Figure out your reasons

If you’re looking to drink a little less this Christmas, there’s likely to be a reason for it - and acknowledging that reason is a great way to give yourself motivation. Whether you’re hoping to be less anxious over the festive period or just want to be fully present to keep the memories for the future, making a list of reasons why you’re cutting down on alcohol can be helpful as you move through the party season.

Set your goals

Experts in behaviour change also recommend goal setting in order to reduce your drinking. A good goal should be a little bit challenging, and as specific as possible - but should be realistic and achievable. Perhaps you’d like to manage a specific number of drink-free days, or to lower your units to a certain number. Once you have a goal, write it down and keep track of what you’re doing - self-monitoring in a journal (or the notes app) is a great way to check back on your original goals and see how you’re doing.

Know what triggers you

Do you know what your common triggers are? For some people, it’s location - for example, being in a bar or being sat at home when the working day is finished. For others, it might be certain people - friends who always encourage you to drink. If you’re aware of what’s likely to happen when you arrive at an event, you can plan for it - keep yourself busy if your trigger is sitting at home, or have something fun planned for the following morning so you have a reason to avoid a hangover. If you know that a particular person is likely to encourage you to join them for a drink when you’d rather not, you could try being honest about it, or figure out something you can say that will disarm them - ‘I’m driving’ will usually do the trick, or making a good joke about it, or brushing off any comments to show your confidence in your decision.

Supply your own drinks

A good way to stick to your plan is to take your own alcohol-free drink with you to an event - making sure you have something you genuinely enjoy drinking available means you’re much less likely to be swayed when offers of alcohol arrive at the party. Your host is less likely to try to refill your glass if you’re already filled up, and with many discrete alcohol-free brands available, you have options if you’d prefer not to broadcast the fact that you’re not drinking.

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If you’re ready to empower yourself with the choice to cut back or cut out alcohol, you should be proud to focus on the benefits and remember what you’ll gain through the process. If you’d like support or advice, your local pharmacy team will be happy to help - so pop in for a conversation and they’ll point you in the right direction.