Can harm reduction help?
A special blog for employees in the restaurant and bar industry.
by Mark Levine, LICDC-CS, MAC
photo credit: https://drughelpline.org/alcohol-hotline/
“I know I drink too much, but….”
“Everyone does, even my boss/manager.”
“It’s part of my job.”
“The customers expect/pay for it.”
”This job is really stressful, alcohol helps me chill.”
”I’ll be ridiculed/harassed if I don’t drink.”
”At least I don’t drink and drive.”( Read my blog Alcohol and Uber: A double edged sword).
”I have more fun when I drink.”
”It makes me happy.”
”It helps me socialize/have sex.”
If the first sentence is true you may have what we in the substance abuse treatment world call Alcohol Use Disorder. Forget the black and white thinking of normal vs. alcoholic. The reality is alcohol problems occur along a spectrum. Where are you?
Those bullet points—-they all make sense. In fact all behaviors make sense — to the person engaged in the behavior. Without that understanding it’s impossible to have a collaborative conversation. Judgment, shame and blame have no place in this discussion. Understanding is the place to start.
It takes courage to begin the conversation. The original meaning of the word courage has nothing to do with war, battle or the military. It means quite simply, telling your story from your heart.
One of the things that keep people from seeking help is the notion that it’s all or none. For some individuals, not drinking at all might be the best answer. But for many others, harm reduction is the best approach. Everyone has a different destination.
What’s harm reduction? My from perspective it’s meeting someone where they’re at, but not leaving them there. Maybe you’re tired of hangovers 2, 3 or more days a week. Maybe you’d rather have a clear head when at work so you can be more productive. Maybe friends and family members have expressed concern. Maybe you don’t remember how you got home. Or maybe, if you’re a woman, or love a woman, or born from a woman, you read that alcohol is a major risk factor for breast cancer. Yeah.
How much alcohol is too much?
You probably have a gut feeling about whether how much you drink is okay. But here’s the public health guidelines. Recent studies suggest that a safe amount of alcohol is one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. Higher level math equates to 7 drinks a week for women and 14 drinks for men. Binge drinking is defined as four or more units of alcohol within two hours for women, and 5 units of drinks for men. What the heck is a unit? Take a look at this picture to help you calculate your consumption.
It’s probably not supercool when downing shots to discuss the significant increase in alcohol related deaths, particularly among women, but this disturbing trend is a reality worldwide, not just in the restaurant and bar industry. Remember when I said 7 drinks a week is considered moderate levels for women. Well unfortunately it only takes 3 drinks a week to increase your breast cancer risk by 15%. According to breastcancer.org alcohol related breast cancer kills more than twice as many women as drunk drivers.
Excessive alcohol use plays a major role in sexual assault, other violence, suicide and a whole hosts of cancer, depression, anxiety, social problems, lost productivity, and on and on. And even knowing all that you may still say,
Yeah, but….
I get it. All of those bullet statements above make sense in the moment. Look at them again. Which ones resonate with you? Hopefully you’re reading this without the influence of alcohol and can allow yourself a chance to reflect. What would it look like to cut down? How would my life be different? How would my mental and physical health improve? What are the obstacles to change?
“Harm reduction is meeting someone where they are, but not leaving them there.”
But lets be real. Binge drinking can lead to serious short and long term consequences. And it can progress.
The key point is having the courage to recognize and acknowledge that where you are now is not where you want to be. Admit that you want to be happy and enjoy life without having a hangover, blacking out, or let’s be honest, making an ass of yourself.
Check out this video on harm reduction. Make a decision to improve your health by decreasing the harm you are currently inflicting. Let me know how I can help. If you’d like, you can take the next step and make an appointment for an assessment at my website, or if you’re not ready for that, email me to schedule a free 15 minute consultation. I call my practice Minds at Peace, with the goal of helping people achieve just that, a mind at peace even when there are storms raging around you.