develop a personalized treatment plan specific to their goals. Monument is affordable, accessible, and research-based, so a healthy relationship with alcohol is attainable and celebrated by all.