If you are currently drinking more than the recommended guidelines, any change that you make—even small changes—can help you reduce the harm that alcohol can cause. The less you drink, the lower your risk of developing problems. It’s called harm reduction. Your goal is to improve your health and your life by reducing the effects of alcohol. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) provides tips that have helped others cut down on their drinking. Some of these may be helpful to you and others may not work. The key to successfully cutting down on alcohol is to find what works for you. People who drink within the recommended guidelines have a much lower risk of developing problems. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, only two out of every 100 people who drink within the guidelines have an alcohol use disorder. The Sinclair Method involves taking naltrexone before drinking. The medication blocks the endorphins that are normally released when a person drinks alcohol. Because drinking alcohol becomes less pleasurable, it can become easier to stop drinking. Naltrexone is available as either a daily pill (available under the brand names Depade and ReVia) or a once-per-month injection (available under the brand name Vivitrol). Research suggests that naltrexone can be helpful for reducing drinking, particularly when combined with other supportive treatments. For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database.
